SZA‘s latest album, SOS is maintaining its hype into the new year. Nearly a month after its release, the album has sat at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for three consecutive weeks. Today (January 5), SZA shared a new version of the album with some outtakes.
One of the songs was “PSA,” which she previously teased in a video clip she shared on social media.
“I don’t want nobody callin’ me anything but number one / Know I got problems, I don’t know how to take losses / Even when, even when they are lost causes / I waste my energy plenty, serve me to bury my envy, but / I’d rather chase it in Henny / I’d rather pay you in pennies,” she sings on the dreamy, harp-driven track.
Additionally, she shared the solo version of “Open Arms.” The version on the standard edition features Travis Scott, but on the solo version, she swaps out Scott’s verse with a third verse of her own.
“I don’t want to hear you trying / I just spent the whole night crying / I’d rather just f*ck on my ex / At least he still loves me for who I am,” she sings on the new verse.
As of now, the new songs are not yet on streaming platforms, and only available for purchase through SZA’s website. In addition to the new songs, fans will get the album’s original 23 tracks, as well as alternate cover art.
You can purchase the album with the new songs here.
Prior to Thursday’s game on TNT between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks, Charles Barkley accidentally ushered one of the words barred from live television by the Federal Communications Commission: asshole. As soon as he said it, his fellow panelist, Ernie Johnson, interrupted him with an abrupt “hey, hey, hey!” that spanned roughly eight “heys” to remind Barkley that word is prohibited. That’s a dude who’s on top of things.
Immediately, the Hall of Fame forward repeatedly apologized, and pivoted to “jackass” instead, which I guess is somehow completely fine. I can’t say I quite understand the logic, but it’s not my job to make these rules, so oh well. The damage by Barkley was already done, though, at least as it pertained to igniting the laugh box of his buddy, Shaquille O’Neal, who could not contain himself from giggling and cackling. O’Neal got such a kick out of the moment that he said he’ll pay Barkley’s fine from the FCC, assuming he receives on.
Charles Barkley: “I don’t want to be one of these as*holes on Television…”
Ernie Johnson: “Hey! Hey! Hey!”
CB: “Oh, I mean jackasses I meant. I’m sorry.”
Shaq: “Chuck I’ll tell you what: I will pay your fine to the FCC!”
Shortly after, the entire crew had some fun at the expense of Barkley’s gaffe, using words such as assets, ask, and asinine. All four of Johnson, O’Neal, Barkley and Kenny Smith shared a laugh, especially Barkley, who clearly enjoyed the jokes referencing his earlier mistake.
The best part might be Smith deep in thought, trying to build upon Johnson’s quip, while Barkley and O’Neal simply laugh. Smith is clearly trying to add onto the game, but needs a bit of time to think of something. “Ask” didn’t hold a candle to O’Neal’s “asinine” but it was nonetheless a worthwhile usage. Kudos to the team for this funny sequence.
Kali Uchis is kicking off the new year in a major way for her fans: by announcing she’ll be dropping not one but two albums in 2023. The musician recently teased back in April of 2022 that she had completed her third and fourth album.
While she originally polled her fans on which one they wanted first, it seems they’ll be getting both — making everyone happy.
“My third album & the next are both finished, one is an English album one is a Spanish album ¿what my kuchis want first ?” Uchis previously tweeted.
Needless to say, her fans were incredibly excited to hear about the upcoming double drop.
“i am so excited, tears are literally running down my eyes,” one user wrote.
“It doesn’t matter which one you drop 1st. I be singing along with you in either language,” another replied, responding to her initial question.
Uchis’ last album, Sin Miedo (Del Amor Y Otros Demonios), was released back in 2020, so fans have been waiting almost three years for another full-length record from their fave. Since then, she has also put out some singles, including the most recent song, “No Hay Ley,” in September.
Saturday Night Live is making its return to our screens next weekend, and they’ve got some promising acts to kick off the midseason. Today, this month’s hosts and performers were revealed via SNL‘s social media accounts.
On the first episode of the month, set to air live on Saturday, January 21, is The White Lotus star Aubrey Plaza, who will host that evening’s episode. The musical guest of the night is Sam Smith, who will be performing a little less than a week before their fourth album Gloria drops.
