Another Dinner Riff

Now that Christmas is over and we have eaten enough leftovers I was a bit concerned tonight about what we should make for dinner. After all you can only have leftovers so many days and, ugh! Well you understand.

Looking through our fridge and pantry I discovered some uncooked chicken tenders in the freezer, so I thought a little bit on it and came up with this variation on Spanish Rice (yes we keep a lot of these spices around):

Ingredients

1 lb of chicken tender, cut into 1 inch cubes and seasoned with salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1/2 green pepper, chopped fine
]/2 red pepper, chopped fine
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
3 or 4 sprigs chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup medium hot salsa
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium heat in a large pan and add the rice, cooking until it begins to brown. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate covered with a paper towel to drain. Add the cut chicken and cook until no longer pink, but do not over cook. Set this on the plate with the draining rice.

Add the remaining oil to the pan and saute the vegetables until the onions are clear, then add back the rice and chicken to the pan. Season this mixture with the salsa, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Pour in the chicken stock, turn down the heat, cover and reduce until the stock is nearly absorbed. At the end toss in the cilantro.

The prep time is about 20 minutes and cooking will take 30 minutes. We served it with a crusty bread. I imagine it would work great with cold beer. We had none, so we settled for a glass of red wine.

Riffing On Dinner Tonight!

This afternoon I surveyed my freezer thinking about tonight’s dinner and found a single round steak, usually an unappealing, tough but lean inexpensive cut of beef. I also found one large Russet potato. How to pump this up and make this stretch into a meal for three adults?

I’ve done pepper steak many times before but wasn’t always thrilled by how it turned out; usually tough and bland tasting. I needed to do something different with this or it was going to be another Subway night. Now that’s not a bad thing but I like to cook and love challenges, so it was on!

First, while the steak thawed in the sink I peeled the potato, and dropped that into some boiling water. Next, while the potato softened, I assembled my ingredients:

A cored and roughly chopped green pepper and red pepper, or whatever you have on hand in the crisper

1 yellow onion, chopped about the same size as the peppers

1 cup chopped parsley (use dried if you have none on hand fresh)

3 tbsps. olive oil, divided

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 cup beef broth (bouillon is fine)

1 cup red wine

1/2 cup bourbon

1 tbsp flour

salt and pepper

dry spices, including Montreal Steak Seasoning, rosemary, thyme and tarragon

DIRECTIONS

Remove the potato from the boiling water and set aside. While this is cooling preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Slice the meat against the grain on the bias thinly. Place the sliced beef in a large bowl and season with the Worcestershire sauce, Montreal Steak Seasoning, salt, pepper and dried tarragon leaves. Dust with flour and mix thoroughly, setting aside to marinate a few minutes.

Saute the vegetables in a tbsp of oil over medium heat in a large pan until the onions are clear. In this stage I like to add another layer of seasoning by sprinkling a pinch of salt and pepper on the vegetables while they cook. Remove the cooked vegetables. Add the remaining oil and drop in the sliced beef, browning on all sides. Return the sauteed vegetables to the pan and pour in the broth, wine and bourbon. Reduce heat and cover, allowing to simmer about 30 minutes. The last five minutes of simmering mix in the chopped fresh parsley.

While the beef is simmering cut the cooled potato into medium squares and put in a gallon plastic storage bag. Pour in a tablespoon of the oil, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. Shake to mix and spread out onto a baking sheet covered in foil. I spray the foil with oil to make sure the potato will not stick. Place the sheet in the preheated oven and roast until the potatoes are golden brown, about 30 minutes. You may want to turn the potatoes over about half way through to ensure browning on both sides.

This dish goes well with a green vegetable or a salad and a glass of Merlot. It was awesome tonight, tender and flavorful, perfectly balanced by the creamy roasted potatoes!

World War II Books

When I was a kid middle school and high school I was fascinated by WWII books, especially first hand accounts of soldiers and journalists who survived the war and later wrote books describing their experiences.

Some of the best included Robert Leckie's Helmet For My Pillow and Audie Murphy's To Hell and Back. These were great books that I read and re-read in my youth. Over the last few years I have purchased them again (the original books that I bought were lost long ago) and discovered again why I loved them - they were gripping stories well told and rich with memorable characters.

One of the most best loved of all these novels that captivated me as a youth was Richard Tregaskis' Guadalcanal Diary, a first person telling of America's first offensive in the Pacific war against the Japanese. I remembered even 45 years later passages of Tregaskis' vivid description of this brutal fight which lasted from August 7, 1942 to February 1943. Whole passages were burned in my mind of his description of the aftermath of the Battle of Tenaru, the horrific night bombardments by the Japanese Navy, still sailing proudly and not yet defeated by American naval and air power.

This was a combined arms battle in which the US did not have full control of the seas. In fact, until the US Navy learned the night fighting techniques the Japanese had mastered, we were badly mauled in one engagement after another at sea; many allied warships were sunk in Iron Bottom Bay, the name that was given to the waters around Guadalcanal by US sailors and marines. It was also at night that the Japanese ran it's Tokyo Express, a pipeline of men and material reinforcing its troops on this miserable island. For a time, the US Navy even had to abandon the men of the 1st Marine Division on the island, for fear of being caught unloading supplies by marauding Japanese warships.

It was this uncertainty that Tregaskis' book so effectively depicted. Yes the marines were angry with the Navy for abandoning them in the early stages of the invasion, but that turned out to only be temporary. The fact was that America was not ready to go over to the offensive in the summer of 1942. We still did not have the forces, material or support ships needed to sustain offensive action in the Pacific at that time. Tregaskis' book made the reader feel the insecurities of these times so well, and that's what riveted me to the story.

I have looked high and low for this book because I wanted to read it again. It's been out of print but I found it on Amazon Books. It's a fast read, but reading it brought back more than old war stories; I saw a 13 year old kid in thick black glasses, buried in this book and marveling at the world of struggle and triumph that it conjured up.

Christmas Memories

What's your fondest memories of the season? My memories are all great ones, but my most treasured have to be growing on Maxwell Street in Chicago. Now of course I have written about my family's experiences in that fabled Chicago neighborhood before, so I don't want to rehash old ground here. But basically it's good to remember that my mom and dad were poor working musicians, just barely making a living and providing for their young family.

We did without most of the year; old clothes, simple meals, cold, drafty apartments (lots of colds and flu), no extras and no luxuries, such as medical care. My parents definitely qualified for government programs, food stamps and the like, but they were too proud to accept handouts - and never did.

What they did do was scrimp and save all year long, to make sure that my sister and I always always had a good Christmas, and that the family had bountiful (for us) food on the table during the holiday season. I don't know where they found the money, but we always had roast turkey, ham and plenty of sides at Thanksgiving and Christmas; there was always a tree (remember those old aluminum trees?) and plenty of presents.

Santa always came and left us new toys and dolls which my sister and I cherished, and played with the rest of the year. In one case at least, we have preserved our oldest gifts. I wrote about our stuffed dolls Bun Bun and Tisa last year. They have been through wars, but they still survive, even after 50 years!


But it's not about the gifts and toys, which we all shared gratefully, that still warms my heart. It's about the love and companionship shared by our small, insular family against the ravages of weather and the environment of the neighborhood in which we had live because of our low income status. Inside our homes we had books, music, conversation and family meals together almost every night. During the holidays these meals were feasts. Outside, in the dreadful winters of Chicago, there was cold, snow and slush, sub-zero temps, and mayhem in the streets every night. Even in the 1960's, when I grew up, there were drugs, prostitution, murder and maiming going on every day. But not in our home!

