happy thxgiving kids!

i know i shouldn't be so thankful when our president makes an ass of himself. it's #19 on my list of things to be thankful for though.

have a good one everyone and remember... if you're going to mow on the turkey, designate a driver!

pic courtesy of http://socialitelife.com

i'm the undisputed queen of chicken stock, yo!

yes kids, you know it's that time of year when i break out the biggest stock pot i have and, well... make the whole house reek of thanksgiving. i'm sure the recipe is somewhere on my blog, but i'll post it again:

4 lb chicken backs, wings, or other parts that are as bony as they are meaty
3 med onions, quartered
4 ribs celery, roughly chopped
4 carrots, roughly chopped
4-5 intact garlic cloves
10 sprigs fresh thyme
good handful italian parsley
2 bay leaves
10-20 whole peppercorns

put all ingredients in the largest pot you have and cover to 1" deep with COLD water. cover pot and place over medium heat just until bubbles break the surface. remove lid and lower heat to low. you don't want it to ever cook any harder than bubbles breaking the surface. cook 8 hrs and remove the chunks with a spider or other straining utensil and then pour through the finest strainer you have into a very large bowl. it will remove the herby bits and whatever scuzz might still be lingering in the stock. place bowl containing stock into an ice bath and cool until the stock begins to take on a jello-like consistency.

using a ladle, fill large ziploc bags with the stock and freeze till needed.


tomorrow... tips on making the best pumpkin pie ever!

i just saw the word boob used as a verb

as in... *ms. x just administered a drive-by boobing of señor y*

ha!

anyhoo... busy day today... makin a grip of chicken stock for next thursday. the house just reeks of thanksgiving.

heard from someone for the first time today, thru a comment i left on someone else's blog. there's a new comment down at the entry about the ichthys n'chips car plaque? i should just go ahead and post the url for it while i'm thinkin about it. click the title of this post to visit the site that's sellin em.

i'll post more later. some tips for quality entertaining and menu suggestions for the big meal!

my first...

one year ago today, i gave and received one of these. yes kids, it's our first anniversary. the traditional gift for the first anniversary is paper... o yes, kids, my favorite kind of gift! the kind that folds! i will, upon request, provide an address for you to send any lovely, foldable gifts. :)

anyhoo... getting married was without a doubt the smartest thing i ever did. wen'l has been the absolute best husband. he rubs my feet whenever i ask, he doesn't give me shit about my continued unemployment... i could go on for days.

i want to thank you from the bottom of my heart mr. sexson. thank you for accepting my proposal, thank you for marrying me that windy november day, thank you for cooking your great big heart out 2 days later so our friends and family could join in our celebration.

thank you most of all for your patience and understanding. you're the best husband a girl could ever hope for. happy anniversary baby.

*smooches and hugs and wotnot*

*rotf*

tytyty to the angry sicilian! i'm gettin one for me and about half my xmas shopping list!

o wot a happy day!!!!!

from yahoo! news:

AUSTIN, Texas - A state court issued an arrest warrant on Wednesday for Rep. Tom DeLay, requiring him to appear in Texas for booking on state conspiracy and money laundering charges.


yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

another ganked meme...

(sorry piggyhawk.blogspot.com!)

my answers are the ones that are in BOLD PRINT.


