Cooking
Right, so it's no real secret I like comic books, heroes, and all the trappings associated with them. It's also fairly well-known the level of detail I will put into anything I am even mildly passionate about.
So don't tell me you're shocked to learn that I celebrated Batman's 70th 'birthday'; we both know you're sitting there...rolling your eyes and/or laughing...saying 'yeah, that's exactly the sort of thing she'd do'.
It was 70 years ago that the Caped Crusader made his first appearance in Detective Comics, and that's a heck of a milestone for anyone. The sort that demands celebration.
And there's really only one way I know how to celebrate: with food.
I have had conversations with both my foodie & comic book friends about this: what do heroes eat? It's not something that's ever shown, really; ok, if you're reading the Flash, for example, you may get a scene or two where he's shoveling in large quantities of food. But that's less 'what' he's eating & more 'gotta keep up with that super-charged metabolism'.
Yes, I have my favorites in the hero world, and Batman is at the top of that list. (Technically he's tied with Wonder Woman, but that's a different post for a different day.)
I've actually given this a lot of thought (No! Really?); what exactly would Bruce Wayne eat, as Batman? He's often depicted as being too busy to bother with whatever Alfred has prepared, but the guy has to eat eventually.
Alfred's a smart man. He'd be sure whatever was on the tray he set next to 'Master Bruce', close to the computer, would be hearty, flavorful, & good for him. And most importantly, it would be something that would keep: years & years of looking after Gotham City's self-proclaimed protector meant he knew the food had to be ready & edible whenever Bats got around to it.
That ruled out a lot of options. Nothing that had to be kept hot, or might get soggy.
It also had to be easy to eat; Bruce would be working on...oh, comparing bullets, researching links between suspicious characters, or analyzing DNA samples. Any food he bothered to pick up would have to be pick up-able.
A roasted tomato basil soup, delicious both hot or cold, served in a big mug. Pick up, take a swig, go back to work.
Sandwich with nutty, multi-grain bread, toasted & brushed with olive oil (mayo would go bad before Bruce got around to it), topped with slices of Gruyere, crisp bacon, roasted chicken breast & a good, crunchy lettuce.
Foods that can wait till the Batman realizes he's not eaten in more than twelve hours & had better keep up his strength, but won't slow him down in his quest to keep his city safe.
At least, that's what I like to think would happen.
And because no celebration should pass without a cake, I give you The Dark Knight Cake; a dense chocolate cake made with both cocoa & 88% dark chocolate, covered in dark chocolate ganache.
Oh, and yes...it may resemble a certain signal often seen in Gotham's night sky...
Happy Birthday, Batman.
- Righting A Wrong
Not too long ago, Hostess unveiled Green Lantern Glo Balls...a clear tie-in with the upcoming Green Lantern movie. Ok; fine. Hal Jordan on the package makes sense in that context. But when the images of Batman & Superman appeared on boxes of the...
- The Baseball-playing Rockstar Batman-to-be Turns Six
Yikes! Today was Alex's 6th birthday, though he informed me he didn't feel any different from 5. He wanted Pad Thai for dinner (beams with pride, his mother does), so we packed up the ingredients and our rather large wok & had Southeast Asian...
- Because I'm Not Up To Talking About Food
Erin has tagged me, and I must obey. Some Randomness About Me. Make a list of things you can see without getting up: Batcave, shop vac, Alex's shoes, treadmill, elephant stool What were you like when you were five? Very happy. What are you wearing...
- Stepping Outside The Pg-friendly Zone
Silvermoon Dragon has tagged me. For a...ahem...slightly naughty meme. I've always kept this blog on the 'clean' side, family-friendly. Oh, what the heck. Here goes: 1. What food do you consider the best “date” food? In other words,...
- Total Decadence
It was my mother-in-law's birthday this past weekend. She's very good about eating healthy, but she's never said 'no' to something from my oven. Matt drummed it into my head fairly early on that his mom loves chocolate. So, what better...