It wasn't idyllic by any means. But as a young child I never really knew what was going on outside our doors until I was in my teens. It was only then that I began to appreciate what my parents had done to protect us from the harm that was surely present in those neighborhoods. We had not been totally protected though; I did witness a man die violently from a stabbing through his neck on a shoe shine stand over a few pennies one summer. I still dream about it today.

In 1969, when I was thirteen, our grandfather passed and left us a little money. My parents and my dad's sister pooled their inheritance and purchased a two-flat fixer-upper in Pilsen, a couple miles north of of Maxwell street. It was a marginally better neighborhood and the home was much better, even in it's run down state, than the rat and roach infested apartment that we had moved from. My parents got right to work fixing up the place, making it a real home. My mom lived there till she died in 1981, and my dad and my aunt stayed on in their flats into the 90's when she died and my dad could no longer keep the place up by himself.

But every holiday we had there together was just as great; and as teens we were able capture so many of those memories on our color cameras! I feel so blessed to have had such experiences such as these. Kids always seem to want to get away from parents as soon as possible; while that was true for me, there was always something welcoming going home from school. It was simply called home.

So what tradition do I still keep to remember the old times at Christmas? Well it starts with the ornaments. Our tree has lots of old ornaments, given to me by students over the years, made by my son, or carrying inscriptions remembering our parents. Putting up that tree is a time to recall all those warm feelings and memories, and to remember our roots.

And I still do one thing eve today that I did as a kid - before the presents are put down; I get under the tree and look up at all the bright lights and tinsel. I have my wife eagerly doing the same thing now - a new, old tradition still alive today!

Buttered Egg Noodles

So many times, when we prepare a meat dish we find ourselves at a loss for a good side dish - and we turned to those over-salted boxed messes that, while quick to prepare, are not all that great tasting. The long list of chemicals added to that white packet inside - AKA Mystery Envelope - makes a bad situation worse!

From time to time I have eschewed such gastronomic platitudes for something better. We have tried making our own buttered egg noodles, with limited success, until we came upon this gem from a contributor to the FoodTV website, David Ball. It's tweeked here a bit to make it a little less fat-laden (the original recipe called for a stick of butter, plus a finishing pat. I kept the finishing pat in).

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups of water
8 oz. dried egg noodles
2 chicken bouillon cubes (I use a tsp of Better Than Bouillon)
1/4 stick of unsalted butter plus 1 pat)
1 tbsp of dried parsley or 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
dash of salt and fresh cracked pepper

Directions

Bring the water, bouillon, salt, pepper and butter to boil over medium heat. Add the egg noodles and stir. Allow the liquid to reduce but do not dry out. Remove from heat and melt the pat of butter in the noodles. Stir in the parsley and serve immediately with your beef, pork or poultry entree and a fresh salad.

Holiday Turkey Stuffing

This is a decadent but delicious stuffing that we have used many times, including last week's Thanksgiving meal. It can be roasted inside the bird, or as we do, baked in a large side pan to be served with the turkey. The recipe that I describe here is for the side pan. The portions that I give will stuff of a 14-18 pound turkey. This recipe is adapted from television chef Vince Scalese.

Ingredients

2 boxes Stove Top Chicken Herb Stuffing
1 box Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing

1 10 oz. package chopped frozen spinach, unthawed
3 cans low sodium chicken broth, low sodium
1 lb. hot Italian sausage
1 cube butter
1-1/2 cups Parmesan cheese
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
6 green onions
2 yellow onions
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup cooked wild rice

Directions

Chop all vegetables fine and mix in with the stuffing and Parmesan cheese. Press the water out of the spinach and saute in a medium sauce pan with the butter. Add the broth and heat through. While spinach mixture is heating remove the casing from the sausage and brown in a large skillet. To save on the fat you may drain this, but the original recipe called for the sausage and drippings to be used! That's your call. We strain off the excess oil.

Pour the broth and spinach mixture into the stuffing mix, then add the cooked sausage. Mix all of this thoroughly. If you prefer to stuff and bake your bird at this point the mixture will be wet and easy to spoon in. We butter a separate large Pyrex baking tray and pour our stuffing into tray, spreading it out evenly. We bake it uncovered in the oven at 350 degrees on a rack over the turkey that has been roasting at least an hour and a half prior. It will take only an hour for the stuffing to bake. If your turkey still requires more roasting time you can pull out the tray and cover it with foil until the turkey is done.

Serve on the side with cranberry sauce and a drizzle of that great turkey gravy you've made from the turkey drippings!

The NBA Lockout is Over

So it appears that the NBA lockout may be a thing of the past and labor peace is on the horizon. Well not quite, because the players still have to ratify the agreement. But that is most likely pro forma at this point. A sign of how things are going is the action of the players association, which just put the brakes on its antitrust suit against the owners.

Following a frantic camp opening and free-agent frenzy on December 9th, the season will be set to start with a 66-game season on Christmas Day. Traditionally that has been the NBA's biggest audience of the season. I have missed the NBA, missed wondering how my Bulls were going to get help for Derek Rose; missed seeing how LeBron and company deal with the "agony of defeat" following their poor showing in the finals to the Mavs.

But all that us about to change come December 9, with the delayed start of a new season. What is left unsaid, like the elephant in the room, is what the league intends to do about 32 teams, which I feel is too many to be sustained by the current economics of the NBA.

There are teams in trouble all over the league, which admits losing $300 million dollars in 2010-11. There is a team tottering in Sacramento, and the league owns and runs the New Orleans franchise because it can't find buyers. Other teams are certainly marginal in terms of financial health, but nobody is talking contraction yet. That needs to be on the table for the long-term survivability of this league.

What also needs to be part of continuing discussion is the minimum age for NBA eligibility. Yes Hall of Fame basketball players have come into the league right out of high school, but there is not a LeBron James in every draft. When kids are allowed to skip college and enter the NBA draft what is essentially does is gut college programs. Or worse, kids commit to a school, stay one year and then bolt. At the very least it's a bad public image black eye for the NBA and they ought to fix that. Raise that age to 20, please!

They did manage to divvy up a smaller economic pie and the owners caved on a hard salary cap; I just don't want to see this league and its players six years down the road in worse shape because of moves they made during this bargaining season. Either side can opt out of the deal in that time frame. That's not reassuring either.

As a fan of NBA basketball I am glad they will be on the court again soon, but what will this cost in the long run in ticket prices, cable/satellite TV costs and the overall viability of the league? We'll see, because ultimately we'll be the ones paying the higher costs that will be passed on to us.

SHS Concert

We debuted our jazz band this fall in a concert on Friday night, November 18th, along with our combined choirs, orchestra and a new ensemble this year - our middle school choir.

The show moved along well, with each performing group allotted fifteen minutes onstage, including set up, tuning and performance. There were great moments by all of our groups, as well as opportunities to improve. Our jazz band is an example. This was a good moment for them, playing a rock song that they liked and would have some audience appeal as well. Oh that's me playing third trumpet, because we are very short handed this semester. In January three more senior kids join and that will beef up the sound back there greatly.