i am bisexual.
i've consumed alcohol.
i've run away from home.
i have lied to my parents about where i am.
i don't like bush because he is dumb.
i don't like bush with my own reasons to back it up.
i am for bush.
i listen to political music.
i collect comic books.
i am shorter than 5'5".
i think i'm ugly.
i shut others out when i'm depressed.
i open up to others easily.
i am keeping a secret from the world.
i watch the news.
i own over 5 rap CDs.
i own an iPod or MP3 player.
i own multiple designer purses, costing over $100 apiece.
i own something from hot topic.
i own something from pac sun.
i own something from the gap.
i own something from abercrombie.
i own something i got on e-bay.
i love disney movies.
i am a sucker for hair/eyes.
i don't kill bugs.
i curse regularly.
i paid for that cell phone ring.
i am a sports fanatic.
i have "x"s in my screen name.
i've slipped out a "lol" in a real conversation.
i love spam.
i bake well.
i would wear pajamas to school.
i have a job.
i love martha stewart.
i am in love with love.
i am guilty of tYpInG lIkE tHiS. *
i am self conscious.
i like to laugh.
i smoke a 1/2 pack a day.
i liked perks of being a wallflower.
i liked go ask alice.
i have cough drops when i'm not sick.
i can't swallow pills.
i can swallow about 5 pills at a time no problem.
i eat fast food weekly.
i have many scars.
i believe in ghosts.
i can't sleep if there is a spider in the room.
i am really ticklish.
i bite my nails.
i am comfortable with being me.
i play video games.
i'm single.
i'm in a relationship.
i'm married.
gotten lost in your city.
saw a shooting star.
wished on a shooting star.
saw a meteor shower.
i had a serious surgery.
gone out in public in my pajamas.
i have kissed a stranger.
hugged a stranger.
been in a fist fight.
been arrested.
laughed and had milk or another drink come out of your nose.
pushed all the buttons on an elevator.
made out in an elevator.
swore at your parents.
kicked a guy where it hurts.
been close to love.
been to a casino.
been skydiving.
broken a bone.
skipped school.
saw a therapist.
played spin the bottle.
gotten stitches.
drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour.
bitten someone.
been to niagara falls.
gotten the chicken pox.
kissed a member of the same sex.
crashed into a friend's car.
been to japan.
ridden in a taxi.
shoplifted.
been fired.
ever had a crush on someone of the same sex.
had feelings for someone who didn't have them back.
stole something from your job.
gone on a blind date.
had a crush on a teacher.
celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
been to europe.
slept with a co-worker.
been married.
gotten divorced.
had children.
been to africa.
driven over 400 miles in one day.
been to canada.
been to mexico.
been on a plane.
seen the rocky horror picture show.
thrown up in a bar.
eaten sushi.
been snowboarding.
been skiing.
met someone in person from the internet.
been to a moto cross show.
gone to college.
graduated college.
done hard drugs.
had someone cheat on you.
miss someone right now.
taken painkillers when you didn't need them.
smoked weed.
snorted cocaine.
ate shrooms.
inhaled nitrous.
been in love.
cheated in a relationship.
woke up crying.
cried yourself to sleep.
peed from laughing.
had sex.
had sex in a car.
had sex in public.
had sex in the shower.
had sex in a sibling's bed.
had sex in a parent's bed.

ganked from http://piggyhawk.blogspot.com... look, i even left the caps!

and since not capitalizing my responses would look, umm... stoopid?

Favorite Beatles song: "Tomorrow Never Knows"
Favorite solo song by a former Beatle: "Imagine"
Favorite Rolling Stones song: "Gimme Shelter"
Favorite Bob Dylan song: "The Times They Are A Changin"
Favorite Pixies song: "Gigantic" or "Monkey Gone to Heaven"
Favorite Prince song: "When Doves Cry"
Favorite Michael Jackson song: umm... none?
Favorite Metallica song: "Blackened"
Favorite Public Enemy song: "Bring the Noise"
Favorite Depeche Mode song: "World in My Eyes"
Favorite Cure song: "Hot Hot Hot!!!"
Favorite song that most of your friends haven't heard: "Too Many Puppies" by Primus.
Favorite Beastie Boys song: "So Whatcha Want" or "Root Down"
Favorite Police song: "J'aurais Toujours Faim de Toi"
Favorite Sex Pistols song: "Pretty Vacant"
Favorite song from a movie: "Birth Ritual" by Soundgarden ("Singles") or "Wave of Mutilation (the surf one)" by Pixies ("Pump Up the Volume")
Favorite Blondie song: "Dreaming"
Favorite Genesis song: umm... I'm gonna take a pass on this one too.
Favorite Led Zeppelin song: "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You"
Favorite INXS song: "Don't Change"
Favorite Weird Al song: Ya know, I never have understood the appeal of the Weird One.
Favorite Pink Floyd song: "Hey You"
Favorite cover song: "Hallelujah", the Jeff Buckley version.
Favorite dance song: "Stinkfist" by Tool... it's a looooooooong story.
Favorite U2 song: "Drowning Man"
Favorite disco song: "Le Freak" by Chic.
Favorite The Who song: "Baba O'Riley"
Favorite Elton John song: "Daniel" or "Rocket Man"
Favorite Clash song: "I Fought the Law"
Favorite David Bowie song: "Suffragette City"
Favorite Nirvana song: "Come As You Are"
Favorite Snoop Dogg song: "Gin and Juice", but as done by Phish.
Favorite Ice Cube song: "Wrong Nigga to Fuck Wit"
Favorite Johnny Cash song: "Ring of Fire"
Favorite R.E.M. song: "Fall on Me" or "Perfect Circle"
Favorite Elvis song: "Suspicious Minds"
Favorite cheesy-ass country song: "Little Boxes" by Malvina Reynolds.

