By Liz Roach, on Thu Nov 14, 2013 at 10:00 AM ET  A few weekends ago, I ate hearts. Literally. And I have to admit, they tasted pretty good.
Organs aren’t usually among my choice indulgences. But this particular treat, chicken hearts, was surprisingly tasty, and ended up being one of my favorites among a smorgasbord of delights on a recent evening.
The restaurant was Husk of Nashville, James Beard Award-winning Chef Sean Brock’s new outpost. (The original Husk is in Charleston, South Carolina, also an excellent eatery.)
Biting into the tender yet firm delicacy, I tasted smoky, peppery flavors. The menu imparts a sense of romance about the dish, as it describes the hearts being “roasted in the embers with West African Mustard Onions.” You can almost imagine them being brushed with fairy dust as the kitchen handles them as gently as you would cradle a robin’s egg.
For those who haven’t seen the reams of articles gushing over Brock (including Husk being named Bon Appetit’s Best New American Restaurant of 2011 , he is known for exclusively using ingredients that originate in the American South at both locations. This includes kitchen workhorses like salt and olive oil.
Combine that with an inventive, clever play on traditional Southern dishes in a well-appointed but unpretentious setting, and you’re set for a nice meal.
My visit was meant to be a brief stop-off en route from Mississippi to Kentucky. (It sure beat fast food.) But it quickly turned into a leisurely-paced feast. Why hurry?
Among the delicacies that appeared on my table were the following: 6-week aged beef tartare with a smoked oyster sauce, egg yolk, and pickled chilis. Smoky chicken wings with pepper mash dry rub and Alabama white sauce. Soft shell crab with speckled butter bean and pepper salad. An old-fashioned vegetable plate with benne fried green tomatoes, grits swimming with a poached egg & peppers, Brussels sprouts, and succotash. And those are just a few of the dishes I sampled.
All this paired with an Ole Sorgy, a libation containing W.L. Weller bourbon, tobacco bitters, sorghum syrup, Bourbon Barrel cherry bitters, and lemon, along with pleasant dinner conversation. After a slice of lemon buttermilk pie and plenty of refreshing coffee, all that was left was the challenge of keeping my eyes open on the drive home.
Since the typical home cook may be a little hesitant about experimenting with chicken hearts, I finagled a recipe for the buttermilk pie from talented Husk pastry chef Lisa Donovan.
If you want to taste these soul-warming provisions at the source, take a visit to the cordial folks at Husk in either city. They’ll take such good care of you, you just might want to take them home to meet your mama.
 Lisa Donovan’s Buttermilk Pie
Ingredients:
6 eggs, room temperature
3 cups sugar
½ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 ounces butter, melted
1 ½ cups buttermilk
Zest from one lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Directions:
Whisk sugar, flour and salt together. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and add in the dry mixture. Incorporate well. Add melted butter, zest, juice and then stream in buttermilk. Pour into a 10″ unbaked pie shell and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, then reduce heat to 325 degrees for an additional 35 minutes.
By Josh Bowen, on Thu Nov 14, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET 
The Importance of Why
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Let’s think about the quote above. What is separating all of us from achievement? Is it us? Could it be that we are actually afraid of accomplishing what we set out to do?
Bingo!
Last week, I talked about the Power of the Why The Power of the Why and how to find it. Now lets discuss the importance if that why. As described previously, the why gives reason behind decisions and clarity behind things that are not yet understood. The importance of this is to initiate movement and action. Because in order to achieve any goal, you must have action. Your why will keep you motivated through the hard times, because there will always be hard times. Life is not perfect and neither are you. However, each and every one of us is powerful enough to accomplish anything we set out to do.
I have a lot of experience in training and motivating others, not just in fitness but in life. I have always had a sense that deep down people are not afraid of failure but rather afraid of achieving. When you achieve something people will expect you to do the same every time. This adds responsibility and adds the component of hard work. Now, don’t get me wrong I am not calling out people, talking about how lazy they are. Quite the contrary, I am saying that in our subconscious we have a deep fear that we CAN accomplish any and every thing that we set out to do.
So how do I perform reverse psychology on myself?
Here is the deal the first step to accomplishing anything is you have to believe it is possible. Here is an example; people once thought that running a mile in under 4 minutes was impossible. It wasn’t until 1954 that Roger Bannister broke the 4 minutes barrier, running a mile in 3 minutes and 59 seconds. 42 days later another man ran a mile in 3 minutes and 58 seconds. Fast forward to present day and the world record for the mile has lowered 17 seconds and now running a mile in under 4 minutes is the STANDARD by which all middle distance runners are judged.
