Cocktail Confessions

This episode/entry was fun to do for a few reasons: we (that is Brian Liles and I), had already had a few pitchers of Sam Adams Summer Ale under our belts that we enjoyed over at a beautiful day at Cook’s Corner in Trabuco Canyon, CA.  Then as we proceeded to records this, we had a surprise visit from Chip Gahagan of Smogtown who popped on by for a few minutes, and lastly we discuss a little bit of G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra movie as well. Listening back to make show notes was a little embarrassing as I caught myself being tongue tied and repeating myself multiple times.

Cook's Corner

So to start with Brian of Brians4×4adventures.com, or friend Scott W and myself headed out to Cook’s Corner (Wikipedia entry) for a little Sunday afternoon beer bonding.  The short synopsis of the place is as such: Built by Andrew Jackson Cook around 1884, the original building was meant to supply local miners as a mercantile and a few years later a place to eat as well.  It survived the prohibition era and was converted into a bar.  In 1970 a motorcycle accessory shop owner from Santa Ana bought the property and publicized it as a place for motorcycle clubs to enjoy.  It has changed hands once again a few years back and actively participates in the promotion of several charity motorcycle rides.  It’s now considered a historic landmark and is enjoyed by numerous social clubs and O.C residents.

It’s a great place to spend the afternoon, especially the weekends where one can typical witness 200+ motorcycles parked out front.  They have a very large outdoor patio area that has seen many improvements the last few years including new picnic tables, umbrellas, outside bars (three portable at last count), and a place for local merchants to sell various motorcycle accessories.  They have a small kitchen that turns out various burgers, tacos, and finger foods along with a inside band stage and the occasional outside band as well.  I’ve been coming here for at least 7 years now, and it really never gets old.  I have yet to run into a bad situation with a ‘biker’ and quite the contrary all the ones I have met or spoken to have been pretty personable for the most part.

Music for this episode

I’ve listened quite a few bands there over the years, and while I’m not a huge fan of classic rock they have the occasional bluegrass or jazz band out there and it always sounds good under the Southern California weather and sun with a couple of pitchers of beer and friends.

In this podcast episode Brian discusses his recent FJ Crusier trip across Canada and into Alaska that he took part in with his friend Luke from Radrod57.com.  Head over to Brian’s site for some gorgeous high quality pictures he took and read some of his continuing exploits.  You can ever read more over at Luke’s page as well.  Makes me wanna cash everything in, grab an RV, and do a roadtrip across America myself and hit up some hidden bbq joints, some town festivals and make some new acquaintences in local camp grounds.

Baroness

Finally we discuss G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra movie (hence the ‘criminals’ in my title).  For those of you who grew up on the property that made it famous back in the 80’s, you may be slightly disapointed in some of the character origin reboots in this 2009 feature film.  Being a comic book purist in my own right, and being a huge fan of Larry Hama’s creativity for the Hasbro line and the yarns he spun for Marvel, I have a few problems with the treatment that gave Cobra Commander, Zartan and the Baroness.  Also the Ripcord/Scarlett love angle and the CC/Baroness sibling reveal really bothered me.  But if you can put those issues aside ,(and the accelerator suits) then this was a pretty darn good matinee action-comic movie.  Good fight scenes, neat technology, grand in scope….but clearly sets up and demands a sequel.  I mean it is called ‘The Rise of Cobra’ after all, and we just get a taste of things to come towards the last 15 minutes of this movie.

The one that did surprise me however was the Joe’s dropping the “Shit” bomb as gratuitous as they did.  There were a couple of things in the movie that may have made the old cartoon watchers smile, like “Knowing is half the battle.” and the of course the reference to the “Kung Fu grip”.

Show Notes

• Bumper Music: “My ‘98 Old’s” - Public Enemy, Yo-Bum Rush the Show (1987)
• 00:35 - Introductions
• 01:10 - Discuss Cook’s Corner memories and atmosphere.
• 07:55 - Brian talks about recent trip with Luke across Canada, including camping, camera’s, and food.
• 29:59 - Brian gives us an update on his incredible wieght loss thus far.
• 33:30 - We talk G.I. Joe the movie (lore vs current re-imagining), Transformers, comics

Cook’s Corner

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This is a news article I found on FoxNews.com today:

Stimulus Checks Mistakenly Sent to 1,700 Inmates, Federal Agency Says.