I'm so pleased with our rhythm section this year, made up of mostly juniors and seniors. Next year will be a challenge to grow that group from underclassmen, so we'd better do all that we can to enjoy their work and dedication to the band.

Our choirs have been growing musically as well; they sang some serious literature this fall that demanded much from them in terms of phrasing, diction and pitch, to say nothing of vocal projection over medium to soft dynamic levels - very tough for students at this level, but they pulled it off.

This concert was billed as the Winter Arts Concert, even though it came this year before Thanksgiving. We deliberately did this in order to free up the December auditorium schedule for all of the other district music programs. We are growing, with another high school sharing this space as well as more robust music programs in our existing schools. We all use the district auditorium, requiring a booking of dates a year before. We're already looking at planning for Winter 2012, and that's a new phenomenon for us.

Will There Be An NBA Season?

The NBA players this week voted to "disclaim" their union this week, as opposed to de-certification. This thing has reached a point now that even unnamed sources right out of Commissioner Stern's office are saying the season is lost. At this point the outcome of an antitrust lawsuit on behalf of the players would seem the only hope of forcing the owners into real negotiating.

ESPN's Lester Munson writes: "Among the rhetoric being exchanged on Monday was this from David Stern about the union's move to disclaim: "It's just a big charade and it's really irresponsible given the timing of it." Is the commissioner right or wrong?

He is wrong. Stern may wish the players' action was a charade, but it is a serious legal action against an obvious monopoly that is using its total control of the market to take money and benefits from players. Stern and the owners have been worried about this since they began their lockout. The timing shows only that the players patiently negotiated until they realized the owners were asking for too much.

It is complicated, but the players have concluded that there is no chance to reach an acceptable bargain with the owners until they, the players, have more leverage. The antitrust lawsuit should give them that leverage. It could lead to an injunction that would stop the lockout. It could lead to discovery of accurate financial data from the owners. And it could lead to billions of dollars of damages for the players if they suffer the loss of a season. With these possible outcomes, many players and many of their agents have been demanding that the union take this step. It is the path that allowed NFL players to achieve free agency and massive increases in salaries and benefits when bargaining collapsed during their negotiations in the early '90s."

The players actually have to file an antitrust suit to force the owners into honest negotiation and disclosure of the real financial picture of the league. That they have been holding back in their negotiations with the players is now apparent; and here I was ready to jump down the players throats! They are still culpable in their endless greed, but the owners do not have clean hands either.

If the players can force the owners to negotiate in good faith - in the face treble damages in a federal case, we may yet see pro basketball this season, but I am not holding my breath for that.

More On the Penn State Scandal

There are times in this age of cyber news that you wonder just what people are thinking. Sometimes things slip, sometimes thoughts are leaked purposefully, and sometimes stupidity reigns. Like last night's Bob Costas' television interview with Jerry Sandusky.

Wait! His lawyer actually allowed him to talk to a journalist while the criminal case is pending? Oh it's worse than that - his counsel even suggested that Costas interview his client. I don't understand what happened there, because everything he said is admissible in court, unless counsel later intends to file a motion to suppress his client's statement. It makes no sense.

This was supposed to be an interview of Sandusky's lawyer, Joseph Amendola. About twenty minutes before the interview was to air, Amendola asked Costas if he would rather do a phone interview with his client. Of course Costas agreed, and later said that the lawyer placed no restrictions on the conversation.

When Mr. Amendola was asked why he was letting his client speak, he told Costas that Sandusky had already been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion and that they wanted their story out. So the interview proceeds and Sandusky admits to showering with young boys, placing his hand on their legs and general "horseplay", but with no sexual intent. He even admitted to being in the shower with the young boy in 2002 when McCreery, the coach-intern, found them in the shower. But he denied any wrongdoing.

I am sorry, but what is "right" about a 55 year old man showering with minor boys? Admitting that he was in that shower I would think damages his case badly, because it is only a small step to connecting that now established fact with sexual contact. And they have an eye-witness who now says he took steps to intervene and stop Sandusky from raping the child.

While not evidence I would say that Sandusky's tone and voice reflections were even creepy over the phone. If anyone could sound like a pedophile, he surely did. Why his lawyer would want to expose all this is beyond me. Maybe they are banking on a biased judge and jury. The prosecution is certainly thinking about this because they want a change of venue. How many people in that community are not tied to Penn State in one way or another?

What I am waiting for is the other shoe to drop - the Feds. There are allegations that Sandusky took boys across state lines to see the Nittany Lions play on the road. Look for federal indictments in this case at some point. Penalties are much stiffer in the Federal jurisdiction and the rules of evidence are somewhat less strict, even if Sandusky's lawyer should later move to suppress it in state court and the judge agrees. Stay tuned, because there is much more to come in this story.

The Penn State Scandal

I am afraid that the pedophile scandal which has rocked Penn State, shocked the nation and led to the firing of a true college coaching icon is yet more evidence of our willingness to let sports overrule common sense, and yes the law.

We learned in horror through the findings of the Grand Jury that former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky is culpable in alleged child sexual abuse, rape and sodomy cases at his home, in the facilities of Penn State and also at a local high school while coaching and also after retirement. Sandusky had emeritus status and thus access to the univeesity's facilities. Indeed he maintained an office there.

It seems sadly apparent that the charitable organization founded by Mr. Sandusky, The Second Mile, for wayward youth was his chief instrument through which the former coach could gain contact with young boys. These children were mostly from troubled homes and likely see as perfect targets for his predatory behavior.

It is tragic enough that Sandusky was able to prey on these children for so long; what is shocking was the apparent attitude of the immediate coaching staff and the school's administration, who knew of at least one witnessed rape, yet failed to report the incidents to police. There is a documented report in which an assistant coach actually saw Sandusky raping a 10 year old boy in a locker room shower. His response - he told his father! Why didn't he intervene, kick Sandusky's butt and protect the child by getting him out of there? And I don't buy for a moment that this coach was only a graduate assistant at the time. He was 28 years old!

Oh yes, he told Paterno the next day what he saw, and that went up the chain to the University president, but still no police report was made and Sandusky, then retired, was told to not bring young boys on campus again, following a university-led "investigation". Shameful, absolutely shameful.

Not once did any of these esteemed gentlemen I believe think about the well being of the child in question. It was apparent from the outset that their main focus was on the integrity of the Penn State Football program. This is the attitude which is endemic to our society. We don't hold successful athletes and programs responsible for their actions.

Time and time again we see athletes and athletic programs caught engaging in illegal or unethical activities. Rather than demand that these transgressions by punished like they would be if John Q. Citizen had committed them. we wrist-slap, or some cases let these acts go altogether. And we keep watching those games on TV and showing up at the stadiums. This is where we fail, because if the legal system misses the mark, we have the power to hold them accountable at the box office. But we don't. Just look at the students' reaction to the Paterno firing. A riot!

I don't know what coach Paterno knew and when; I don't even know if there is any legal culpability for anyone on his staff. I do know that it boggles the imagine that as late as 2002 nobody knew of the predatory behavior of Jerry Sandusky. And even when he was caught in the act, law enforcement was not involved in what can only have been construed as child rape. That they did nothing to me condemns the entire coaching staff and the school's administration. Everyone must go, and those who chose to sweep it under the rug have to be prosecuted. Justice calls for nothing less.

