Haircuts

Yes, its been awhile, but I'm back!  A lot has changed since I moved back to Milwaukee, but I'll talk more about that in another post. 

This post is about haircuts, yes, haircuts.  Who knew how difficult it would be to get a decent, affordable haircut here.  The last few months, I've been going to a local supercuts.  Its not anything special, but its relatively cheap.  The proximity and cost have been my primary reasons for me to continue to frequent the place, as well as the quick walk in service, but last week, that all changed.  I tried going last week on a Saturday.  I walked in fully expecting to get my hair buzzed quickly and being in and out in 15 - 20 minutes.  I tried walking in around 5:45 to a full lobby.  There were quite a few people sitting on the benches.  One of the hair stylists told me that since it was nearly 6pm and there were 3 people in front of me, they wouldn't be able to service me today.  So, I walked out and drove over to cost cutter, which was just a few minutes away also.  And strike two, they had closed at 6 pm also.  From the parking lot there, I checked on great clips from my phone and strike three, they had closed already.  And I'm out!

I tried again a few days later, this time on a weekday and much earlier, 4pm.  I drove to supercuts and there was no one in the lobby, but there was only one stylist and she was cutting a woman's hair.  She told me it would be at least half an hour and gave me a $2 coupon for a future haircut.  Rather than wait, I figured since it was only 4pm, I'd beat any after work rushes at the next place.  This time, I thought I'd be a little smarter and call cost cutters while running across the street to Target.  The wait at cost cutters was an hour and a half, strike two again!  I looked up great clips again and called over.  They lady said there was a 10 min wait, so I said, great, put me on the list please.  She proceeded to tell me that they had this great app for your smart phone in which you could check in.  I told her that I was on my phone speaking to her and asked whether she could put me on the list, which she could not since it was walk in only, unless you checked in via your app....explain that one to me.  Steeeeerike three....again! 

I guess that's why in Chicago, for years, I went to State Street Barbers and then to another salon, where my stylist went to after leaving there.  Although, more expensive, the service level was so much better.  The few dollars extra was worth it in the conversation of knowing someone for a while by itself.  Not counting the hot lather straight razor neck shave, need I even mention any more?  Luckily, I had heard that my stylist had moved to Milwaukee.  Hopefully, I'll find a place soon where I'll be able to get a decent haircut at a fixed time soon!

Hello Milwaukee

Now that I've been back in Milwaukee a little while, I've begun to remember what I like about the city. 

1.  There's no traffic.  Even when there's traffic, there's no traffic. 
2.  It takes a max of a half hour to get anywhere in the city.  Thats it.
3.  Parking is everywhere.  Its easy.  Its mostly free.
4.  5.5% sales tax.
5. Way cheaper gas, usually at least 20 cents.
6. Family.  Old friends.

and more.....

Goodbye Chicago: Part IV

As I write this, I realize my goodbye to Chicago has been lengthier than expected.  This will hopefully be the last one as we really are moving tomorrow (as much as we can anyways).  Its been a long goodbye, but a fruitful one.  I've been able to actively do things and see people that I haven't seen in a long time. 

This past saturday was St. Patrick's Day.  It wasn't just the celebration, but it actually was St. Patrick's Day.  Chicago, so I've heard, is the largest St. Patrick's Day celebration outside of Ireland.  There are quite a few Irish and Irish pubs around, truth be told.  This year, the South Side Irish Parade resumed after a 2 year hiatus.  We didn't go because we heard that it was going to be much tamer, i.e. no open containers allowed. 

Kel and I decided to go see the Chicago river get dyed.  They dye it at 10 am via a speedboats using orange dye that magically turns the river 'Irish Emerald' green.  Unfortunately, we made a bad call in taking the bus down instead of the red line and ended up missing the actual event.  We ended up being about 15 min late, but the day was so beautiful that we didn't care at all.  When we finally got down there, it was packed.  I mean thousands and thousands of people.  Kel and I took some pics of the river and ended up meeting up w/our friends Chris and Melissa.  They were party w/friends at Renaissance.  Nothing like a good old fashioned hotel room party at 10:30 in the morning. 

We decided not to go to the parade at noon, but instead went to Rock Bottom Brewery's rooftop.  It was absolutely gorgeous out.  Too hot in fact for how we were dressed, but we weren't complaining.  Then we went to Kelsey's in Lincoln Park where we met up w/the crew and finally headed to Chapman's.  By then, after whiskey and coke on the bus, sips of moonshine, pulls of jaeger from the bottle chased w/Red bull, and a few beers, I was done for. 

