Take Me To Your Heart

Artist: Michael Learns To Rock

grilled striped bass with orange-saffron butter

Look for fish that's 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. It sounds counterintuitive, but farmed fish is a better choice when raised inland, in recirculating water (rather than in crowded netpens in the wild). At the market, ask your fishmonger where the fish comes from.

Servings: Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 teaspoon Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
Large pinch of saffron threads
Coarse kosher salt or coarse sea salt
6 whole farm-raised striped bass or trout (about 1 pound each), gutted, cleaned, top fin cut off
2 large oranges; 1 juiced, 1 halved, then thinly sliced
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Directions

Whisk butter, juice concentrate, vinegar, and saffron in small saucepan to blend. Season butter to taste with coarse salt and pepper. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Using small sharp knife, cut diagonal slits on both sides of fish at 1-inch intervals. Arrange fish on rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle fresh orange juice and salt into slits and cavities of fish. Fill cavities with orange slices (about 3 per fish). Cover loosely and let stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Spray grill racks and fish generously with nonstick spray. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Place saucepan with orange-saffron butter at edge of grill to warm through, stirring occasionally. Arrange fish on barbecue. Grill until just opaque in center, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to plates. Serve with warm seasoned butter.

No Time

ARTIST: The Guess Who

Problem 12 '

Given
T(i,1) = 1
T(1,j) = 1
T(i,j) = T(i-1,j) + T(i,j-1) (mod 2) where i, j > 1
Question: What is T(i,j)? (0 or 1)

Problem 12

Given
T(i,1) = 1
T(1,j) = 1
T(i,j) = T(i-1,j) + T(i,j-1) where i,j > 1
Question: What is the close form for T(i,j)? (that is the formula for T(i,j) in terms of i and j)

What a day for a daydream

Truly Madly Deeply

Savage Garden

I Knew I Loved You

Savage Garden

Margarita Madness

(From: Bon Appétit )

Servings: Makes 2 drinks.

blackberry-thyme margarita

Ingredients
16 large fresh blackberries, divided
4 small fresh thyme sprigs, divided
6 tablespoons 100% blue agave silver tequila
1/4 cup Simple Syrup
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Cointreau or other orange liqueur
2 cups ice cubes, divided
1/4cup chilled sparkling wine

Preparation
Place 14 blackberries and 2 thyme sprigs in medium bowl. Press firmly on solids with muddler or back of wooden spoon until mashed. Mix in tequila, Simple Syrup, lime juice, and Cointreau, then 1 cup ice. Stir to blend well. Strain into large glass measuring cup. Mix in sparkling wine. Divide remaining ice between 2 tall glasses. Pour Margarita mixture over. Garnish each with 1 blackberry and 1 thyme sprig.

mango-cilantro margarita

Ingredients
1/2 small mango, pitted, peeled, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup 100% blue agave silver tequila
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons Simple Syrup
1 tablespoon Cointreau or other orange liqueur
2 cups ice cubes, divided
Fresh cilantro sprigs (for garnish)

Preparation
Combine mango and cilantro leaves in medium bowl. Press firmly on solids with muddler or back of wooden spoon until mashed. Mix in tequila, lime juice, Simple Syrup, and Cointreau, then 1 cup ice. Stir to blend well. Strain into large glass measuring cup. Divide remaining ice between 2 tall glasses. Pour Margarita mixture over. Garnish with cilantro sprigs.

pineapple-chile margarita

Ingredients
8 (3/4- to 1-inch) chunks peeled pineapple
4 slices red jalapeño chile with seeds
1/2 cup 100% blue agave silver tequila
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons Simple Syrup
2 tablespoons Cointreau or other orange liqueur
2 cups ice cubes, divided

Preparation
Place pineapple chunks and red jalapeño slices in medium bowl. Press firmly on solids with muddler or back of wooden spoon until mashed. Mix in tequila, lime juice, Simple Syrup, and Cointreau, then 1 cup ice. Stir to blend well. Strain into large glass measuring cup. Divide remaining ice between 2 tall glasses. Pour Margarita mixture over.

watermelon-cucumber margarita

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups 1-inch chunks rindless watermelon
6 (1/8-inch-thick) slices English hothouse cucumber
15 large fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup 100% blue agave silver tequila
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons Simple Syrup
1 tablespoon Cointreau or other orange liqueur
2 cups ice cubes, divided
2 small watermelon triangles, each skewered with 1 cucumber round (for garnish)
2 fresh mint sprigs (for garnish)

Preparation
Place first 3 ingredients in medium bowl. Press firmly on solids with muddler or back of wooden spoon until mashed. Mix in tequila, lime juice, Simple Syrup, and Cointreau, then 1 cup ice. Stir to blend well. Strain into large glass measuring cup. Divide remaining ice between 2 tall glasses. Pour Margarita mixture over. Garnish with watermelon skewers and mint sprigs.