Beer Making At Home Part II

This morning I completed bottling two new brew recipes - a Canadian Draft and a recipe entitled Whispering Wheat, a very light, mild tasting brew that is one of my very favorites. All told I bottled some three dozen 12 oz. brews, plus two liter bottles, using bottling materials purchased previously from the manufacturer.

This is the fun part; testing for potential alcohol content (about 4%), sterilizing, pouring and sealing the bottles for the conditioning period, which will take 7 to 10 days. After that period of time they may be refrigerated and will ready to serve. There is no rushing this process!

(Note: The glass you see in the picture is from a previous batch that produced a nice, semi-dark Viennese ale).

What causes the carbonation in a bottle of home-brewed beer? Sugar. The yeast in the brew is still active. Sugar feeds the yeast, which releases carbon dioxide as a waste product. This action gives the beer its "head". Of course commercial manufacturers can carbonate artificially (many do) but there is something to be said for the natural method. I'll update you on that moment of truth when I pop my first bottle to "test" the process before packaging these bottles as Christmas gifts!

Beer Making At Home

Home brewing has really come on in recent years with the availability of products which make the process fun, easy to use and quite tasty as an end result. I don't endorse one beer-making kit over any other because good results can be achieved it seems with all of them.

I've been brewing my own beer for about two years now. While I am not a big beer drinker I love that they make great gifts, especially during the holiday season. I use the Mr. Beer system, which can be purchased at places like Total Wine, Cost Plus, and directly through their website for about $40. You don't have to spend a lot of money to get started with this hobby. Typically a starter kit might feature two or three types of beers for the hobbyist to make. Mr. Beer offers many recipes in its catalog, including various lagers, red beers, wheat beers and stouts. Refills featuring such recipes can cost $10 to $30; most make upwards of two plus gallons of beer.

The Mr. Beer kit comes with clear instructions, a brew keg, one beer recipe (wort), plastic PETA Bottles and a no-rinse sanitizer which must be used in order to eliminate bacterial growth. Brewing a flavor is very straight forward. The keg and all utensils used are sterilized in solution provided. A fructose booster is brought to a boil in a sauce pan and the wort (containing the hops and other beer essentials) are added to the dissolved booster.

The sterilized keg is filled with two gallons of distilled water, the wort mixture and the brewers yeast that comes with each beer recipe. The liquids are given a gentle stir, the keg is sealed and then stored in a cool dark place for a minimum of 7 days to ferment. Best results are achieved if you let the brew ferment for up to 10 days.

Fore those of you worried about ferment odor, relax. There is no smell of any kind. I use the top shelf of a closet in my exercise room. It's no maintenance at this point; the yeast does all the work for you!

At the end of the fermentation you are ready for bottling. After sterilizing the bottles according to procedures outlined in the instruction, a specified amount of sugar is added to the bottles and beer from the keg is poured into each one and sealed. At this point it is flat beer. The sugar feeds the yeast in the beer, which results in natural carbonation. This process is called conditioning, which takes a minimum of four days. I let the beer condition for about 10 days, again in a cool, dark space. At the end of this period the beer can be chilled and is ready for drinking. The head on the beer is fantastic.

One must remember that this is unfiltered beer. There will be yeast at the bottom of the bottle. The longer the beer conditions the clearer it will be come. I've let beer condition for weeks before refrigerating it. That beer is as clear as commercial brands.

If you are looking for a fun and relatively in expensive hobby to undertake I do recommend home brewing. It is relatively easy to do, tasty and makes a great gift idea. Alcohol content? I've measured between 3.5% and 6% with an accessory I purchased from the manufacturer to determine alcohol content. The more sugar in the wort the higher the alcohol content will become. Do try this!

On the NBA Lockout

I have been watching with an increasingly concerned viewpoint what the owners, players and league officials are doing to this game. Now I don't know all of the details of the negotiations, and have no labor law or collective bargaining qualifications, but I can speak of this situation from a fan's viewpoint, which I definitely am.

And what I hear through the news reporting is both alarming and disgusting. I hear of owners being called slave masters, players being labeled greedy and star players bolting to play in Europe and of course repeated calls for contraction. What will happen is that both sides are intent on killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Yes, there are too many teams in the National Basketball Association. There are markets which can no longer support or justify a franchise. Greedy owners are as much to blame as the players, driving up salaries by repeatedly working to outbid each other for star players. And let's face it, there are multimillionaire players in this league; so for some of them to characterize owners as slave masters is ludicrous.

The pie has become smaller due to economic and market pressures; everybody is going to have to take a smaller slice, and I think some teams will need to disappear. It's a market correction, something we ordinary folk who buy the tickets and subscribe to the cable and satellite feeds to watch the games have been suffering from since 9/11/2001. Welcome to tough times.

Sure the big stars can jump ship and play in Europe, but what about the mid-level and minimum salary guys who don't have that option? The players association should be fighting for them, but that's not been mentioned much. I'm afraid that reality has hit the players just like it has for every other American worker.

I am not gloating; I'm saddened because we're going to see a very different NBA emerge from this turmoil - when it does. It's not the die-hard fans it will lose; it's the casual viewers. Major League Baseball had a similar crisis in the previous decade. Remember they cancelled the 1994 World Series. What saved it was the Mark McGwire - Sammy Sosa home run record chase of 1998. Ironically that was discredited by steroids - but the new fans it attracted forgave baseball and they never left the sport.

There are no such opportunities in the offing for the NBA. Players and owners are all going to have to swallow some humble pie and figure out a way to give back to their fans while attracting new ones. Hiw about starting by lowering those outrageous ticket prices? If they don't do something conciliatory we may not see an NBA game until the 2012-13 season. By then it may be to late.

The Best Meals

It's my contention that the best tasting meals are often the unplanned ones - those made up from scratch at the last minute, like tonight's meal for example. I came home today and found no meat thawing in the fridge. But I did find a package of fully cooked chicken sausage and some shaved Asiago cheese. With the fresh vegetables such as green and red peppers, garlic, onions, and the like that we always have on hand, this was a snap to put together with our dry and canned goods cupboard. Use what peppers you have handy:

Ingredients

1 pkg rotini or bowtie pasta
4 links Italian style sausage, sliced thin
1 green pepper, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup grated or shredded cheese, Parmesan, Asiago or other Italian style
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
Dash red pepper flakes

Directions

In a large pot bring 8 cups of salted water to a boil and cook pasta to al dente, drain and set aside. Retain some of the pasta water in the pan to keep it from sticking together. While pasta is cooking heat oil in a large covered skillet and toss in all of the vegetable except the garlic. Saute until the onions are clear and add the garlic and the dried spices. Continue cooking for another minute and add the sausage, heating through. Finally pour in the tomatoes and the drained pasta, tossing the mixture to coat thoroughly. You may sprinkle on the cheeses here or wait until plating.

Cover the pan and heat until liquids have been absorbed. Plate and top with more cheese and serve with crusty white bread and a full-bodied red wine.

Home, Sweet Home Chicago!

This photo of Chicago is courtesy of TripAdvisor

What is it about Chicago that draws me back? Well I suppose that I can answer that question myself, after lived here from 1956 to 1987. It's home, of course. Filled with the whole gamut of memories one can accumulates in thirty plus years of living in any one place, from joy to pain and everything in between. As I drive through the neighborhoods (and yes, Chicago is still a city of neighborhoods, despite all of the great imagery of it's awe inspiring skyline in media images), I am reminded how working class the city really is. On practically every block of major arteries you see small business; family-owned and operated stores, shops and medical practices. And such diversity too!

