Mark Bittman has the perfect job, putting together this list of 101 Simple Appetizers in 20 Minutes or Less for his NYT column, The Minimalist.
Not hungry? You will be, and happily so. So go, read. And eat.
Stefan and I try to meet for lunch several times a month, and we usually play chess while we do. I have a couple of different small magnetic sets that we’ve used. I got lucky several years ago and found a nice portable Drueke set for a good price because one of the plastic bishops looked as though it had melted a little. 
It’s 8 inches square and a bit over an inch high. All the pieces fit under a removable lid, and you can keep a game in progress if you’re only moderately careful as you carry it. Overall, a nice portable chess experience, but it’s got some issues we don’t like – it’s too big for a pocket, and we don’t like the size of the pieces. They’re kind of squat to fit under the lid, and it’s too easy to confuse bishops and pawns in the heat of an endgame, especially the very dark black pieces. It’s more than usable, but not ideal.
Some years later, leading up to the holidays, I saw a nice portable set at K-Mart that closes like a book but with a unique feature: drawers under the board for the pieces. There are others like this one I’ve found at various sites, but they’re either made with poorly shaped wooden pieces or they’re just too big. This set folds up to roughly the size of a trade paperback, and it can fit in a pocket in my pants (slacks, not jeans) or jacket. The pieces are nicely formed, fit the size of the little board well, and the drawers give us a safe place to put the pieces as the game progresses.
I’ve tried to find this set again, to have a backup in case I lose some pieces and to give as gifts, and I haven’t been able to find it anywhere. I haven’t seen it at K-Mart in years – hell, it’s the only reason I’ve had to go to K-Mart in years. Web searches have been futile, until tonight.
But it’s not all good news. The bad news is that link goes to a page set up to contact the manufacturer about importing or distribution. Chess set Model J340 comes 48 sets to a carton, and they can make up to 50,000 sets per month. Nice and impressive, but I do not want to buy this chess set by the case. I’ve used that page to contact them: Where can I buy just one or two sets?
Security: Lessons Learned from a Hacked Gmail Account
May none of us learn these lessons the hard way. Ooof.
Blog Envy: Tips, Tools & Ingredients : bonappetit.com
A slide show of food blogs would seem tto be too media rich; I mean, why blog about blogs with a Flash-based slide show? Oh, right, advertising. I look forward to checking out the actual blogs soon, though, as I’m at work and can’t stop to read it now.
A No-Frills Kitchen Still Cooks – New York Times
Sage advice.
The Beauty Of Street Photography | Inspiration | Smashing Magazine
Though some are too obviously staged for my taste, many are wonderful and inspiring.
Adapted from a recipe photocopied from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the date of which didn’t get copied and cannot be found on their site. Good on you, AJC! Citation requirements more or less met, on with the recipe.
Mac and Cheese with Bacon and Tomato
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1-lb package cavatappi or penne pasta
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 quart milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pound each, shredded: processed cheese (like Velveeta, etc), Parmesan (original recipe called for Gruyère; we liked the Parm so much we’ve never tried with Gruyère)
1 pound cooked BACON, crumbled
3 ripe plum tomatoes, diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta al dente, drain, and keep warm. While the water heats and/or the pasta cooks, generously butter a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Add 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs; shake to coat dish evenly. Melt butter in a saucepan and whisk in the flour, continuing to stir for about 2 minutes. Add the nutmeg and continue stirring for another minute. Whisk in the milk in a steady stream. Heat to a boil and cook, still stirring, for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, add the shredded cheeses, and stir until they melt.
Add the sauce to the cooked pasta and mix thoroughly. Put half of the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with the tomatoes and BACON in an even layer. Add the remaining pasta mixture. Mix the remaining bread crumbs in the olive oil and sprinkle over the dish. Bake until golden and bubbly, about 45 minutes. Modestly accept plaudits from your dining companions.
I have never made this; Ellen always does, and it’s always just mighty good.
Tea and Food: Again, Savory Oatmeal was linked from a comment on an osso buco recipe posted on Mark Bittman’s NYT Bitten blog. I am going to get up from this keyboard, prep the steel cut oats in the rice cooker, and go to bed. I’ll start it when I stumble in to get my (timer-brewed) coffee in the morning, and I really really look forward to some savory oats with cheese and egg in the morning.