How can I tie a necktie so that it doesn't create the usual dimple just below the knot? | Ask MetaFilter.

Are nose piercings inherently trashy? | Ask MetaFilter.

Secret Decoder Cookies · Edible Crafts. These are so incredibly cool!

best cocoa brownies | smitten kitchen.

Crispy Kale Recipe - baked — Recipes Steamy Kitchen. Take note of the tip on when to add salt.

Taste Test: Delivery Pepperoni Pizza | Slice Pizza Blog.

Strange utensil | Ask MetaFilter. There is such a thing as asparagus tongs?

Best vermouth for a classic martini? | Ask MetaFilter.

Print James Bond Walks Into a Bar... and orders a Vesper, a cocktail that hasn't aged too well. Here, a remake. At Esquire.

Vesper (cocktail) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Very detailed history with substitutions to get an approximation of what the cocktail would have tasted like in 1953. Apparently a lot of ingredients have been reformulated over the years to be less bitter and more sweet. Is this why classic cocktails often don't appeal to us? It's not a shift in palette as a shift in the actual taste of the specific ingredients?

Raw to Sweet: How to Change the Intensity of Onions | The Kitchn.

Corn Starch Candy Molds, at Instructables. Via Craftzine.

Serious Eats asks Where's the Love for Chestnuts? and gets some great answers in the comments. One commenter points us towards this story in the WSJ: Marron Made In Heaven, and another wrote this article on the blight that took out the chestnut trees that used to cover huge parts of the US: Long forgotten, chestnuts are coming back with a vengeance. My own father has always keenly loved chestnuts and has planted a few chestnut trees in his yard, he also gives talks about the current state of Chestnut trees in the US.

Confections of a (Closet) Master Baker: P.S., I Cake You. A message written out right in the cake itself, awesome, and a very clever technique. Sent by Maggi, thanks!!

quinoa FAIL. Help? | Ask MetaFilter. Plain quinoa topped with an over easy or poached egg is still my favorite breakfast, and my regular breakfast during the whole process of losing weight last year. I buy it bulk, and cook by simmering, covered, in 2x water for about 10 minutes or until translucent.

The Paupered Chef's Guide to $3 Homemade Pizza Stones | Slice Pizza Blog.

Here is the view from the apartment we've rented, complete with the
horn players who were playing when we arrived.

Cool Tools: Strobist. A photography instruction site recommendation.

2010 IGF Mobile Game Finalists | Touch Arcade. So glad to see two of my favorites on the list - Spider and Drop 7.

What is the best free blogging site? | Ask MetaFilter.

pommes frites: diy light experiments: reflective umbrella. Making a photo light bounce using inexpensive umbrellas. Via Craftzine.

The 10 Coolest Experiments from Google Labs - Network World. Via Action Hero.

Conversation with Metafilter Founder Matt Haughey « sood. On creating a community site.

The Missing Google Analytics Manual | FutureNow, Inc. Via Swissmiss on Twitter.

Please recommend a very simple online store. | Ask MetaFilter. Looking for something that it not Ebay or Etsy.

Public Radio App lets you resume 'This American Life' whenever you please -- Engadget. This is excellent.

Craftzine.com blog : Turn Signal Bike Jackets. Fantastic use of adding lights to clothing.

A Whole Lotta Nothing: My personal feedback loops.

Giana Sisters Review | Touch Arcade. I'm not normally a fan of platformers but this games has been getting such enthusiastic mentions I might try it.

Design*Sponge » biz ladies: setting up your business to accept credit cards. I used to use Propay and Mal's eCommerce. I wish I had gotten a chance to get to try out Square, it sounds so cool for using at shows.

A Whole Lotta Nothing: My recommended kid games for the iPhone.

Poise.cc | From Old Coat to a New Bag. This is an amazing transformation, bravo.

Cool Tools: Fire Mountain Gems. "The McMaster Carr of the jewelry world."

Rose Barrettes - the purl bee. Exceptional cuteness, via How About Orange.

DIY Fabric Poms | DIY Wedding Blog | Once Wed. Via lushlee.

angry chicken: bias tape tutorial (all by machine).

PlushYou!: Debbie Stoller's new yarn. Yay Debbie!

Design Mom: valentines-for-classmates. I am swooningly in love with these! Many extra exclamation points here!

Suburban Bliss: Valentine's Treats 2009. I love how simple and colorful and absolutely cheerful these are.