Excerpt: “The inspector general’s office for the Social Security Administration is looking into the problem as part of its broader audit on stimulus spending. The Social Security Administration acknowledged the $425,000 glitch following a report that nearly two-dozen inmates in Massachusetts had wrongly received the $250 stimulus checks.”

Social Security spokesman Dan Moraski told FOXNews.com in a written statement that the money went out because official records “did not accurately reflect that they were in prison.” 

The inspector general’s office for the Social Security Administration is now looking into the problem as part of its broader audit on stimulus spending. The Social Security Administration acknowledged the glitch following a report that nearly two-dozen inmates in Massachusetts had wrongly received the $250 stimulus checks. 

Even before the agency disclosed that the problem was more widespread, the discovery prompted complaints from Republicans critical of the $787 billion stimulus and the way it has been managed.   End Excerpt. 

Click on the link above to read the whole debacle.

But in all seriousness…this is the same government who is behind paying auto dealerships in cash for clunkers, the same administration that is pressuring religious organizations that they have a ‘moral duty’ to pay for health care, but apparently has no qualms when it comes to morals on abortion.  The same government who currently runs bankrupt Fannie Mae, your atrocious DMV, wants upwards of $9 trillion in new debt.  Now they are sending stimulus checks to inmates.

And you trust them to run a national healthcare system?

Crackpot

Here is the long overdue is a 30 minute podcast catching us up the last 3 weeks of Big Brother season 11.

I didn’t really realize how hard it was to keep up with this once a week and before I knew it, time slipped by pretty fast and I was three weeks behind.  To those that have sent me e-mails asking where they are, I’m happy you find them somewhat interesting enough to point out I’m behind. 

For this recap, I was surprised how hard it actually was to try and remember all the stuff that happened.  Needless to say I cut alot out just to get to six pages of written notes.  That works out to be about two pages per televised episode.

Anyway, suffice to say Chima is a crackpot and I’m glad her days are numbered.  Natalie the gnat is annoying and has a warped sense of reality when it comes to the game….she forgot she’s actually playing a game and takes everything so personal and now that Jessie is also gone, Natalie actually has to start playing her own game and not riding on his coattails.  The funniest line from her was this week when she says she was ‘running’ the house…..LOL….No ‘Gnat’, you weren’t, Jessie was manipulating everything and you were his ‘Yes’ girl.  Then to hear her explain and actually convince herself of the truth of her ‘alterted’ facts is mind blowing.  I told Monica I don’t even think Gnat can comprehend her own reality right now.  Jeff of course is level headed, and Russell has calmed down quite a bit.  Michelle is finally emerging as a player, and I give props to Kevin for being a very smart player, but he’s just hooked up with the wrong people.  Finally, my thoughts on Lydia are really shifting now.  Her messianac complex when it comes to Jessie is down right disturbing and she’s next for the loony bin.

Anyway, enjoy….

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Not much going on here as I’ve been in a training class all week to get my Network+ certification.  I wish I could say the class was really beneficial, but all the instructor did was basically regurgiate almost verbatim what the textbook laid out word for word.  I picked up a few things, but not enought to justify a week long 40 hour class.

Anyway, as I’m a bit behind on some of my podcasts (including the Big Brother recaps), here are some of the following changes made here:

• Added NextGEN gallery plug-in v1.3.5, but haven’t had an opportunity to use it yet.
• Upgraded plug-in Count Per Day to v2.2, but I’m not using it right now.  The earlier version didn’t seem to work and I just haven’t reactivated it yet.
• Upgraded plu-in Blubrry Power Press to v0.9.5 which is supposed to add better features for iTunes and other podcast feeds.  I tried to get recognized by ZUNE this past week, but I must have missed something.  MS has some quirky encoding requirements that seem trivial, but the documented instructions are so vague…if I get onto Zune Marketplace anytime soon, it will be purely by luck or trial and error.
• Added the following link to my favorites: http://tropicaldrinksblog.com Tropical Drinks Blog.  Site has many recipes with an island flair to them.