Simple syrup

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Preparation
Stir sugar and water in medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes. Cool. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 weeks ahead. Refrigerate in airtight container.

Flank Steak with Pineapple Salsa

(From: Better Homes and Gardens)

Ingredients

• 2 cups peeled, cored, and chopped fresh pineapple
• 1 11-ounce can mandarin orange sections, drained
• 1/2 cup chopped red or green sweet pepper
• 1/3 cup mild green picante sauce or green taco sauce
• 12 ounces beef flank or boneless sirloin steak, cut 1/2 inch thick
• 1/2 teaspoon Mexican seasoning or chili powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 to 6 cups packaged torn mixed salad greens

Directions

1. For pineapple salsa, in a medium bowl gently stir together pineapple, mandarin oranges, sweet pepper, and picante sauce. Set aside.

2. Trim fat from steak. Thinly slice steak across the grain. Sprinkle with Mexican seasoning; toss to coat evenly. In a large skillet cook and stir half of the seasoned steak in hot oil over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes or to desired doneness. Remove from skillet. Repeat with remaining steak.

3. Arrange salad greens on plates. Top with steak and pineapple salsa. Makes 4 servings.

Tip: Look for green picante sauce or green taco sauce in the salsa section of the supermarket.

Open Arms

Artist: Journey

Margarita-Grilled Chicken Salad

Prep: 25 minutes
Marinate: 2 hours
Grill: 12 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 medium skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1-1/2 cups margarita drink mix (contains no alcohol)
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. finely shredded lime peel
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 4 medium tomatoes, sliced
• 2 medium avocados, halved, seeded, peeled, and sliced
• 1/2 of a medium red onion, thinly sliced and separated into pieces
• 1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper

Directions

1. Place chicken in a resealable plastic bag set in a shallow dish. For marinade combine margarita mix, cumin, and lime peel. Pour over chicken; seal bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 8 hours. Drain chicken, discarding marinade

2. For a charcoal grill, grill chicken on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals for 12 to 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (170�F), turning once halfway through grilling. (For a gas grill, preheat grill. Reduced heat to medium. Place chicken on grill rack over heat. Cover and grill as above.) Remove chicken from grill; cool slightly.

3. In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, lime juice, and cayenne. Arrange tomatoes, avocados, and red onion on 4 salad plates. Coarsely chop chicken. Add to salads. Drizzle with mayonnaise mixture and sprinkle with black pepper.

4. Makes: 4 servings

Steak with Nectarines

Ingredients

• 4 6- to 8-oz. boneless beef rib-eye steaks, cut 1/2 inch thick
• 3 tsp. sugar, divided
• 1 to 1-1/2tsp. chili powder
• 1-1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 medium firm but ripe nectarines, pitted and cut into 8 wedges each
• 2 tsp. water
• 4 slices bacon, preferably hickory smoked

Directions

1. Trim fat from meat. In a small bowl combine sugar, chili powder, salt, cumin, black pepper, and cayenne pepper; reserve 1 teaspoon. Sprinkle remaining spice mixture evenly over both sides of meat; rub in with your fingers; set aside. In a medium bowl toss the nectarines with the reserved 1 teaspoon spice mixture and water; set aside.

2. For a charcoal grill, place bacon slices in a large cast iron skillet. Place skillet with bacon on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals. Grill 8 to 10 minutes or until bacon is crisp-cooked and browned, turning very frequently. Carefully remove skillet from grill. Remove bacon from skillet and drain on paper towels.

3. Place steaks on the grill rack directly over the coals. Grill until desired doneness, turning once. (Allow 4 to 6 minutes for medium-rare doneness or 5 to 7 minutes for medium doneness.) Place nectarine wedges directly on grill rack along side the steaks the last 3 to 5 minutes of grilling until nectarines are lightly browned and warmed through, turning often.

