Mr. Bijoy Writes

So some folks put cheese on their broccoli. A lot of people put cheese on macaroni. Why not put it all together? Ok, so this idea came from a conversation I had last night, the mac & cheese part, not the broccoli. I just happen to like broccoli. Judge me, if you like. Also, I had a friend supply me with this one. 1 small winter (butternut, acorn) peeled, seeded and cut into small chunks olive oil 1 bunch of basil, stems removed 2 slices good brown bread, stale or dried out in the oven 1/2 a small head of broccoli roughly chopped 4 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream 1.75 cups grated white cheddar cheese 1.75 cups grated gruyere cheese a large handful of yellow cherry tomatoes 3 cups macaroni elbows Ok, so: Preheat your oven to 400ºF with a rack in the middle. Then get a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Now arrange the squash on a large baking sheet. Drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper on the squash. Then bake for about 25 minutes until nice and gold...

I know that steak tartare gets a really bad rep these days. I understand why. I really do. But I don't think people should fear tartare. Yeah, it's uncooked, but hey, so is celery. Ok, that's a bad analogy. Let's just get to making food. What ya need: 1 Asian pear, cored, quartered 1 1/4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds 1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil 1 garlic clove, grated 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 8 oz of high quality filet mignon, cut into 1/8" cubes Kosher salt 2" pieces of chives Ok, so: Peel one pear quarter and cut it into tiny cubes. Throw those in a bowl and toss with 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice. Cut the remaining pear quarters into thin slices and toss those with one teaspoon of lemon juice and set aside. Now take the scallions, the soy sauce, one teaspoon of the sesame seeds, the sesame oil, garlic and pepper and put them in a bowl. Whisk that all toget...

I'm in a pretty good mood today, despite how terribly gloomy it is outside. So, for this bit of happiness, I'm going to give you a recipe that one of my dear baker friends gave to me. It's tasty, especially if you enjoy coffee. 2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter 5 ounces unsweetened chocolate 2 tablespoons instant-espresso powder 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 5 large eggs 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt Get a rack set to the middle of your oven, then preheat it to 350°F. Grab yourself a 13x9-inch baking pan. You know, the "brownie pan." Butter & flour that pan. Now get yourself a heavy saucepan and put it over low-heat on the stove. Melt down the butter & chocolate with the espresso powder. Once it's smooth, remove it from heat and let it cool until just slightly warm. Now whisk in the sugar, vanilla, and eggs, in that order. Be sure to add the eggs one at a time until the mixture has become smooth and e...

In 2009 I wanted to own a clothing line. A cool line that made really cool t-shirts. Honestly though, I had no idea what I was doing. But hey, I've made leaps before, so why not, right? Yeah, that's how it started. 4 shirts, 2 online shops, and a spokeselephant (we'll get to that some other time). I was going to do this. It was going to be cool. Over the course of two years, the line grew. Loophole Clothing Company was growing. However, it wasn't selling. I was the line's biggest customer. That wasn't hard to do, seeing as if they were only four customers. Ever. Total. Yeah, I failed. I refused to recognize it. I refused to say that my little baby was a failure. The one company that I really never wanted to lose was going to fail. It was a hard pill to swallow. Now I must say one thing here- this isn't the first company I built that didn't work. It's happened before. I've dealt with it. It happens. However, I didn't want to lose Loophole. Loo...

So every once in a while I share random stuff about style and other such things. In list form. Because I want to. So there. Also, most of these are for men. A real Timex is cooler than a fake Rolex. Buy the Timex Mercury if you go this route. Men, $90 shoes might last you a year. You want your shoes to last longer than one year. Oh, and shine those shoes. Just do it. And also consider all shirts and other clothing as disposable. Just because you own golf clubs doesn't mean that you get to dress like an idiot. Stop it. Umbrellas are like gloves, get nice ones but know that you will lose them. If you own a leather blazer, put it away. Forever. You are not Bon Jovi, get rid of those damn leather pants. Tip your tailor and housekeeper as you tip your waiter. It is worth it. Overdress for almost everything. It's better that way. If a saleswoman tells you what you may be buying will be "the new black", they are telling you a lie. A big fat lie. Men need not wear tank tops. ...

So lately, I've seen people doing this "20 things about me" stuff on twitter. So instead of giving people 20 more tweets that you likely won't read, I'll write a blog post you won't read! And yes, I'm sure I'll get some judgement from some of these. Here we gooo!!!!! When I was younger I wanted to grow up to be an Olympic swimmer. But I'd be a nice person. I hear Michael Phelps isn't very nice. That's not cool. I'm told that, for a guy, I have a lot of shoes. Cookies are awesome. If you disagree, you're wrong.Also applies for Cookie Monster. I'm an Eagle Scout. I HATE doing dishes. Really ask anyone who knows me. When referring to Kool-Aid, I only accept the color of the Kool-Aid as a reference to the flavor. Also, red Kool-Aid is my favorite. I'm kind of a geek when it comes to history. I got bored once and studied behavioral science in human interaction for fun. Yes, for fun. Elephants are my favorite animal. I have no i...

Last night I had a good time talking to my good friend Matt. He and I have always had a passion for ceviche in all of its glory. Therefore, today I give you a ceviche recipe. I hope you enjoy it! What ya need: 1 pound fresh Pacific halibut or other firm-fleshed fish 1 teaspoon kosher salt 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 2 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted 3/4 cup green olives, sliced 1/2 cup tomatillos, diced 1/4 cup onion, very finely chopped 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves 1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and minced (optional) 2 tablespoons olive oil Tostadas or tortilla chips Ok, so: Grab a sharp knife and chop the fish into half-inch cubes. Now grab a medium-sized bowl, and coat the fish with salt and lime juice by tossing it around in the bowl. Now let this sit and marinate for about 30 minutes, tossing it every so often to maintain the coating. Now dice your avocados into small cubes. Throw the avocados and the other ingredients into the bowl and season with olive oil to taste. Boom,...