I saw this in the bargain bin at Urban Outfitters in Dallas and threw a girl fit, as in OMG I MUST HAVE IT! I got a lovely flask from my friend Eric when I was in his wedding, but this one is smaller and a bit easier to hide, so I said, ring it up. It for sure will be making an appearance at this year’s OKC Gay Pride Parade.
| Gorgeous Little Things, Daily Photo, Proof | Comments (0) |
I didn’t try this wine; I just saw the label at the liquor store a couple weeks ago and thought it was cool.
| Daily Photo, Proof | Comments (0) |
I saw this at the grocery store around the corner from my house last night. That’s disgusting. If you bring this to my house, you’ll be asked to leave.
UPDATE: For the uninitiated, Clamato is a disgusting drink made from tomato juice and reconstituted clam broth. It’s like V8 and cat puke.
UPDATE THE SECOND: It appears that someone has actually tried it, and he makes a good point: "I’m not sure that shellfish is what I want in my beer."
| Daily Photo, Proof | Comments (9) |
"I hope it keeps ice-storming so I don’t have to go to work tomorrow."
"That would be nice."
"I know! I could "work from home.""
"I have to take a call tomorrow, either way. And I won’t be able to be drunk for it."
"Well, not very drunk."
| Conversations, Proof | Comments (0) |
"I want some booze."
"What?"
"I want some booze, right now."
"You want some booze?"
"Yes." [picks up McDonald’s cup that’s 75% full with Diet Dr. Pepper] "Take this and go put some booze in it."
"How much booze?"
"Enough."
| Conversations, Proof, The Power Of Two | Comments (4) |
So, you’ve got your drink in hand and maybe at the end of a day you’re feeling a bit peckish. There’s plenty of daylight, still, and you’ve got some friends coming over; what do you do? You fire up the grill, of course.
Brian is the griller in our house, but you cannot grow up in Oklahoma and not know a thing or two about cooking meat over an open fire. Around our house we use mostly wood chips instead of charcoal, as it adds a richer, more robust flavor to whatever we’re cooking. To expedite the whole process of getting the fire as hot as possible as quickly as possible, Brian uses a chimney starter, which looks a little something like this:
It ensures that all the coals are equally hot and bright so that one piece of meat, sitting on the left of the grill, is not raw while another is burnt. Grilling has long been known to be the healthiest form of cooking, especially when one is talking about meat, but it’s probably also the most delicious. Shake it up; try some different things.
One of my favorite things to grill out is skewers, which can also be great fun for your guests. Get several different colored vegetables at the store; things that cut up easily and cook great. I usually get yellow, orange and red bell peppers, zucchini, and pearl onions, the kind that come in a small bag. Pearl Onions are a must, because they provide that really wonderful sweet onion flavor, but are bite-size, so you don’t have to murder your eyes and sinuses trying to cut them up.
[Skewers are fantastic also if you have vegetarian friends, as it is something you can grill out without making them feel left out. When my friend Bryon lived with me the summer after our senior year of high school, we made "veggie kebabs" almost every single night on the grill].
So you cut up your meat into 1-inch cubes, and arrange each ingredient in a bowl. Lots of color makes the dish visually appealing. Drizzle them with a little olive oil and, if you like, throw some bay leaves onto each skewer for a bit of extra taste. You might also try rubbing the meat with Emeril’s Essence Spice Mixture, which you can make at home:
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Double or triple the recipe as needed and keep it in a tupperware container with your spices; it keeps nicely. Rub it on any meat you grill for some extra twang that should prove very popular with your guests. Experiment with different types of meat, especially if you’re doing skewers. Chicken, lamb, and shrimp are my personal favorites, though nothing beats a nice, juicy steak or hamburger cooked on the grill. (Emeril’s mixture also folds nicely into a hamburger patty). For the health conscious among you, use ground turkey instead of beef, and rub some ears of corn with chili powder and lime juice before grilling it.
So, now you’ve got your pitcher of gin fizz and your food. I’m going to throw in one extra drink recipe for you, in case you’re no fan of gin. This one is a for-sure crowd pleaser, but you have to make absolutely sure that you’re pacing yourself. Or, barring that, that you’re not wearing shoes when you inevitably start dancing on the dining room table. This drink is known as the Beergarita.