In an interview with Billboard that took place last August, Smith said the music on Gloria will be centered around queer joy.
“I think joy for me, and for a lot of queer people, is quite a dangerous place,” Smith said. “We’re all masters of pain, and I think it’s actually a very courageous act to step into the queer joy of it all.”’
The following Saturday (January 28), Michael B. Jordan, who stars in Creed III set to premiere in March will host, and rapper Lil Baby will perform.
Despite new legal demands and prior misconduct allegations, Vince McMahon has taken steps to return to the WWE as he pursues selling the company, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal.
McMahon, who has majority voting power due to his ownership of WWE’s Class-B stock, has reportedly informed WWE that he will be electing himself to its board of directors, along with former co-presidents and directors Michelle Wilson and George Barrios. That move would require three current directors to step down. He plans to be named executive chairman, pending board approval.
The WSJ also details that McMahon believes now is the right time to negotiate a sale with WWE’s media rights set to be renegotiated. According to the report, McMahon has told the board “unless he has direct involvement as executive chairman from the outset of a strategic review, he won’t support or approve any media-rights deal or sale.”
McMahon previously sent two separate letters to the Board in late December in which he expressed the urgency of his return to the company as Executive Chairman and his desire to work collaboratively with the Board and management team, he announced via a press release. McMahon determined, “consistent with his rights as controlling shareholder,” that the steps announced are necessary to maximize value for all WWE shareholders after a review was reportedly initiated, per the WSJ, and it was determined it “wouldn’t be in shareholders’ best interest.”
“WWE is entering a critical juncture in its history with the upcoming media rights negotiations coinciding with increased industry-wide demand for quality content and live events and with more companies seeking to own the intellectual property on their platforms,” said McMahon, via a press release. “The only way for WWE to fully capitalize on this opportunity is for me to return as Executive Chairman and support the management team in the negotiations for our media rights and to combine that with a review of strategic alternatives. My return will allow WWE, as well as any transaction counterparties, to engage in these processes knowing they will have the support of the controlling shareholder.”
On the heels of allegations of misconduct, millions of dollars in reported settlements, and investigations into other nondisclosure agreements, the 77-year-old McMahon retired from WWE, handing the reigns to the company to his daughter, interim chairwoman, and chief executive, Stephanie McMahon and co-executive Nick Khan, the company’s former president and chief revenue officer. There are currently no details on what, if any, impact this return would have on Stephanie McMahon or Khan’s roles.
The news of McMahon’s impending WWE return comes on the heels of new legal demands, per the WSJ report, from two women who allege that he sexually assaulted them. According to the report, a former wrestling referee who accused him of rape three decades ago is also seeking $11.75 million in damages.
With 2022 done and dusted, it’s full steam ahead in the world of festivals. There are tons of experiences to look forward to this festival season but before we close the book on last year’s debauchery, let’s take one final look at one of the most sought-after festival destinations on earth — Holy Ship! Wrecked.
From December 13-17, music-loving, travel aficionados got to enjoy a four-night all-inclusive stay at Hard Rock Riviera Maya, Mexico. With nine restaurants, complimentary tequila bars, twenty-four-hour room service, and a waterpark, this was the perfect place to enjoy the ultimate music experience. Across six stage environments — ranging from beaches to poolside pop-ups — music pilgrims got to experience Dom Dolla, John Summit, Jai Wolf, Chris Lake, and Louis The Child.
Since its humble beginnings on a boat, Holy Ship! Wrecked has taken pride in being a catalyst for the progression of modern American house and also providing a platform for breakout artists. Case and point, the ascension of rising producer QRTR. Beyond a crazy talented group of artists, (who graciously shared with us tips for enjoying destination festival) Shippers also enjoyed plenty of extracurricular fun like DJ workshops, beach games, parties, and much more. Dine, dancefloor, then decompress in a tub, Holy Ship! Wrecked really delivered the best of both worlds.
Check out photos from the wild event and get inspired to make more festival memories this year!
