Great chili recipe.

Hey guys sorry I haven't posted in a few days. After the round of devastating storms, We got a nice cold front. Since it was so cold I decided to make some delicious chili.

This chili is by no means above and beyond, it's just a really good ass chili.  Yeah I'm going to share it with you.

Here are your basic ingredients:

1 - 1.5 pounds of fresh ground chuck, If the butcher is in ask him or her to make you a fresh batch.
2 - 1 nice size yellow onion
3 - 1 full bulb of garlic  (I didn't have this, so I subbed garlic powder)   I assumed, I know...
4- Good chili powder
5 - Good cumin
6 - salt
7 - pepper
8 - 12 ounce can of crushed tomato - or 12 ounces of fresh tomatos.
9 - 1 can of kidney beans
10- 1 can of pinto beans
11- 1 can of tomato sauce
12 - small can of tomato puree
13- good olive oil
14- nice balsamic vinegar

This is obviously a guideline as chili is, well chili, so it can be whatever you want it to be.

Here is how I did it...

First I diced up the onion and threw it in with a couple dashes of olive oil.

After the onions are nice and warm, throw in the chuck.

Now it's time to let these two have a great marriage.

Now that they are joined together, it's time to add everything else and let them turn into delicious chili.

At this point you ad all of the tomato ingredients and seasoning.  How much?  Well it's chili so here is where it is about tasting.  Remember you have, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.  Work with it until you get a flavor you like.

Now that you have your flavor profile, add your beans, or don't, this is optional, not all chili has to have beans.

I like the beans, so I did add them.  It's all about flavor guys, so with chili you can really test what you do and don't like.  Try this base out and let me know how you have extended it.

Thanks everyone!

Nostalgia Time!

I don't know why, but I woke up and  was feeling all 80's and shit.

Has anyone every cruised down the block in one of these?

My mom used to sport the shit out of the old Delta 88.  Oldsmobiles, I miss them so.

Now it wouldn't be a proper cruise with mom if we weren't blasting some of this.

Did my jeans look like this?

Fuck yeah they did, now crank the Benatar!

The tornadoes this weekend.

As a blogger I tried to get some cool storm video by pointing my shitty camera out the window.  I'm here in the Chicago area and of course we had warnings all day.  Being underneath Lake Michigan I seem to always have a buffer.  At first I was pissed that I didn't get any cool footage as the storms always seem to go above or below me.  After watching this I realize, I'm lucky not to be in the open plains.

My heart and prayers go out to all of those who suffered from this weekends violent tornadoes.

The least I can do is give you a small motivational video.  I would love to hear stories from anyone who follows me that went through this tragic ordeal.

My thoughts on Facebook.

It's one of those Lazy Sundays.

There's been talk about rain for the weekend but so far, sunny skies and low 80's with a slight wind.  Perfect!

That aside I want to talk a bit about Facebook.

I think my first experience with Facebook was about two years ago when a friend of mine sent me an E-mail that was viewable via a Facebook sign up.  Great job by the way.  My nostalgia kicked in and of course I agreed.

So now I'm in, time to friend..  Oh yeah I remember that dude, -friend-, talked to her once I think, -friend-, and then of course there are the people you see everyday, yep, friend them.

OK there might actually be people on here who I used to hang out with and kind of lost touch..  For me this is why I'm still on Facebook. I really don't give a fuck that you just got up and had coffee, but it's cool when a random old friend posts something like this..

How to make great baby back ribs.

Hey guys, it's Saturday and the world didn't end so I'm going to celebrate with some great baby back ribs.  This is such a simple recipe that I have came up with over the years.  I'm so excited to get to share it with you.

You will need:

1 slab of baby back ribs, preferably fresh from the butcher, stay away from the shrunk rap injected stuff.

1 container of McCormick Grill Mates Pork Rub.

1 can of Heineken, most liquor stores sell a 24 ounce, so use half and enjoy the rest.

1 bottle of Sweet Baby Rays Original.

The first thing you will need to do is preheat your oven to 225 degrees.
Now place your ribs in a nice size glass cooking pan.  You will need to remove the silver skin from the back of the ribs.  I do this by using a paper towel and a knife, just pry up a little piece and grasp it firmly with the paper towel and carefully peel it all off.

You're almost done now...  From here take your McCormick Rub and liberally cover both sides. Don't be afraid to really get it on there.

With the meaty part up in the pan.  pour the can of  Heineken into the glass pan and cover with, aluminum foil.  
Place the ribs in the oven and leave alone, for 1 hr. 45 mins.  Take them out once and baste the shit out of them. Now liberally add the Baby Rays, return to the oven covered for one more hr.  Turn the heat off, remove foil and let sit in oven for 20 mins.  That's it.

I have tried many different variations of these and this is the one I always return to, I hope everyone enjoys.

Nice Peter

I haven't featured any YouTubers in a while.

This is Nice Peter, I discovered him about a year ago and his one of the few channels I check out on a regular basis.

Here is one of his better videos.
www.youtube.com/nicepeter

Steak Fajita's

Yes!  It is steak fajita time.  The Indian food kick was cool, but I have some time off, good weather is on the horizon and it's time to grill.

Here is what I use for my marinade:

1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup real soy sauce, I use kikoman
6 cloves garlic, crushed, minced.
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 limes, juice em.
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dill

I use skirt steak, pick up a nice slab, doesn't matter what size, there is more than enough marinade here.  Now throw this baby in the marinade for about 4 hrs turning once and hour.  The best method is to just use a long glass cooking dish.

