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Basque Chicken Revisited https://www.lovefood.com/recipes/78807/michel-roux-jr-basquestyle-chicken-recipe Although I was happy with my first try at this recipe, I decided to make a few changes. Trim the chicken (6 thighs) of any overhanging skin and fat. Pad the chicken dry with paper towels. Season the chicken with Kosher Salt and Smoked Paprika as stated in the recipe. These steps will give the chicken a crispier and more flavorful skin crust. I browned the chicken in a separate stainless steel pan. I went with two batches, so as not to overcrowd the pan. I used 1 TBSP total of EVOO for this step. I made sure that the EVOO was just short of smoking before adding the chicken. Skin side down first and 4 minutes per side at a medium high heat. After the chicken was browned and removed from the pan, I de-glazed the pan with 1/4 cup of white wine. I moved the Liquid from the de-glazing step over to a Dutch Oven and added 3 TBSPs more of EVOO. I then began the main recipe at the soften the red pepper strips step. I used red pepper flakes (1/2 TBSP) for the substitution for the piment d’espelette. When I added the chicken back in for the oven step, I place it on top of the underlying sauce so that it would not get mushy. I liked the way this turned out. The chicken was very tender and flavorful.

Jonathan Stewart will return to hosting "The Daily Show" on February 12th. Stewart will only host on Monday nights thru the 2024 Presidential Election. After that he will become Executive Producer thru 2025. The remainder of the week nights will be filled by guest hosts, as the program has done since Trevor Noah left.

To say that Oppenheimer led an interesting life would be a major understatement. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Robert_Oppenheimer

I finally got around to watching "Oppenheimer" today. IMDB 8.4. I did a search on this thread looking for a post to add onto, but got zero hits. Maybe my search was clumsy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppenheimer_(film) I am on the fence as to whether or not this is a very good movie or a great movie. I was reluctant to fire the movie up as it is a little over 3 hours long. I had recently read that it is leading the count for the largest number of Academy Awards nominations this year. Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders) is IMO brilliant as the title character. The cast includes such additional luminaries as Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, and Gary Oldman (in a lesser role as Harry Truman). I watched the movie straight through (3 Hours) and did not even break to make a sandwich. I was riveted start to finish, maybe because as a grade school kid I was taught to stick my head between my legs (they left out the kiss you ass goodbye part back in the 1950s). 🙂

I am most of the way through S01 (I pull it from IPT). I like the show.

And also this song -> "Bird on a Wire" by Leonard Cohen

I was feeling a little sadness today for a variety of reasons. This song popped into my head: George Harrison -> "Beware of Darkness" The Leon Russel version is also very good.

Same here. I am fortunate enough to be able to carry the 800,000 balance in my Bangkok Bank Account. I stop by and get the letter on my way to Maneerat.

I have a few friends in the Pattaya area who have given me the impression that there are quite a few meetings of "The Friends of Bill". I do not attend these, as I currently lack the one requirement needed to attend -> "A desire not to drink today". I do not believe that I have a problem at this time, as I have a few glasses of wine at night. At the same time, I would be interested in attending an open meeting. I think the Mrs might get something out of this given the problems she has as a family member of an addict. In our case a Thai meeting would be best.

Thank you @Krapow I spent 12 years in AA and it did me a lot of good. My larger problem (self-destructive wise was NA). Depressants in my case. I do thank God that I kicked before Oxytocin became an available alternative. I would not have survived the Statler assault on life. I do drink a little Red Wine these days here in my dotage. It helps to kill the old age body pains. Yeah, famous last words of an alcoholic. Take care. CF

Another sad story of a younger person falling victim to a growing addiction to mood altering substances. As I understand things Ice in this case. The oldest son of my wife has become a pretty sad story through years of drug abuse. I won't get into all the gruesome details, but he is 25 and a very bad bet to see 30. I really detest the entitled shit, for the number of times he has made his mother cry. Ok, I made mine cry a few times as well. Anyway, I Googled AA meetings for Thai Nationals in Isan, in case we can get him to one. I saw nothing listed for Khon Kaen. I am not paying for rehab for this guy. It just will not take at this time. Anyway, if anyone has some suggestions as to Khon Kaen locations it would be appreciated. I doubt he will go on his own, but maybe we can get his GF to get him to a meeting.