While the US is flooded with great beer from coast to coast with over 9,000 breweries currently in operation, it’s difficult to argue the brewing prowess of California. Some of the biggest names and most highly-rated beers in the country (if not the world) come from this West Coast state. I’m talking names like Stone, Ballast Point, Russian River, Green Flash, Lagunitas, and countless others.
West Coast IPAs, pilsners, stouts, and everything in between are beloved by drinkers worldwide. If you enjoy it, someone in California brews it. And that’s a good thing for beer fans.
The best part? With so much great beer coming out of the state, there are countless noteworthy beers available in grocery and beer stores all over the country. To check in on the best of the bunch, I decided to grab eight of my favorites that are available almost anywhere and do another blind taste test. For this round, I stuck to IPAs, pale ales, and pilsners. Keep scrolling to see how everything turned out.
Today’s Lineup:
Anchor Steam Beer
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Ballast Point Sculpin
Societe The Pupil
Bear Republic Racer 5
21st Amendment El Sully
Stone IPA
Firestone Walker Pivo Pils
Part 1: The Taste
Taste 1
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
The nose is surprisingly fruity with notes of ripe peach and pineapple as well as grapefruit, tangerine, and lightly floral hops. The palate is filled with lemongrass, tangerine, grapefruit, peach, and dank, fairly bitter, biting hops. A great, well-balanced beer.
Taste 2
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
The nose is a mix of caramel malts, grapefruit, orange zest, lemon, and floral hops. The palate has some nice yeasty fruity flavor followed by biscuit-like, caramel malts that pair well with the grapefruit, lemon, and slightly bitter, herbal, floral hops. Crisp, citrus, and malts. This beer has it all.
Taste 3
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
This beer starts with a nice kick of brown bread and caramel before moving into light citrus and floral, herbal, slightly dank pine. There’s more of the same on the palate and that’s a good thing. Wet grass, freshly baked bread, caramel malts, citrus peels, and lightly herbal, piney hops make this an easy-drinking, crushable beer.
Taste 4
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
There’s a ton of citrus on this beer’s nose. I smelled grapefruit and orange peel. But really that was all. The palate continued this trend with a gut punch of citrus including more grapefruit and some tangerine, but not much else discernable. The finish was slightly floral and very bitter.
Taste 5
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
The nose is highlighted by cereal grains, corn, light citrus peel, and just a hint of pine. The palate is littered with more cereal grains, wet grass, caramel, and floral hops. It’s crisp and crushable, but fairly one-dimensional.
Taste 6
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
Baked bready, grapefruit, orange peel, and bright, floral pine make up this beer’s nose. It’s very welcoming and the palate contains more bready malts, caramel, citrus peel, and herbal, floral hops. The finish is piney and bitter. Pretty by the book, but not overly exciting.
Taste 7
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
A nose of mango, guava, pineapple, tangerine, grapefruit, and just a hint of resinous pine greeted me before my first sip. Drinking it revealed lime zest, lemongrass, honeydew melon, pineapple, grapefruit, peach, and a nice final kick of dank, herbal, slightly bitter hops. Everything is in perfect harmony.
Taste 8
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
Up front, this beer has a ton of malt presence on the nose. There’s caramel and freshly baked bread abound. It leads into a bit of fruit and herbal hops. The palate is filled with more caramel, dried fruits, and surprisingly bitter, floral hops at the finish.
Stone IPA was first brewed to celebrate its first anniversary way back in 1997. Over the years, this Magnum, Chinook, Centennial, Azacca, Calypso, Ella, Vic Secret hop-filled beer has become one of the most popular in the country.
Bottom Line:
I expected much more from Stone IPA. All I got was a wallop of citrus and hop bitterness and really nothing else.
This sessionable, year-round Mexican-style lager from San Francisco’s 21st Amendment is brewed with Pilsners malt, Vienna malt, Acidulated malt, and flaked barley as well as Magnum and US Goldings hops. It’s known for its clean, crisp, easy-drinking flavor.
Bottom Line:
This is definitely not a bad beer. It’s just exactly what it portrays itself as — a fairly muted, easy-to-drink lager. You don’t have a lot of complex flavors at play.
