Things that Rock

Every once and awhile when the mood strikes me I'll blog about things I like under the Things that Rock title.

Today, Amazon.com rocks. I love Amazon, I pay the extra money for the Prime membership because I always order things last minute or I need it like right now. Amazon most of the time has better prices on things than many retailers. In addition, if you can wait two days for something and you are a prime member free shipping, or if you need it the next day its $3.99. This comes in handy during the Holidays. I am a bad last minute shopper and Amazon has saved me a few times.

Recently I bought a new memory card for my camera (a 16 GB SDHC series 6). Ok, it was this past Thursday. I also bought a pair of Crocs flip flops (I know call the fashion police, they would take me to a fashion super max for some of the things I wear). I wanted 2 day delivery. They said it would arrive on Saturday. It arrived on Friday. That was 1 day shipping free of charge! AWESOME!

In the past I have bought numerous things from Amazon, like books and electronics. One of my favorite Amazon purchases wasn't even for me, it was a gift for my Dad, the Cuisinart Griddler. I bought it instead of one of those expensive Panini presses that only do Panini's. We've had it now for 2 years and it's the one appliance that stays on the counter because I use it constantly. I love it better than the George Foreman (the one I had couldn't control the temperature and would dry out everything). The Griddler has a temperature setting and you can keep it closed or open it up. I've done pork chops, chicken, pressed Cuban sandwiches (YUM!), and even French toast (it cooks in half the time because you're cooking both sides at once.

What rocks for you?

New Bon Jovi Album cover

According to Bon Jovi.com this is the official album cover for The Circle:



It looks like their in a tunnel, and instead of going towards the light they're walking away from it...

It's not bad compared to this:

Thoughts?

Edited:  I made this on Blingee just for laughs.


Dave is wearing shades, Richie has a crown (king of swing), Tico has a fedora, and Jon and a shiney bright spot when he smiles (his teeth are so freakin white for someone who smokes).
               

Nothing makes me happier than Bon Jovi....

I heard We Weren't Born to Follow (WWBTF) a few weeks ago and I thought something was missing and you would think in 23+ years of listening to Bon Jovi I could put a finger on something that's missing.

But I couldn't.  Maybe there's too much going on (or not going) on in my life that I can no longer take days of my life to review, study, and philosophize the meanings and missings of a Bon Jovi song.  I listen to their music and it makes me feel less sad about my situation and takes away some of my stress for a little while.

But I read elsewhere on the interwebs that the song was missing a Richie Sambora guitar solo.  A Bon Jovi (the band not the solo work) song without a Richie solo is like a day in the rain forest without rain.  I mean what fun will it be to hear WWBTF LIVE without seeing a Richie Solo Face (as illustrated in the next picture):



I have always wondered if this is his "O" face.  If you personally know please share the details with me. LOL

So then word comes out, Richie added a solo for the album release but the one you & I are hearing on radio does not contain Richie's solo.

But then I saw this post:
http://thegoddesshathor.blogspot.com/2009/09/wwbtf-richie-solo.html

And I watched this video:


And there you will find the solo.

To thank the Gods for this I offer a picture I took of Jon Bon Jovi's butt.



Amen.

Tuesday Night TV Watching

Tuesday nights are the worst nights for TV. I mean I have 3 hours of TV watching.


8 PM NCIS(:Original).

While I like the chemistry between Tony (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva (Cote de Pablo) putting them together would be wrong, like the show Mad about You when they got together it was another sitcom about a couple and then their kid. I don't want to see Tony & Ziva get together and then have all the flashbacks like they did with Gibbs (Mark Harmon) & the late Director Jenny Shepard (Lauren Holly).

I like that McGee (Sean Murray) may be dating a Psychiatrist, would it be ironic if she used him to write a book on human psychosis?

The story line was good, it's always nice to see Tony use his police skills.

Is it me or have the first 2 episodes been less Gibbs-centric than in the past?

9 PM NCIS:LA

LL Cool J (Sam Hanna) and Chris O'Donnell (G Calen) have good chemistry. I love the short lady, she's a combination of Ducky & Abby from NCIS(:Original).

The story lines here have been good as well. Fast paced and seem thought out well.

They also use my coffee pot. Seriously.

The only big question I have is when will we see LL Cool J remove his shirt, cause there's a reason why the ladies love LL.


10 PM The Good Wife/Chopped

Ok, I switched between both shows.

I love Chris Noth so much and even though he is playing a misogynistic Bill Clinton/Elliot Spitzer type, I still love him. I loved him before SATC when he was on L&O with Jerry Orbach. Christine Baranski is also on the show. Its really good. A Family Drama with law and hookers. Lots of hookers and Chris Noth's character may have slept with some if not all of them. I'd hate to see them make Juliana Margulies like a cougar cause one of the younger more technically savvy legal types is following her around like a lost puppy. I thought the show is the good wife, not cougar town, which is on another network. Oh and Chris Noth's character is the disgraced state attorney from Cook County IL, where many politicians are corrupt. And his character gave into temptation Elliot Spitzer style. Was he smoking crack in one of the pictures his son got? Hmmm….

Chopped was the Chopped of champions, the ultimate chopped champion. I like this show but at the same time I hate it. That bitchy judge pisses me off; she is such a bitch to all the women chefs but then flirts with all the male chefs.

It seems like people who win on chopped don't take a lot of risks. They play it very safe.