k... i snorted so hard i think something broke

from eschaton and the star trib.

k... i snorted so hard it hurt.

seen in the comments on the *delay indicted* thread on dailykos.com:

* [new]
The plural for "booze" is... (4.00 / 11)

"Bush Family Picnic."

by Jujuree on Wed Sep 28th, 2005 at 09:52:28 PDT

no text necessary

copyright mike luckovich, 09/04/05, as it originally appeared in the atlanta journal-constitution.

we're looking for wide-open spaces high above the kitchen

is that a great line or wot?

friday random 10:

1. "world where you live" - crowded house.
2. "j'aurais toujours faim de toi" - the police.
3. "little boxes" - malvina reynolds.
4. "blue rondo ala turk" - dave brubeck.
5. "jesus of suburbia" - green day.
6. "me and julio down by the schoolyard" - paul simon.
7. "vietnow" - rage against the machine.
8. "waiting room" - fugazi.
9. "bring on the dancing horses" - echo and the bunnymen.
10. "welcome to the occupation" - r.e.m.

what could have been

from jj32's diary @ http://dailykos.com

About 140 people - mostly elderly and infirm - arrived Saturday at McGhee Tyson Airport on a chartered mercy flight from hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, welcomed to East Tennessee by a bright sun and a host of medical professionals straining at the reins to help their fellow human beings without regard to whether they were on the clock.

The displaced hurricane victims came to Tennessee on a hastily arranged flight, accompanied by doctors and carrying whatever they had in boxes, bags or, in one case, an old suitcase tied up with rope.

Former Vice President Al Gore arranged the flight and was on board, but he declined to take credit for the airlift, fearing it would be "politicized."

The patients and evacuees arrived aboard an American Airlines MD-80 about 3:15 p.m. The unloading process took almost two hours, as some walked hesitantly down a staircase beneath the rear of the aircraft. Others were rolled down a ramp from the front of the plane to waiting wheelchairs. Personnel from Rural/Metro and the Tennessee Air National Guard volunteered their services, as did others, to get the patients and evacuees loaded onto buses or ambulances for the ride to area hospitals to be assessed medically before going to a Red Cross shelter.

Gore chose not to speak to the assembled media, but he was seen in a black T-shirt and jeans moving rapidly from one side of the plane to the other assisting with the off-loading operation.


fuck i'm angry. how can i not be when all i do is think of everything we could have avoided the last 5+ years? think of all the americans who could have died differently. 9/11/2001 would have been any other september 11th, and almost 3,000 people would have gotten to go home after work. there would have been no war in iraq. close to 2,000 more already who would have been afforded the opportunity to live a long life. hurricane katrina was destiny. if it hadn't been that particular hurricane, it would have been another, but FEMA wouldn't have been folded into a *department of homeland security* and rendered a joke in the process. the budgets for flood control in greater new orleans wouldn't have been decimated. and president gore sure as shit wouldn't have waited damn near a week to get the ball rolling.