There are few beers more rooted in the history of California than Anchor Steam Beer. First brewed in 1896 before being re-released in 1971, Anchor Steam Beer’s name is a reference to days when brewers in California didn’t have any refrigeration besides ice and would ferment their beer on rooftops, assuming the foggy cool air would help in the process.
Bottom Line:
This is a unique beer. There’s a ton going on. It’s just not overly flavorful and the finish is a little more bitter than I’d hoped for.
Bear Republic’s Racer 5 is a wildly popular West Coast IPA from California. Brewed with crystal malts, wheat, and malted barley, it gets its bright hoppy flavor from the addition of Centennial, Cascade, Chinook, and Columbus hops.
Bottom Line:
Racer 5 is a popular beer and for good reason. It has everything a West Coast IPA fan enjoys. It’s just a little bitter for those not obsessed with the style.
Ballast Point Sculpin gets its name from the stinging Sculpin fish. This is a reference to the citrus-driven, bitterly hoppy flavor profile of this hugely popular West Coast IPA.
Bottom Line:
Ballast Point Sculpin is a great example of a West Coast IPA. It ticks all the boxes. Even the “Stinging” hops at the finish don’t take away from the other flavors.
When people make lists ranking the best pilsners in the US, Firestone Walker Pivo is usually somewhere on that list. It’s brewed with Pilsner and Carafoam malts and hopped in the kettle with Spalter Select, Tradition, and Saphir hops before being dry-hopped with even more Saphir hops.
Bottom Line:
I’m not surprised Firestone Walker Pivo faired so well. It has a great balance of malts and hops and is crisp and easy to drink any time of year.
One of the most highly rated California-made IPAs, Societe The Pupil is brewed with malted wheat and 2-row Pale malt. It gets its fruity, citrus flavor from the addition of Nelson Sauvin, Citra, and Centennial hops.
Bottom Line:
Sometimes California IPAs tend to lean a little too heavily into the bitter, hoppy finish. This isn’t the case with Societe The Pupil. It’s balanced and highly flavorful.
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is the beer that started a revolution. When this citrus and pine-filled pale ale was first released in 1980 it created the American pale ale style that is mimicked by pretty much every brewery in the US that makes a pale ale today.
Bottom Line:
When all was said and done, I wasn’t surprised to see Sierra Nevada Pale Ale end up on top. It’s perfectly balanced between caramel malts and floral hops without much bitterness.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
These final thoughts are different from most blind taste tests because there are multiple different beer styles in the mix. What was clear to me was that, regardless of the beer style, I preferred a beer that was balanced and not overly bitter. This is likely the same for any beer style, but definitely true for the eight beers included in this test.
Still… these are all classics for a reason — you truly can’t go wrong with any of them, depending on your mood.
Netflix recently kept the successful nostalgia train going with Cobra Kai‘s fifth season, and although it feels bizarre that we haven’t yet heard about a renewal there, perhaps there’s another franchise that you’d like to revisit soon, too? That ’70s Show previously aired on FOX for eight seasons and 200 episodes total, and Netflix decided to revive the gang for That ’90s Show.
We’ll have to wait and see if the audience is still into it, but for now, you might be wondering if there will be as plentiful of an episode supply as the TV show of yesteryear. The answer: Not even close. Yet don’t worry, that’s about right for the streaming age, so expect the revival’s first season to bring 10 fresh episodes. The entire batch will arrive on January 19.
The good news, though, is that the Forman basement is still alive and well (as are Red and Kitty, played by Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp, respectfully), and much of the O.G. gang will return as guest stars. Those names include Topher Grace and Laura Prepon as Eric and Donna along with Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher as Jackie and Kelso. Did we mention that the latter pair is married, and Mila isn’t buying it, either? Oh well, they should still be entertaining. Expect to also see Don Stark as Bob, Tommy Chong as Leo, and Wilmer Valderrama as Fez. Here’s the official synopsis:
It’s 1995 and Leia Forman is desperate for some adventure in her life or at least a best friend who isn’t her dad. When she arrives in Point Place to visit her grandparents, Red and Kitty, Leia finds what she’s looking for right next door when she meets the dynamic and rebellious Gwen. With the help of Gwen’s friends, including her lovable brother Nate, his smart, laser-focused girlfriend Nikki, the sarcastic and insightful Ozzie, and the charming Jay, Leia realizes adventure could happen there just like it did for her parents all those years ago.
