Sherman's Head

Thursday, November 24, 2005

thanks

So, in following a trend across the blogoverse (wow, I can't believe I just said blogoverse), a list of things I am thankful for:

- Good friends and my family and their love and support
- the fact that after a half-day tomorrow I get to go to my favorite vacation city, Las Vegas.
- this blog and how is has helped me express myself more.
- new friends I've made (you know who you are)
- old friends I've kept (you definitely should know who you are)
- the roof over my head

That's it for now, if I think of more I'll add them on. These seem pretty generic and not"this year" specific. I should be thankful for all of these things everyday and every year not just today and this year. So to all my friends and family, if I haven't said it often or enough, I love you all and thanks for putting up with me.

Now here's what you've all been waiting for, Thanksgiving Dinner:










The Turducken: Bought frozen from Andronicos's. I roasted it for about 3.5 hours covered over large mirepoix. I then put in a probe thermometer and roasted it uncover to an internal temp of 160 deg. Farenheit. It was pretty good. A little dry, but then again, it is turkey. Note the holes on the left and right side my the base of the legs. The turducken split there and spilled stuffing.



The Sides (in order: left to right, top to bottom)

Stuffin' Muffins
: Got the idea from Rachael Ray. Baked the stuffing in muffin cups so there were "individual" cups of stuffing. Makes for more crispy "edges" for everyone.

Creamed Spinach: Followed recipe and got very little cream to spinach ratio. Next time will double "cream" quantity. Otherwise it was tasty.

Corn Pudding: Hard to explain. close to spoon bread, looser than cornbread, described as being similar to the tomalito you get with your meal at Chevy's. Best explanation is that it's like a savory/sweet corn "flan." Easy as heck. Just measured out all ingredients in food processor, processed until almost smooth and poured into buttered dish to bake. Many requests for repeats, will do again.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes: Good recipe. Probably should have made a paste out of the roasted garlic cloves instead of just mixing in whole. Would probably do again.

Well, I hope your Thanksgiving was as good if not better than mine. Now off to that packing I've been procrastinating about...

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

jack

Went to see with my sister to the Roxie in the Mission District last night. She got a pass for two to a screening of Jack Johnson's new DVD release Jack Johnson and Friends: A Weekend at the Greek. Now, I'm not the fan of Jack Johnson that my sister is but I have nothing against his music. I would say I can like his music but I'm not in a hurry to go buy the album. This movie, however, definitely changed that perception. I am deifinitely being won over slowly by Jack. The movie also featured some other acts from Jack's label, Brushfire Records. Of the acts that were featured, I definitely liked Matt Costa and enjoyed the Animal Liberation Orchestra the most.

As for my starter Jack Johnson CD, my sister recommended the new one, In Between Dreams. She says it's a good starter for me because it's all love songs. apparently he wrote all of them for his wife (or, "Lucky Girl," as my sister calls her). I can get behind a CD written with one particular muse in mind. I was also told by a good friend, with impeccable taste in music(*cough*Rekkid*cough*), that it was "makin' happy music" and there's "nothing wrong with that." Besides, CD that has a song about banana pancakes can't be all bad.

Monday, November 21, 2005

plan

So here's the plan:
Tuesday 11-22
defrost turducken
grocery shopping
roast garlic for potatoes
prep herbs
defrost corn

Wednesday 11-23
make corn pudding to bake next day
defrost spinach
cube and toast bread for stuffing

Thursday 11-24
mirepoix
start turducken
mise en place
make stuffing/place in cupcake containers
cook potatoes
make mashers
cook spinach
set turducken aside to cool
bake pudding and stuffing
eat

Well, the next few days will be busy.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

seat

So tonight, I went to the Palace of Fine Arts and watched Henry Rollins. He was a front man for Black Flag and the Rollins Band. I didn't go to see a concert however. I went to see a spoken word show. I've never heard more than a couple of minutes of Henry's music, but I think I have every spoken word album he's put out and I've been to 3-4 of his spoken word performances. This one at the Palace of Fine Arts was as funny, insightful and thought-provoking as usual but that's not what this blog-post is about.

As I took my seat in the venue I noticed more than one couple coming in. That wasn't the thing, I always notice couples. I think it's what happens because I'm not in a relationship. The one time I was in a relationship and the many times I was in pseudo-relationships I don't think I noticed any couples at all. However, today I noticed more than ever. As I sat and the auditorium started to fill up, I noticed that all the seats were sold in pairs. I sat there wondering what single would be seated next to me. Well it ended up staying vacant. What’s that you say? More room to spread out? No elbows to knock against? Yeah well there IS that. But, all I could think of was how I didn’t have anyone in my life and how it’s been years since I’ve had a warm soul to cuddle up to, even one that wasn’t truly mine. That empty seat was taunting me.

Maybe it’s all in my head but it is tough sometimes. I like my life. I enjoy my job. I wish I was making more money but you can’t have it all. But there are many times when I wish I had someone to share it with. A pair of eyes to gaze into. An ear to listen to my words. A set of ribs to dig my elbows into and share a laugh with. A pair of lips to softly kiss. A torso to hug tightly. A pair of arms to hold me, as well. A soul to share my life.

Monday, November 07, 2005

frappr

So thanks to rekkidbraka, I was turned on to this site frappr.com. I created my own map so, the two of you that read this blog can put up a pic and give me a shoutout.

I named my map I Tappa Kegga. To those of you in the know, check in, "brothers." To those that don't, It's the name of my crew at UNLV but I've pretty much "intiated" all my past friends and newer friends.

Click the link. Type in your name. Put in a zipcode (yours preferably). Give me a shoutout. Post a pic, if possible. That's it. No email address= no spam.