Wanna Go For A Ride?

1. WDPK837 – Jungle Intro
2. The Gossip – Standing In The Way Of Control (Soulwax Nite Version) >> The Faint – The Conductor (Thin White Duke Remix)
3. Nine Inch Nails – The Hand That Feeds (Photek Straight Remix) >> The Hand That Feeds
4. Le Castle Vania/The Smashing Pumpkins – Zero Machine
5. Dunproofin – Electro Sandman
6. Motorhead – Ace Of Spades (Mustard Pimp Remix)
7. The Killers – Mr. Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont’s Thin White Duke Mix)

In other news, I just ordered a $70 new mouse. I hate to spend the money but I also like it when my left click button works. Test Kitchen will hopefully resume this Sunday. I’m moving to Philadelphia to go to paramedic school. Life goes on.

Having returned from the planes trains and automobiles two weeks of FGC, I am BACK, baby! For the next few months my life is going to be in an unbelievable amount of flux. I’m going to be involved in several independent projects and collaborations, hopefully building up to some big tings a gwaan. I’m also waiting to hear back from paramedic school.

I don’t have anything to give you at the moment, because I’m digging through a huge backlog of music and communications from my time in transit. However, enjoy GlaDOS.

The Mix

Really? I tried. I couldn’t do it. I don’t know enough about mariachi music or dirty southern rock to make a DJ mix out of it, and that’s what I think of when I think margarita.  I tried going with downtempo, but that don’t really represent margaritas to me. I tried a reggae feeling to the mix, with no joy. Just didn’t work. I even tried to think of kind of a latin house playlist, but unfortunately my kung fu is not particularly strong in that genre. So, I will post the song that the mix started out with and see if anyone has any great ideas for me. That being said, I didn’t want to make you suffer for my shortcomings.

Manu Chao – Me Gustas Tu

Battle Margarita

I sent out the call for recipes, and the people responded in force. Unfortunately, we were somewhat limited in our options. We could only test recipes on the rocks due to the lack of blender (Sorry Sue, Tom, and Sandy), and some recipes were just a little out of our budget (Patron? Really?). So we tested 3. A traditional margarita from Peru by way of Philly dubbed the “Mama D,” a slightly classier version out of Florida that we called the “Vita-rita,” and an unholy abomination (or so we thought…) known as the “Beergarita.” After fortifying ourselves with chips, salsa, beers, and some fresh pico de gallo, we girded ourselves for battle.

As a disclaimer, we used Sauza for all our recipes.

The Mama D

• tequila
• triple sec
• fresh lime juice
• simple syrup

Direct quote from the message: “fresh lime juice, triple sec (a little) like you wave it over the pitcher, simple syrup, decent grade tequila…..lime on the glass brim, salt (none of that sugar crap) healthy shot of tequila, ice….traditional”

Now, we had to kind of guess on ratios, so we may not have replicated it entirely faithfully, but this was REALLY REALLY good. Elina called it “frisky,” Jory felt it was “very good,” and “a great summer beverage.” Erica called it “tangy and limey,” and my opinion could be summed up as “AWESOME.” I think this recipe got very close to the core of what I was trying to do with the concept. The only “special” ingredient was the simple syrup, which I learned how to make from the link above. We ended up going with two parts tequila and lime juice to one part simple syrup. Different drinks had different amounts of triple sec depending on how much attention I was paying. Moving right along…

Beergaritas

• 1 can frozen limeade (thawed)
• 40 oz beer
• tequila

Dump the limeade in a pitcher. Fill the empty limeade can with tequila. Dump the tequila in with the limeade. Then pour that 40 in there. We used Budweiser.

How could this be good? We approached it like we’d get a t-shirt that said “I survived the Beergarita.” But after we all took our first sips, a stunned silence spread through the room. It was GOOD.

Jory summed it up best with “That doesn’t offend me!” Erica, who (to be fair) had a head start on all of us, called it a “fizzy margarita” then giggled for about 45 seconds. Elina simply said, “I don’t like beer, but I like this!” All I could say was “SUPPLIES!” It was really much better than we expected. Certainly the furthest from the norm of the competition, full of HFCS, and without art, but somewhere in there we got REALLY REALLY drunk. (Except for Elina.)

The Vita-rita

• Rose’s Lime Juice
• tequila (Sauza was in fact, specified for this one)
• Grand Marnier
• orange juice
• lime
• orange

2 parts tequila, 1 part Rose’s lime juice, 1 part Grand Marnier. A splash of orange juice. Shake with ice, salt rim, garnish with wedge of lime and a slice of orange.

I was honestly expecting this one to win the day. It was certainly the strongest we’d tasted. However, reviews were mixed. I said, “tastes like tequila,” which wasn’t a bad thing. I enjoy drinks that don’t mask their main ingredients. Elina called it “fresh,” and Jory just thought it was “average.” Erica’s assessment was “I don’t know…” followed by more giggles. Erica was pretty out of commission by this point. To be fair, I was definitely boozed up when making this, so I may not have followed the recipe super faithfully. I may retest at a later date.