You can stream Netflix’s That ’90s Show on January 19.
One of the first things I learned to cook was ravioli. Initially, it was less “cook” than “assist in the preparation of,” which my family would do every Thanksgiving and/or Christmas, rolling out dozens of little meat-cheese-and-herb filled pasta dumplings, that were generally far more coveted than the inevitably dry-ass turkey. My grandma or great aunt would then serve them, slathered in a heavy red meat sauce that had been simmering for hours, with a thin film of orange grease on the top, as seen in virtually every mob movie ever made.
I still make ravioli (you can say “ravioli” or “raviolis,” the “i” makes it plural in Italian) every year with my own kids. Partly to maintain the tradition, and partly because I just like eating them. I’m a firm believer that the team production effort makes them taste better.
We did, and do, always make them basically the same way: cook the meat (ground beef, usually, maybe with some other ground meat in there too) for the filling in a pan, mix it with herbs, cheese, and/or greens (spinach or swiss chard), let it cool, and then use the mixture it to fill the little scalloped-edged ravioli squares. Most of the recipes I’ve researched online seem to describe basically this same method.
This is partly why I was surprised to find, when I worked in the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant in college, that they never cooked the meat before it went in the dumplings. Pork, shrimp, or chicken — it always went into the little potsticker rounds raw. And, much like my grandmother’s holiday ravioli, they nearly always were boiled from frozen without defrosting first. (If you don’t freeze the ravioli, you have to cook them the same day, or else the pasta dough will start to turn green. It usually happens within 12 hours, even when refrigerated. I’m not sure if this is also true for eggless doughs. In any case, freezing keeps them from turning green.)
Looking around the internet for dumpling recipes, it seems this is how most meat dumplings are made, across varied cultures — gyoza, shumai, pelmeni, mantu, momo… — the list goes on, but raw meat seems to be the norm. My rough poll of fellow Uproxx Life writers Steve Bramucci and Zach Johnston revealed similar experiences; learning, and continuing to make, ravioli with cooked meat filling, even as we’d learned many other types of dumplings using raw meat.
Which made me wonder: have Italian-Americans always been making ravioli by cooking the meat first, and if so, why? I follow a lot of Top Chefs on Instagram, so I reached out to the two I see making ravioli most often, Joe Sasto and Joe Flamm (clearly, I was hoping to hear from a diverse cross-section of chefs named Joe). I asked Flamm, the season 15 winner and current chef/owner of Rose Mary in Chicago, about it, and he told me “Yeah, so that’s funny: actually we do cook the meat and always have in all the Italian food I’ve ever done. Stuffing raw meat wasn’t something I saw until I worked at a Korean BBQ spot and made the dumplings and they were all raw meat. We still make them, and still cook the meat.”
Clearly, my experience here was not an outlier, cooking meat for ravioli even while learning a variety of raw meat-and-dough dumplings. Next, I asked Sasto, also a season 15 competitor, who currently runs a few pop-ups and cooking classes, if he always cooks the meat for his ravioli and stuffed pastas, and got a different answer.
“Definitely not,” Sasto said. “It depends on the desired shape, filling, texture, and result you’re looking for.”
I asked if cooked was how he’d first learned it, and he said no, actually. His first stuffed pasta was a traditional tortellini with raw ground pork and mortadella.
If you can use raw pork in a tortellini, it would stand to reason that you can use raw meat in a ravioli. And if it’s possible, why isn’t it standard? Since I couldn’t exactly answer that one with a poll, I figured the best way was just to make some that way and compare the results and the process. I already had the necessary ingredients in the fridge.
To start, I mixed up some dough using my usual ratio — three eggs, three yolks, two cups of 00 flour, and a little olive oil, which I prefer to mix up in a food processor since that seems to be the fastest method (your own dough ratio will vary based on egg size, flour type, and climate). For the filling, I used what I already had in the fridge: ground beef, ricotta, grated raw garlic, Parmigiano reggiano (24 month-aged), parsley, and eggs.