For me the first thing that I think of the cuisine available here; Italian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Soul, Greek, Polish, Jewish, German, Middle Eastern - it's all represented here and in abundance. One of the most wonderful smells that I remember as a child was walking down 18th street near Halsted and smelling fresh tortillas and Mexican sweet breads being made in a tortilla shop along that street. It's still there and I'll bet if I walked there again I would still smell those wonderful aromas.

But today as it was back when I lived here, it's a dangerous city too, full of violence. If you go looking for trouble you will quickly find it. And sometimes the trouble will find you when you are not looking for it. There are certain places that you just do not go to, especially at night. That's true of any major city, for sure, but the Chicago spin on crime is particularly distinctive.

I am reminded that a major reason why we left the city (my wife was born here too), was that as a young married couple we had our apartment broken into and ransacked on the near north side. That incident was particularly troubling to us because the whole building we were living in was robbed in broad daylight. If you have ever had the misfortune of being broken into you know how violated you feel afterward.

Still, those unpleasant memories aside, the city calls for me. I have always loved it's cultures, it's sports atmosphere, it's restaurants, and of course the many great institutions of higher education here. One of which, De Paul University, is my Alma mater and which brings me to town this week to attend Reunion Week activities.

I've made my home in Tucson, Arizona, another great city that I adore - in an entirely different way. But my first home was here, in the Windy City. And I will always consider it home base, no matter how far I am away from it. Anytime come here it brings a smile to my face!

New Blog Page

Hey Everyone! Welcome to Tom's Rest Stop. This is the new place for my ramblings and recipes! Stay tuned as I have a backlog of things to post! Thanks for being so faithful!

The Phenomena of Staycations

The economic hard times have had a huge impact on summer vacation travels, and since 2001 there has been a dramatic rise in vacationers either treating their own homes as a resort or taking short, local trips to lodging and resources their own cities and states have to offer. Wikipedia cites these important benefits to staycations:

1) Staycations are far less costly than a vacation involving traveling. There are no lodging costs and travel expenses are minimal. Costs may include transportation for local trips, dining, and local attractions. "The American Automobile Association said the average North American vacation will cost $244 per day for two people for lodging and meals... Add some kids and airfare, and a 10-day vacation could top $10,000".

2) Staycations do not have the stress associated with travel, such as packing, long drives, or waits at airports.

3) Indeed, a few people go as far as only leaving their home for their usual errands (such as food shopping). Those with backyard swimming pools have an advantage as they can spend more time swimming without leaving their property and sometimes have as much fun as they might have had going anywhere.

4) Staycations may be of economic benefit to some local businesses, who get customers from the area providing them with business. In 2008, the tourism bureaus of many U.S. cities also began promoting staycations for their residents to help replace the tourism dollars lost from a drop in out-of-town visitors.

The benefits are even greater if you live in a state that has great tourist features such as luxury resorts, nature sight-seeing attractions or amusement parks. In hot states such as Arizona many resorts offer wonderful summer rates because their occupancy rates tend to be low; it has been an alternative to simply closing up for the summer, as some still do here.

We have taken many weekend staycations over the last ten years in both Tucson and Phoenix; Hermosa Inn, Westward Look, The Phoenician, Miraval and Tubac, Marriott Dove Mountain and Starr Pass have all have been destinations for my family.

The rates are usually great, the accommodations and dining have been awesome, and it feels good to support attractions in our own back yard. Plus we can drive to all of these resorts with a 120 miles radius of our house. That mean drive time of two hours or less. The new Marriott Dove Mountain is a fabulous resort seven miles from our front doorstep. Why not patronize them.

The Wigwam Golf Resort has had a celebrated history in the West Valley area of Phoenix (Litchfield Park) since the 1950's. And recent refurbishments to the restaurants and rooms have been fantastic. I am not a golfer, but I do appreciate the four courses on this property, the first to be designed by Robert Trent Jones in Arizona. The Golf Course there is championship quality. All are beautiful!

This was not our first stay at the Wigwam. The last time we were there was a few years back. The smooth jazz saxophonist Kim Waters performed a concert there and we won a radio call in contest for a weekend stay. That was fabulous.

Our sojourn this weekend included a package of massages, manicures, pedicures and fine dining. Yes we pampered ourselves, but why not? With rewards points that Linda used from her work and the summer packages that were offered we were able to enjoy this resort all all of its amenities for about $200 a day. And at 109 miles from home, the travel was a snap!

That Perfect French Fry!

One of my food weaknesses in life are French fries! I work out, I watch what I eat now and I am trying to keep my weight and cholesterol down. It’s a struggle but it is also something most of us wrestle with, especially as we grow older.

So when I indulge in fries I try not to get the fast food kind, but go the frozen route, and bake them in the oven. But that’s no bargain either because the fries are laden with fat, salt and chemicals before they are frozen, so there is the dilemma.

This weekend I was watching America’s Test Kitchen and the subject of making good fries at home was on the program. If you want a detailed explanation of how they came up with the procedure I am about to describe you can go to their website for the information. What I am going to do is simply discuss my experience with making them the way they prescribe.

The suggestion is to start with cold peanut oil and Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced evenly into ¼ -inch sticks. Don’t bother peeling because this type of potato has a very thin skin. America’s Test Kitchen insists that the procedure does not work as well with other potato varieties. You are after a crunchy golden brown outside and a creamy interior.

Place the potatoes in a large frying pan and cover with cold peanut oil. Wait! Won’t the potatoes soak up all that oil? According to the testers, no they won’t. The amount of oil that is soaked into the potatoes is proportionate to the temperature. The higher the heat, the more water is driven out and replaced by the oil!

So bring the potatoes and oil to a rolling boil. When the oil first starts to vigorously boil, start a timer! Fifteen minutes maximum. And don’t stir them around, except to gently separate any that are stuck either to the side of the pan or together. You don’t want to break up the potatoes.

At fifteen minutes or when the potatoes have that golden brown color, remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon or spatula and place on paper towels to drain. Salt at this time to taste, and you are ready to dine!

I tried this method today and it worked great! I only used one medium potato so I didn’t quite need the entire 15 minutes they called for (I could visually see the browning that I wanted in the pan). The fries were crunchy, creamy and not at all greasy or soggy. The cool thing about it is that I wasn’t ingesting seven or eight chemicals that I can neither, pronounce, spell nor wish to eat, and I was able to control the salt content.

So what about deep fryers? We've never owned one because we don't fry foods all that often. The show tested six fryers during their research into making the perfect French fry and found that none of them gave very good results. Fries invariably turned out soggy and oily.

If you are on a strict diet, fries are problematic. But we are talking about occasional indulgences here and not a dietary staple. Try it for yourself and see!

Smoking a Brisket on a Gas Grill

The summer's almost over for me but there are still a few days left to get out in my back yard and do some grilling and smoking. I love a good Texas brisket that has been well-smoked; it is lean, tender and quite juicey.

It is also a tough piece of meat if not properly prepared and let's face it; many of us have gas grills only. Also, if you live in an apartment complex there may be rules prohibiting the burning of charcoal grills. But you can get great smoke results on a gas grill if you take the right steps in your preparation.

