Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Being Mr. Melon




I know its one of my favorite movies too. Its an 80's classic as far as I am concerned. Why do I even bring up the cinematic geniuses of "Back To School"? Well I kind of felt like Thorton Melon when I got to campus. I was walking around a bunch of kids, and to say I felt a little out of place was an understatement. Although after closer examination I noticed there were a lot of non-traditional students. I assume with the growing number of people getting laid off there has been an increase of people like myself. Just looking to find a better job and do something they enjoy. Now I just need to start working on that Triple Lindy!

Favorite "Back To School" quote:

Thornton Melon: "Bring us a pitcher of beer every seven minutes until somebody passes out. And then bring one every ten minutes."

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Thirty Six

Now that my birthday has came and went I am left only feeling one year older. Not really a bad thing, depends on your outlook. When turning a year older some folks treat it like they have one foot in the grave, just waiting for the grim reaper to show up sounding like Adam Carolla. Me I guess I wouldn't say I bring about that much drama, but as I move through my later thirties it is kind of weird. In the sense that when I was a kid I can remember my parents friends in their thirties and was like, "wow that is old." Now I am that guy, someone who is old or at least old enough to say ,"I remember when ......" So the point to all this, not sure, all I know is that I am only a few years away from a very uncomfortable visit with my doctor. Ouch!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Whats For Dinner?



Here is a recipe that I got from Emeril Green. I made it for Nicole and she loved it. Its not very difficult and comes together pretty fast so it would be great for a weekday dinner.

Emeril's Salmon with Cherry Preserve Sauce

Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
4 Salmon fillets, skin-on, 6 ounces each, scaled and scored
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons minced shallots
Pinch crushed red peppers
1/2 cup dry white wine
1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar
1⁄4 cup cherry preserve
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1⁄2 cup chicken stock

Method:
Preheat a large sauté pan with the olive oil. Season one side of the fillets with half of the salt, pepper and sugar; flip them over and season the other side with the remaining seasonings.

Place the salmon in the pan, skin side down, and cook until it is nicely browned and caramelized, 3 minutes. Flip over and cook on the other side for 1 to 1 1⁄2 minutes. Remove from the pan and store in a low temperature oven to keep warm, skin side up.

Using the same pan, add the shallots and crushed red pepper and saute, stirring, until just tender, 15 to 20 seconds. Add the wine, red wine vinegar and cook until it is almost completely evaporated, 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock and cherry preserve, stir to incorporate and let it simmer to slightly reduce it, 1 minute. Stir in the butter and remove the pan from the heat.

Plate the salmon fillets and spoon the cherry sauce on top; serve with the potato rosti ( See recipe below.)


Emeril's Root Vegetable Rosti

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 pound yellow-fleshed potatoes, such as Yukon Gold
1 pound celery root
1 pound parsnips
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Chive Crema, Recipe follows

Method:
Wash and peel the potatoes, celery root and parsnips. Use a box grater to grate the vegetables and set aside in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Stir to blend.

Set a 10-inch, non-stick saute pan over medium-low heat or if you have one, use a griddle. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and 1⁄2 tablespoon of the vegetable oil to the sauté pan. Once the butter stops foaming, lay the potatoes in the pan and press to form an even cake. Cook the potatoes undisturbed until well caramelized, about 10 to 12 minutes. Place a large plate over the sauté pan and flip the potato cake onto the plate. Place the remaining vegetable oil and the butter into the pan. Again, once it stops foaming, slide the potato cake back into the pan with the cooked side facing up. Continue to cook the rosti until well caramelized and browned on the second side, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and slide the rosti onto a cutting board. Slice the rosti into 4 servings and serve on the side with the salmon.

Chive Crema

Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped chives
1 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine

Method:
To a medium sized bowl, add all ingredients and whisk to combine. Serve with Root Vegetable Rosti.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

I Should've Been A Basket Weaver



So as you may or may not know I am happily unemployed right now. Okay, maybe not happily, but attitude is everything right? With that said I have decided, with the support of my beautiful wife, I am going back to school. But the question is for what? Well its not for basket weaving, it seems you have to high ACT scores for that career path. If I would've just studied harder in high school, damn.

So with my basket weaving out of the picture I have decided to pursue one of my life long dreams of the culinary arts. Yeap, I am going to become a chef with the puffy white hat and stuff. Actually I am interested in being a personal chef, hopefully for a very successful professional cyclist...LOL I know its not going to be easy with long hours and hard work. I look forward to it, and so excited to learn how to cook for real.

I was told once to never trust a skinny chef. Well you will always be able to trust me.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

I Want My MTV

You will be wanting to peg your jeans after watching this for certain.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Happy St. Patricks Day



In life, there are only two things to worry about—
Either you are well or you are sick.
If you are well, there is nothing to worry about,
But if you are sick, there are only two things to worry about—
Either you will get well or you will die.
If you get well, there is nothing to worry about,


But if you die, there are only two things to worry about—
Either you will go to heaven or hell.
If you go to heaven, there is nothing to worry about.

And if you go to hell, you’ll be so busy shaking hands with all your friends
You won’t have time to worry!

Monday, March 16, 2009

I Am Pissed!

I must confess I don't normally pick fights anymore. Those days are long past me or as it seemed until I met someone who deserves a nice asre whipping. Someone that I am going to hunt down every time I go to the gym, every time I get on my bike, every time I hit the alarm off at 4:50am.

You know who you are.



You wanna join my fight here is the LIVESTRONG Challenge link.

Or if you wanna join the team I am on just click the Livestrong box in the upper right corner of page.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Got Poop?

I can't believe I never thought of this, ugh back to the drawing board.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

I Have You

What a great weekend Nicole and I were able to share. It was unseasonably warm and just all around a beautiful weekend. One of those weekends you wish could just go on forever. I don't really take time to appreciate how much joy being married to Nicole brings me. How lucky am I that I am able to share weekends like this with someone like her. Here is what I am talking about, example found in the story below:

Yesterday we had some nasty weather role through our area. As I was monitoring it from the web on multiple websites and on TV. She was on the couch taking a nap. I was thinking how is that possible? We are only minutes away from being swept up in a tornado and she is sleeping, just crazy. She did briefly wake up an noticed I was in a crazy weather panic, and I said,"I think we are going to get hit with a tornado in about a half hour. Aren't you worried?" She just rolled over and said so calmly, "No, I don't need to worry about it, because I have you."