Brendan Shea's Blog, page 26
January 31, 2021
Breakfast In Bruxelles
Today I was bored at the prospect of what Spanish speakers call desayuno, because I crave variety, and am cursed with hating meat.
Even eggs can be gross to me most of the time, but I managed to pull something good out of my culinary habit.
As a guy who loves to cook, I was trained by my mom to use disparate items to assemble something sometimes decent.
I was recently faced with a similar dilemma when a bag of delectable Brussels sprouts was plunked before me.
How to make them tasty? I recalled a recipe I’d unexpectedly enjoyed of late, and attempted to recreate it.
This morning, face to face with best option of repeated egg and toast, I hit upon a potential solution to the problem of desayuno.
Dicing up the Caramelized Garlic Brussels Sprouts, I chopped a thick slice of Tillamook Cheddar.
Olive oiling a pan over low heat, I sautéed the mix. Scrambling in a large egg, as two small heelish toasts made good, desayuno was on its way.
Pouring a glass of orange juice and a glass tea (no of), I’m a heavy drinker, I shut down the cooktop, plated my feast, and had at it.
I got to hear a good message from the book of James that morning, and while the rest of my day tanked, no one could steal my desayuno or that message.
January 24, 2021
No BS?
I was recently at Red Lobster, but it’s not my favorite simply because I’m not a seafood nut. Don’t get me wrong… they have some of the best customer service around, a nice atmosphere, great Cheddar Bay Biscuits, and more. I would rank Red Lobster at the top echelon of its milleu, I just go in more for Mexican, Italian and Chinese. Nonetheless, Red Lobster still has plenty to offer me in the way of sides, alternates and more.
Yes, the stuffed brook trout I had at the former New Prospect at Home in Brooklyn in the ’90’s was out of this world, and Bubba Gump’s Dumb Luck Coconut Shrimp with delicious marmalade-based sauce is amazing, but I don’t go in that much for crab, lobster or most steaks, and exceptional seafood comes once in a great while. Red Lobster does their thing well; it’s just not my thing.
Chevy’s Fresh Mex is more my speed in that lane; less fancy, not as sophisticated, but give me the Combo with enchilada, hard-shell taco and the amazing flautas with sweet-corn tomalito on the side and I’m in heaven. Granted, the food is not muy autentico, but it is tasty. I also go in big for Panda Express, but when I get it home, I cut up my Honey Walnut Shrimp and Sweetfire Chicken Breast into smallish chunks, add soy sauce, the 1/2 & 1/2 chow mein/fried rice I prefer, and combine in a bowl; it’s more enjoyable and easier for me to eat it that way.
As some of you may know, I’m not even much of a meat eater; I prefer potatoes, rice, pasta, squash, ravioli, tortellini, greek salad, soups, dryer toast, grainy breads, and so on. My wife kindly purchases vegetables for my lunches. I try to cook weekly to supplement the prepared and sandwich foods we routinely have on hand, and for me, cooking is a relaxing labor of love. This week, my wife patiently noted the spinach and cheese ravioli in the freezer, so I prepared to cook that up, and I saw she’d purchased brussels sprouts, not a BS vegetable; serious culinary stuff.
Hearkening back to the tale of that recent Red Lobster visit, and realizing that for us picky would-be vegetarians, there’s usually something for us, even at such places, unless we are super strict about ingredients and preparation. I ordered a small garden salad, while munching on one of the yummy biscuits, followed by a not-so-great lobster bisque – no biggie, I think the chef just went heavy on cornstarch or flour; I’m not sure how it is made, I’m no expert. My main course was crab legs with a side of Brussels sprouts.
The crab portion was huge, it was very tasty, but I was tired that day, thought I’d ordered the half-portion, and gave up after maybe one crab-leg. My confidence rested in the knowledge that my wife would appropriate my sizeable leftover portion, which she did, most effectively, by liberating the meat from the shell, later, at our home, and adding it to her leftover fettucine from the same meal, that she’d brought home. As for me, I dined contentedly while we were still at the restaurant, on my large veggie sides: a bed of sprouts glazed to perfection, in some kind of brown sugar lovliness, and fluffy mashed potatoes.
Offline while cooking up my week’s lunch mates, I tried to match the beloved chain’s heavenly side dish. Here are the ingredients I used:
Enough Brussels Sprouts to cover 3/4 surface of 9″x13″ baking pan2 Tablespoons Olive Oil1/2 Cup Brown Sugar2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup2 Tablespoons Melted Butter3 Cloves Minced GarlicHere is what I did:
I washed and drained the Brussels sprouts. Mixing the ingredients well in a bowl, I poured them onto the baking sheet1, leaving some of the mixture in the bowl to recoat with a brush at intervals during baking. The oven temperature used was 350℉, and as I was solidifying a fritatta on the cooktop before baking, I let the sprouts sit in the oven as it warmed up. 15 minutes or so later, the fritatta was only fractionally runny2, so I added it to the now warmed up oven, and ran the oven for 25 minutes.