Girl Con Queso had a wonderful Beergarita recipe back in February, but the one we use is a bit different; Brian got it a few years ago from a professor, and it’s never let us, or any of our guests, down. Unless you count the hangover. I also submitted this one to Salon’s Cocktail Contest:
It’s very simple. You simply get a container of Minute Maid Limeade Concentrate - the frozen stuff in the tube in your grocery store’s freezer section. Em
pty it into a pitcher, then take the empty tube and start filling it with tequila. The recipe says to fill it all the way up with tequila, though my rule of thumb is, "Fill it until you get scared." Most people stop at about 3/4. Then, you add one 12-oz. bottle of your favorite Mexican (it has to be Mexican) beer; our poison of choice around here is Dos Equis, though Corona will work in a pinch, and Shiner Bock is acceptable but not ideal. Repeat these instructions until your pitcher is full, and stir until the frozen limeade concentrate is melted. Pour over ice or with ice into a blender for blended margaritas.
It’s a pretty stout mixture, to be sure, so pace yourself. At any rate, you now have two types of drinks in pitchers, and a whole lot of really wonderful food. I do believe we have a party, kiddos! What better way to spend a long, hot, miserable, mosquito-ridden August night than with a really great party? In honor of our wonderful party, I’ve created a new August playlist of music that I enjoy during summer cookouts.
| summer nights, Food, Proof | Comments (6) |
Have I mentioned I hate August? It’s my least favorite month by far. It’s always the month that ruins summertime for me, because it’s frantic, and too hot, the days too long. It’s always when all the momentum from the beginning of summer peters out and you’re left feeling like you accomplished nothing you’d have liked to, not had as much fun, not lived as well and as deeply as you could’ve.
So, as the summer winds down, I’m going to do a short series on wonderful ways to continue to enjoy the hot weather. One is, of course, via getting shitfaced drunk, like I did last weekend, on gin fizz. If you’re sick, like I am, of gin and tonic (of tonic in general, to be honest), this is a wonderful, spritzy, light drink that’s perfect for those nights watching the Perseid Meteor Shower, swatting mosquitoes, playing tired games of fetch with the dog or sitting and talking with friends. Here’s the recipe, which I am also sending in to Salon’s "No More Gin and Tonics" contest :
1 part gin
1 part lemon juice (freshly squeezed is best, but from a bottle will work in a pinch)
1 tsp confectioners’ sugar
club soda
Shake gin, lemon juice, and sugar together and strain over ice. Fill with carbonated water, and serve. You may garnish with a citrus twist or mint leaf.
NOTE: I’ve made pitchers of this before, and it’s wonderful to serve in large quantity, as it - ahem - does the trick rather quickly and tastes delicious. However, if making in a pitcher do not greatly increase the amount of confectioners’ sugar. Otherwise you basically have a 7th grade science fair volcano. Mixing drinks is all about chemistry, you know.
| summer nights, Proof | Comments (7) |
At 9:30 A.M., Black Friday 2006:
Brian: So what should we do today?
Me: I’m not sure. What would you like to do?
Brian: We should just start drinking now, and not stop until tomorrow.
Me: (smiling suddenly) Wait, can we? Are we allowed to do that? Is that something we’re allowed to do?
| Proof, The Power Of Two | Comments (0) |
I broke the alcohiatus briefly last night to attend Oktoberfest with Brian, Laurie and Jaye. It was great craic, and the beer was delicious, delicious, delicious. I photoblogged the whole thing, including my incredibly phallic-looking bratwurst:
| Oklahoma, Proof | Comments (0) |
So I’ve been really, really out of shape for the past year. Like, really. I mean, first it was the summer of 2005, wherein I worked 7 days a week and had no time or energy to work out. Then it was moving into the new house, and my allergy problems, and the fall of 2005, wherein I worked 6 days a week.
Then it was the winter/spring of 2006, wherein my allergies got really, really, really, really bad, and I just gave up and started eating shitty food all the time.
And now, with my allergy shots, and 3 pairs of pants that actually fit, and just enough financial liberty to declare five out of seven evenings all mine to do with what I please, I am back on the workout wagon. The problem is, in order to really get back in the kind of shape I was in three years ago - and I mean, great shape it was - I am giving up alcohol for the next few months.
Brian’s birthday is October 25; Jaye’s is on Halloween. Other than that there really is only one event I can imagine which might warrant drinkage, and that’s the Flaming Lips concert, which I’m pretty sure I can get through sober, as it’s going to be hella-fun.
So I’ll leave my bottle of Effen Black Cherry to chill in the freezer for awhile as I try to regain some semblance of health and get my girlish figure back.
| Health, Proof | Comments (1) |