1001: The Stooges

The Stooges:  The Stooges

First Listen: Samsung Galaxy Note 3, House of Marley Exodus Headphones while studdying

Second Listen: Samsung Galaxy Note 3, House of Marley Exodus Headphones, while reading lyrics

Third Listen: Bose Lifestyle 15 via Google Music Chromecast

I had no clue who the stooges were at all before listening to this album.  I did hear the name Iggy Pop, but I never knew what at all he was famous for.  It goes to show just how limited my knowledge of punk music is.  I did end up liking the album very much.  It is quite laid back as compared to Punk music of today, but I guess that is to be expected.

For this album I wanted to make something that was rather down to earth yet over the top.  I ended up deciding on curly fry pizza.  This was met with a lot of strange stares.  I thought everyone would think Curly fry pizza would be amazing, yet I got so many mixed feelings.  Yes I realize that Curly fry pizza wouldn’t be the healthiest thing you ever ate, but that’s not the point.  You can let go sometimes.  This pizza is letting go in a big way.

The Music

Favorite Tracks:

-1969: This song has a nice catchy tune and it really puts you in the timeframe of the era really well.  I say that in spite of the fact that most of the lyrics are pretty ambiguous and can be used to describe any timeframe.  The only thing that really invokes the time period is the repeating of the year.  It is the songs ambiguity in describing the time frame that allows it to take on a bit of a timeless effect.

-No Fun:  It’s just simple and straightforward music.  I love the guitar solo at the end as well.

-Ann: I appreciate the darkness of this song and the fact that it doesn’t linger on much.  It is direct to the point and finishes up nicely with a cool guitar solo into a fade out.  Straight up music without pretense.

Unfavorite Tracks:

-We Will Fail: I don’t have a problem with giving up in principle and the lyrical content of the song doesn’t bother me a s much as the constant chanting in the background.  It really gets on my nerves after the first couple of verse.  It’s kind of weird though because I do love the guitar in the background and replacing the percussion with simple claps in the background.

-Real Cool Time: You can’t have moral superiority and diss the lyrical content of a song like Turn Down For What, while simultaneously embracing Real Cool Time.  Real Cool Time is essentially the original Turn Down For What, although I must applaud the ability to make a catchy song with under twenty words.

Overall Rankings:

1.       Stooges: Stooges

2.       Frank Sinatra: In The Wee Small Hours (Amazon)

The Food

I was doubted about whether or not this pizza would be good, but I have to give myself some good credit for coming up with this one because it tastes pretty good.  There was a lot of experimentation going on in writing the recipe for this one and along the way I learned a few things.  I initially chose a really hoppy IPA in order to make the beer sauce, that goes on this pizza but that was a fatal error as when the beer cooks down you’re left with a weird aftertaste.  This is one place where a cheap light beer succeeds.  I also experimented with the cheeses as you can see in the picture.  I came to find out that the cheeses were the best in the following order: Pepper Jack, Swiss, Velveta (I don’t typically use processed cheeses at all but I figured it would work out alright, I actually expected it to fare better, but it was just alright), Cheddar, Munster (One that I randomly selected at the end and was just awful, nearly inedible).  If you’re serving an Omnivore, I had the thought as well that you can go the extra mile with this pizza and top it with a combination of diced bacon and cooked chicken fingers.  The dough is also super easy and only takes a mixer and a little bit of time to make.  The crust even tastes like curly fries.

Results of the Taste Test:
1. Pepper Jack

2. Swiss

3. Velveta

4. Cheddar

5. Munster (Don’t use Munster)

Curly Fry Pizza

For the Crust:

1 Pound Russet Potatoes, peeled and diced

1 ½ Cups Flour Plus more for rolling out dough

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1 Large Egg

1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 Teaspoon Onion Powder

1 Teaspoon Paprika

2 Teaspoons Salt

For The Sauce:

1-16 Ounce Lager

2 Tablespoons Butter

1 Tablespoon Flour

4 Cloves Garlic Finely Minced

¼ Cup Vegetable Stock

Toppings:

8 ounces Shredded Cheese of your Choice

14 ounces Cooked Curly fries

Optional Meats of your choice: Bacon/Chicken Tenders

Preheat the oven to 375 Degrees

For the crust, boil the potatoes until  tender.  Drain add to the bowl of a stand mixer.

Using the paddle attachment.  Mix the potatoes until they are in small pieces.

Turn the mixer off and add all the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.

Add the egg and stir briefly until the dough comes together

Roll the dough out onto parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes

With the garlic, and beer in a medium saucepan cook until reduced in half

Add the stock and simmer.  In a separate pan whisk together the butter and flour mixture

Whisk the flour and butter mixture into the beer

Top your pizza with the sauce and curly fries and bake until the cheese is melted.  I know you’re going to want to eat this pizza immediately, but wait.  Let it cool for about 10 minutes for a perfect taste and texture.

The Drink

Electric Raspberry Lemonade

So I read somewhere that Iggy Pop liked Blue Raspberry Vodka and Lemonade.  I couldn’t find blue raspberry vodka anywhere so here’s my best effort.  This is a sneaky drink because it is amazingly potent despite not tasting of liquor much.

4.5 ounces Raspberry Vodka

3 Ounces Raspberry Lemonade

.75 Ounces Strawberry Liqueur (This can be skipped but I picked some up because it looked interesting.)

Shake all the ingredients and serve over ice.