As the last big thing we got to see in the city, I'm glad we got to do it.  The weather made it that much better.

Goodbye Chicago: Part III

The day after our Will's get together, Kelly and I both had bachelor/bachelorette parties to go to.  Our friends Irene and Mark are getting married in May and had their parties' on the same day which worked out well. 

The girls rocked out in a limo all night and started at a BYOB restaurant, Isla Pilipina.  From there they moved on to a drag show in River North and a bar or two before eventually meeting up with the guys. 

Some of us guys went to Tydell's to play.  As per usual, we started late partly because people got there late and partly because half of us brought food over.  Pretty typical of us.  Our poker games are pretty ridiculous.  Sometimes its like the blind leading the blind.  Some guys can't remember how to play, other guys busy watching whatever sporting event is on tv, a few are just too busy on their phones, while others are just plain spacey.  It can be really funny and/or extremely maddening. Of course since we started late, we ended up meeting Mark and co. later at Dave and Busters where we played some games.  Eventually we went to Old Town Ale House and met the girls. 

At Tydell's we FINALLY, FINALLY finished off this bottle of Russian vodka that Scott has had since 2007.  Even we didn't know that he'd had it that long.  Over the years during many poker nights, we've slowly taken shots of it, and finally polished it off.  The bottle has become legendary partially since he's had it for so long, partly because its terrible vodka, and partly because Scott's enamored with it.  He loves talking about the bottle and how its Russian (as if thats supposed to mean its good or something).  Alas, we've finally killed the damn thing.

Goodbye Chicago: Part 2

From between September to January, and hopefully February, Kelly and I have a second family.  That family comes together weekly, either on Sunday or Monday, at Will's Northwoods Inn (http://www.willsnorthwoodsinn.com).  We congregate, some would say religiously, to watch and cheer on our beloved Green Bay Packers.  The beauty of it is that its become a ritual.  We sit near each other, play games, eat good food and have fun.  And like family, win or lose, we come together no matter how our team is doing.

As part of our what I like to call 'Goodbye Chicago Tour' we met up with some of our friends at of course Will's and had a good old fashioned friday fish fry, drank beer and hung out.  We reminisced about epic Packer games, how we came to find Will's and our progression to the tables we're at now, and all the other good times we've had because of bar.  Not only will we miss the people and the games, but we'll also miss the bartenders who we've become friends and the atmosphere.  I've been a Packer fan all my life, but until I started going to Will's regularly, I don't think I appreciated it as much. 

Will's has become an oasis, a home away from home in enemy territory, and I will miss it, the people, the ritual, and the experience every sunday and/or monday from September to February.

Goodbye Chicago: Part 1

Now that I've more or less come to grips with leaving and knowing that its a mere 2 weeks away, I've become re-energized in trying to see and do as much as possible in this short time I have left here.  Just this past weekend, was one such event, a mini tour of Andersonville.

Some of us guys (Aaron, Tydell, Chapman, Meyer, Inkmann, and myself) went to tour the Koval Distillery, http://www.kovaldistillery.com.  The tour was $10 and was pretty decent.  The location is actually right next door to Metropolitan Brewery which I've also toured.  The facility isn't that large so we didn't walk around that much, but it was interesting.  The tour guide gave us a brief history of the company, showed us the equipment used, and told us about the products they distill and sell.  We were given a shot glass to taste some of their beverages and tried small samples of 9 of their 27 or so products.  3 of them were 'white whiskeys' which I've never tried before.  Basically its clear and isn't aged at all.  It just passes through the barrel so that it can be called whiskey.  The next 3 were 3 aged whiskeys.  They age their whiskeys 2 years and use a variety of grains, some which are unique and solely used by Koval, and 2 different barrels for lighter/darker aging.  The final 3 we tried were their liqueurs, chrysanthemum honey, rose hip and and ginger.  A few fun facts about the place that we learned on the tour were that they opened in 2009, the distillery is certified organic and kosher, and its the first distillery in the city of Chicago since prohibition. 