The other week I came across this recipe for Sausage Balls in a thread about Bisquick over at Ask Metafilter. The recipe goes like this: Mix together one pound of spicy sausage, on pound of finely shredded cheddar cheese and three cups of Bisquick. Form into quarter sized balls and cook on a baking sheet at 350 for 20 minutes. People insisted they were delicious and I was very curious about how they would turn out, so we made some.

It took a while for the dough to come together, and it takes a bit of strength.

They puffed a bit while baking.

Inside you couldn't really see the sausage.

They tasted ok, interesting for a breakfast item. But they weren't the breakfast crack we'd been expecting. They had some heat from the spicy sausage, but the cheese flavor was pretty mild. We figure that if we'd used a really good extra sharp cheddar instead of simply sharp cheddar it might be more alluring. And they are fairly close to scones, so I might make a cheddar scone with breakfast sausage substituted for some of the butter instead. That said it was fun to pop little balls of cheesy bread into you mouth first thing in the morning.

We had so much dough left over we decided to make something like Scotch Eggs. I steamed some eggs for 11 minutes, which I find is just right to set the egg without overcooking it, then cooled and peeled them. We wrapped them in the mixture and baked for about 30 minutes. It turned out ok but ultimately didn't work, as the cheese mixture puffs in the oven the egg settled to the bottom so it was more blanketed than wrapped at the end. Pretty good, but at this point we were full of sausage balls and couldn't finish them. Overall? Probably won't make again but it's given me some ideas for cheese breakfast biscuit treats of some sort in the future.

(p.s. The pictures above were all taken with my S90 on a darkly overcast morning. Most of the pictures used only the light from the window. I had the camera set to automatic and I think they turned out really well, I didn't lighten them in Photoshop.)

Valentine's Day is tomorrow, how did that happen? We're mostly focused on other things (travel! yay!) but it didn't quite stop my desire for a day spent making heart shaped foods.

first column, top to bottom

Beet ravioli, at Epicurious. (via).

Calimyrna Fig Hearts at Martha Stewart, also see the whole gallery, wow.

Heart shaped cherry tomatoes at Eye Candy, (via).

second column, top to bottom

Papa John's heart shaped pizza, at Serious Eats.

Heart Shaped dumpling, at Chow.

Heart cookie cutters for the edge of a cup (inspiration for my gingerbread houses), at Kitchen Critic.

third column, top to bottom

Cinnamon Heart Lollipops at Women's Day, (via).

Heart Shaped Whoopie Pies at Annie's Eats, (via).

Postcards from Penguin: One Hundred Book Covers in One Box. Oh boy do I want these to frame all together. Via Anh-Minh.

take a seat... - Oh Joy!. I'm looking at the coat hooks here to use in our upcoming (we'll get to it, I swear) bathroom redo.

Design*Sponge » going places: modern world map + prints.

Potentially Amazing Technology: Is Spray-On Liquid Glass About to Make Everything Greener? : TreeHugger. I hope this gets made really soon so I can spray it on my floors and walls so I won't have to worry about scratching them. (Kidding. But I hate the the surfaces in my home can be damaged by the act of living.) Via Shelterrific.

How To Swap a Two-Prong for a Three-Prong Outlet | Apartment Therapy Unplggd.

got milk? Magic Straws, Chocolate Straws, Chocolate Candy, Milk Chocolate. Cocoa beads inside the straw! Via Vivacious Blueprint on Twitter.

Design*Sponge » small measures with ashley: infused sugars.

Thin Mint Cupcake Recipe from Trophy Cupcakes | Kelley Moore Creative Media. Via Seattle Tall Poppy on Twitter.

Perfect Popcorn Recipe | Simply Recipes. A method that gets all the kernels to pop at around the same time, neato.

How To Make Homemade Chicken Stock, Home Hacks | The Kitchn.

Your Bisquick recipe? | Ask MetaFilter. I'm going to make those sausage balls.

Kitchen Mysteries: What Makes Puff Pastry Puff? | The Kitchn. Love the puff pastry cups shown here.

How to Peel Celery Root | The Kitchn.

Boing! The Pogo Stick | The Pegu Blog. Optional garnish is a rock candy stick, awesome. Via Liqurious.

57 Varieties, Revealed. Via Kottke.

chocolate soufflé cupcakes with mint cream | smitten kitchen.

Chocolate Puddle Cookies Recipe - 101 Cookbooks.

These Academy Award cookies from Bakerella are genius. She uses slotted bases to hold up the statue. Recipes and complete instructions here.

(Photos by Bakerella.)