4. Transfer steaks to serving plates and top each with a slice of bacon and 4 nectarine wedges.

5. Makes: 4 servings

Corn Salad

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup lime juice


• 1 Tbsp. honey


• 1 jalapeno chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped


• 3 Tbsp. snipped fresh cilantro or 1 Tbsp. snipped fresh mint


• 1/4 tsp. salt


• 6 fresh ears of corn , husked and cleaned; or 3 cups frozen whole kernel corn, thawed


• 1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves


• 1 large tomato, seeded and chopped


• 3/4 cup seeded, chopped cucumber

Directions

1. In large bowl whisk together lime juice and honey until well combine
2. Stir in jalapeno pepper, cilantro, and salt
3. Carefully cut corn kernels off cobs
4. Add to lime juice mixture
5. Stir in spinach, tomato, and cucumber. Serve immediately. Makes 9(2/3 cup) serving

Start to finish

20 minutes

Kiss On My List

Artist: Hall & Oates

Strawberry-Mango Milk Shake

(From: Better Homes and Gardens)

Ingredients

* 2 cups halved fresh strawberries
* 1 cup chopped mango
* 1-1/2 cups vanilla frozen yogurt
* 1/4 cup milk
* Sliced fresh strawberries
* Sliced mango

Directions

1. Place the 2 cups berries, chopped mango, frozen yogurt, and milk in a blender container. Cover and blend until smooth. Divide mixture between 2 tall glasses.

2. Top each serving with strawberry and mango slices. Makes 2 servings.

Problem 11

Consider a connected graph G whose edges have distinct costs. Denote: T₁ the minimum spanning tree of G, and T₂ the second cheapest spanning tree of G.
Question: T₁ and T₂ differ in how many edges?

Problem 10

Given sequence: $r$₁, r₂, ..., r_k such that: 0< r_i <=1 and sum( r_i ) <= n . Group r_i's into groups of zize at most 1. How many groups will you use?

So Far Away

Artist: Carol King

Problem 9

"What is the number of all trees on n points with exactly n-r endpoints? "

Frozen Yogurt Pie

Ingredients

• 3 9" baked pie shell, or graham cracker crust shell


• 32 oz. carton fruit yogurt


• 1 (12 oz.) frozen whipped non-dairy topping, thawed


• Optional: fresh or frozen fruit, cut, drained or chopped

Directions

1. Mix yogurt and thawed non-dairy topping, adding fresh fruit if desired. Pile into baked pie shells. Chill. Decorate with fresh fruit if desired, before serving. Pies may be covered with cling film and foil and frozen.

2.Thaw before serving (then decorate with fresh fruit). Each pie serves 6-8. Great dessert to have for busy days. Low calorie too. Try raspberry yogurt and fresh raspberries, etc.

Super Moist Lemon Cake

(From Ruth Manta - homemade)

Ingredients

• Batter
  
  
  
  • 1 lemon cake mix
  
  
  • 1/2 cup oil (vegetable)
  
  
  • 1 cup source cream
  
  
  • 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
  
  
• Lemon mixture
  
  
  
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  
  
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  
  
• Icing
  
  
  
  • 3 Tbsp. butter (soft, NOT melted)
  
  
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  
  
  • 3 Tbsp. lemon juice(or more)- keep adding until it gets to the right softness (like thick honey)
  
  
• Non-stick cooking spray
  

Directions

1. Mix ingredients to get batter. Using non-stick cooking spray to grease a 9x13 pan. Put batter in pan. Bake at 325^o for 40-50 minutes.

2. When cake is baked, poke with a fork. Then, drizzle lemon mixture over the top of the cake. Let cake cool at room temperature.

3. Drizzle icing on top.

Problem 8

We are given n intervals on the real lines in which the number maximum number of mutually overlapping intervals is k_1. Suppose that the intervals are partitioned into r disjoint groups where a group contains at most k_2. A legal coloring of intervals satisfies: (1) overlapping intervals are not allowed to get the same color (2) intervals belonging to the same group are not allowed to have the same color.
Question: How many color will you use to color the intervals?

Minty Watermelon Tea Slush

(From: Better Homes and Gardens)

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups water
• 2 Red Zinger or other red tea bags
• 2 Tbsp. packed fresh mint leaves*
• 4 cups cubed watermelon
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• Sugar, optional

Directions

1. In a small saucepan bring 3/4 cup of the water to boiling. Remove from heat. Add tea bags and mint to saucepan. Let steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Strain tea mixture through a fine mesh sieve, discarding mint and tea bags. Stir in remaining 3/4 cup water. Pour mixture into ice cube trays and freeze 2 hours or until firm.

