Carnage du Jour - 09 May 2011

from grandteuton.blogspot.com

I'm not a big fan of mixed drinks - I'm more of a purist, really - but we just had a lovely Manhattan-marinated chicken breast on the grill, and I'd certainly do it again.

We recently took possession of a couple bottles of Southern Comfort (no, I'm not going to drink that straight - I tried it and that once was quite enough, thank you very much), so Southern Comfort Manhattans seemed a logical use.
Well, what about these two chicken breasts? Why not soak them in that stuff for a while before grilling?
Why not indeed.

So, a ziploc bag took on a pair of chicken breasts (boneless and skinless, btw) and then we added in the Southern Comfort, some sweet Vermouth (Stock, in case you wondered), a bit of garlic powder, and some olive oil, just to make it all stick.
Once the fire in the grill was ready and the batch of bratwurst had finished (I'll detail the "correct" way to cook brats in another post), on went the chicken.
I must say, it was tender, juicy, and flavourful - all one could ask of that cut, really.

The grilling added the needed snap to the surface which is normally lost from the skinless versions, and the marinade added its own special savour as well.
Highly recommended.

Bin Laden

from grandteuton.blogspot.com
 
Hearing the news of the SEALs raid, my first thought was, "Well, I hope you're enjoying your stay in Hell." Then I was embarrassed at having thought that.
 
Don't get me wrong, he deserved what he got in Pakistan - he asked for it, really. Still, it just doesn't feel right to celebrate the damnation of a human soul.
 
Of course, he will only get what he asked for - though not necessarily what he deserves, as God is merciful.
 
When one spends a lifetime resisting God's call, one can't expect Him to ignore that choice. God's not going to force Himself on anyone through eternity.
He made us with the ability to choose Him or not - we're not simply automata, bound to the inexorable consequences of our initial conditions and programming. We're actual free moral agents.
 
For that to matter, our choices have to matter, and so those who have resisted and rejected Him can expect to spend eternity separated from Him. If we're to find eternal separation from God anywhere, it surely will be found nowhere outside of Hell.

I'm not sure why I've been on the theology kick recently, but I think it's amazing how thinking about ultimate things can alter the way I think about proximate ones.

Here are a few of my recent reads you might want to check out:
Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, C.S. Lewis
Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller
A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
He Came Down from Heaven, and The Forgiveness of Sins, Charles Williams

How to Understand the Federal Budget

from grandteuton.blogspot.com

Here's a rather simple way to get your head around the federal budget: divide by 100,000,000 (yes, that's One Hundred Million).

Philip Greenspun has a nice post on this at his blog:

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2011/04/10/understanding-congresss-solution-to-the-federal-deficit-problem/

Check it out, and see if it all makes more sense, now.

What to Read Next

from grandteuton.blogspot.com
 
Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller.

Wow. I waited a long time before finally buying and reading this book. I had heard nothing but good reviews from people I trust and/or admire, but still, I waited a long time before I bought it and read it. Generally that's a good way to make it nearly impossible for a book to live up to those raised expectations, but this one was even better than I had expected and had been led to believe it would be.

I've read plenty of books on theology.
I've read plenty of books on Christian living.
I've read plenty of books on growing up and learning what it's all about.
This one was different.

Rather than laying out a systematic theology, rather than giving advice on how to live so that my beliefs would show through, this book shows the reader what Christian living can look like.

The friends and acquaintances who peopled Miller's experiences and relationships were real enough to actually matter, and the lessons weren't simply presented as lessons, but rather as stories. There's a power to stories that can't be matched by discussions and arguments, and that power is very much in evidence here.

It reminded me of On the Road, by Kerouac, in that there was a great adventure of a man learning who he really is. At the same time, it's completely different - Miller grows into knowing what relationship is, and how that defines each of us.
Each time he spouted a strong opinion that bothered me, it was quickly followed by something like, "Now wait a minute; that's how I felt at the time. Let me tell you why, and how things changed after that." It was a very effective way to confront the reader with something challenging.

To sum up, this is one of the best books I've ever read - not just on Christian living, or spirituality, or whatever, just one of the best books I've ever read. It's nice to be challenged so much in a loving way.
Highly recommended to all and sundry.

