Rock Band Guitar

I have a friend who likes, among other things, the color green, celtic knots, and Rock Band. For Christmas, I painted him a custom Rock Band guitar controller and a matching pair of drumsticks.

I carefully took apart the guitar and sanded all the exterior surfaces. I don't know if the sanding was really necessary, but the plastic was brand new and shiny, and I wasn't taking any chances with peeling paint. I had to unscrew all of the components that stick out the front panel so I could secure the holes with masking tape.

I first painted all the parts with Rustoleum Plastic Primer, which is a cool product that lets you use any normal spray paint as a top coat. I like this better than the limited color selection of specialty plastic paints. In the picture above you can see the parts are suspended on paper plates and chunks of styrofoam so that their edges can be painted cleanly. They're held in place with blue-tack underneath so they don't slide off the cardboard when I carry them around. After the primer I applied two layers of colored paint and then a clear top coat.
It took a little practice to get the buttons off the neck. The trick is to put a tiny flat screwdriver between the clip of the button and the side of the frame and then slide it out one side at a time. I sanded the surfaces to roughen them and also to get the colored paint off the ends. I numbered the buttons with a sharpie inside before I took the colors off, but it turns out to be pretty easy to sort them just by size.


Finally, I used my vinyl cutter to make the stencil for the celtic knot on the pick guard.

Ponzu Sauce and Peanut Dipping Sauce

Ponzu Sauce

Ponzu sauce is a tasty condiment, useful on rice or with gyoza. Here's a ponzu sauce recipe I pieced together from some other recipes. Ponzu sauce is traditionally made with yuzu, but you can substitute other kinds of citrus. I used half a grapefruit, one orange, two lemons and a lime. Make sure to get organic citrus for the zesting. I couldn't find an organic grapefruit so I zested an extra orange instead. You'll find the mirin, rice vinegar, kombu, and bonito at your local Japanese grocery.

1 1/2 cups citrus juice
zest of citrus (zest it before you juice it)
1 1/2 cups soy sauce
3/4 cup mirin (sweet rice wine for cooking)
4 teaspoons sugar
4 teaspoons rice vinegar
3x4 inch piece of kombu seaweed
2 cups bonito flakes

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Make sure to stir in the seaweed and fish flakes so they are soaking in the liquid. Cover the bowl and stick it in the fridge for at least a day. Then strain out the solids. A food mill works great for this. It makes about a quart, plus a little extra to enjoy as you jar it up.


Peanut Dipping Sauce or Salad Dressing

Bonus recipe, using the ponzu sauce made above.

ponzu sauce
peanut butter
toasted sesame oil
chili paste (sambal oelek)
ginger, garlic, sugar, etc

Mix ponzu sauce and peanut butter about 1:1. If you want it thicker, add more peanut butter, and vice versa. I used unsalted unsweetend creamy peanut butter. (Just ground-up peanuts.) Mix in about a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil per cup of sauce. For more complex flavor, experiment with fresh or powdered garlic or ginger, a dash of sugar, or anything else. Add some chili paste, until it's 80% as spicy as you want it. Refrigerate it overnight, and it will become spicier.

Happy New Year! Spicy Bourbon Lemonade

To get started, here's my recipe for Spicy Bourbon Lemonade. Cayenne pepper is one of my favorite things, so I try out a lot of recipes that call for it. This mix is of my own invention. I made a big pitcher of this for a New Year's party last night and it all disappeared, despite people's initial skepticism.

1 part fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 part maple syrup
1 part bourbon (I like Knob Creek)
cayenne pepper to taste

Pour the liquids in a jar or cocktail mixer and shake well, then start slowly adding cayenne pepper, shaking and tasting, until you like the heat level. Start very slow. For a single drink (1.5 ounces of each liquid) you don't want more than a pinch of cayenne.

Once the mix is the way you want it, dilute it with cold seltzer water, at least 1:1. Don't try to add the cayenne after the seltzer; the bubbles make it very hard to mix in.

Now I too have a blog

People have been telling me for a while I should start a blog to record the recipes I come up with and things I make. Jan 1 seems like as good a time as any to give it a try.