Rootbeer 2000's Blog

My sister-in -law loves my salsa and requests it whenever I visit  - which is rare since I'm in the restaurant industry - but I was off for the Iron Bowl this year  (Alabama vs. Auburn........War Eagle!) and thought I'd share the recipe with all of you...

Things you'll need:

2 lbs. (about 12)  Fresh Plum tomatoes (also called Roma tomatoes)

2 cloves garlic

3 jalapeno peppers- small for milder sauce large for hotter

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced

1/3 cup white onion, diced

1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

3/4 of a lime, quartered

Line a baking  pan with aluminum foil and place tomatoes and next 2 ingredients on them.

Broil for 6 minutes, turn everything over  and repeat for another 6 minutes.

Remove from oven. While the tomatoes are cooling peel garlic skins and cut off the stems of the peppers (do not remove skins or seeds).

Place in a mortar and pestle and grind together to form a thick paste.   You can also use a bowl and the back of a spoon if you don't have one.

Place tomatoes in the food processor with the paste you formed. Add onions and cilantro and pulse on low for a few seconds.

Squeeze lime juice into salsa, add salt and taste for seasoning, pulse for a few more seconds and you're finished!

This is a great salsa and will win you lots of praise at parties or family gatherings!

Peace,

rb2k

OK, here is a fine dessert you can easily make. We serve this at the private members club and it is a fan favorite. This is kind of like a souffle and will have the consistency of cake on the outside while having a pudding consistency inside. Serve with some sliced almonds and some vanilla ice cream and you’re good to go.

Chocoalte Budini:

• Start with ingredients at room temperature **
  This recipe makes about 12 desserts. You can halve the recipe if you like.

• 12 oz. dark chocolate
• 10 egg whites
• 7 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 sticks butter
• pinch of salt, and cream of tartar

1) Melt chocolate, butter, and sugar over lightly boiling water in a double boiler, being careful not to cook the chocolate.

2) Whip egg whites to soft peaks w the salt and cream of tartar.

3) Whisk egg yolks into chocolate mixture.

4) Stir in 1/4 of the egg whites, then gently fold in remainder.

5) Pour into ramekins (about 1/2 way) and put in fridge until ready to bake.

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees, then bake for approximately 15 minutes.

My sister-in-law bought Mario Batali’s “Molto Italiano” for me for Christmas and it’s a great book if you like Italian food. I’m making Ragu Bolognese for the second time in 3 days to try to improve on it. Not saying that his recipe sucks or anything. But I work with a chef who cooked for him (1 year in Babbo and 1 year in Del Posto) and the interesting thing is how much of the recipe is NOT in the book.

I know all chefs have trade secrets they keep to themselves and that’s fine but I’ve never heard of a Bolognese not made with tomatoes before (his recipe only calls for tomato paste). Thankfully the chef I know gave me a TON of steps that were left out so I’m sure the depth of flavor will be much greater and one of the biggest tips is not to rush the sauce. Let it reduce a LONG time for a truly great balance of flavor. It’ll beready in a bout 3 more hours so come on by if you’re in my neck of the woods!

rb2k

Spewed like a retard on Stars today and tilted. Back to .25/.50 for a spell. Stupidly playing while trying to control your dog, and capping a river on a paired board. Not. Good. Not recognizing it in the heat of battle and stopping…. even worse.

I’m a very casual player. I don’t get a ton of hands in during a month and have been pretty nitty with my bankroll in terms of trying to ascend the ranks in poker. But I’m taking a shot at .50/1 and I haven’t noticed too much of a difference in skill from .25/.50. As long as I eliminate my mistakes I think I’ll do fine here.

Two hands from last night from a late session. I think I played one well, and KNOW I played the other poorly.

Poker Stars $0.50/$1.00 Limit Hold’em – 5 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is UTG with 9 T
Hero raises, CO calls, 2 folds, BB calls

Flop: (6.5 SB) T K 5 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, CO calls, BB folds

Turn: (4.25 BB) T (2 players)
Hero bets, CO raises, Hero calls

River: (8.25 BB) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets, Hero calls

Final Pot: 10.25 BB
Hero mucks 9 T
CO shows A T (three of a kind, Tens)
CO wins 9.8 BB
(Rake: $0.45)

Opener here is 37/21 and opens wide from later positions, albeit over a small sample.

Poker Stars $0.50/$1.00 Limit Hold’em – 5 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is BTN with A 8
UTG raises, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets, SB calls, 1 fold, UTG calls

Flop: (10 SB) 9 K J (3 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets, SB calls, UTG raises, Hero calls, SB calls

Turn: (8 BB) 8 (3 players)
SB checks, UTG bets, Hero calls, SB calls

River: (11 BB) 8 (3 players)
SB checks, UTG bets, Hero raises, SB calls, UTG 3-bets, Hero calls, SB calls

Final Pot: 20 BB
UTG shows T Q (a straight, Nine to King)
Hero mucks A 8
SB mucks Q K
UTG wins 19.5 BB
(Rake: $0.50)

After reviewing this hand I should’ve called the river and saved myself some money, as guy to my left was never raising. Also after the x/r I should be happy to get to SD as cheap as possible. A mistake on my part. Live and learn…

June was a very humbling month for the Rootbeer’s and I’m kind of glad to see it end. The only good thing to happen in June was my anniversary.

I got laid off my job to start June off with a bang. My wife had surgery and will be out of work for another 4 weeks. It could’ve been a much worse result, as at least she doesn’t have cancer (TY Dealer!) so we are extremely relieved, to say the least.

It was touch and go there for a while if we’d stay current on our mortgage but I was fortunate enough to find a new job within 2 weeks (TY Dealer!). The trade off is less time on the computer but it beats the alternative :)

Still playing more HUHU STTs than 6-max at the moment and am having success (over a small sample) and I’m taking some shots at .5/1 when I see a weak game with short stacks at the table.

I started concentrating on playing HUHU LIMIT Sit & Go’s recently for a few different reasons.

One, I recently got laid off from my job through no fault of my own and was planning to pull my roll out to help with family expenses. So I didn’t want to risk a lot at one time.

Two, and more importantly for my development as a poker player, I really need to identify and adjust to different post-flop styles and quit spewing like Mt. Etna.

I play a few in a session when I have the time I have and have seen a drastic difference in how I’m adjusting now. I’m nowhere near where I want to be but I’m winning more than I’m losing which is encouraging.

The most frustrating opponent I’ve faced happened today. I played against the ultimate Loose Passive, Slow Player/ Station. His favorite line was open limp from the button with ATC, x/c, x/c, x/c, or for variation, donk river. With any top pair, 2 pair+ hand. It was gnawing at me until I realized I needed to stop betting so much post-flop and make hands to beat him, as he wasn’t ever folding anything in his range. I think this opponent gives every one fits, don’t they? What are some of your thoughts on ways to exploit them?

This is a test. It is only a test. If this was a real poker blog you would have been instructed to ignore the author’s advice at all costs if you value your bankroll.