Monday, January 25, 2010

On Culinary Skills

One of the well known facts about me is my penchant for all things food related. I love to cook and I love to eat.

Hell, my favorite channel on TV is the Food Network (which thank the Lord is finally back). I even subject my poor girlfriend to countless hours of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Or worse yet, Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel.

Put me in a fully stocked kitchen and there's no telling what I'll create.

Tonight's creation involved steak, potatoes, cheese, broccoli, hot sauce and sour cream. This unholy grouping of ingredients actually turned out to be one of the best and most satisfying meals that I've eaten in a long time.

And that kids, is the secret to my culinary prowess. Experimentation. Some people experiment with their stock portfolios, others in the bedroom. I experiment in the kitchen.

My father always did it, so why not his only son? I used to dread the words "Here, try this." Now, not only do I look forward to hearing them, but I find myself saying them often.

So if you're a little gun shy to experiment, it's well worth the attempt. You might create a science experiment. Or you might come up with food nirvana.

You'll never know until you try.

On Late Night Boredom

It's eleven minutes after midnight on a Sunday into Monday. Shouldn't something good be on television?

I've stopped on Comedy Central to watch Futurama. But I hate that show.

I could read some more, but I've been doing a lot of that lately. And I feel as if I'd fall asleep if I read another word.

I could pop a DVD in, but then I'd actually have to sift through the hundreds that I have to finally watch ten minutes of some second rate flick before angrily turning it off to choose another film. So that's out.

I could listen to music, but blasting some tunes at this hour could force the parental units to like, kill me.

It's a sad existence when the best activity seems to be staring at the candle on my bookshelf, watching the flame flicker back and forth. I've tried to explain this idea to countless people, most recently Mel.

There's just something about watching fire (whether it's a raging inferno or the tiny flame of a Walmart candle) that is very comforting and real to a man.

And I've just struck on something.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

On Dreams

I don't ever recall having a real dream when I was a little boy. I never aspired to be a firefighter, or a professional athlete, as I don't like being hot, nor can I hit a 100 mile per hour fastball.

In high school, I excelled in psychology, history and Enlgish, but none of those things really screamed career to me.

Over the years, I toyed with the idea of becoming a police officer, an English teacher, even a pro wrestler. Ok, stop laughing at the last part, it's perfectly true.

Over the last few years, given my affinity for writing, my love of words, I decided that the idea of writing a book was an appealing one to me. I've started dozens, but never gotten beyond a few pages. o subject has ever really grabbed me. I have what I think are brilliant ideas, and they later turn out to be boring, or topics that I just can't sink my teeth into.

A lofty dream I know, but I would love to write the great American novel.

I had an idea yesterday to begin writing the definitive work on Charles Dickens. A biography. The only roadblock there is that know nothing about him. I've enjoyed a couple of his books, but beyond that, I'm stumped. It's also likely that I'll end up hating this idea as well.

In fact, as I'm writing about it, I'm losing interest.

I've thought for several years that I'd love to do a work on Charles Bukowski and his library of works. But several people have already done it. Which doesn't mean that I couldn't be the next, as Bukowski's life had layers that may not be discovered for decades.

I long for the moment when I'm struck by a great idea. Maybe in a dream, maybe while driving, possibly while in the shower, as these are typically the three places in which my "brilliant" ideas come about.

Friday, January 8, 2010

On Chicken Nuggets

As a child, there were few in life that could satisfy me like chicken nuggets. I liked playing with Play-Doh, liked to color, but there were few things that really truly made me as happy as having a plate of chicken nuggets in front of me, waiting to be consumed.

Some twenty-ish years later, very little has changed. Those little pillows of fowl-y goodness still have the power to make everything ok.

They can be really crappy, cheap chicken nuggets, or even the "Rolls Royce of Nuggetdom," the Chicken McNugget. It makes no difference to my tastebuds. I'm in heaven either way.

So...that being said, I've gotta dash, the timer on the oven just beeped, and I have some 400 degree delicacies to devour.

Later y'all.