Fairly similar to what you’d put in an Italian meatball.
Vince ManciniVince Mancini
From there I made them more or less the way I always do — rolling the dough out in the machine, then laying it across my metal ravioli press. I rolled the sheets out to number seven thinness on my machine (which goes up to 8). I usually go thinner for ravioli than other pasta because the edges will be two sheets pressed together.
One thing I noticed right off the bat with the raw method was that the filling stayed a little more uniform in its raw form; a little less crumbly than the cooked version, which made the filling process a little easier. They made nice little gelatinous balls (also my nickname in high school).
I suppose I could’ve even used a piping bag, though I didn’t. Just a small spoon.
Vince Mancini
To cook them, I, again, just threw them in a pot of boiling salty water (I read somewhere, I think it was Samin Nosrat, that salting the dough can make it tougher, so I compensate with saltier cooking water. To be honest I’ve never noticed much difference in texture between salted and unsalted dough).
Vince Mancini
Unfrozen pasta cooks pretty fast — about three minutes or so, though I don’t time it. I just judge by how it feels against the stirring spoon. Fresh dough sort of goes from soft to stiff and back to soft again (but not too soft!). One other benefit of this method I noticed was that when one of the ravioli opens during the boiling process (which pretty much always happens, just hopefully not with too many of them), all that raw egg and meat in there seems to keep the filling from just leeching out into the boiling water. It gets more contact with the water but maintains its cohesive little ball shape. Which is nice.
I took them out with a slotted spoon and put them into a pan with some butter and a little pasta water (which makes a simple little pasta water-reduction kind of sauce). I added some black pepper and a little more grated parmesan.
At this point, probably the obvious question in choosing to put the filling in raw is, was that mere three minutes or so in the boiling water enough to cook the raw meat sufficiently that it was safe to eat?
Vince ManciniVince Mancini
The FDA guidelines on ground beef (as well as veal, lamb, and pork) say that it should be cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celcius). According to my jabs with the meat thermometer, the meat filling was indeed over the legal threshold (and if you eat your hamburgers pink or red in the middle, as lots of people I know do, you’ve already been eating it at slightly less than that). In fact, it was pretty close to the ideal temperature.
Of course, ravioli vary in size, and whether it would cook at the same rate as the dough like this did in other ravioli would depend on the size of those ravioli, not to mention the thickness and moisture level of the dough. These were relatively small, with probably about a half tablespoon of meat in each. Bigger than that, you’d probably have to boil long enough for the pasta to start getting mushy and limp.
Probably the second most obvious question: were they any good? Obviously, you’ll have to take my word for it here, but upon first bite, I actually said, out loud, to myself, “holy shit.” The meat inside was juicy and delicious, like a freshly cooked tender meatball, and some of the fat from that meat had basically rendered through the dough, which also had a creamy coating of butter and pepper on the exterior.
I ran into the living room to feed one to my wife, and she concurred. In fact, she said, and I quote, “That’s one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.”
Anyway, these were good. That being said, I cooked them fresh. If you were making a big batch of ravioli for a special occasion, you’d probably have to freeze them, for the reasons outlined above. Frozen ravioli change the calculus a bit. In order to test that, I had to put some in the freezer and wait.
Frozen ravs obviously take longer to boil. For the frozen batch, the boiling process took 10 minutes or more. Of course, you need that longer boil time to defrost and then boil the raw meat filling. So, how’d we do?
Vince Mancini
So far so good. The internal temp was actually higher than with the non-frozen batch. And that was before I added them to the sauce, which one would imagine would raise the temp even higher. I served this version with a simple tomato sauce:
Vince ManciniVince Mancini
As for the taste, they were still great, though if I’m being honest, noticeably not as good as the fresh version. This even with more sauce. Presumably, this was due to the simple truism that frozen food just isn’t as good as fresh food. If you cook a hamburger pattie from frozen and cook one fresh, you’re going to notice a difference with that too. The meat isn’t as juicy, the fat doesn’t render out the same way, etc. Basically, the same factors seem to be at play here.