Quiche-age du Jour - 27 March 2011

from grandteuton.blogspot.com

When Christian was home, I fell into my old shopping habits of buying more food than Heidi and I can eat on our own.  Of course, we didn't get around to cooking all the stuff we had thought to eat, so when he headed back to the last frontier (Alaska, not Space, more's the pity), we had a very sizable hunk of salmon filet waiting for us.
We gave it the old college try, but there was still a large piece of fish left over after dinner.  What to do?  What to do?  What else but a salmon quiche?!  (what ever happened to the interrobang?)

Technically, my quiches aren't really quiches.  Over the years, I've developed my own hybrid entity, sitting (quite comfortably, thank you very much) between a quiche and a soufflé.  It's lighter than a quiche, heartier than a soufflé, and it's my very own creation, so I like it best.
If you want to get technical, you'll just have to go hungry at my house.
 
So, Sunday comes along and it's time for the quiche.  I blind baked a crust (that smelled really good, by the way), and got the rest of the fixings ready.  Sautéed onions received the broken-up salmon to bring the fish up from refrigerator temperature, along with some nice little capers - after all, capers make everything savoury just that much better.  Into the crust went most of the fish/onion/caper mixture, followed by a blend of havarti and (European style) farmer's cheese, the rest of the fish stuff, the last of the cheese, and then my secret egg mixture to complete the filling.

In the oven at 450F for 13 minutes, immediately drop the temp to 350F and continue for another 15 minutes and it's all ready for brunch.  Spectacular enough to eat again for lunch on Monday (and I did), but delicious enough to want another piece on Sunday (but I didn't).

Just plain delicious.

Carnage du Jour - 16 March 2011 (plus Sauce-age!) [Updated]

from grandteuton.blogspot.com

Steaks are fairly simple things, aren't they?  Typically they are - and rightly so - and so they were again this time. What wasn't terribly simple was the accompaniment to the nicely broiled strip steaks.  Oh, and since there was a nice pile of shrimp from an earlier shrimp cocktail platter, they had to get heated at the last moment and piled on top of the steaks. [The shrimp are the update.  How could I have forgotten those beautiful shrimp sitting on top of my steak?]

Swiss chard is always great, and this was particularly fresh and tasty from the steamer (stalks in first to soften a bit, then the rest of the greens - don't toss the stalks, they're at least almost the best part!).
Still, what starch to go with?  Potatoes?  Pasta?  Rice?  How about grilled cantaloupe instead?
Brilliant, no?
Brilliant, yes!

A good-sized cantaloupe (probably really a muskmelon, as we don't get real cantaloupes much in the States) was seeded and cubed, then dusted with a bit of white pepper.  Into the very hot grill pan (how do people cook without one of these?) with some canola oil they went to develop some nice grill marks and begin to soften even beyond their nice ripe softness.  They were awfully tasty as is, but what's better than grilled fruit with something to drizzle on it?  (Answer: not much.)  So a quick sauce (which will definitely be repeated!) was created.
About a tablespoon of nice aged balsamic vinegar went into a quarter cup or so of honey, along with about a half tablespoon of dijon mustard and a sprinkling of beau monde (another go-to seasoning at Cleveland, by the way).  When they were fully mixed, it was little short of spectacular, really.  It worked perfectly on the melon, but as it got on the chard and steak, we discovered that it was simply delicious on each of those elements as well.

Definitely worth repeating, and soon.

Dinner and Guest

from grandteuton.blogspot.com

I don't remember how I got thinking about this, but I was wondering about that old question:

"If you could invite anyone to have dinner with you  - from anywhere, from any time, all that - who would you invite?"

It usually comes down to famous people of the past - writers, statesmen, etc. - or relatives you miss or never knew - my great-great-grandfather who fought in the Civil War, Uncle Jerome (just to see what's in his pocket), etc.
Then I got down to some extended wondering.  What would I serve to someone like that whom I've invited for dinner?

I think this could be a cool thread, so let me know who you'd invite, what you'd put on the menu, and why (why that person / those people? and why that menu?).  I'll reply in a comment after a while with my own party details.

Go!