Disaronno

Okay, I know I start this podcast by calling it number 7, but in fact it is actually episode 8.

I wanted to try something in a new direction, and seeing that I got some favorable response from a Facebook entry I posted recently on a grilled steak sandwich recently, I decided to devote an episode to basic grilling.  I’m not sure I’d call it Grilling 101, because I could talk on and on in regards to different subjects as it pertains to outdoor grilling, but I thought this was a good place to start, especially for those that are just sick and tired of plain hot dogs and hamburgers or may be afraid of the grill.

I’d be interested in what you think about this episode.  It ran a bit longer than I initially expected, but I’d like to think there’s a lot of good information in this episode.

Disaronno (pictured) is an Italian almond tasting liqueur which strangely does not have any nuts it anyway has an alcohol content of 28%.

Show Notes:

• 01:11:  Intro Song: Holiday for Strings (written by David Rose, performed by The Voice of Walter Schuman).  I ripped this segment from one of my Ultra Lounge CD’s.  I like it because it has a real ‘camp’ factor to it, and should transport you somewhere back into the early 1950’s.
• 01:55:  Disaronno liqueur and A&W root beer cocktail.
• 04:35:  Grilling 101 (charcoal v. coal, picking oils, cleaning, meat choices and quick grilling tips)
• 31:10:  Grilled steak sandwich recipe.

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I’m a week behind on the Big Brother update, and I just can’t seem to get motivated to recap week 4, so I think I may do a combined recap of week 4 & 5 this week instead.

I was gonna do try an experiment of a BBQ podcast along with a BB recap of week 4, but that may seem confusing to you guys or other listeners, so I think I may do a separate BBQ podcast altogether.

So why am I on a pseudo-hiatus this week? I’m in a week long training course for Network+ certification and all around super busy, but I’ll catch up soon enough.

Good day all.  I’ve been a bit busy with work as of late and the heat the last few days has really drained me of energy to put a lot of thought into some good entries, and even more so when it comes to sitting down and doing my next podcast.

I’ve been thinking about doing a series of episodes concentrating on my love for BBQ’ing, because it’s one of my favorite leisurely and social activities (and it doesn’t hurt that I truly enjoy both cooking and eating), but I’m trying to think of the format and logistics.  It’s kinda hard to set up a mic outside near the grill, but now that I have my portable recorder (which I still haven’t broke in yet), maybe I’ll try it with some friends in the future.  It’d be fun to hear a few guys jawing away while pounding a few beers and learn a few grilling techniques as well.  If you ever get the chance, look for reruns of an older show starring Bobby Flay called “Grillin’ and Chillin’”.  It was fun to watch Bobby and the other guy banter back and forth, albeit no beer was involved.

Another idea was to have just a few smaller episodes, maybe 10-15 minutes each where I talk about preping a specific menu and maybe pair that menu with a beer or cocktail.  But I’ll really have to mull that idea over because I truly do think it’d lend more to have at least two, maybe three guys all kibitzing while cooking dead meat.

So this past weekend, I had an impromptu BBQ over at the house and invited the neighbor and his wife wife over to partake in my ribs.  The bummer of it all was I think I may have had one to many “Christmas’s” to drink, and I don’t really recall eating my ribs, although everyone else said they were great (and I even got the nice compliment that my ribs were the best on the street since a few of the guys have taken a spin down baby-back avenue).

I figure I’d share one of my simple techniques and recipe for ribs in a jiffy.  I have plenty of rib recipes and this is just one, and so far it hasn’t hasn’t failed me yet:

