Be Good To Yourself

Be good to yourself.

This is a sexy refreshing cocktail that I made out of whatever we happened to have on hand.  The green stuff is fresh basil.  (Or do you say "baah sil"?)  No, you don't because that would sound stupid and pretentious.  Ahh screw it.  If it makes you laugh, do whatever you want.  We're all friends here.

The brown stuff is whiskey.  If I had bourbon on hand I would have done that, but I didn't.

The floating stuff is ice.  Yeah, duh.

What you don't see is the simple syrup.  Sugar, water and mixing.  How simple is that?  

You know what this recipe would be if you had rum?  And instead of baah sil you had mint?  It would be a mojito.  I did not want a mojito.  Watch Brian Griffin drink a mojito.  And I did not have mint.

 Put equal parts sugar and water into a glass and mash that up.  (There are better ways to do this involving boiling and cooling, but do you want to cook or do you want to drink?  Yeah, I thought so.)  Add a half dozen basil leaves and mash that up too.

Strain that into a glass and add whiskey.  Good stuff if you have it.  Add ice.  Swirl and enjoy.

Earlier this evening I was going to make dinner.  Mrs. Digs-Me was out for the evening.  Eating left-overs is not my thing, but it makes her happy when they get eaten.  I found some chicken, feta, couscous thing in the fridge.  That would be nice over some sauteed spinach...

It occurred to me to skip adding garlic to the oil.  It's just me after all.  Hey, screw that.  Add flavors!  You're worth it.  It's the little things!  Be good to yourself, my friends.

To Grill or Not To Grill

Ok - we gotta talk.  Too many guys are avoiding cooking if they can't use a grill.  Spring is coming and grilling weather will be here soon, but come on!  I agree that there is something soul-satisfying - even primal - about grilling meat with flame (making it the near exclusive domain of "Man's Job") but it feels kind of limiting to the palette of flavors that you can create.

"No, no no!"   I hear guys defending their rightful place outside - tongs in one hand, beer in the other. 

"Yeah!  That's what I'm talking about."  Okay, calm yourself.  I get it.  You may be thinking that it's cool if she does everything else and hands you a plate of raw meat.  You're a hero.

Those dinners are fine and the two of you are working together and having fun.  (You are offering to help with the dishes, right?)

Try this though.  Ramp up your game.  She would totally dig you for cooking the whole meal and you may not be able to step out to the grill necessarily.  I'm going to help you get yourself dug.  "Thanks, Doug!"  You're welcome.

Thaw two chicken breasts and rub olive oil all over them.  Put a handful of finely chopped pecans on a plate and add salt and pepper.  "Whoa.  How much?"  Not much.  A teaspoon or so of salt and half teaspoon of pepper.  Roll the chicken around in that like a kid rolling around in a pile of leaves.  Happy chicken!

Let that sit for a bit while you get the oven preheated to 350 degrees and get a skillet on the stove.  Heat that skillet til it's hot!  Add a little bit of oil to the pan and sear the chicken for a minute on each side.  Then finish the chicken in the oven for twelve minutes.  (It's still cooking, but kind of resting too.)  Comes out crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. 

Obviously the coating could not be done on the grill the same way, so I want you to have this in your arsenal.  You can serve this with couscous (easy directions on the box - stir in a little feta and a few sun dried tomatoes that you've chopped up), a nice salad and a Kendal-Jackson Chardonnay.

Let me know how you like it!

Notes from Oscar Night - Cigar Can Wait

When a very attractive woman says she liked the dinner you cooked and hey how about hanging out and watching the Oscars together but you were planning on having a cigar and maybe reading a book...the answer is yes.  The recipe for a killer spinach salad is at the end for you!

She loves the glamorous dresses and the colorful sets!  It's so exciting!  Let's fill out an Oscar ballot and see who gets the most right!

ehh...

Some random notes on Oscar Night -

I see people I recognize sort of but couldn't tell you who they are.  I feel a little like a Ted Kaczynski type.  How is all this pop culture passing me by?  My attention was wandering for a bit thinking about spring and golfing.  Somebody mentioned lesbians.  Kind of snaps you right back, doesn't it?

Picked winners for films I never even saw but I can honestly say these guesses were not like throwing a dart.  Can't really explain that.  Nor can I explain Kirk Douglas - painful to watch.

Dude wins Best Adapted Screenplay for Social Network and says he's looking for respect from the guinea pig???   Huh?

Charlie Sheen is the new punchline.  nice...  Christian Bale needs to fill the F-Bomb void since Melissa Leo left the stage!  Randy Newman?  Family Guy got him exactly right.  Banksy gets mention - cool.  Now if I could get an app that would permanently block Celine Dion from my life I would be all set.

How did I get to share this Oscar Night with a lovely lady?  I think it was the spinach salad -

Tear some spinach leaves and toss in some fresh spring greens.  Add orange pieces and some crumbled feta cheese.  Toss that around in the bowl.  The dressing: one part strawberry balsamic, two parts walnut oil shaken well.  Yummy - I could have that dressing on just about anything.  On ice cream?  Hell yeah.

Try adding chopped grilled chicken to that salad and make that your whole meal.  You will be a hero!