I'm using several sources, including old rub recipes we have accumulated, and material from Steven Raichlen's book, How to Grill. It's an excellent manual for grillers, with lots of pictures, and simple instructions. It's also quite massive at nearly 500 pages. Here we go!

Dry Rub

3 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp coarse salt
2 tbsp black pepper
11/2 tsp brown sugar
11/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Optional Marinade

½ cup red wine
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chopped garlic
2 tbsp spicy mustard
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Mop Sauce

1 cup white vinegar
1 cup beer
1 cup bourbon
1/2 cup molasses
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp black pepper

Meat Preparation

Apply dry-rub seasoning to the meat the night before cooking and allow it to sit, draped in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator overnight. This allows the seasonings to absorb into the meat and cure it. If you are using the marinade instead, use a turkey roaster bag and pour the marinade over the meat in the bag, sealing and refrigerating overnight.

With an especially large brisket I have actually applied dry rub and used the wet marinade together to make sure the meat has a chance to thoroughly tenderize before the smoking process begins and guaranteeing a succulent brisket!

Grill Preparation

Fill a large bowl or gallon bucket with wood chips of your choice (I like applewood or hickory) and cover with water, allowing the chips to soak for at least an hour prior to cooking time.

Ignite the gas burner on one side of the grill, leaving all other burners off. Turn the dial of the lit burner to the highest heat setting.

Place a handful or two of the saturated wood chips inside a smoker box or in the center of a large aluminum foil sheet. If using foil, fold it over the wood chips several times to fashion a foil pouch and create a dozen or so vent holes in the pouch with a fork.

Place the smoker box or foil pouch on the lit burner side over direct heat, close the grill lid and allow the wood smoke.

The Smoking Process

When the wood is smoking place the cured meat on the cooking grate above the unlit side of the grill and close the lid.

Turn down the burner dial so that the cooking temperature drops to between 200 and 250 degrees F.

Check the hardwood smoker box or foil pouch every hour to ensure smoke continues to flow. If smoking ceases, add more wet chips to the smoker box or add a new foil wood-chip pouch. While you are adding more wood chips you will want to baste the meat with the mop while you have the lid up. For added moisture I place a foil tray of water, some of the spices I used in the rub and a cup of beer or wine on the rack above the meat. That is replenished with water every time the lid is up for basting and checks on the wood.

Smoke most large briskets 4-5 hours or until the meat has an internal temperature of 190 degrees for medium well done.

Shrimp Pasta with Feta Cheese

Okay I am going to riff on this recipe because, hey it's sort of my nature! Seriously this very easy dish is a take-off of many other types of shrimp and pasta dishes. Here's what I use:

1 lb of shelled, deveined shrimp.
1 lb angel hair pasta, cooked
2 tomatoes, quartered
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tbsps olive oil, seperated
1 6 oz packages crumbled feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes (optional for heat)

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil and add pasta, cooking for 8-10 minutes until al dente and then drain.

While pasta is cooking heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and cook over medium heat the shrimp with the garlic and the white wine until shrimp is pink. Remove with a slotted spoon and set the shrimp aside.

Add the remaining oil to the pan and cook the tomatoes, basil and oregano with the white wine mixture until tender, about 10 minutes. At the end add the cooked shrimp and season with salt and black pepper to taste. If you want heat add the red pepper flakes too.

Pour this mixture over the cooked pasta, add the feta cheese and lightly toss. Serve with a green salad, crusty Italian bread and a white wine.

Stuffed Italian Sausage Focaccia

I've posted a previous Italian bread recipe on this page which I use all the time. I saw this online today and tried to link to Facebook but something was lost in the translation. So here is the recipe as it appears on the site below. I'm going to try this one very soon!


Source: http://www.food52.com/recipes/5579_sausage_herb_and_cheese_stuffed_focaccia_bread

Makes 1 focaccia bread

Dough:

3 1/2 cups All purpose flour (can also be whole wheat)
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 1/4 cup water

Filling and Topping:

1 cup Feta Cheese
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup Fresh Basil Leaves
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
1-2 teaspoon Fresh Rosemary
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 pound Sausage, cooked and crumbled

Mix together all of the dough ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, then knead --using your hands, a mixer, a food processor or a bread machine -- to form a smooth dough.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and allow it to rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until it's doubled in bulk.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured or lightly greased work surface, knead it gently, then divide it in half. Round each half into a loose ball, and allow the balls to rest, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes. This allows the gluten in the dough to relax, making the focaccia easier to shape.

Roll one ball into a 10- to 12-inch circle. Place it on a lightly oiled baking sheet or pizza pan (or onto a peel dusted with cornmeal if you'll be baking the focaccia on an oven stone). Top the shaped round with the filling ingredients, spreading them evenly over the surface, and leaving about 1 inch crust bare around the edges. Roll the second half of dough into an equal-sized circle, then place it atop the filling. Press the edges of the dough together firmly to seal the two circles.

Cover the focaccia with a damp cloth, lightly greased plastic wrap or a proof cover. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Allow the focaccia to rise for 45 minutes, or until it's noticeably puffy. Just before placing it in the oven, dimple it (poke gentle indentations into it) with your fingers, brush it with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and sprinkle it with coarse salt and rosemary. Bake the focaccia for 30 to 35 minutes at 350.

Another Cooked Chicken Recipe

So....I had this smoked chicken from the BBQ demonstration I went to on Saturday and I thought on what to do with it today. Finally I came up with this idea:

Total Time: about 40 minutes
Ingredients:

1 cup long-grain rice, uncooked
1 cup sliced celery
1 (10oz) package frozen mixed, about 1 1/2 cups
2 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 to 1 1/2 cups cooked diced chicken
2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2/3 cup milk (2% is fine)
1 cup shredded mild Cheddar or American cheese
1 tablespoon chopped green onion for garniah


Preparation:
In a medium saucepan, combine rice, celery, water and 1 teaspoon salt. Heat to boiling. Cover and simmer for about 8 minutes; add peas and cook an additional 8 to 10 minutes, or until rice is tender and water is absorbed.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan or skillet. stir in flour, pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, just until bubbling. Add cooked chicken. Stir in milk and 1 1/3 cups water. Continue cooking and stirring until sauce thickens and gently boils for about 1 minute. Pour sauce over the chicken rice mixture; transfer to shallow buttered 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese; bake chicken rice recipe at 375° for 20 minutes. Garnish with green onion and serve with a white wine.

This dish is awesome and very easy to prepare, with minimal prep or stress.

Chicken rice bake serves 4.

White Sangria

Okay, so you are not fond of red wine but can do white wine. I got it! There is a variation of the Sangria recipe that I posted yesterday that is just as awesome. Try this:

INGREDIENTS

2 bottles semi-dry white wine
1 cup vodka
1/4 c white sugar
2 rip plums, cut into 1/4" wedges
1 Gala apple, cored and cut into 1/4" wedges
1 orange, sliced into 1/4" wedges
11/2 cup raspberries (frozen is fine)

Wash and slice the fruit. In a pitcher pour in the wine, vodka and sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the fruit and stir again. Cover the pitcher and chill for one to two hours before serving.

Pour the Sangria over ice in a glass and enjoy! Bw3 sure to have plenty of the fruit in your glass.

Awesome Tomato Relish Meatloaf

How many times have you made meatloaf that was so promising when you started but ended up greasy, crumbly or dry? We suffered that fate so many times that we had just about give up on it, until we saw this recipe on a TV show somewhere and copied it down. The key to less greasy meatloaf is combining lean ground beef with lean ground pork. That will provide great flavor without the fat.