no, he would have kept james lee witt around to head that particular cabinet-level department, and its budget wouldn't have been slashed to pay for tax cuts for the obscenely wealthy.




have a good look at the man. does he look groomed for his photo op? uhh... no. he looks like he's spent the last several hours helping to unload an airplane. can you imagine chumpy, erm... chimpy doing that? "but i'll get all sweaty and besides, i only wear hickey freeman!"

i want a president willing to get red in the face for me goddammit! how come it is that so many people in this country voted for the son of a bitch currently occupying 1600 pennsylvania ave, washington d.c. 20050?

son of a bitch, indeed. i'm sure you've all heard about the remarks of chimpy's mom. god, what a fucking cunt! i can just hear her saying "don't let them touch anything and get their poor people's smell all over it!"

that particular pomme didn't fall very far from the tree, now did it?


k... now for the portion of today's installment where i pimp for your ca$h: if you haven't already, or if you have and can afford more, please get yer ass over to http://redcross.org or http://oxfam.org or http://noahswish.org or any other organization providing care and comfort for the victims of that bitch katrina and give em some of yer hard-earned dinero.

tyvm.

*sigh* $50 ain't enough!

i'm not going to go off on a rant about how the budgets for FEMA and the army corps of engineers were slashed to pay for georgie the infantile's adventures in the middle east and his tax cuts for the obscenely wealthy... but trust me, at some point in the very near future, i will.

for now, i'm just going to say this: if you have even FIVE BUCKS to spare, please click on the title of this post and go donate some fundage to the american red cross. go without your daily starbucks fix for a few days if you have to, but please do it. our government has fucked us over once again, and this is when we open our wallets and do what they should have done.

too many good people have had their lives ruined because of this, and i only wish my finances allowed me to donate more. as they do allow, though, i intend to make additional donations.

thanks.

p.s. - if you hear anyone say something totally whack like *god sent katrina to get back at the gays*, please do you, me, and them a favor and smack them upside the head, k? ty again.

real time!

well well... bill maher's on tonite. he's gonna have cindy sheehan on via satellite from crawford, tx.

if you have hbo and you don't see it tonite, try to catch one of the encore presentations.

bistecca con cipolle arrostite con aceto balsamico

1/4 c plus 1 T olive oil
1 large porterhouse steak, about 1 1/2 lbs and 2-inches thick, at room temperature
salt, preferably gray salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 large red onions
1 T minced garlic
1 T finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cubalsamic vinegar

preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

in a heavy skillet over med-hi heat, add 1 T olive oil and heat until very hot. season the steak with salt and pepper. turn on the exhaust fan and put the steak in the pan; stand back to prevent being splattered. cook until the steak is brown on the first side, about 2 mins; brown on the other side. remove the steak to a rack or baking pan until you are ready to finish cooking it. when ready, put the steak into the oven and cook until done to your liking, about 10 mins for rare. remove the steak to a carving board and let it rest for 5 minutes.

peel and cut the onions into thirds or quarters, depending on their size. leave as much root on as possible to keep the wedges from falling apart. heat 1/4 c olive oil in the same skillet used to cook the meat over med-hi heat until hot. add the onions, reduce the heat to med, and cook until brown on all sides, about 5 mins. season them with salt and pepper. place the pan of onions in the oven and roast until tender and very browned (the onions tend to char around the edges), 15 to 20 mins.

remove the onions from the oven, add the garlic, and cook briefly until light brown. add the thyme and stir. add the vinegar (stand back so as to not get splattered) and toss well with the onions. stir and scrape up all the browned bits clinging to the bottom of the pan.

to serve, cut the meat off the bone, then carve it into thin slices. serve immediately.

note: in order to cook the meat in the shortest amount of time and thus extract the most flavor, the meat must be at room temperature. afterward, the meat must rest before carving. if this procedure is followed, the carving knife glides right through the steak.