When my timer had about a minute left, I turned off the oven, reset the timer for 5 minutes, and allowed the foods to gestate. This was to allow the fritatta to solidify a bit more without drying it out or over-crisping it. The Brussels sprouts were by then, very slightly blackened on part of their exterior surface, with a tender inner core, and an agreeable coating of sweetness. I think if I made this recipe again, I’d slice the sprouts in half, and marinate for a while prior to baking, adding chopped walnuts. I’d like to look up the original recipe to try out, but I believe the experiment was fairly successful. No BS.
Brussels Sprouts cooking side by side with Fritatta1For easy baking pan clean-up, once cool, and clear of most easy-to-remove food, place in sink, rub a squirt of Dawn or other dish-soap around it, let stand a minute, and then soak in cool water for about twenty minutes. The pan cleans right up; no issues.
2I don’t recommend cooking a fritatta wholly in the oven; if it spills before coalescing, you’ll have an awful mess to clean up.
January 20, 2021
(reblogged) Christ vs Christianity — THE RIVER WALK
“I like your Christ, but not your Christianity.” – Gandhi
Christ vs Christianity — THE RIVER WALK
January 15, 2021
Reblogged: Timely ‘MLK/FBI’ Docu And Stranger Than Fiction ‘Assassins’ Debut – Specialty Preview
The IFC Films documentary MLK/FBI from filmmaker Sam Pollard (Two Trains Runnin’, Eyes on the Prize) makes its debut in select theaters today as well as on demand. The release aligns with Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 18 and it is super relevant to America’s wild inequity and racist treatment of the Black community — […]
Timely ‘MLK/FBI’ Docu And Stranger Than Fiction ‘Assassins’ Debut – Specialty Preview
January 10, 2021
Who Spiraled?
Today, NBC’s Chuck Todd of Meet the Press, asked Pennsylvania Senator, Pat Toomey, if the statesman ought to have known that Trump was spiraling towards inciting the mob attack on Congress last week. Toomey had made a good speech after the awful incident, but today, Toomey said that he could not have predicted Trump’s ‘spiraling’. The negative thing to me was that Toomey seemed to deny the negative context of Trump’s tenure.
Todd played several older snippets of Toomey, in which the Senator indicated Trump’s tweets were not a problem, but then played the good speech. I’m sometimes passive-aggressive in blaming others but have much sin of my own. What bothers me is that Toomey indicates Trump ‘spiraled’ recently. When I look at the events of the last months and years, it seems to me that Trump’s followers have spiraled under him.
Chuck Todd noted how Trump and some of his political allies have been speaking to Americans for the past four years. Looking at things from that perspective, last week’s Congressional horrors are somewhat unsurprising to me. Trump’s rhetoric indicates a consistently improper interpretation of what true strength is, and one that has likely geared many impressionable minds to insurrection. Things came to a head last Wednesday, but the process has been ongoing.
I don’t think Wednesday’s sedition (as I am calling it) was borne solely of Trump’s speech that day. I believe the anarchy has been seeded for years, here specifically under Trump’s ‘rule’ (since he seems to think himself a monarch); generally under a longtime, armed, racist and paranoid segment of the populus; and more broadly, under the curse of the fall which I believe we are all subject to in one way or another.
Whatever the case, our nation is somewhat in tatters, and spurred on by COVID-19, the world awaits a savior. I hope we are following the right one; there are perhaps false saviors, but as Strider and Greyhame have indicated, we ought not give specific utterance to certain things. As to our own sin, I pray for myself that it is vanquished, and insofar as it is a thing for you, the same.
January 8, 2021
Oh David, Where Art Thou?
When the Israelites cried out for a king, God finally relented. At the time, it was said that they thought a kingly man would be tall and handsome. Saul fit the bill and was made the first king over Israel. Later, when Goliath of the Philistines threatened Israel, David was found worthy of challenging the giant. He seemed an unlikely choice due to his diminutive stature, but proved worthy, and defeated Goliath with only a stone and a sling.
Later, as David won many famous battles, it came to be said, “Saul has slain his thousands, but David has slain his ten-thousands.”, so Saul became jealous of David. Eventually, Saul’s intent turned towards murder, and David narrowly missed a deadly spear’s throw from Saul. David, on the run from Saul, would not utter a word against Saul, even when the man was trying to end David’s very life.