Ingredients

Tomato relish:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1 onion, diced
2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
12 ounces bottled ketchup
1 1/2 pounds lean (90% or higher) ground beef
1 pound lean ground pork
3 eggs
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

For the tomato relish, coat a skillet with olive oil and place over medium heat. Saute the garlic, bay leaves, and onion together until they caramelize. Add the red peppers and cook until soft. Add the tomatoes, parsley and Worcestershire sauce, cook for 10 minutes until the vegetables cook down. Stir in the ketchup and continue to cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef and pork together with your hands. Fold in 1/2 cup of the tomato relish. Add the eggs and thyme and mix with both hands just until blended. Do not over mix or the meat loaf will become dense and tough. Season with salt and pepper. Coat a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Fill the loaf pan with the meat mixture, mounding it a bit on top. Generously spoon some tomato relish on the surface. When cooked, this will form a top crust. Place the loaf pan on a cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the meat loaf has pulled away from the sides of the pan. Remove from pan, allow to cool slightly before cutting into slices. Serve with remaining sauce on the side.

Wowza Sangria!

On warm summer weekend evenings I enjoy occasionally sipping on a good Sangria. There are some bottled products that you can buy, but those never really caught my fancy. A friend shared a great recipe with us several years ago that I am recreating here. It's easy to make and delicious!

4 cups semi-dry red wine, about one 750ml bottle
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup sugar (more if you like sweeter Sangria)
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 orange, cut into thin rounds
1/2 lemon, cut into thin rounds
1 apple, cored and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 pear, cored and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

In a large pot or bowl combine the wine, orange juice, brandy and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves.

Cover and chill 3 to 24 hours.

Pour chilled Sangria in a glass pitcher and add the fruit. Serve in tall glasses over ice.

This will make 8-10 servings.

Barbecue Demonstration at Acacia, Tucson AZ

Tucson has always celebrated its Sonoran Mexico cuisine connection with it’s great Mexican restaurants. They are often family-owned and may be found all over Southern Arizona. But the town also is a center for sophisticated dining as well; there are many upscale restaurants featuring the work of several renowned chefs, including Janos Wilder.

One of our favorites is Acacia in the Tucson Foothills; it’s in a new location after being in the St. Phillips Plaza a few miles south for many years. Acacia has always been elegant and sophisticated, yet it’s menu is uncomplicated. Chef Albert Hall is a master of his craft, no question.

My wife has used this restaurant in the evenings many times to host her pharma programs educating her doctors on the drug she markets for her job. Consequently she is well known to the chef and his staff.

The chef hosts a cooking demonstration once a month in the summer (the slow season here) on various themes. For a prix fixe of $55, attendees can assist the chef, ask questions, take notes, and enjoy all they can eat and drink of the food prepared and the bar. Today’s topic was barbecue.

The menu had smoked, barbecue pork, brisket and chicken, along with printed information on making all of the variety of rubs and sauces the chef employed. He showed us how the restaurant smokes its meats (custom made smoker and fire box chained to a steel rail out back), and presented each of us with a packet of recipes. Also on the menu were smoked, baked beans, a delightful corn on the cob and coleslaw. One of the attendees shared her own recipe for the slaw and we were served that by the staff.

The discussion was lively over which region of the country made the best ‘cue, and sauces. Texas was well represented by the chef’s special guest this month, Lupita Murillo, a long-time local TV reporter but a native of McAllen Texas. She brought with her mango margarita recipe, which prepared for all of us. It was tasty.

Sauces and rubs were from Texas, Memphis and North Carolina. They all needed a little tweaking in my book with some combination of pepper, salt or sweetness, but the chef invited all of us to use them as a base and personalize them as we saw fit. The meal concluded with grilled peaches served over ice cream. Not a good day for dieters, but the food was well prepared and delicious.

Next month the topic is sushi. Hmmm, I’d better get my reservations in now!

Roast Chicken Breast Italian

I had a breast of roasted supermarket chicken that was leftover in the fridge the other day and some Italian bread on the counter that nobody was eating. I really detest wasting food, so I did some thinking and came up with this dish. The beauty of it is that it uses things that are on hand (or at least should be!).


1-2 cups cooked, chopped roasted chicken
4-5 cups Italian bread, cubed
¼ cup olive oil, plus 1 tbsp olive oil divided
1/3 cup creamy Italian dressing
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, with juice
½ cup chicken stock, low sodium
1 cup chopped, diced onion
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 cup chopped, diced red bell pepper
1 cup cubed mozzarella or provolone cheese (slices if you don’t have cheese blocks)
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
Dash salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Add the dry spices to a large bowl and pour in the ¼ cup of olive oil. Mix thoroughly and add the bread cubes, tossing gently to coat. Spread the crumbs out on a large baking sheet and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until the bread is crispy and lightly browned. Removed and let cool.

In a large sauté pan heat a tbsp of oil over medium heat and add the onions and bell pepper. When the onions are soft add the garlic and cook for another minute. Now add the chopped chicken, tomatoes and stock. You may want to re-season with salt and pepper at this point. Reduce the liquid slightly but don’t evaporate, about 10 minutes.

While the chicken and vegetables are heating spread the bread cubes in a large 13” X 9” baking dish and top evenly with the cheese cubes. Pour the chicken and tomatoes over this and drizzle with the salad dressing. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the dish and bake in the 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. Remove and serve immediately.

** Note if you are on a low fat diet you can substitute a little chicken stock for the olive oil to coat the bread cubes but take care not to make the bread soggy. You can also buy seasoned bread cubes to cut out baking the bread altogether. Lots of ways to go with this one!

Athletes and the Perils of Fame and Fortune

I saw a discussion on Fox Sports with Dan Patrick this morning about the mistakes athletes make with their money and new found visibility, as in Twitter and Facebook. The problem is that there is that if athletes remain in school, they are still not prepared for the sudden wealth and celebrity which can hit them almost overnight; no information on money management, choosing advisers or agents, or handling the notoriety. And certainly nothing how to handle themselves on the social networks.

Sure, you and I could probably go on Twitter and say stupid things and post tasteless pictures; nobody would know or care. The only penalty would perhaps be getting unfollowed. But that's no deterrent because we would probably gain other followers attracted to that type of behavior.

But athletes' every word uttered, especially on Twitter, are magnified out of proportion by the phenomena of the 24-hour news cycle. Ask Labron James about this! The NFLPA recently hosted a seminar on these issues and more for their incoming rookie class to think as they prepare for their first season (whenever that will be - there is still a lockout in place at this writing).

Among the speakers was former NFL coach and NFL analyst Herm Edwards, who has never been at a loss for words. You know him from the famous quote "You win to play the game!" I added a segment of the speech above; funny, but on point. And the message can be applied everyone, not just athletes!

I don't know what the answer is, but I do know that many teams are now hiring social media managers to teach players about the dangers of saying the wrong thing on Twitter or Facebook and handling the bad publicity when they do. Just 20 years ago who woulda thunk it!

Computer Crazy?

There was a time in our lives as baby boomers when the most high tech thing we owned or knew how to operate was a touch telephone or a basic Texas Instrument calculator. Boy I remember the first calculator I ever owned was this little hand-held job with red number display. I could have sworn it looked like a Star Trek Tricorder from the 1960’s television show! So cool!

