Monday, September 24, 2007

Alien Nation, Animal Cruelty, -and- Enjoy!


Alien Nation - Florida city accepts status as Scientology stronghold
Animal Cruelty - man beheads tame hotel duck
Enjoy! - hotel charges $14,500 for dessert

On this day in history: September 24, 1988 - High on PCP and brandishing a shotgun, James Brown interrupts an insurance seminar next door to his business office in Augusta, Georgia and accuses the attendees of using his private restroom. The resulting 90-minute interstate pursuit ends only after police shoot out his truck tires. The Godfather of Soul ends up serving two years in prison.

Born on this day in history: September 24, 1896 - F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 - 1940) author. His writings and lifestyle epitomized 1920s "Jazz Age" in "The Great Gatsby," 1925.

Scripture of the Day: "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." (Hebrews 10:35-36)

Video of the Day: It's JerryTime: Jail Time for Jerry - submitted by Cindy





Summer has ended; a pall has fallen over the land. Sadly, summer has ended. Summer is my favorite season. It is a season filled with sunshine and warmth. I shall miss summer greatly for the next nine months.

Saturday morning, I made a large batch of salsa with 12 large Jalapeño peppers, 10 small Serrano peppers, 4 large habanero peppers, 4 medium Thai peppers, 4 medium Cayenne peppers, 1 large red onion, 23 large garlic cloves, 3 medium celery stalks, 1 large bunch cilantro, 16 medium Roma tomatoes, 4 medium cluster tomatoes, sea salt, ground black pepper, crushed red pepper, cumin, and ground Cayenne pepper.

We had planned to toss some baby back ribs on the grill Saturday. The rains came, however, and the roasting of the pig was set aside until Sunday. I simmered two racks of baby back ribs in Sierra Nevada India Pale Ale for an hour. I placed the ribs on the grill—bone-side down—on the rear of the grill, with the rear burner off and the front burner on medium-low. I slathered the ribs with Extra-hot Louisiana Hot Sauce and sprinkled with Red Monkey Cajun Spice Rub. Every 30 minutes, I sprayed the ribs with olive oil to keep moist. After an hour, I began brushing sauce on the ribs every 30 minutes. For the sauce, I used Jack Daniels sauce for a base. I added lime juice, molasses, ground Cayenne pepper, and Extra-hot Louisiana hot sauce.

When Laura returned from a meeting at Harvest Christian Center, she took over tending to the ribs. At 6:30, they were done. I made garlic (two heads), Jalapeño, and cheddar cheese mashed red potatoes to accompany the ribs. It was an incredibly delicious meal. Two bottles of Sierra Nevada India Pale Ale were required to wash the ribs and potatoes down into my gullet.