When David and his men were in a cave, one of the men spied Saul, away from his army, relieving himself nearby. David had the opportunity to kill Saul, but said, “…far be it from me to kill The Lord’s annointed1.” David did wrong with regard to Bathsheba and Uriah, great wrong, but I believe he was a man after God’s own heart because his prevailing attitude was one of humility.
Today, we are nearing the end of the “reign” of a President who seems to think himself a monarch. Christians are to respect leaders, as God places them in authority, and that tenet was known to David in his heart or perhaps even scripturally at the time. Today, we’ve suffered through four years of Donald John Trump’s presidency, and I hope God does not judge me2 for hypothesizing that for any good intent Trump may have, he seems to be a pathological liar and to have some kind of deep-seeded personality disorder.
I can only hope for three things at this time:
That Trump causes no further chaos or damage to our world during his termThat the world can heal from this difficult time, which is actually a bigger issue than even TrumpThat God would heal Trump of his heart issues3
I personally don’t believe that politics is the solution to man’s dilemma; I don’t believe man has the solution apart from God. Still, our current president seems to have wittingly and/or unwittingly thrown our world deeper into chaos. Let’s pray for peace, do what we can, and watch for God’s direction.
2As we are to respect those in leadership, because God appoints all leaders
3For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God – Romans 3:23
January 4, 2021
CHAPTER 6 EXCERPT: THE TERRIBLE BEAUTY OF HIP HOP!
A very lengthy reblog. I had to finish it, it seems so important. I hope you will read it too.
January 1, 2021
New Year’s Sandwich Dissected
Happy 2021 FitzGerald Press fans, followers and visitors. Many of you are familiar with the frittata, and some of you know I’ve blogged about it before. Here is a more detailed ‘exposé’ regarding the anatomy of a frittata expedition: How to make a frittata, and enjoying a leftover frittata sandwich…
First, assemble your ingredients (this was done on the cheap, with stores closed for New Year’s Day
3 large eggs (jumbo cage free eggs are kinder, and while more pricey, actually taste better as well)1 Zucchini, quartered and sliced1 Tablespoon melted butter1/3 up milk2 Slices Tillamook Colby Jack cheese, diced (grated Swiss/Parmesano/Romano would also work nicely)2-3 shakes McCormick Garlic Powder (fresh garlic is better)1-2 shakes McCormick Onion Salt (1 fresh onion, diced is better)1-3 Teaspoons olive oil1-3 sprays, olive oil spray
Whip Eggs in mixing bowl
Eggs and Whipped Eggs2. Steam Zucchini in a cup of water, in the microwave for 3 minutes (1200 w, full power)
Zucchini before steaming3. Place butter in milk, and microwave 30 seconds, then add to mixing bowl
Butter & Milk4. Drain the zucchini and add to the mixing bowl containing the eggs, butter and milk
Drain Zucchini with Slotted Spoon5. Add the other ingredients: cheese, garlic powder, onion salt, and olive oil, to bowl, and mix gently
Mixed Ingredients6. Coat a cast iron pan with olive oil spray, olive oil, or a butter wrapper
Coating the Cast Iron Pan7. Pour ingredients into greased pan
Pouring ingredients into pan8. Place pan on burner over low heat to firm ingredients, and cover, to prevent excess mess
Covered pan over medium heat9. Here is most of your cleanup duty:
Most of the meal’s dishes10. Preheat oven to 350℉ (I used a gas oven; please investigate parameters for electric range and oven)
Oven preheated to 350℉11. You can clean and soap your dishes while the frittata is on the stove if wanted:
Soaped and gently scrubbed dishes12. Remove cover from pan, when ingredients not too runny1, and place in oven
Firm’ish ingredients in gas oven13. If you like to enjoy the meal with the dishes done, take the baking time to finish most of the dishes
Cleanup about done!14. So, the timer is set for 25 minutes, you’ve done the dishes, so maybe you clean surfaces, & prepare drinks, maybe some nice mimosa’s
Timer set for 25 minutes (Sea Level, Gas Oven)15. When the timer goes off, see if the texture and color are to your liking; cooling recommended for texture
My preferred texture and brownness for a good frittata16. I’d suggest serving with citrus and a nice greens salad or soup
Serve it up16. The best thing about frittata, as with day old pasta & sauce, is that it serves up even better after ‘marinating’ in the fridge overnight; one of my favorite dishes is good toast w mayo & dijon w a slab of this pie
The Umm Ahh moment 
December 25, 2020
The content(edness) calendar-Day 24 — THE PARMIGIANA WHISPERER
“Fall in love with yourself, with life and then with whoever you want.” -Frida Kahlo
The content(edness) calendar-Day 24 — THE PARMIGIANA WHISPERER
(reblogged from The Parmigiana Whisperer; note: Frida Kahlo may not have been married at the time…)