Having established that one certainly *can* make ravioli using frozen meat, what are the potential reasons for cooking the filling first?
No size restrictions on the ravioli.
Maillard reaction, aka char flavor. A boiled burger wouldn’t taste like a grilled one, and for the same reason, you could make a case that browned meat filling tastes better than non-browned. I didn’t necessarily find that here, but I could see that.
The ability to season as you go. The major drawback of raw meat filling is that you have to cook a little bit of it when you want to test the seasoning level. Doesn’t seem like that big a deal, but that is an advantage.
Of all the reasons, the idea that you wouldn’t have to worry about ruining the pasta texture to get the filling cooked seems the most persuasive. As Joe Flamm explained it, “My assumption/thought/belief was always that because you cook dumplings longer, you use raw. Nobody eats al-dente shu mai. But pasta dough is thinner, so you have to cook the filling to get the right combo of just-cooked pasta and hot filling.”
Even though I had great results with my raw-filled ravioli, which also saves a fair amount of prep time (cooking plus chilling), it makes a certain sick sense that the Italians would come up with a dumpling method that prioritizes pasta texture above all else. These are the same people with the fanatical (some might go far as to say unhinged) obsession with “al-dente” dough, who refer to any pasta sauce as “the condiment,” etc.
Certainly, a matter of personal preference. I’ve been making these the same way for 20 years, but my initial results with raw filling have been positive enough that I’ll probably keep doing it that way, at least until I screw them up enough times that I go back to the old method.
All I know is, a filled dumpling is one of the highest forms of cuisine. If I’m trying an unfamiliar cuisine, I almost always go for the dumpling first. Whatever the culture, and whatever the dumpling, there’s inevitably a grandparent in the back filling those things with every flavor that can fit and lots of love. Dumplings pack more love per cubic inch than any other food.
A little more than five years ago, the world freaked out overnight with the release of “Pokémon Go,” the augmented reality app game where people can find and collect pocket monsters in the real world. It seemed like everywhere people went they’d see folks staring at their phones trying to chase down a Charmander.
The Pokémon Go app’s popularity soon fizzled out but the idea lives on in Bird Buddy, a new app-enabled bird feeder.
Bird Buddy is all the rage at this year’s CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, because it takes fantastic pictures of real wildlife and it’s a fun, educational game to play as well.
CES runs through January 8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Bird Buddy is a feeder you put outside your home that has an app-enabled camera attached, like a Ring doorbell. The motion detector inside the app turns on when birds fly up to get a snack from the feeder and then it takes photos and videos.
The app notifies you when you have a new arrival at the feeder. But should you miss one, the app will send a postcard with a photo of your new visitor. The basic model can be charged via a USB-C cable, but you can also upgrade it to run on solar power so you don’t have to charge it as often.
The app is enabled with AI technology that the company says can detect up to 1,000 types of birds. The technology was developed by Bird Buddy after it collected around 3 million photos. Two million of these were processed by an ornithologist who led a team of interns to train its bird identification AI.
“We try to kind of gamify the collection so it’s a really fun game that you can play — almost like a real-life Pokémon Go with real animals and wildlife in your backyard,” Kyle Buzzard, the company’s co-founder and chief hardware officer, said according to Associated Press.
The cool thing is that, unlike Pokémon Go where you collect digital creatures in real-world settings, Bird Buddy is a game where you collect and learn about real wildlife.
The company started off as a Kickstarter project in 2020 and has since sold out its entire inventory of 100,000 feeders. The basic feeder kit starts at $199.
At this year’s CES, Bird Buddy debuted its new hummingbird feeder, which can take photos and videos of more than 350 hummingbird species with wing speeds of up to 60 mph. The feeder is expected to go on sale in late 2023.
Bird Buddy is a fun way to get people into bird watching who might never have otherwise. As its technology develops, it may become a great tool for conservationists to track different species because it’s constantly tracking bird movement.
“We get timestamps, and we know the species and we know — generally — the location based on the town that you put in,” Buzzard said according to TechCrunch. “We’re building the largest database of bird visits.”
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