Cooking
Batman: Year Seventy
Right, so it's no real secret I like comic books, heroes, and all the trappings associated with them. It's also fairly well-known the level of detail I will put into anything I am even mildly passionate about.
So don't tell me you're shocked to learn that I celebrated Batman's 70th 'birthday'; we both know you're sitting there...rolling your eyes and/or laughing...saying 'yeah, that's exactly the sort of thing she'd do'.
It was 70 years ago that the Caped Crusader made his first appearance in Detective Comics, and that's a heck of a milestone for anyone. The sort that demands celebration.
And there's really only one way I know how to celebrate: with food.
I have had conversations with both my foodie & comic book friends about this: what do heroes eat? It's not something that's ever shown, really; ok, if you're reading the Flash, for example, you may get a scene or two where he's shoveling in large quantities of food. But that's less 'what' he's eating & more 'gotta keep up with that super-charged metabolism'.
Yes, I have my favorites in the hero world, and Batman is at the top of that list. (Technically he's tied with Wonder Woman, but that's a different post for a different day.)
I've actually given this a lot of thought (No! Really?); what exactly would Bruce Wayne eat, as Batman? He's often depicted as being too busy to bother with whatever Alfred has prepared, but the guy has to eat eventually.
Alfred's a smart man. He'd be sure whatever was on the tray he set next to 'Master Bruce', close to the computer, would be hearty, flavorful, & good for him. And most importantly, it would be something that would keep: years & years of looking after Gotham City's self-proclaimed protector meant he knew the food had to be ready & edible whenever Bats got around to it.
That ruled out a lot of options. Nothing that had to be kept hot, or might get soggy.
It also had to be easy to eat; Bruce would be working on...oh, comparing bullets, researching links between suspicious characters, or analyzing DNA samples. Any food he bothered to pick up would have to be pick up-able.
A roasted tomato basil soup, delicious both hot or cold, served in a big mug. Pick up, take a swig, go back to work.
Sandwich with nutty, multi-grain bread, toasted & brushed with olive oil (mayo would go bad before Bruce got around to it), topped with slices of Gruyere, crisp bacon, roasted chicken breast & a good, crunchy lettuce.
Foods that can wait till the Batman realizes he's not eaten in more than twelve hours & had better keep up his strength, but won't slow him down in his quest to keep his city safe.
At least, that's what I like to think would happen.
And because no celebration should pass without a cake, I give you The Dark Knight Cake; a dense chocolate cake made with both cocoa & 88% dark chocolate, covered in dark chocolate ganache.
Oh, and yes...it may resemble a certain signal often seen in Gotham's night sky...
Happy Birthday, Batman.
- Righting A Wrong
Not too long ago, Hostess unveiled Green Lantern Glo Balls...a clear tie-in with the upcoming Green Lantern movie. Ok; fine. Hal Jordan on the package makes sense in that context. But when the images of Batman & Superman appeared on boxes of the...
- The Baseball-playing Rockstar Batman-to-be Turns Six
Yikes! Today was Alex's 6th birthday, though he informed me he didn't feel any different from 5. He wanted Pad Thai for dinner (beams with pride, his mother does), so we packed up the ingredients and our rather large wok & had Southeast Asian...
- Because I'm Not Up To Talking About Food
Erin has tagged me, and I must obey. Some Randomness About Me. Make a list of things you can see without getting up: Batcave, shop vac, Alex's shoes, treadmill, elephant stool What were you like when you were five? Very happy. What are you wearing...
- Stepping Outside The Pg-friendly Zone
Silvermoon Dragon has tagged me. For a...ahem...slightly naughty meme. I've always kept this blog on the 'clean' side, family-friendly. Oh, what the heck. Here goes: 1. What food do you consider the best “date” food? In other words,...
- Total Decadence
It was my mother-in-law's birthday this past weekend. She's very good about eating healthy, but she's never said 'no' to something from my oven. Matt drummed it into my head fairly early on that his mom loves chocolate. So, what better...