Who came out victorious in Battle Margarita? The Mama D took top honors. The Vita-rita and Beergarita tied among the judges, but the non-traditionality of the Beergarita puts the Vita-rita in second by default. I’d like to thank all the people who submitted recipes, even if they didn’t get to step up to the stage of battle in this round. Never again shall margarita mix even be considered an option.

The Source – Clonewar Project on the Behance Network.

I’ve been pretty busy with everything else. Buuut… no reason to leave all y’all without something to step to.

New mixes by next weekend.

Oh, and I’ve started posting on blip.fm. Check it out to see what I might be listening to on the daily.

The mix this week is a flip of a live performance concept I’ve wanted to do for a while. The idea then was “Infected,” where a warm, organic sounding track would mutate into something cold and mechanical. This mix is the opposite. Imagine a hallucinatory viral infection, with perception and consciousness constantly switching and mutating, which resolves into something a little more human.  I’m also trying out a new controller mapping that lets me run 4 decks controlled only by my Trigger Finger and the keyboard/trackpad.

Antivirus (click for MP3)

1. The Brash – H Muet (Jokers Of The Scene Remix)
2. Aphex Twin – We Have Arrived [Aphex Twin QQT Mix]
3. Ladytron – Destroy Everything You Touch (Sasha Involver Remix)
4. LFO – Freak
5. Beckers & Hatfield – You’re Not Me
6. Kevin Saunderson – The Human Bond (Claude Von Stroke Rave Recognize Rave Mix)
7. Underworld – Moaner
8. Mystery Jets – Two Doors Down (Duke Dumont Reconstruction)
9. Art Of Trance – Swarm (Telefon Tel Aviv Remix)
10. Jamie Lidell – When I Come Back Around (Freeform Reform)

Jory’s Miracle Chicken Noodle Soup

You’ll need a dutch oven-style pot. Take 1 whole chicken (prepared) and remove the innards. Fry all sides in olive oil over medium high heat until they’re crispy. Place the chicken in the pot and fill it about a quarter to a third full of water. Add chopped up vegetables (carrots, celery, onions) and half a jalapeno, seeded. Jory also recommends cilantro. Throw in a handful of salt and bring the water to a boil. Once it’s boiling, turn it to a simmer and let the chicken simmer until “it’s done, falling off the bone.” You’re looking to steam the chicken more than boil it. Shred the chicken meat off the bone and throw the shredded meat back in with some more chopped up carrots and onion, add about 3 coffee cups of water, bring it back up to a simmer, and add seasoning (salt/pepper to taste). Throw in a handful of your choice of pasta, and let it cook as long as you can stand it (or until the pasta’s done).

Honestly, I think all the people digging around in the Amazon for the cure to all the world’s ills have got it wrong. This soup is where it’s at.

1. Matt and Kim – Daylight
2. The Rapture – No Sex For Ben
3. Beats International – Babies Makin’ Babies (Stoop Rap)
4. Lords of The Underground – Chief Rocka
5. Mirwais – Disco Science
6. Kidda – Under The Sun

For the first installment of the Test Kitchen, we have the Cookies and Milk mix. Designed to bring that warm, melty, happy feeling you get biting into a fresh cookie, it swings from rocky indie hipster funk to hip-hop to something a little more technical.

For the Recipe?

The Chewy vs. The Puffy

Around Casa 837, Alton Brown’s name is mentioned in a slightly hushed tone, bestowing the proper reverence due. Not only are we in awe of his culinary skill, but his history as a film/video student resonates with us. (Not the Royal Us. All of Us.) We thought we’d showcase not one, but TWO of his cookie recipes for this first installment of The Test Kitchen.

The Chewy

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Method

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat.  Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.
3. Pour the melted butter in the mixer’s work bowl.  Add the sugar and brown sugar.  Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed.  Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.  Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips. Chill the dough.
4. Scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet.  Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes.  Rotate the baking sheet for even browning.  Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

The Puffy

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter-flavored shortening
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Method:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine the shortening, sugar, and brown sugar in the mixer’s work bowl, and cream until light and fluffy. In the meantime, sift together the cake flour, salt, and baking powder and set aside.
2. Add the eggs 1 at a time to the creamed mixture.  Then add vanilla.  Increase the speed until thoroughly incorporated.
3. With the mixer set to low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the shortening and combine well.  Stir in the chocolate chips. Chill the dough.
4. Scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 per sheet.  Bake for 13 minutes or until golden brown and puffy, checking the cookies after 5 minutes.  Rotate the baking sheet for even browning.  Cool and store in an airtight-container.

Which cookie rules them all? Well… that’s tough. The Puffy’s texture was pretty amazing, with the cake flour adding a light, airy component. The Chewy, however, had CLASSIC chocolate chip cookie taste. Further investigations will continue, assuming I don’t just take a spoon to the remaining cookie batter.

So, the Test Kitchen is born. Basically, there should be new posts here semi-weekly (unfortunately I don’t just get paid to DJ and cook), each one containing a recipe and a little mini-mix to enjoy with that recipe. They’ll hopefully share some sort of common theme or technique between the two, but who knows? It’s my kitchen, dammit.

And why the “Test” Kitchen? Well, the recipes and mixes will be something new I’m trying each time, so I can’t promise perfection. But I do promise entertainment.