After the tour, we went to Hamburger Mary's, http://www.hamburgermarys.com .  Skip, Matt K, Kel, Courtney Chapman, and Melissa joined us.  I love burgers and this place has a great selection of them.  They also brew a few beers of which I tried 'superstition' and 'gangster', but didn't love either of them.  The 'fiesta burger' that I had though was highly satisfying.  One nice thing I found when checking out their website was that their is a branch in Milwaukee.

Hopleaf (http://www.hopleaf.com) was our next destination.  Tom and Courtney Carroll met us there.  I've wanted to come here for years for the beer selection and it didn't disappoint.  I had a couple local beers, 3 Floyd's Pride and Joy (which I thought was just ok) and Goose Island's Matilda (which is one of my fav's).  Also tried mead, yes your head me correctly, for the first time.  This was from Poland and very syrupy and sweet, a little tough to drink to be honest.  I've heard that the food is good here also so check it out if you ever get a chance.  I'd love to go again. 

Finally we ended the night at Farragut's on Clark, a divey kind of bar for a final drink.  I had a great time and was happy to see so many friends out.  Hope to have a few more before we leave!

A bittersweet goodbye...

Well, its official, Kelly and I are moving back to Milwaukee.  Home (bitter)sweet home!  Now don't get me wrong, I am really excited to move home.  Our families are there.  Friends and new opportunities will offer themselves.  I'll be able to watch more Wisconsin sports. 

On the other hand, I've lived in Chicago for over 6 years now and have had great experiences and made many lifelong friends, gotten into some shenigans and have made great memories.  We have had countless experiences, and amazing memories, and in our last 2-3 weeks left, hope to make a couple more. 

Some of our highlights include the South Side Irish Parade, eating so much great food, brewery tours, BBQ's on friends' decks, and so much more.  I'm not sure how much we can do/accomplish in the next few weeks, but I know that were gonna try out best to make the most of it.  I'm gonna start this saturday by going to tour the Koval Distillery.
 

Lent

The Lenten season is upon us again.  Last year I gave up drinking all alcohol.  It was fairly difficult in the beginning, but the longer I abstained, the easier it became.  The more people that I hung out w/that knew about it, the easier it became as they accepted it more and more. 

This year, I'm attempting to not really sacrifice, but to do more.  Meaning, I intent to work out more often instead of giving up alcohol or sweets or something along those lines.  In a way, I guess I'm sacrificing some lazyness for my health benefit.  I've always wanted to run a race although I now have come to realize that a marathon or even a half marathon is probably not in the cards.  However, hopefully this can be the catalyst towards a 5k in the spring.

I still may try to give up meat on fridays since I can still never remember each year.

New blog

I've decided to embark on a new venture.  I've just started another blog.  This one's asian inspired and will hopefully be a little less random.  I intend for it to be more structured, well thought, but yet still lighthearted.  Hope you enjoy!

http://firstgenerasian.blogspot.com

Magical wonton skins

I've never used wonton skins before.  Lately, I've been trying to expand my asian cooking repertoire and happened to see wonton skins at the grocery store and decided to buy a package.  Turns out you can do a lot with them.  Using them was easier than expected, it just happened to be more labor intensive is all.  The skill required was surpringly not difficult.

I ended up making wontons/dumplings as well as crab rangoon.  Making the mixture for the insides relatively easy and didn't require too many ingredients.  The main ingredient/base for wontons is ground meat and the base for crab rangoons is cream cheese. 

Wontons have a few basic cooking methods.  Boiling, steaming, and pan frying.  I personally like to boil or steam for just a few minutes and then pan fry them to crisp them up a little bit.  If you boil them too long, they get a little too soggy and can fall apart.  Crab rangoon is all about frying.  If you don't have a deep fryer, which I do not, you can just heat oil in a pan.  I used a small sauce pan which allowed me to use less oil, but only allowed me to cook a few.  I ended up having to do a few batches, but it turned out just fine.  They cooked in just a minutes or two and turned our very nice.  Now on to more experimental fillings for both my dumplings and my crab rangoons. 

Kindle

I've finally broken down and gotten it, well my mother-in-law bought it for me for xmas.  I've resisted for so long that its a little bittersweet.  On one hand, its small, lightweight, accessible to wi-fi and near instand downloads, can carry multiple books, has a good battery, and is ultra convenient.  On the other hand, its black and white/grey, non-personal, and it doesn't look good on my bookshelf. 