 Do you see what happened there? Once one person did it, everyone else knew it was possible. You think that you are the only person in the world sitting there at your computer, reading this article with 50, 60, 70, 100 pounds to lose. The reality of it is people are doing it every day and so can you! All you have to do is believe.
The last step (yes I only have 2 steps here, this is not a 12 step process!) you have to have an undying commitment to your goal. Whatever the goal is, it does not matter you have to love it, marry it and live it. It is you and it is a part of you. Do what ever it takes, throw caution to the wind and do it! I believe in you, you must believe in you. Do not be afraid of climbing your personal Mount Everest! GO DO IT!!!!
So to summarize my two steps;
1. You must believe 2. You must commit
“JB you said things will get hard, what do I do?” Great question! The power and importance of the why is going to be your security blanket, your insurance policy and your get out of jail free card. They will drive you to unbelievable heights, if you let them. If you fall off the wagon, remind yourself of why you here in the first place. The constant reminder is a positive way of looking at bleak situations that we will all be put in. As I tell my clients all the time, “Don’t think, just do.”
By Lauren Mayer, on Wed Nov 13, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET I’ve long maintained that the skills we develop as mothers could come in handy in all sorts of larger contexts, like international relations (“Israel and Palestine, if you can’t share the Gaza Strip I’m taking it away from both of you!”), industrial pollution (“BP, clean up that oil spill NOW!”), or political gridlock (“Congress, you’re in time out – with NO SNACKS – until you get something accomplished!”). And of course it didn’t surprise me that when we started seeing progress in solving the government shut-down, there were women from both parties leading the way.
Mind you, I’m not claiming female superiority, just pointing out that in general, mothers have learned to deal with everything from recalcitant toddlers who throw tantrums in grocery stores to sullen teenagers who swear we are ruining their lives. So a) we don’t sweat the small stuff, and b) we know how to handle bad behavior. Which makes it pretty clear that there is no one with those maternal skills advising Rand Paul.
For starters, a woman would remind him that tons of people have survived being accused of plagiarism – and it isn’t an attack on their personal character, just pointing out a fact. But to hear Senator Paul tell it, he is the victim of a character assassination by liberal ‘haters and hackers’ who are ‘spreading hate on me.’ Moms would tell him to stop over-reacting. (And my mom, the retired English teacher, would tell him to stop using silly cliches that don’t make sense.)
Moms would also advise him to admit his mistake gracefully, and to issue a genuine apology. Like we tell our kids, saying “I’m sorry, but it’s HIS fault” does not count. Neither does claiming that everyone is picking on you because you didn’t footnote your speeches.
Finally, a modern-day mom would remind Senator Paul that the Internet gives everyone instant access to, and records of, anything you put out there. So be careful about what photos from that crazy frat party you post on Facebook or what drunk texts you send to old flames (or what types of incriminating photos you text when you’re running for public office, Mr. Weiner . . . ) Which means if you lift entire paragraphs from Wikipedia, you really can’t deny it when you get caught.
Lacking such maternal wisdom, Rand Paul has not handled this fairly minor crisis very well, which isn’t great for his Presidential aspirations – but it’s been great for humorists! (And like I always advise my kids, teasing is mean most of the time, but if you’re a public figure who behaves in a ridiculous fashion, you’re fair game!)
By Erica and Matt Chua, on Tue Nov 12, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET When I saw the Capture the Color photo contest was going on again this year I was excited to dig through the photos from our trip and share a few with you. Not only did this contest give me an opportunity to reminisce about all the places we’ve been by reliving memories through our photos but I love the theme, it’s so simple, capture the colors Blue, Green, Yellow, White and Red in your photos. I have to admit the deal was sweetened knowing I wouldn’t be competing against some of the travel blogosphere’s most talented photographers: Ken Kaminesky, Abi King, Davefrom the Planet D, Christine Gilbert and Daniel Nahabedian, because they are the judges. You can enter too and have the chance to win £3000, an Arc’teryx voucher or other great prizes. Without further ado below are my five photos that Capture the Color:
WHITE
Huyana Potosi, Bolivia (19,974 feet)
As we carefully inched along the snowy trail on the exposed ridge of Huyana Potosi leading us to the summit the sun just started to peek above the horizon. It was a beautiful sight and a view I will never forget. Once we reached the summit I looked back on the path we had taken in the dark to reach our goal and realized how precarious of a position we had been in. As I watched another group of climbers descend I pulled out the camera to capture the trail with the sun highlighting the pristine white snow. The moment I took this picture I still couldn’t fully comprehend what we had just done to be standing at the top of a mountain overlooking Bolivia.
