AbleBrains

AbleAdvisory: Benioff Says Cloud 2 Era Upon Us

Hat tip to fellow Irregular Dennis Moore for the tweet on this article. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says we're on the cusp of entering the Cloud 2 era, even though most IT organizations are just discovering Cloud 1.0.  What I found particularly fascinating  was this item:

"There's a shift going on from Amazon to Facebook: Where I was having to pull information from the Internet, now it's  being pushed at me," Benioff said. "[We use] computers that we are touching, not clicking. We're adopting this new technology really fast; you're walking around with your iPad, but it's subtle what kind of a change this is."

I never feel as if I have to pull information from the likes of Amazon.  I think Amazon was the proving ground for B2C personalization, as I discussed the other day.   Amazon's business model does not require the push intensive modality that Facebook has deployed (but that's not to say they couldn't see some incremental value from it).  Any way an interesting read.  Especially the competitive swipes...

The big existing players -- IT companies such as Microsoft and IBM, Benioff said -- are getting "dropped away, they're just gone, in terms of new purchase decisions, new technology decisions, and great new technologies getting dropped straight into the mainstream of the market. That's what's really exciting to me right now... the first shift was -- us [Salesforce] moving our customers from the client-server model of the old Siebel/Oracle/SAP stuff into the cloud."

Veal with Artichokes

For our seders this year,  I prepared two meat dishes, a Bison Brisket and Joan Nathan's Veal With Artichokes accompanied with Syrian Stuffed Prunes... I've been asked to share the recipes so here are the recipes for the Veal and Syrian Prunes... sorry, the Brisket is a family secret...

Veal With Artichokes

What you Need...

• 9 artichokes -- - or - 2 cans artichoke hearts -- 14 oz each - I went with the canned artichoke hearts (1.5 cans) as I don't have the guts to cut the hearts out of defenseless artichokes.
• 2 c water
• 2 lemons
• 3 lb veal shank -- cut in 2" cubes - I used 4lbs of boneless Veal
• 1/3 c vegetable oil
• salt and pepper -- to taste
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cumin - you cannot use cumin when cooking for Passover if you are an ashkenazic jew. Cumin is considered "kitniyot" as is rice,     corn, peanuts, and legumes (beans).  All of these     items are commonly used to make bread, thus use of them is prohibited to     avoid any confusion.  Some spices such as cumin are also considered kitniyot... so will have to make with  cumin next time to see the difference
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley -- chopped
• 1 clove garlic

How You Do it...

Peel off the outer leaves of the artichokes and pull out the hairy center. Cut out the heart. Divide each heart in quarters and drop into enough water to cover, with 1 lemon, quartered. If using canned artichoke hearts, simply quarter them and place into the water with the quartered lemon.  I took 1/4 lemon and squeezed it into the water directly.

Saute the meat in oil, leaving a few tablespoons of oil for later use with the artichokes. Add salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin and parsley. When the meat is brown, lower flame and add 1/3 c water. Cover and simmer over a low flame, 1 hour.

While the meat is simmering, place the artichoke hearts in 1/2 c water with about 3 tbsp oil, the garlic, salt and the remaining lemon, quartered. Bring to a boil and reduce flame. Simmer, covered, 10-15 minutes, until tender but not soft. After the meat had simmered for an hour then add the artichokes and their liquid to the meat. Cover and let stew another 30 min. Serve with Syrian stuffed prunes and rice (again, rice is kitniyot so we served with Red Bliss potatoes).

And here's how to make the Syrian Stuffed Prunes....

• 12 ounces pitted prunes
• 1/2 cup walnut halves
• 2 tablespoon margarine
• 1 cup sweet red wine
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate syrup, available in Middle Eastern groceries
• juice of 1/2 lemon
  

Stuff the prunes with the walnut halves.

Sauté in margarine for about 5 minutes, until tender.

Add the wine, pomegranate syrup, and lemon juice. Simmer, uncovered, over a low heat for about 20 minutes. Serve as an accompaniment to turkey, lamb, or veal with artichokes, using the juice as a sauce

Both recipes from: The Jewish Holiday Kitchen, by Joan Nathan.  Schocken Books, New York: 1988. 

Passover Seder

Mr. and Mrs. Scrumptious came to our house for Seder on Tuesday nite.   There is a wonderful post by Mrs. Scrumptious on our Seder.  Check it out!  Thank you!  And thanks to all who came and ate with us.

For My Foodie Friends

Some of my foodie friends have been trying to draw me out from Lurkdom on their blogs. Most notably Steph from  Scrumptious Street, which is one of the best New York city based blogs for cooking.
For her and her friends, I tried my hand at a simple Yahoo Pipe: New York City Food Blogs (RSS feed) and the Original Pipe... Enjoy!

Dinner With the Nolans

I was in Palo Alto last week visiting our offices there (the SAP Board had descended) and I had the pleasure to dine with Jeff and Lisa Nolan.  Actually, dine is the wrong word.  I was pampered by Jeff and Lisa.  Jeff is a fantastic cook, with an excellent "food sense".  We also had some great wines as well (Jeff, am still waiting for that Pinot :).

Any way, if you get the opportunity to have Jeff cook for you, I most certainly recommend that you don't pass it up.

Thanx Jeff!