I love street art and am always amazed when I stumble upon some by accident. Years ago I went to a park in Malaysia that featured street art and the entire area was set up specifically for that purpose. Even though I thought it was great and the talent was immense due to the fact that the artists didn't need to worry about getting in trouble while making it I kind of found it to be a bit boring actually because it seemed like a gallery instead of actual street art. I felt the same way about when people brand themselves as street artists and then try to monetize it. This sentiment is featured in a great film called "Exit through the Gift Shop" and on a side note you should check that out if you get a chance.
I also really like a good medium-rare steak, but up until recently I was too scared to make one myself. The tables have turned! Let's start with the street art.
For the most part I am not really a fan of people who simply write a word or a callsign as their "art" but there was something about this one that really appealed to me. I think the use of colors and the electric fire in the background really appeal to me a great deal more than the actual letters do and I can't read what that says anyway. There seems to be a real urgency in making sure that your letters are as undecipherable as possible among taggers.
This was in the same area and even though it is once a gain just a bunch of letters (sort of) I like the strip going down the middle. I would really like to see these same artists (or it might be the same person) do something that was a picture rather than some words. They (he/she) definitely have the talent for it, but I guess you could say that I am not terribly impressed when i just see words because it shows a lack of vision. Of course this is all coming from a person who has exactly zero talent himself as far as all of this is concerned :P
Now on to the steaks: I have always been afraid to make steaks on my own because I am scared of undercooking them. If i can't deep fry something I am worried that I will undercook it and give myself food poisoning. Therefore in the past I have always overcooked my steaks whether they were pork or beef and relied on sauces to make up for the lack of flavor my WAAAAY overcooked meat would have.
Then I finally broke down and bought a meat thermometer and I can say that this is truly a game changer. As far as food is concerned it might be one of the best purchases that I have ever made. Now, after a little bit of experimenting and internet research, I am able to book my steaks exactly the way that I want them.
All this time I felt as though the idea of letting a steak "rest" was just something that Gordon Ramsay made up to give us another reason to admire him but through the use of my thermometer I found out that he wasn't full of crap at all about that one.
I normally have a side of gravy to put on my steaks because I tend to overcook the hell out of them out of fear of E.Coli and salmon-vanilla but this time I didn't even use the gravy... I didn't need to.
For those of your out there that have always been good cooks this probably seems a bit silly, but for me this has truly been a game changer.
So if you are out there like me and are afraid to cook steak for various reasons whether it is fear of illness or simply feeling as though you are going to ruin something that is actually pretty expensive... get a meat thermometer. Mine was $4 and it has completely changed how I look at meat.