GREEN
Banaue Rice Terraces commonly referred to by the Filipinos as “The Eighth Wonder of the World”
Read the rest of…
Erica & Matt Chua: PIctures that Capture the Color
By Saul Kaplan, on Mon Nov 11, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET You probably haven’t heard of Richard LaMotta but I bet you have heard of and enjoyed his innovation, the Chipwich ice cream sandwich. I rank the Chipwich right up there on my list of all-time favorite innovations along with Guttenberg’s printing press and Apple’s iPhone. Like most great innovations the Chipwich didn’t require inventing anything new, just recombining existing elements in a new way to deliver value. What could deliver more value than sandwiching soft vanilla ice cream between two, large chocolate chip cookies? As if that isn’t innovative enough add in the piece de resistance, rolling the whole thing in chocolate chips! Now that’s innovation. LaMotta died last week and his classic entrepreneur story is worth remembering and celebrating.
LaMotta was ahead of his time in 1982 when he deployed unheard of guerilla marketing tactics to take the idea for Chipwich from a retail confectionary store called The Sweet Tooth in Englewood, New Jersey to selling 200,000 per day across the country at its peak. The name Chipwich came from an early crowd sourcing effort when LaMotta held a contest offering a year’s supply of the product to the winning contributor. A student from New Jersey came up with the winning name and was rewarded not only with a year’s supply of the tasty treat but also put through college by the company for her contribution.
 LaMotta had a vision to take the Chipwich national but was told by marketing “experts” that it would take $50M in working capital that the company didn’t have. No worries, LaMotta took the campaign to the streets of Manhattan, literally, deploying street cart vendors complete with identifiable pith helmets and khaki pants. They created an innovative sales channel without the help of the experts establishing a new product category for premium handheld ice cream and an attractive new price point breaking the $1 barrier. Prior to Chipwich hand held ice cream products were low quality and low cost. Vendors consistently sold out of Chipwiches and the price point continued to move up. Fortune 100 food giants approached LaMotta to use the carts as a trial medium for their own products.
Chipwich went viral without the help of today’s social media platforms. Imagine the tweets. Chipwich received an estimated $50 million of earned advertising exposure receiving thousands of free endorsements. Mayor Koch even posed for a publicity photo, for no fee, as he took a big bite of a Chipwich. It was an attractive David vs Goliath story that the press ate up. LaMotta says he gained 30 pounds just doing free media interviews.
LaMotta learned the many hard lessons of entrepreneurship along the way, twice filing for and then emerging from bankruptcy, as the knockoffs came fast and furious. He also learned first hand what happens when an entrepreneur mixes it up with the world of large corporations. LaMotta laments what he called large corporate “analysis to paralysis” syndrome and cautioned aspiring entrepreneurs about the importance of non-disclosure agreements. In 2002 with a nationally recognized brand, more than a billion Chipwiches sold, and 3700 vendors in 36 markets, he sold the company to Coolbrands International, a Canadian distributor, who also owned the Eskimo Pies brand. Coolbrands then in turn sold both brands to Dreyer’s, a subsidiary of Nestle, who discontinued making the Chipwich because they already had another brand in the category. Like most entrepreneurs LaMotta struggled with losing control of his baby.
LaMatta was a classic entrepreneur who never quit. He said it best, “I got out there, I went for it, and persevered through the rough times.” He did indeed. Chipwich is a great innovation story. Rest in delicious peace, Richard LaMatta.
By Julie Rath, on Fri Nov 8, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET
If you’re still rocking that North Face parka over your suit jacket, it’s time for an upgrade.
Nothing ruins a great look faster than a not-so-great coat. For some reason outerwear often seems to be at the end of peoples’ priority lists, but I can’t stress enough how important it is for your coat or jacket to be up to par with the rest of your outfit. Think about it: you walk into a restaurant to meet a date.
Before you take your coat off, she’s already formed an impression of you. The same goes for your office elevator. People tell me all the time that they sneak in to their office building in junk clothes/shoes and change once they’re there, but if you’re riding up in the elevator with people in your office, the damage is done.
So, have I convinced you of the merits of a good overcoat yet? Good! Here are my suggestions on how to choose one.
Fit: I see too many people around in oversized, too long overcoats – such a disappointing look! It makes me think of a little kid playing dress-up. Ideally, your overcoat should fit comfortably over a suit but still be slim enough to look stylish with just a shirt and pants. The best, most versatile length for a modern but still classic look is around your knee.