I'm ashamed to say that there may be no turning back from this.  Since xmas, I've already read 2 books and am working my way through a third.  The size, weight, and convenience is the best part about it.  Its so slim that it just fits into a jacket pocket.  Also, with the wi-fi, you can just download a book from the Kindle itself.  You don't need to hook it up to a computer.  Just a few button pushes and voila, a brand new book to read.  Also, I'm pretty sure the books are cheaper than if you were to buy them at the bookstore. 

Have no fear though, I'll still re-read the books on my bookshelf because I like it and possibly for nostalgia.

Homemade Salami

If you read my blog, which very few do, you'd know by now that I like to experiment in the kitchen.  One thing that I absolutely love to eat is cured meat.  From beef jerky to prosciutto to ham, etc, I like it all!  Beef jerky was at the top of my list of cured or smoke meats to make, but all the 'homemade' recipes I found required a few items, i.e. a box fan, that I didn't own, nor was I willing to purchase.  Eventually my quest led me to finding 2 different recipes that I thought I could replicate.  One was for salami and the other was for summer sausage.  I ended up deciding on the salami for a few reason, those being less ingredients, less meat, and less time needed for it to 'cure.' 

This homemade salami recipe I decided upon seemed relatively easy and it was, more or less.  All the ingredients, minus one, were relatively straightforward and easy to purchase.  The ingredients were ground beef, black pepper, onion powder, garlic salt, liquid smoke and 'Morton's TenderQuick' which is essentially curing salt.  The 'curing' salt was the hard part.  Neither Jewel, Whole Foods, and Treasure Island carried it.  I finally found it at 'The Spice House' in Old Town, highly recommend that place by the way.  They had a version called 'Prague Powder #6' which she assured me was basically the same thing so I went with it. 

Basically all you do is mix all of the above mentioned ingredients together, roll into a log, wrap in foil and let sit for a day.  Then you bake it for 90 minutes and let cool.  I gotta say, it turned out decently.  Yes, even my wife said so.  Its certainly not the prettiest thing in the world w/out the casing, but for a first attempt, I'm fairly pleased with it.  Its probably a little salty, but definitely worth attempting again, perhaps w/different herbs and spices.

Here's the link to the more detailed recipe:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/homemade-salami/detail.aspx

 

Beaujolais Nouveau

I've always wondered what the big deal was w/Beaujolais Nouveau.  I knew it only came it once a year, knew it was big enough for a parade, but besides that didn't know too much more about it.  Did a little research and found out that the wines are the first release of the year.  Kelly and I tried one a couple weeks back and it wasn't bad at all.  It was, although not a wine connoiseur, what I would have expected of and tasted like a 'young' wine.  It was a bit tart, not a very full body.  Nonetheless, not a bad wine at all.  I'd drink it again next year.

Anniversary

I was going through some of my old posts and realized that my one year anniversary for blogging was Nov. 4th.  Who knew?!  Honestly, I'm pleasantly surprised that I've made it this long.  As I mentioned over a year ago when I first started, I wasn't sure if this was just going to be a short little daliance into blogging, but I've really come to enjoy the writing.  It may not be the most thought provoking, must-read, introspective work, but to each their own. 

I'm quite pleased with myself that I've made it this far and am looking forward to writing down more ramblings as they come.  Now I just need to write more frequently.

Cookbooks

I really like cookbooks.  Like most people I'm sure, I especially like bright, lively, books with pictures of what the meal 'could' and 'should' look like.  These cookbooks are all fine and dandy, but recently I realized that for me anyways, they haven't been all that useful and utilized.  More importatly, I suppose, I've come across a book thats been a lot more helpful and enlightening.  One thats actually been tucked away, unopened, for probably 2 years. 

I decided to open the book for some reason a few weeks back and it was a revelation.  I had been using recipes found online and in books or just cooking things be experimenting,  without necessarily knowing what I was doing, or the techniques I was using.  This book, more like a binder, on how to cook is broken up and indexed very well.  Basically, its broken up into types of food (i.e. beef, vegetables, eggs, bread, etc).  On top of that it expains different techniques such as braising, roasting, and more.  The book goes into the types of meats, veggies, and other foods and how best to prepare them.  I found it very interesting and as I was reading, felt a lot of gaps fill in in my missing food knowledge.  Gaps I wasn't even sure were there.  I'd definitely suggest it so check it out.  And of course, there are a lot of recipes to choose from!