I was simply tech ignorant, but almost all of us were back then. In the 1980’s the big advance for everybody was cable TV. Oh my, how much ESPN and VH1 did I watch! But you see that was all we had really. I didn’t own a PC until about 1992 – those of you who got one of the first I am sure remember that amber screen and DOS. Those first IBM clones cost thousands of dollars, of course. We bought ours used.

I bring all this up because I realized this morning how computer-saturated our lives have become; our cars, home environment systems, televisions and of course these darned cell-phones. I got up to the chiming of my iPhone, answered a text message from a friend and inquiries about my health and well-being over a social network, checked my emails, then grabbed my iPad and picked up where I left off last night reading the latest Walter Moseley e-thriller while making coffee.

Later, I started my 2004 Ford truck and drove in air-conditioned and computer-tuned comfort to Costco, shopped for household items and answered yet another text while in the check-out line. Oh I forgot, the items I purchased were scanned into a hand-held by a store employee. Still later, after I returned home, I tossed a load of laundry into our computerized, LCD-screened washer-dryer units, woke up my new fire-breathing laptop and while waiting for some soup to warm on my electric range (there is a computer in there too), I answered yet another text from my mother-in-law about her iPhone and began to draft this document, which as you are reading it, has been successfully uploaded – with a graphic – to a server that stores this blog page. I do all this in environmentally computer-controlled comfort, where it is a pleasant 76 degrees in my house and a scorching 110 outdoors.

I’m prompted to write this because of a problem today with our cable service. Several channels are not working and this was called to my attention by my mom in law, who has the same service. She called again and asked me if Fox-TV was frozen. I hadn’t been watching television at the time so I fired up that flat-screen and, yes, a whole bunch of stations are frozen in place! Obviously someone is having computer-driven issues and it is affecting all of us today. Well, at least those of us who have Comcast!

As a post-script her television stations were now all available but every station was broadcasting in Spanish. Oops, somebody flipped the wrong computer on!

Chicago-Style Italian Beef Sandwiches with Optional Giardiniera

Chicago has a unique beef sandwich that is sold at several local restaurants, including the famous Al's on the near west side of town. There are variations, but I found this recipe that I think is fairly close. There are a lot of ingredients and several steps involved, but the results are worth it. We have made this several times and really love it. The meat needs to be sliced very thin; if you have a meat slicer or electric carving knife that will do the job!



1 4-lb sirloin tip round

salt and pepper to taste

1-1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

3 tbsp olive oil

6 cloves garlic

2 large red bell peppers, cored and sliced into 1-inch strips

2 large green bell peppers, cored and cut into 1-inch strips

2 medium yellow onions, sliced

2 cups low sodium beef stock

1-1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

4-6 individual Italian poor boy rolls, sliced length wise but not cut all the way through



Season the meat with salt, pepper, oregano and thyme. Place on a rack in a roasting pan in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 2 hours, or until the meat is 130 degrees in the center. Remove and allow to cool. Deglaze the roasting pan with a little water and pour the juices in a 6-qt pot.



Slice the cooled meat very thinly across the grain and set aside. Heat a large nonstick frying pan and add the oil, garlic, red and green peppers and onions. Saute for 5 minutes and add to the pot. You might have to do this in batches.



Place the sliced meat and any meat juices that may have accumulated during cooling into the pot with the sauteed vegetables. Add the beef stock, chicken stock, wine and parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Cover tightly and simmer gently for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring the pot a couple of times while cooking.



Turn off the heat and allow the pot to rest 15 minutes, covered. Dip each roll in the broth until it is saturated and heavy. Fill the roll with plenty of simmered beef and vegetables. For optional heat, add a spoonful of the Giardiniera mix shown below, which can be purchased prepared in the Italian section of many grocery stores, or you can do it yourself ahead of time! Serve with a salad and cold beer!



Giardiniera



Giardiniera is commonly made with sliced serrano peppers, bell peppers, olives, celery, pimentos, carrots, and cauliflower, and sometimes crushed red pepper flakes, all marinated in olive oil and vinegar.

Shrimp Piquant and Perfect Steamed Rice

A number of years ago I used to watch Justin Wilson's Louisiana cooking shows almost as fervently as I did Jeff Smith's The Frugal Gourmet on PBS-owned WTTW in Chicago on Saturdays. I have used many of Justin's recipes over the years, but this shrimp recipe was a keeper and is quick to cook, with some prep time!

You will need to start with a basic roux; 1/4 cup of peanut oil and about 1/4 c of flour. Some people use clarified unsalted butter in place of the oil, or a combination of oil and butter. Heat the oil and add the flour a little at a time, stirring until it is smooth. If you want a thicker roux add more flour. Continue to cook and stir until the roux is a dark brown and add the following, vegetables first:

1 c onions, chopped
1 c green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 small can tomato sauce
1/2 c water (**if you have the shrimp shells you can boil them and drain this water into the preparation in place of plain water for even more flavor**)
1/2 c white wine
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp bitters
dash salt and black pepper (you can use cayenne for more heat)
1 tsp hot sauce
2-3 lbs of shelled, deveined shrimp
Sliced green onion for garnish

Saute the vegetables in the roux until the onions are clear, stirring regularly. Add the liquids, season and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add the shrimp. Cook until the shrimp are pink and remove from the heat, covered. Serve this immediately over steamed rice (see below) with your favorite glass of white wine for an awesome feast for the taste buds!

Perfect Steamed Rice

No need to buy a rice cooker! This is a fool proof method and does not make a gooey mess!

3/4 cup long-grain white rice
1/1/4 cup water

If you need more you can double these portions. What you are looking for is to cover the rice in about an inch or water, or one finger digit. Put the dry rice in strainer and rinse until the water runs clear underneath. Drain well and put in a heavy lidded pot with the measured water. Bring to a boil. Continue boiling until most of the surface liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes. The rice should have small indentations, like craters. At this point turn the heat down as low as you can and cover with the lid another 15 minutes. No need to "fluff" it. Just turn off the heat and let set about 5 minutes before serving.

Navy Educator Recruiting Week

I was fortunate to be part of a group educators this past week invited by the US Navy to tour their San Diego base and facilities to learn about the Navy's message and deliver it to our students as a post-high school option. I have learned so much that I was not aware of as I visited Special Warfare units (SEALS-SWCC), saw aircraft repair capabilities, training facilities, housing, and toured a sub and missile destroyer.

Along the way I gained a new found appreciation for our men and women in uniform. The level of training and commitment to continuous educations, the steps they take to keep us safe, and their pure dedication to their country, the flag and the uniform make me proud to be an American and I rest easy at night knowing that out there these young people are fighting to keep us safe.

The message that I am bringing back is that the Navy is a wonderful place for the right young man or woman, and could be a highly rewarding career. I am also bringing back the message that finishing high school is reinforced now by all the armed services. You just can't drop out now, get a GED and go into the service. You'll have to take 15 credits at a junior college before you are accepted if you choose that route, so you may as well get your diploma.

Apart from that, so many opportunities in computer technology, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, aviation, construction, medical and so many other fields, including music! And of course for the mentally tough there are the SEALS and SWCC teams, those small unit anti-terrorist and special warfare groups that get so much attention in the media and film.

I am thankful for this paid-for week, and I will do my part to spread the word to my students.