Scalding hot lamb fat..That’ll Getcha…Sorry Chef!!

After months of waiting, my manager finally let me have iPhone. I love this baby. A tricorder sized computer, mp3 player, movie player, and tracking device. A balls-deep, bad ass little piece of hardware. Sure, sure it’s way more phone than I’ll ever need, but to me, that’s half the point! Expensive? So, what! Just some more dollars towards , the singularity and human augmentation. Seriously, I’m O.K. with it. If I had the ability to Borg myself out I would. Optical readouts and enhanced performance, biosoft learning environments, and bionic arms and shit? Sign me up!! I guess I got a little off topic there but this phone has possibilities. The available applications are beaucoup. I’m already reading the New York Times on the shitter, and the full sized touch pad keyboard has got me texting with 3G Of giggerram. It makes beautiful music. I don’t know how it does what it does, and I don’t much care. It is the most intuitive phone I have ever used. Within 15 minutes of owning it, I was tracking myself on Google Maps. I was reading webcomics. I was making light saber noises while I whirled it around.

Today marks one year that I’ve been writing this blog. From humble beginnings mrjeffmccarthy.com has soared into the blogosphere, with faithful readers in 29 countries and over 400 average monthly visits. Maintaining this blog has helped me get jobs, learn Photoshop, improve my writing skills, and become an international superstar. Well that last bit is an exaggeration but you get the idea. I’d like to thank everyone for reading, the comments and celebrity visits have been highly enjoyable. The feedback, copious. Special thanks goes out to Jaybill for making this site possible, the guy created a monster. A hairy, sarcastic, irreverent, sometimes foul-smelling monster. For the next year I’ve got big plans. Guest writers, an expanded recipe section, finishing Butterhead and of course, more genius. Lots more genius. For anyone that wasn’t aware my blogday was today, never fear!! Mrjeffmccarthy.com will be accepting 40 oz’s all week!!

Faithful readers, I am number TWO on the first page of Google search : Jeff McCarthy. I’ve finally made it onto the first page and that theatrical performer Jeff McCarthy better watch his ass. Seriously folks, I’m blowin’ up!! The Olive Oil Beignets were mentioned in Bon Appetit, and Pastry and Baking North America is doing a regional showcase on me this month. Jaybill also uninstalled Windows Vista from my laptop, and with XP, I’m blogging extreme!! Actually, I’m busy as shit and haven’t had much time to sit in front this machine. I’ve got a couple things in the works however so stay tuned!!

Pastry chef Jeff McCarthy is a recent addition to the staff, and he’s infused the desserts with a whole new decadent passion. It’s one of those menus where many items are as good as they sound - “chocolate whiskey cake brown butter caramel, toffee-caramel ice cream”, or my favorite, the “chocolate chip banana bread pudding with a rum/caramel.” The latter is the best bread pudding I’ve ever had. The caramel has a nice rum flavor without being overpowering, and the balance of chocolate to bread is nearly perfect. Other desserts which rotate on and off the menu are also excellent. A recent standout was the peanut butter crème brûlée, with its crispy crust, nice custard, and a layer of really good jam underneath. It was like a decadent peanut butter sandwich (all $8).  

     Wow. Thanks, Food Dude.  Glad you liked it.  You can read the entire review here.  And boy, those pictures look great! Some of my other favorite quotes were about Chef and his food, such as”… the goat cheese flavor went beautifully with the lamb. The combination laid waste to any other lamb I’ve had in Portland” and:  “Jack Yoss has completely revamped the kitchen, making it one of the most sophisticated in Portland.”  It’s true.  We’re fucking sophisticated.  Come down and eat.

A light rain gently cascaded down, the Eiffel Tower loomed overhead, resplendent in all it’s glory, and I, on bended knee, asked Kate to marry me.  She said YES!!  She accepted the cheap stunt ring I presented her in lieu of the real one that was tied up in customs.  Okay it’s not that big of a surprise to anyone, we’ve been seeing eachother for 4 or so years, and living together (in sin) for a time as well.  Like any relationship, we’ve had our ups and downs, and we realize as much as anyone that it is work.  You’ve got work at it.  I mean being considerate? That was a tough one for me.  Putting the toilet seat down? Forget about it!  Seriously folks, all kidding aside, I am extremely excited to make Kate my wife and official life-long companion, I would be lost without her.  She continues to make me laugh daily, and cares about me more than anyone ever has.  She has shown me what love truly is, and I couldn’t imagine being away from her.  The three week trip we just took was a good test of this thing we call “us.”  Sure we bickered.  Sure we wanted to punch eachother in the back of the head.  Sure we made people uncomfortable with the way we talk to eachother (”well you’re a fat idiot,”) but like I said, that’s us.   We haven’t set a date yet, or really set anything in stone, but we’ll probably give ourselves about a year with this engagement thing.  The only thing we know for sure is we’ll be wed in Colorado, where we met.  And that we love eachother.

We returned to the United States of America at about 3pm on Sunday afternoon.  After walking down the jetway, our ears perked up to the sounds of loudly spoken ebonics, the smell of fried food and freshly brewed venti white chocolate mochas.  It was good to be home.  To blog abouty our trip all at once would be an excercise in futility.  Suffice to say it was (in a word) outstanding, and I’m now engaged to be married to my soulmate and best friend, Kate.  We ate, we saw famous art, we ate some more, we saw famous architecture, we ate again, we walked miles and miles, we drank wine and beer, we got engaged, we ate, then we came home.  Over the next X amount of time, I will be posting random excerpts from my journal and pictures from our journey, so sit tight faithful readers, they’ll be plenty of that to come.  I’m excited to get back to work, and return to reality.  Three weeks of trains, planes, and automobiles, hotel bedrooms, eating out and walking your ass off gets to you after awhile.  Traveling thorough six countries in 20 days was quite an adventure.  By the time we reached Brussels, Belgium, we didn’t care if we saw another painting, ate another fancy meal, or rode on another train ever again.  We just wanted to be home.  Its good to be home, there is in fact, no place like it.

Well faithful readers, I hope you’ve enjoyed this past weeks flurry of posting, because you won’t see fuck all until I get back from Europe.  That’s right, Kate and I are taking off for a well deserved and long planned vacation. Landing in Germany and traveling through Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France before flying out of Brussels, Belgium.  I have never taken a trip like this, and the thought of all the raw milk butter and cheese is just staggering.  I’d like to thank Jaybill and Keri in advance for watching my bitches, and big ups to the guys at work for holding down the pastry station, and of couse keeping the game going.  I’m sure I’ll have tons to write about when I get back, so until then, arevaderche suckers!!  Consider this my exit phrase!

This is just a tribute to it’s creator, Jaybill.  Without his technical expertise and understanding patience, mrjeffmccarthy.com would just be a big pile of cyber-wishes.  So thanks brother, for helping me get this site off the ground, it has been a huge source of entertainment as well as an alleviation of boredom during a hard time.   I don’t think I’ll be winning any Photoshop contests with this one,  but at least Jaybill is one step closer to his life-long dream of being black.   You can check out real pictures of my friends and family in my new photo gallery, called Cool People.