2. In a blender combine watermelon cubes and lemon juice. Cover and blend until mixture begins to liquefy. With the motor running, add frozen tea cubes, a few at a time, through the hole in the lid until slushy. Pour into glasses and stir before serving. If desired, sweeten to taste with sugar. Makes: 4 (8-ounce) servings

3. * Test Kitchen Tip: Do not snip or chop the mint leaves or it cause the tea to discolor.

Problem 4'

1. How many matches are sufficient to find the second winner?
2. How many matches are sufficient to find both the champion and the "worst looser"-the one has been beaten by any other contestants?

Problem 7

"How many sequences of length n can be composed from a, b, c, and d in such a way that a and b are never neighboring elements."

Problem 6

"We have k distinct poscards and want to send them all to our n friends (a friend can get any number of postcards, including 0). How many ways can this be done? What happens if we want to send at least 1 card to each friend?"

Problem 5

"In a shop, there are k kinds of postcards. We want to send postcards to n friends. How many different ways this can be done? What happens if we want to send them different cards? What happends if we want to send two different cards to each of them (but different persons may get the same card) ?"

How to deal with a Fender Bender?

I was in this situation 10 days ago, and had no idea what I should do. I am still waiting for car inspection. Hopefully my car can return to its original shape!
( From: http://www.excite.com )
" You're pulling out of a parking space, and suddenly--thud--another driver has bumped the side of your car. Nobody's hurt, but both cars have suffered dents and scrapes. You were on your way somewhere, but now you're standing in the middle of a parking lot with a stranger. Should you call the police? What types of information should you obtain from the other driver before you each go your separate ways? Before you let the situation put a damper on your day, follow these guidelines to deal with a fender bender."

Problem 4

This question I got to know from Duc Ha:
" In a contest, there are 64 competitors. In each match, there are 2 competitors: the winner will stay, and the loser will go home!
Question: How many matches we need to choose the champion ?"

Problem 3

And, this problem is also from Aditya. I guess this will take more time :)

"In general, in a n X n tic tac toe, if we get n consecutive 'X' or 'O' (horizontally ,diagonally, vertically) its a win. The possible number of chances(ways) to win for a given n X n tic tac toe is 2n+2. (n- horizontal, n- vertical, 2 diagonals). If we change the rules as shown below :
Take a variable k which can vary from 1 to n. Even if the user get k consecutive X or O (horizontally ,diagonally, vertically) ,its a win for a given k value in a n X n tic tac toe. The question is what are the possible number of chances(ways) to win. (find an expression in the form of n and k). For example in a 3 X 3 tic tac toe if k = 2 then the number of possible ways to win is 20. your expression should give this value for n=3(nXn) and k=2."

Problem 2

This question I got from Aditya. I hope I can recieve more and more puzzles from him :)
" There are two boxes. One is blue and the other is red. Blue box contains 200 blue balls. Red box contains 200 red balls. 20 blue balls will be shifted from Blue box to Red box. Afterwards you have to close eyes and shift 20 balls from Red box to Blue box. Finally which box contains more number of different colored balls?"

Problem 1

The following problem I came to know from Abhishek, a friend at SUNY, Buffalo. Let's see how long it takes you to get the answer.
"How many cuts you need to divide a cake into 8 equal parts?"
Have fun!

Double Melon Bowls

(From Better Homes and Gardens )

PREP 25 minutes STAND 20 minuets
FREEZE Overnight

INGREDIENTS
2 cups cubed seeded watermelon
1 medium cantaloupe (about 3 pounds), halved and seeded
1 quart vanilla frozen yogurt or ice cream, softened
Sea salt or kosher salt (optional)

PREPARATION
1. Place watermelon cubes in a single layer on a tray or in a shallow baking pan; freeze for 2 or 3 hours or until firm. Transfer to freezer bag or container until needed.

2. With large spoon, remove flesh from cantaloupe , leaving 1/4-inch shell; set fruit aside. Cut thin slide from the bottom of each shell so shell sits flat. Place shells, upside down, on paper towel-lined tray; set aside.

3. Place cantaloupe fruit in food processor or blender; cover and blend or process until smooth. Place fruit mixture in fine mesh sieve set over bowl. Let stand 5 minutes to remove excessive liquid; discard liquid. You should have about 1 cup pulp.

4. In a bowl gently fold pulp into softened frozen yogurt until just combined. Divide frozen yogurt mixture evenly between cantaloupe shells. Place shells on baking sheet or tray. Cover and freeze overnight until very firm.

5. Before serving, let shells stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes to soften slightly. Top with watermelon cubes; sprinkle watermelon lightly with sea salt, if desired. Scoop into serving bowls. Make 6 to 8 serving.