Initial prep-

• Take a nice meaty slab of baby back ribs, cut in half with a clean, sharp knife, and rub down with some oil.  Most people use canola oil as it has a much higher burning point, but I prefer the extra richeness of olive oil.  It’s important that the oil is relatively fresh (oil can go rancid if not stored properly).  Season both sides with slat and pepper, and please use kosher or sea salt, not table salt.  Pepper shoudl also be freshly milled and cracked.  Just a light smattering of both, the real seasoning comes next.
• Apply a liberal amount of your favorite dry rub to the meaty side and pat it in.  Not so much on the underside where the membrane resides, but enough to add color and some flavor.  Of course if you wanna mill your own spice rub, it’s gonna be really good, but since this is a no fuss recipe, I just grab a prepackaged gourment rub I tend to like with a little chipoltle, and I also sprinkle on a few fresh rosemary leaves from my herb garden (I love rosemary).
• Allow to dry-marinate in the fridge at least one hour, preferably longer to allow spices to penetrate and work their magic.
• In a microwave safe container mix the following ingredients- 1C white wine, 1.5 TBS white wine vinegar, 1 finely diced clove of garlic, 1-2 TBS of Worsteshire (for saltiness), 2-3 TBS of either honey or molasses (for sweet).  Give a slight whisking to, then nuke for 1 minute and set aside (it’ll be used momentarily).
• Preheat oven at 225 degrees and set rack to middle position.
• Wrap the spiced ribs length wise in a very long sheet of aluminum foil, shiny side facing meat, leaving a bit of room, yet crimping aluminum shut except on one end.  At open end  of foil, pour in your wet mix and slightly tilt to allow wet mix settle in, then crimp the open end shut.

Cooking

• Place ribs in oven, crimped side up so liquid won’t leak, and allow to cook at this low temperature undisturbed for at least 2.5 hours.  Possibly 2.75 hours.  This low temperature will break down the callogen in the ribs and baste the ribs in the liquid steam and keep them moist. At this time, go ahead and remove from oven and foil.
• Finish off ribs on BBQ over medium heat for another 15 minutes (7-10 minutes each side or longer depending on preferred wellness).  At this point you’ll start getting good grill marks.  (Optional) Near end of grilling if you want, go ahead and baste ribs with a wet sauce if you want for extra flavor.  Personally I think they are good just with the dry rub, but if you just have to add a BBQ sauce, go ahead and do lightly now.  But be careful not to burn ribs as some sauces have a tendancy to burn because of the high sugar content.
• Let ribs rest a good 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving as you want the internal juices to relax back into the meat.

Enjoy with your favorite sides and beer.  For me, it usually pinto style beans with jalepenos (instead of baked beans), a southwestern potato salad, fresh melon slices, or whatever you like.  Oh and did I mention a good beer?  Go for an amber ale or other medium bodied beer.

Over the weekend Monica and I had a very expensive, but good, dinner over at Simply Fondue in Mission Viejo.  It’s in a strange location (not one that I would ever pick) and I’m curious to see if it will make it in the long run.  It’s tucked away in a corner of Mission Viejo that doesn’t get much traffic other than the people that live in the immediate area.  Even the manager we spoke to said they are doing a lot of advertising for this place, more so than their other locations because people simply don’t know its there.

Fondue is a very social, and long experience.  We shared a 3 course meal ($49 a person), and from the time we sat down until the time we signed the check and left, it was close to two and a half hours later.  Drinks are also pretty expensive there and I’m not a big fan of $10 martini’s although I decided to have one called ‘Italian Ice’.  It’s made with blue curacao, some vodka, and a sugar rimmed glass.  It was good, but not $10 good, so I only had one.

One thing that Simply Fondue does have though is a pretty extensive martini menu.  They list just over 100 martini’s, although many of them seem to be novelty or desert martini’s and maybe the next time I go back I’ll try some of the more interesting concoctions they list.  One particular martini they listed was called a ‘Christmas’, and the ingredients are simple:

Christmas

• 4 parts gin (preferably Tanqueray)
• 1 part Creme de Menthe
• Combine in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake, pour in martini glass

The Creme de Menthe is a brilliant green color and is a bit potent in flavor and can dominate the gin.  Make sure the gin is not a flavored one with lime or some of the other citrus blends on the market.  Creme de Menthe is basically mint, or concentrated peppermint and probably more commonly used in a ‘grasshopper’, so I imagine the sweet ’Christmas’ martini gets its name from both its pine green color and peppermint taste.  Quite a tasty little drink, but dangerous as the sugar content could lead to a bad headache, and who wants to throw up bright green?  Try rimming a glass with red sugar for more aesthetics.