And is it me or are the networks conspiring together to make the shows go to commercial within 30 seconds of one another? Both shows were on commercial at the same time the whole hour. It was very frustrating. And Food Network, Chopped has too many commercials placed at the wrong time, I don't care if I miss who gets chopped because I can go back to it and watch them cook and go, Oh dude number 1 got chopped after last round because he's not cooking this round.

Then 11 PM was Family Guy on Cartoon with some Golden Girls on WE during commercials.

Last Night's Dinner

So last night was chicken night at my house. I can pound a chicken breast into submission for things like Chicken Parm or just a breaded and baked chicken, or even grilled chicken.

Yesterday I decided to do something different.

I had never fried chicken before, I've put it in a sauté pan to brown but I've never actually cooked it in oil.

So I searched the net for something called Chicken Fried Chicken. I found this recipe:

Chicken Fried Chicken Recipe

Chicken Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy

This is essentially Texas-style chicken fried steak, but made with chicken breasts. Be sure to make this with cream gravy.

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1/2 cup milk
  
• 1 to 2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• cooking oil or melted Crisco
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  

Beat together the egg and milk and set aside. Mix together the salt, black pepper, paprika and white pepper and sprinkle on both sides of chicken breasts.

Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour, shaking off the excess. Then dip each piece in the egg/milk mixture, and then back in the flour. (You are going to get your hands messy here, so take your rings off.) Set chicken pieces aside on a piece of waxed paper.

Heat the cooking oil in a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes. Oil should be about a half-inch deep in the pan. Check the temperature with a drop of water; if it pops and spits back at you, it is ready.

With a long-handled fork, carefully place each chicken breast into the hot oil. Protect yourself (and your kitchen) from the popping grease that results. Fry chicken breasts on both sides, turning once, until golden brown. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 15 to 18 minutes until chicken pieces cook through. Drain on paper towels.

Cream Gravy
Remove the chicken from the pan; pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of oil, keeping as many as possible of the browned bits in the pan. Heat the oil over medium heat until hot.

Sprinkle 3 tablespoons flour (use the left-over flour from the chicken fried chicken recipe (waste not -- want not) in the hot oil. Stir with a wooden spoon, quickly, to brown the flour.

Gradually stir in 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup water, mixed together, stirring constantly with the wooden spoon and mashing out any lumps. Lower heat and gravy will begin to thicken. Continue cooking and stirring a few minutes until gravy reaches desired consistency. Check seasonings and add more salt and pepper according to your taste.

Note to persons new to Cream Gravy: Gravy-making is an inexact science. Cream gravy is supposed to be thick, but if you think it's too thick, add more liquid until you're satisfied with it.

I only did 2 chicken breasts, and they cooked for maybe about 11 minutes on high heat once they browned on both sides. I pulled the pan from the stove once3 I turned down the heat so I could cool the pan a little quicker. The chicken was crispy and golden brown on the outside, not bad for a first time fryer, it was juicy and cooked through on the inside. The only thing was I didn't like how you season the chicken and then do the dredging, I think I should (if I try this recipe again) season the flour with some salt, pepper, maybe a little Old Bay or Garlic powder, paprika, oregano, basil and or Italian seasoning, Col Sanders secret recipe, etc. I thought the breading on the outside was rather bland, so seasoning the flour I think is the way to go.

This gravy recipe thickened REALLY fast for me. Therefore, I need to make sure if I do this again that I have the milk and water ready before the gravy goes on the stove. I added a lot of salt and pepper to flavor the gravy up, I also added some garlic powder, and once I added that I did not add additional salt. I think seasoning the flour would help here as it would add additional flavors to the flour in the gravy and maybe I wouldn't have to add more.

It's a WONDERFUL day for pie.

Watch this clip and don't tell me you don't start singing along. Brilliant job again Family Guy.

I don't get it.

So, this man drugs and provides alcohol to a 13 year old girl, he then rapes her. After plea-ing out (meaning he stated he was guilty, I've watched enough Law & order to understand when you make an agreement with the DA your telling the court, I'm guilty) to 42 days in jail (WTF?) the judge may have reneged on the plea agreement and this man runs away to France for 31 years because he really doesn't want to go to jail, where he continues to work and live in splendor.

The US Government gets another government to extradite him, FINALLY, and yet people are outraged because he's an artist and he's suffered enough being prevented from working on his "art" in the US.

I don't know, not only is Roman Polanski a convicted rapist, but since the girl at the time was 13 to me that means he's also a pedophile.

I think this shows how out of touch people in the Entertainment industry are with the rest of the world (except France & Poland).

I wonder how Roman Polanski would feel if the state of California said to him, you know you are an artist and Charles Manson is an artist to so let's let him out too so he's free to create his art within the state of California as well. Because times are tough and he's been in prison long enough don't you think?

I don't think anyone in their right mind would want Charles Manson or his "Family" out of jail when you think about what they did.

I understand the victim has forgiven Roman Polanski, she also received an undisclosed settlement. But she was 13!! As a society can we condone and allow someone to think that you know you raped (and sodomized) a girl at the age of 13, and because 31 years has passed you're going to get a get out of jail free card because you made some great movies.

I think if you take the name Roman Polanski out of this, a majority of people would be outraged.

But since its someone from Hollywood, we should forgive, forget, and move on. (Ask OJ how well that's going.)