When I was working (up until about 2017), I had little time for TV shows. Now that I am retired I have taken to checking out shows from that time period that were well thought of. Sometimes it is worthwhile and sometimes it is not. I started watching "Six Feet Under" recently IMDB 8.7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Feet_Under_(TV_series) It is 5 seasons long with 63 episodes. I am enjoying the show. It is an HBO production. I am pulling it from IPT. Michael C. Hall (Dexter) is a key cast member. His character is not a serial killer, but instead a gay mortician. The man does have range. 🙂

I am a fan of Boardwalk Empire as well. Underrated series IMO. It is based on an actual person. The Steve Buscemi character is based upon an actual person "Enoch Lewis "Nucky" Johnson" who was an infamous Atlantic City political manipulator with ties to the mob who eventually did prison time. He was not assassinated as shown in the TV show. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enoch_L._Johnson

I have tried the pink salt and it has an interesting taste. I do not view it as a good choice for an all purpose salt.

Thanks. I may be going in September.

Thinking about changing my salt choice. I have used Morton's Coarse Kosher Salt for years. It is very difficult to find in Thailand. It appears that Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is available through Lazada. In looking into the product it appears that Diamond is the preferred choice over Morton's of many top cooks. https://food52.com/blog/16824-you-re-not-crazy-there-is-a-difference-between-morton-s-and-diamond-crystal The bad news is that a 26 oz box of Diamond costs 2566. Still 26 oz should last me 6 months. I will probably give it a go, as the locally available coarse salts have very heavy salt tastes.

I am certain that you are correct. As I remember things (foggy at best) Leon's break through work was with Joe Cocker in the movie version of "Mad Dogs and Englishmen". At least that is when he first caught my attention. circa 1971 or so. Speaking of Joe Cocker

Thank you.

I have decided that I would like to take the Mrs. to the US for about one month. I have some things to do there. I would like to see my grand-kids. I would like my immediate family and a few friends to meet my wife and vice versa. I realize getting a US visa for a Thai National can be a rough road to travel and will take at a minimum 6 or 7 months. This will be a very expensive trip, probably costing $30,000 USD. I need Business Class air at this point in my dotage, car rental for one month, hotel for one month (probably a lower end Residence Inn), and eating out a lot etc. The Mrs had her Thai passport renewed this week. I would like to make the trip in September (usually nice weather in Chicago). Given an expected 7 month process to obtain the visa, we need to get that going now. I am thinking that it might be advisable to hire an agent to shepherd the process. Does anyone have a recommendation in that regard?

As I have as I have said before, I am a fan of video entertainment related to the supernatural. The Mrs and I have watched the first two seasons of "The Strain" IMDB 7.3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Strain_(TV_series) The series was created by Guillermo del Torro, who does good work. The series runs for 4 seasons and covers 46 episodes. If one likes this type of thing, it is worth a watch IMO. Very scary vampires. We usually watch it to end a day. The Mrs shrieks at least once an episode. 🙂 Originally released on FX. I pull it through IPT.

A friend of mine, who is admittedly a bit of a "Groover McTuber" recommended this 8 episode mini-series to me. "Lessons in Chemistry" IMDB 8.3. I am only 3 episodes into it, but it is a powerful story and I am enjoying it. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13911628/ I did a few Google searches and the characters are fictional, but the story line is very much based on actual events from the eary 1950s. Available on Apple TV. I am pulling it through IPT.

I am pretty sure that Leon was originally from Oklahoma.

I guess that we can agree to disagree. I find his voice with the OK twang to be soulful.

ok - I lied once again - "Masquerade"