Recipes

I've been using recipes online forever, but have recently become enamored with one particular website.  Normally, I just google whatever it is that comes to mind, then look through the various links to see which recipe I like (meaning which one I can pull off) and use that one.  http://www.allrecipes.com/ is a site that is often near the top and after some recent exploration of it, I really, really like it.

The reason(s) I really like and use the site are that its very user friendly and oriented.  Users can register and log in and once they've done so, are able to save/add recipes to their 'recipe box.'  It's genius!  Once you find a recipe that you really like by using the search function, you just click the add button and then organize it into the appropriate categories (i.e. appetizer, main dish, bread, etc.).  All the recipes on the site are 'user' added and other members can rate it and give comments/feedback/suggestions. 

Go ahead and check it out.  I'm sure you'll find it useful.

Holla, Challah!

I've been struggling with how, and wanting to make bread for awhile now.  I finally found a good recipe that was perfect for me.  It was relatively easy to make, I didn't need any special ingredients, nor did I need any special tools/equipment.  Right up my alley.

I found a recipe for challah.  My inner Jew just loves it.  It goes great w/butter, honey, or just plain, a bit warmed up.  Delicious.

As I've started messing around with baking more, bread was one thing that I was really interested in, but haven't quite made yet because I didn't have a bread pan, not did I have one of those processors with the plastic spin/spoon thing. 

This recipe just required rolling the dough out into three equal ropes, after allowing to rise.  Then all you do is braid the 3 together, let rise once more and bake basically.  Easy...well...easy enough. 

Now onto tougher breads.

Packers - Undefeated

I debated even writing this post because I'm a little superstitious, but in the end, all I care about is that we win the super bowl, not about an undefeated season.  The Pack is the only remaining undefeated team at 7-0 and now that we're almost at the halfway point, people are starting to talk about it. 

Every few years a team makes a relatively deep, undefeated run and people start talking and comparing them to '72 Dolphins and the '07 Patriots.  The Dolphins are the last team to go undefeated and win the Super Bowl.  The Patriots went undefeated in the regular season, but lost in the playoffs.  To have such an amazing season, but not win it all would be painful.

If it came down to it, I'd rather see us lose a game or two for learning and refocusing so that we got hot at the right time.  Last year's team didn't have great regular season, but they got hot in the end.  Back to back do or die wins against the Bears certainly helped propel them forward.  Either way, the Lombardi Trophy is what matters.  If we can make it a perfect season, even better.

Brewers - playoff baseball!

There Brewers are in the playoffs!  For the first time since I believe '82 they've won their division.  They made it in '08 as the wild card, but got bounced out by Philly.  This year, they have home field for the first series agains the Diamondbacks and there is a great buzz with the team.  They have the best home record in the majors and finally, finally have a solid starting pitching rotation.  They seem to be a very complete team as well.  Great set up man in K-Rod and a closer who has saved 46 straight.  Oh...and they can hit.  4 guys w/over 20 home runs and possibly the best 1-2 punch combo in Braun/Fielder.

I'll be going to the game tomorrow and am pumped!  Had the privilege of going in '08 and there's nothing like playoff baseball.  Packed house, thundersticks, and amazing energy.  Who knows, anything can happen w/these new and improved Brewers!

Baking

I love to cook.  Really really enjoy it.  Never baked before.  Never really had any interest.  Cooking fits my personality.  There are lots of way to do it.  Lots of ways to experiment and sometimes screw-ups can turn into good creations.  Baking on the other hand is totally foreign to me.  Its precise, calculated, and time-sensitive. 

This past week, I tried my hand at baking a little bit.  Started with a pizza dough.  Did some measuring, but not a ton.  Worked out ok, but I didn't add enough flour and it didn't end up being a large pizza.  The recipe is fairly easy so I think that will be an easy repeat performance. 

Shortly thereafter, I attempted making brownies.  The directions from the box made it seem easy, but it was way more difficult than expected.  I made the mix and then poured it into a pan that ended up being way too big.  I tried to recover by spooning the mix into a pan made for small cupcakes.  I ended up baking them for what appeared to be a good amount of time, but they were too dry.  Had it all been in a lump sheet, I think they wouldn't stayed more moist.

Finally, tried making some bread rolls.  Total failure.  Didn't taste good.  Ended up way larger than expected.  Ah well.  I admit that I'm' intrigued.  It will certainly take some more patience and precision, but I can certainly do a few things and will try out a few new ones as well.