It should hit anywhere from mid/low-knee to just above it, depending on how modern you want the look to be (the shorter you go, the younger the look). A good-fitting overcoat should make you look taller, leaner and broader across the shoulders.
Sizing: An overcoat is meant to fit on top of your suit, so when buying off-the-rack, start by going up one size from your suit. Try it on with a suit jacket or blazer and be sure it can close. The sleeves should cover your suit and shirt sleeves.
Buttons – Make sure it buttons to a location on your body that you’re comfortable with. I like this houndstooth check coat above from Balenciaga, but notice how low it buttons on the model’s body. If it’s too low, and you get cold easily, you might want to choose a coat that buttons a little higher. Remember that you’ll likely be wearing a scarf with it on very cold days which will give you additional coverage. What about the number of buttons? Most people will need 3 buttons for a classic single-breasted style, but if you’re very tall (over 6’ 3”), you should get 4.
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Julie Rath: How to Buy an Overcoat
By Josh Bowen, on Thu Nov 7, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET “The journey is not measured by math but by feelings, because the feel lasts longer.”
Most will come to me with the idea of losing weight, body fat, gaining muscle or something that can be tracked. What most will realize is these measurables only account for a small percentage of the journey. It is the things we cannot measure by numbers that matter most. Increased self esteem, more energy, believing in one’s self are all feelings you cannot measure but have a dramatic impact on how you will feel about fitness.
To me, as a trainer, the most impactful reflection from fitness is confidence. Transforming one’s body and loving what you see in the mirror is great but having the confidence inside the gym as well as outside the gym, impacting EVERY intricate detail of life, is what fitness is all about.
As a skinny 140 lbs weakling, I learned the value of confidence through fitness. I was shy and my social skills were lacking but as I started my journey in fitness I realized my confidence began to blossom. My social life was dramatically improved. The way I felt about me and my world couldn’t of been better.
Not only did I transform my body but my life. Fitness is that impactful. Quite frankly, I cannot think of another thing that can have as big of a dramatic impactful on someone’s mind, body and spirt as fitness. It literally impacts everything about you.
 The most successful clients I have had have been impactful by increased confidence. As a result, some have had increased function in their occupation, some have increased their relationships with their significant others, some have had increased their confidence to walk away from bad situations and others have had the confidence to walk away from their full time careers and transition into fulfilling their dream of being a personal trainer.
It comes in all shapes and sizes, feelings and impacts but confidence is by far my favorite direct reflection of the fitness journey. It also has the most impact on people’s lives, all the more reason to start your fitness journey.
By Lauren Mayer, on Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET Every generation seems to experience a couple of epic historic moments that define them – we have ‘The Greatest Generation’ with their memories of World War Two, former ‘flower children’ who remember The Summer of Love (or at least did some indiscriminate making-out that year), and so on. I’m on the younger side of Baby Boomers – I was 10 in 1969, so the only real hippie experience I had was embroidering flowers on my bellbottom jeans and writing earnest but dreadful poetry with lines like “the earth was meant for love, not pollution.”
Usually these landmark moments are pretty serious, even tragic, like assassinations or weather-related disasters. And occasionally, they can be celebrations of the human spirit, like the first moonwalk, the falling of the Berlin Wall, or the record number of babies born 9 months after major power outages. But only rarely do we find a transformational, epic moment that has nothing sad about it, nothing triumphant, but just pure fun – in fact, up until recently, the only examples I could think of were pop culture silliness, like pet rocks, the Macarena, or Gangnam Style.
However, due to a calendar quirk, this month will be the first time since 1888 that Chanukah and Thanksgiving have overlapped. And it won’t happen again for over 77,000 years. (Which is how long I know many people hope it will be until the Macarena comes back.) So naturally, people are jumping on it as an opportunity to celebrate, to develop fun hybrid recipies (sweet potato latkes with melted marshmallows . . . don’t think about it too much), and of course to find the marketing angle. Someone has already trademarked “Thanksgivukkah,” and you can buy Thanksgivukkah-themed cards, t-shirts, and even a ‘menurkey’ (a menorah in the shape of a turkey).
Even though this would seem to be a completely apolitical moment of joy, in today’s bitter partisan climate I must admit I was expecting some pushback from the far right who keep insisting that our founding fathers meant for this to be a Christian nation, so I thought they’d be horrified that a holiday celebrating American history would be combined with a non-Christian observance. But so far the only objection has come from comedian Stephen Colbert (who complained that the war on Christmas is now going after Thanksgiving). So we can celebrate without reservation!
