Howdy true be-loggers, welcome to Sunday Leftovers! This week we will discuss basic social graces and... pork. I know your interest is piqued, so let's open up the fridge and see what's leftover...
[The Back Window]
CREDIT: Don Covay - Mad Dog Blues
[Etiquette: Bringing Babies to the Movies]
I went to see Sherlock Holmes last night (I liked it, didn't love it BTW) and something happened that I haven't experience in years... someone brought a very small baby to the movie. Since I haven't experienced the ol' "baby in the movie theater" problem in a while, I haven't thought about it... until now: Rant Time! Of course the initial reaction is "who the hell brings a newborn to a fucking movie theater?" After reflecting on that for a few hours, I still think it is still the right question.
Yesterday evening was COLD; is it worth bringing out a newborn to see a movie? Let's say weather is not an issue: what about the fact that a very dark, loud room with random explosions might freak out a baby? Let's say the baby will sleep through the explosions: what about germs? It is flu season and you are going to expose your child to a room full of sniffling and coughing people? Is a Guy Richie movie really worth the risk?
Let's stop thinking about the child's welfare and think about everyone else in the theater: Nobody paid $20 bucks to hear a baby scream. People go to the movies to GET AWAY FROM THEIR CHILDREN! Does that sound selfish? I'm okay with that. I don't have children. I delayed having children so I can go out and do stuff and not look at my (future) child as a burden. When I do have a baby, I damn well know I won't be bringing Jr. to the theater with me. Why does this couple get a pass, when I know people will be shooting me the fish eye if I did it?
When the baby started to wake up and make noise, did the dude get up and take his kid out? NO! He rocked the baby so he wouldn't have to miss anything. This guy isn't going to be winning any father of the year awards. At the end of the movie, I saw this man walking out with his child and his wife - and it seemed like this was a nice evening out for their new nuclear family, and I felt a little bad for them. Maybe they didn't have anyone to leave the baby with and they needed to get out of the house... and that's rough, but I still go back to DON'T TAKE A BABY TO THE FUCKING MOVIE THEATER! Seriously, I know it's rough, but stay the hell home or take shifts watching the kid to get out.
[Society: Parents and Facebook]
After the movies, me and the wife went to our favorite Thai place. We were seated next to a table with two older couples having dinner. One of the men was loudly bragging over how he monitors and spies on his son via Facebook. Due to his loudness, I determined that his son is 15-16 years old, plays sports, "friend-ed" many relatives and family friends of the parents and recently committed some offense via the social networking site in which his father made him apologize to everyone online.
I didn't want to know any more about these people, but his wife continued to complain about her offspring and how she essentially enjoys making her child's life as difficult as possible. The other couple just nodded and agreed with her approach to parenting. The loud-mouthed father, drowning out the conversation I was attempting to have with my wife, gleefully claimed he had many secret monitoring tools in which to keep tabs on his child. I asked my wife to finish her meal as quickly as possible and we got the hell out of there.
My basic problem with their conversation (besides having to fucking hear it) is that these people monitor and fear what their children do instead of talking to them and trying to make them better people. Their complete hands-off approach, which was quite clear in their 30 minutes I had to listen to them spout off, has obviously taken its toll on the child-parent relationship (and the fact that both parents seem like raging assholes). Instead of talking to their kids, they silently watch for mistakes and social disgrace in the comfort of their dens and couches while their children are locked up in their rooms - everyone avoiding each other, but electronically keeping tabs, not out of interest, but to ensure their reputation as parents is not tarnished.
Makes you wonder why they bothered having children in the first place.
I imagine children are getting smart to what their parents can and cannot see regarding their Facebook activity. Are parents going to have to spend their already valuable time monitoring their kid's online activities versus actually parenting their children? It should be interesting over the next few years. Facebook is changing the paradigms of our society rapidly. I can learn more about my neighbors, cousins, and friends in a 60 second scan on their profile page than from months on conversations with them. It is certainly making the art of conversation obsolete.
I am starting to feel picked over, how about you?
[Recipe of the Week: Braised Pork Shoulder]
I did a similar recipe in early May of last year using the grill, but if you want pork in the winter (as well as use this delicious meat all week), let's try this. My plan is to show a few different ways to use the pork this month (I am totally swiping this idea from the San Fran Chronicle)
Ingredients:
Whole bone-in pork butt, about 8-9 pounds
Kosher salt and pepper
1 piece thick smoked bacon
1 large carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 celery rib, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large Spanish onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1/4 cup Marsala wine
1 1/2 cups unsalted or low-sodium chicken broth + more as needed
1 1/2 cups Pinot Noir + more as needed
1 small sprig thyme
1 large bay leaf
Instructions:
Trim pork of excess fat. In a small bowl, mix salt (3 teaspoons), pepper (1 teaspoon), garlic salt (2 teaspoons), paprika (1 teaspoon), and mustard powder (1 teaspoon). Rub over all surfaces of the meat.
Lightly cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 325°.
Place a heavy Dutch oven just large enough to hold the roast over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook the until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon and leave the fat in the pan (If you have a 9 year old obsessed with Bacon, you can give him the bacon).
Take the roast out of the plastic wrap and carefully place it - fat side down - into the hot pan. Brown the meat until it releases from the bottom of the pan on its own without much effort; brown on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the roast and set aside.
Remove any blackened bits of meat from the pan. Add the carrot, celery, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently. When vegetables are soft and beginning to caramelize (about 5-7 minutes), add the Marsala. Bring to a boil and cook, scraping the pan, until evaporated.
Return the roast to the pan. Add the broth, Pinot Noir, thyme and bay leaf. The liquid level should reach at least halfway up the roast; if it doesn't, add equal amounts of stock and wine.
Bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Crimp a piece of foil over the roast, but do not let the foil touch the roast (cover roast with parchment if foil touches it). Cover the Dutch oven with the lid and place in the oven. Cook 1 1/2 hours.
Remove lid, turn roast over, re-cover and cook an additional 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until a knife easily pierces the meat and the internal temperature on an instant read thermometer is around 165°.
Move roast to a large cutting board. Strain sauce. Skim the fat then place sauce back into the still-warm pan. Flip roast over and return to the Dutch oven; lightly cover pan with parchment or foil and let the roast rest in the sauce for another 45-60 minutes. Taste sauce, reduce as desired and adjust seasoning.
Slice pork and serve with some of the sauce.
Read more: SFGate.com
I think I am going to mess with this so I don't have to use the Dutch oven... More to come!
[DIY of the Week: LP Room Divider]
Have a room you need to split up? Check out this nify idea - you can get the records cheap from used CD stores or ebay.
Apartment Therapy: LP Room Divider
[Video of the Week]
[Conclusion]
That's all for this week friends, I got a corporate America rant brewing, so check back next week to see if I managed to articulate it. If you need to reach me, you can do so via email at: "blog at joeylombardi.com". As always, don't take shit from anybody.
Smell You Later,
~ Joey
Joey Lombardi | Create Your Badge