a 1 1/2 lb porterhouse should give you about 14 oz of meat off the bone, enough for 3 or even 4 people. however, if you are steak lovers, you might want to buy 2 steaks of that size for 4 people.

philadelphia style vanilla bean ice cream

philadelphia style ice creams are made w/o eggs... that's the only difference really. i used more heavy cream than half and half to make up for the lack of eggs... a decent ice cream has to have a fair amount of fat, especially a homemade ice cream, in order to have proper mouth-feel.

anyhoo... here's the recipe:

2 c half & half
2 3/4 c heavy cream
3/4 c superfine (not powdered) sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (save the pod and make vanilla sugar with it... it's great for making ice cream or even to put in your coffee)
1 t double-strength vanilla extract
1 t single-strength vanilla extract

combine all ingredients in a large, airtight container and whisk vigorously to dissolve the sugar. stash in your chill chest for an hour or so, then put it in your freezer for about 15 mins to get it good and cold.

meanwhile, prepare your ice cream maker. pour the dairy/sugar/vanilla suspension into the work bowl, and churn 20 mins or so. if you have the type of ice cream maker that i do, an attachment for a kitchen aid stand mixer, when the ice cream has churned for 20 mins or so, turn the power up gradually from stir to about 6 to beat a little more air into your ice cream batter.

place the finished ice cream in an airtight container and ripen in the freezer for at least 6 hrs before eating.

:)!

vanilla bean ice cream

have you ever had homemade ice cream? isn't it the best?

i made some the other day... here's the recipe.


3 c half & half
1 c heavy cream
8 large egg yolks
1 c + 1 T sugar
2 t double strength vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

place the half-and-half and the heavy cream into a medium saucepan, over medium heat. bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat. add the inside of the vanilla bean and the scraped pod to the dairy mixture.

in a medium mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine, till a ribbon forms when you lift the whisk from the egg yolk and sugar mixture. temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts, until about a third of the cream mixture has been added. pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat. continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees. pour the mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. stir in the vanilla extract. place the mixture into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees or below.
pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. this should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.


click on the title of this post for double strength vanilla extract. it's definitely worth it for this recipe.

*snort*, *snort*, & *re-snort*

Your IQ Is 140










Your Logical Intelligence is Genius
Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius
Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius
Your General Knowledge is Genius

*snort*

well well... my IQ is actually considerably higher than 140, but wtf? click on the title of this post to take the test.

check this shit out!!

Ahh, the good ol' days

by kos

Wed Aug 17th, 2005 at 11:47:32 PDT

Quotes from when Clinton committed troops to Bosnia:

"You can support the troops but not the president." --Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)

"Well, I just think it's a bad idea. What's going to happen is they're going to be over there for 10, 15, maybe 20 years." --Joe Scarborough (R-FL)

"Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?" --Sean Hannity, Fox News, 4/6/99

"[The] President . . . is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation's armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy." --Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

"American foreign policy is now one huge big mystery. Simply put, the administration is trying to lead the world with a feel-good foreign policy." --Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)

"If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain they have a clear mission, an achievable goal and an exit strategy." --Karen Hughes, speaking on behalf of George W Bush.

"I had doubts about the bombing campaign from the beginning . . I didn't think we had done enough in the diplomatic area." --Senator Trent Lott (R-MS)

"I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace. This administration is just learning that lesson right now. The President began this mission with very vague objectives and lots of unanswered questions. A month later, these questions are still unanswered. There are no clarified rules of engagement. There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory. There is no contingency plan for mission creep. There is no clear funding program. There is no agenda to bolster our over-extended military. There is no explanation defining what vital national interests are at stake. There was no strategic plan for war when the President started this thing, and there still is no plan today" --Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)

"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is." --Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)


Funny thing is, we won that war without a single killed in action.

::

click the title of this post to read the comments posted by dailykos.com readers. do it!!