By Erica and Matt Chua, on Tue Nov 5, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET ur Couchsurfing host asked us, “why do people visit Santiago?” Almost interrupting himself he clarified that he believed his city is a great place to live, but that there isn’t much for tourists. Having been there over a dozen times myself I wondered if anyone actually makes Santiago a destination. Then I remembered that one of my friends actually visited Santiago and at the time I wondered: why? Is Santiago worth a couple of days?
Do people visit for the views? Probably not. Even though one of the world’s great mountains is unbelievably close, you probably won’t see it because the city’s smog often obscures the view. OK…then is it the city itself?
The city of Santiago is clean and functional, much like Omaha or Minneapolis. There is as little to dislike as there is to thrill. Considering that the city was founded almost 500 years ago, it lacks the antiquated charm of other colonial towns in South America. It has neither the distinctive European charm of Buenos Aires nor the grittiness of La Paz. Even worse, it’s bested on both sides by it’s easily accessible neighbors of Valparaiso, Chile and Mendoza, Argentina. Head west 90 minutes and you are in the literal San Fransisco of South America, Valparaiso, which rises from the Pacific in a kaleidoscopic collage of precariously placed buildings. Head a few hours to the east and you’re in the Napa Valley of South America, Mendoza, which treats it’s visitors to over sized glasses of wine paired with overflowing Argentine barbeque. Pity poor Santiago, the city serves better as a gateway to other places than a destination in it’s own right.
Read the rest of…
Erica & Matt Chua: Skippable Santiago, Chile
By Saul Kaplan, on Mon Nov 4, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET I’m not much of a car guy but when Ford announced it was dumping its Mercury line I got a little nostalgic. I wasn’t born when “Rebel Without a Cause” was released in 1955 but remember seeing the movie as a kid and being in awe of James Dean. Who can’t relate to the lonely rebellious outsider, with his slicked back hair and leather jacket, trying to fit in? No one remembers the name of the character Dean played (Jim Stark). After a tragic death James Dean became the character in our minds for eternity. Don’t get me started on Natalie Wood. The thing everyone remembers and the real icon from the classic movie is the cool Mercury James Dean drove. It was a 1949 six-passenger coupe, fitted with a V-8 and an attitude to match Dean’s character. The Merc was coolness personified.
Don’t you wonder how the Merc became so cool coming from Ford where Henry’s motto was, any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black. The Model T was the iconic product of a new industrial era. Henry Ford gave us the assembly line and mass production. He didn’t give us cool. For that you have to look to his only son Edsel, who had a better idea. I know we associate the name Edsel with failure but that is because of a disastrous Ford model that was introduced in 1958 well after Edsel had died in 1943. Edsel Ford was not a failure.
Edsel was far more interested in design and flashier styling for cars than his father. He relentlessly advocated for more modern cars reflecting consumer tastes to replace the Model T but was consistently overruled by his father. It wasn’t until sales of the Model T started to decline that Edsel began having influence on car body design and performance specifications. He was very interested in high performance cars and many give him credit for customizing the first “Hot Rod” with a V-8 engine. In 1939 he started the Mercury brand from scratch. It was a way to offer consumers a car that was more stylish than a Ford at a price point between a Ford and the luxury Lincoln brand. Edsel brought the power of design to Ford and had a big impact on the auto industry.
 Mercury really took off with the introduction of the 1949 model, the Mercury Eight. Not only did it become famous as James Dean’s ride in “Rebel Without a Cause” it quickly was popular with car customizers. Maybe it was an early example of open source innovation. An entire ecosystem of hobbyists and suppliers grew up around customizing the 49 Mercury. Hot Rod and Motor Trend featured pictures and stories about the coolest chopped Mercs. Hobbyists today still customize old Mercs and there are fiberglass replicas in production that are popular with today’s kit car and hot rod enthusiasts. Not many cars have had that much staying power and impact.
Unfortunately Mercury’s heyday was in the 50′s. It hasn’t been interesting since with few remarkable models. I am not surprised that Ford is dumping the brand. It has no clear positioning in the market. I can’t think of a single person I know who owns one. While it makes sense for Ford to consolidate its brands and platforms it didn’t stop me from a little nostalgia when I heard that Mercury, the messenger of the Gods, had a simple message for the brand, you’re fired. For all rebels without a cause it is worth taking a moment to remember what the 49 Merc stood for.
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A few weekends ago, I ate hearts. Literally. And I have to admit, they tasted pretty good.
