Jenny's Noodle

If you get your kicks from Facebook and Twitter, these Adidas sneakers may be just your style. Unfortunately, the Superstars aren't available for purchase—yet—but judging by the response on social media sites, it's only a matter of time.

Photo credit: Gerry Mckay/Behance.net

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov. 21):

Answer: Berlin and Maseru

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Nov. 28: Name the setting for an old television show that was also a series of popular movies. The answer consists of two words, with five letters in each word. The last three letters of the last word plus the first three letters of the first word, in that order, name a country. What country is it?

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

The Google Doodle on Tuesday, November 23, 2010.

Google is already prepping for Thanksgiving (and I'm still trying to get my house clean). On Tuesday, the search engine's logo incorporated a cornucopia of ingredients assembled by Food Network celebrity chef Ina Garten. "Fabulous!"

Clicking on the Google Doodle led to a landing page featuring "six simple yet delicious recipes to make one of the year's biggest dinner parties as easy as, well, pumpkin pie." Each recipe was selected by the Barefoot Contessa herself, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday — "How easy is that?"

Ina Garten's Thanksgiving Recipes from Google:
• Perfect Roast Turkey w/ Herb & Apple Stuffing
• Popovers
• Smashed Sweet Potatoes
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Cranberry Fruit Conserve
• Pumpkin Banana Mousse Tart

Photo credit: HARPO

The Oprah Winfrey Show is in it's finale 25th season, so this year's annual Favorite Things episode(s) had to be ridiculously faaaaabuuuuulousssss! Luckily, Oprah did not disappoint. People in the audience literally lost their damn minds—screaming, crying, jumping up and down while hugging complete strangers—check, check and check.

And you get a car, AND YOU GET A CAR and YOU GET A CAR!

Yes, everyone in the audience for Part 2 of Oprah's Ultimate Favorite Things show (this year Oprah really outdid herself with a surprise 2-parter of faves) got a 2012 VW Beetle, an iPad, and a bunch of other stuff most of us can't afford... but my favorite thing was given away in Part 1. It wasn't the Royal Caribbean cruise (you're all going on a 7-day CRUUUUUUISE), or even the PUT ON YOUR 3D GLASSES 'cause you're all getting a 52" HDTV with 3D, but...

...the Baker's Edge BAKING PANS! Baker's Edge Baking Pans for everyOOOOOOONE!

These pans are genius and thank you Oprah for introducing them to me. Genius, I say! Why? Corner pieces of lasagna and/or brownies for all of YOUUUUUUUU. Also, this favorite thing was one of the only reasonably priced items on the list. Unless you have a spare $500 lying around to waste on a cashmere sweater you'll never wear?

(Note: I totes agree with Oprah—Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix really is the best. I'll vouch.)

In case you missed it, download Oprah's Ultimate Favorite Things 2010 Shopping List [pdf] or watch this:

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov. 14):

Answers include: Nineteen ninety-nine and Antoine et Antoinette (1947 film)

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Nov. 21: What two world capitals can be found by rearranging the letters in the phrase "serial number." (Hint: If you need help getting started, here's a list of capital cities.)

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

Who doesn't love a good video montage? Let me throw some quick numbers at you:
"Wowsers!"


[via Gawker]

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov. 7):

Answer: Milk jug (G H I J K L M)

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Nov. 14: What is the longest familiar phrase title, or name in which the only consonants are N and T, repeated as often as necessary?

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

Excuse me, Mrs. Parker? Mrs. Parker! Can I interest you in a glass of Ice-T, chilled over Ice Cube(s)!? Doink doink...

Photo credit: Super Punch via kottke

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in the First World War, then known as "the Great War." Commemorated as Armistice Day beginning the following year, November 11th became a legal federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became Veterans Day, a holiday dedicated to American veterans of all wars. (source)

For more information about Veterans Day, please visit www.va.gov.

Cupcakes featured in the book "Hello, Cupcake!" Photo credit: Real Simple

Cupcakes seem to be the new "it" food lately, and can you really blame them? They're delicious! Today we have an excuse to enjoy these delightful treats — November 10 is National Vanilla Cupcake Day!

When I learned of today's food holiday, I immediately thought of an episode of Paula's Best Dishes that I happened to catch the other day. Hey y'all! The show featured Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, the authors of Hello, Cupcake! (which I happen to own) and What's New, Cupcake?, their follow-up book. The couple showed Paula how to make one of their signature whimsical cupcake creations, the "TV Dinner," in which candies and other sweet ingredients are cleverly manipulated to resemble turkey, peas & carrots and mashed potatoes with butter & gravy. The pair also has a recipe for "Corn-on-the-Cob" cupcakes using jellybeans as kernels. Both recipes call for vanilla cupcakes as a base, and with Thanksgiving just around the corner...well, you know what to do...

> Recipe for TV Dinner Cupcakes
> Recipe for Corn-on-the-Cob Cupcakes

Photo credit: CHOW

Don't bother scraping leftovers into Tupperware and trying to shove it all into an already packed refrigerator this holiday season. Instead, make the Thanksgiving Turkey Cake. This incredible concoction combines all the usual fixins—turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and roasted marshmallows—into one hearty cake. You're welcome.

> Get the recipe here

I'm a Jeopardy gal (watch it practically every evening), but this is pretty impressive. If you haven't seen the video yet, try to solve the Wheel of Fortune puzzle above with just the letter "L" uncovered (as shown). A contestant named Caitlin did just that on a recent episode of the game show. Watch:

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct. 31):

Answer: Parrot (par, rot); raptor (rap, tor)

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Nov. 7: Write out the 26 letters of the alphabet. Take a sequence of seven letters, change one letter in that sequence to a U, and rearrange the result to name something you might find in your refrigerator. Hint: The answer is a two-word phrase.

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

Photo credit: Main Street Bagel Deli

Grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, tuna fish, turkey and cheese, triple-decker club...there are so many different kinds of sandwiches and today we celebrate all of them—Happy National Sandwich Day!

The first historical record of the sandwich dates back to the 1st Century B.C., when the finger food was created by a rabbi named Hillel the Elder. But today's food holiday actually commemorates the birth of English aristocrat John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (November 3, 1718 – April 30, 1792).

As the story goes, Montagu was a compulsive gambler to the point where he would sometimes refuse to leave the card table—even for meals. It is said that the aristocrat ordered his valet to bring him a piece of salted beef tucked between two pieces of bread. This "sandwich" allowed him to continue playing cribbage as he ate, and without getting his cards greasy. Since Montagu also held the title of the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, others began to order "the same as Sandwich!" And, thus, the modern concept of the sandwich was born.

What does your favorite sandwich say about your personality? Take this quiz and share your results in the comment section below. Here's what I got:

You are a GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH: a traditional person with very simple tastes. In your opinion, the best things in life are free, easy, and fun. You totally go with the flow. And you enjoy every minute of it!
Your best friend: The Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
Your mortal enemy: The Ham Sandwich

Pretty accurate!

Photo credit: Wallpapers Land