I've seen some recipes where people pan fry this meat.  For shame, you must grill this beutiful piece of meat.  I wouldn't recommend going over medium rare. 

Obviously throw some onion, red, and green pepper on with the steak.

The key here is really in the marinade and please for the love of god make sure you cut against the grain.  From here just assemble with some good local or homemade flour tortillas and enjoy!

Brandon Boyd on his didgeridoo

I was just inspired by my fellow blogger Dave at http://asamanthinkethsohebecomes.blogspot.com.

As you guys know I enjoy Incubus.  Redefine is one of my favorite songs off of one of their earliest and still my favorite albums, "Science", and it just so happens it features the didgeridoo.  Check it out here.

I started going to their concerts in 97.  I was able to catch them in Chicago at the Riviera for Snow Core where they did this.

  The didgeridoo remains alive and well at Incubus' live shows.

For all of my Incubus friends here is their latest track and again.  Thank you didgeridoo and Check out Dave's blog.

Mediterranean Cuisine

As the weather starts to get warmer I have been looking for not only healthier food options, but just some flavors that I haven't had a bunch of times. 

Mediteranean cuisine has filed this void for me and also put me into my new phase, as I tend to go through them all the time.

This dish is one I'v recently discovered and it just blows me away.  Chicken Makhani or as it is often called Butter Chicken. 

I know it's a longer video but this is such a great version and would be a great addition to any weekend party.

Enjoy guys!  Let me know how it comes out for you.

Danny Carey and Brann Dailor

Sorry guys I've had a few really busy days.  I thought sure I posted this cool drum duet I saw on the Tube yesterday.

I have heard a little bit about Mastodon being pretty cool, but I hadn't checked them out.  Who knew they had this bad ass drummer in Brann Dailor.

Browsing through Tool and Danny Carey videos I came across this great duet at the 2009 Guitar Center Drum Off.

Drummers check this one out, or just musicians in general. 

Oh yeah there is a cool little keyboard solo, you'll see.

Zappa

When I created this blog I posted some Zappa.  I feel like not enough.

I am the slime for your viewing pleasure.

Make Some Noise.

The Beastie Boys have been off of my radar for a while now.  I'm really getting into their new track.  It's climbing up the charts here in Chicago.

They have a celebrity based video up at their YouTube Channel.  If your interested you can see it here. http://www.youtube.com/user/BeastieBoys    It's got Seth Rogan in it so I quickly  found the video with music.       I just wanted to hear the fucking song.

Give it a listen and let me know what ya think.

Leauge of Legends and friends.

http://iwillforgetthis.blogspot.com/

Hey followers, I wish I was good at this game.

I am not,  some would say,  "well actually I just..."

Fuck them,  there are good players and bad.  I urge everyone to check out Xenot's blog (link above).

Here is a quick video, in the mean time..

China IPad 2 Scuffle

Yeah the IPad 2 is coming out.  Sweet let's riot.

You Chinese are becoming more and more like us here in the states.  We still have you beat with our Wal-Mart Black Friday rushes, but your learning.

Keep up the good work!

Is that Hendrix?

It must be...

All along the watchtower..

If you had asked me a few weeks ago I would have said no.

There is something prophetic about this that struck me.  Not necessarily verbally specific, well see for yourself and enjoy.

Memo's Taco Mex

So I just so happen to have one of the best Mexican restaurants in the country down the road from me.  I've been to a lot of major cities, I've been in the deepest parts of Texas and this place just beats them all as far as consistency, quality of ingreadients, and flavor.

Here are pictures from today's lunch. 

This is a "Memo's Burrito".  It contains, steak, grilled onions, beans, chihuahua cheese, roasted red bell peppers, sour cream, cilantro, avocado and green salsa.  Without question the best burrito I have ever had.

If you live in the Chicago/Nortwest Indiana take the time to stop in.  Here is their facebook link.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Memos-Taco-Mex/102549895549

Incubus - Paint it black cover.

Upon hearing about the trapped miners in Chile, Incubus took action to lend a helping hand. Already scheduled to play a show in Chile, the band members spent the day off to organize a plan that would best benefit the families of the miners.  Here is video from their studio time in Chile.

Manhattan Recipe.

One of my good friends invited me over for some software sessions.

They have a great bar setup, and I was intrigued to see his father drinking a Manhattan.  This isn't a drink I have delved into, yet I was fascinated by it.

Here is the recipe, let me know if you guys have any variations.

Ribeye steaks.

As you guys know we have had some shitty weather.

The biggest problem with this has been that I haven't been able to use my new charcoal grill nearly as much as I've wanted to.  According to whatever news I was listening to this morning, beef sales are down because of this.

Tonight I am going to help out by grilling some epic ribeye steaks.

Here is a picture of them with Punkins approval..

t think they turned out pretty good.

Good Neighbor

Here is another video from Good Neighbor.

These guys are one of the few YouTube groups that I like, hope everyone gets a good laugh from this.

Swedish Meatballs.

I have done these Swedish meatballs a couple of times.  They are on the menu again tonight!

The first minute of the video Is the end to his Italian style.  I have a better recipe of my own for them.  These however I am content with doing step by step as they are delicious.

Enjoy the recipe, I'll post pics of my version later tonight.

If anyone makes them post as well...