Free Fall

Filed under: General — Artflux at 6:23 pm on Thursday, January 30, 2014

What it means to fall in love with another man. A German version of the Brokeback Mountain theme. Click in the picture to see the trailer.

 

Interior. Leather Bar

Filed under: General — Artflux at 8:54 pm on Monday, January 27, 2014

Just finished screening this documentary. Somewhat disappointed it didn’t really live up to expectations.

 

Unhung hero

Filed under: General — Artflux at 9:27 pm on Saturday, January 25, 2014

Fun documentary about a guys insecurity about his penis size.

 

Italian Breaded Pork Chops

Filed under: General — Artflux at 5:11 pm on Saturday, January 25, 2014

INGREDIENTS:
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned bread
crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
4 pork chops
DIRECTIONS:
1.    Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C).
2.    In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and milk. In a separate small bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and parsley.
3.    Heat the olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook until lightly browned. Remove garlic, reserving for other uses.
4.    Dip each pork chop into the egg mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating evenly. Place coated pork chops in the skillet, and brown abut 5 minutes on each side.
5.    Place the skillet and pork chops in the preheated oven, and cook 25 minutes, or to an internal temperature of 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

Condo gym radio policy

Filed under: General — Artflux at 5:25 pm on Friday, January 24, 2014

GYM RADIO EDIT POLICY
Dear Residents,

lt has been brought to managements’ attention that indlviduals using
the gyms lpod player are playing music selections with profanity,
racist and inappropriate lyrics in them.

Please note, this type of behaviour is not acceptable and does not
comply with decency standards. As such a Radio Edit Policy is being
implemented.

Music selections being played over the gyms audio system must
comply to this standard. No profanity, drug references, or other
inappropriate lyrics will be allowed.

Failure to comply with this policy will result in the lpod player being
returned to its original condition with the Bluetooth removed.
Your anticipated cooperation in this matter is appreciated.

CHICKEN VESUVIO (CHICKEN AND POTATOES WITH GARLIC AND WHITE WINE)

Filed under: General — Artflux at 7:21 am on Sunday, January 19, 2014

Serves 4
An equal weight of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, legs (separated into thigh and drumstick
pieces), or split breasts (each breast halved lengthwise) may be substituted for the whole chicken.
if you don’t care for chicken skin, simply remove it afier pan-flying and before baking. A large, 8-
quart Dutch oven with a diameter of 12 inches serves this dish well. If using a Le Creuset Dutch
oven, heat the oil for an extra minute.
2 tablespoons olive oil
l whole chicken (about 3 l/2 pounds), giblets and wings discarded; chicken cut into 8 pieces (2
each of thighs and drumsticks, with breast cut into quarters)
3/4 teaspoon salt
I/2 teaspoon gound black pepper
3 Yukon Gold potatoes (about 8 ounces each), peeled and cut lengthwise into 8 wedges about 3/4
inch thick
2 l/2 tablespoons minced or pressed garlic (8 to l2 medium cloves)
l cup dry white wine
2 sprigs fresh oregano
2 sprigs fresh thyme
I sprig fresh rosemary ‘ ~
2 tablespoons juice from l lemon _
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet
with paper towels.
2. Heat l tablespoon oil in large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot and
shimmering, but not smoking, about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, thoroughly pat chicken dry with paper
towels and sprinkle pieces with l/2 teaspoon salt and I/4 teaspoon pepper. Place chicken pieces
skin-side down in single layer in pot and cook without moving them until uniformly golden brown
and crisp, 4 to 6 minutes (if chicken is browning too quickly, reduce heat). Reduce heat to medium;
using tongs, turn chicken pieces over and cook until uniformly golden brown and crisp on second
side, 8 to 10 minutes longer. Transfer chicken, skin-side up, to prepared baking sheet.
3. Add remaining l tablespoon oil to pot. Add potatoes, arranging them in single layer with one flat
side of each wedge against bottom of pot; cook until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to
medium-low and tum potatoes; cook until golden brown on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes longer.
Transfer potatoes to baking sheet with chicken.
4. Remove pot from bumer and cool 2 minutes. Add all but l teaspoon garlic and cook, using pot’s
residual heat, until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds; add wine, oregano,_thyme, rosemary, and
remaining l/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Retum chicken pieces skin-side up to pot, then
arrange potatoes on top.
5. Bake uncovered I0 minutes; using tongs, rearrange so chicken is on top of potatoes and facing
skin-side up (see illustration below). Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part
of breast pieces registers 160 degrees, 8 to 10 minutes longer; remove breast pieces to serving dish
and tent loosely with foil. Retum pot with thighs, drumsticks, and potatoes to oven and cook until
instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 175 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes
longer. Arrange chicken and potatoes in serving dish; discard herb stems. Stir remaining 1
teaspoon garlic and lemon juice into liquid in pot; pour sauce over chicken and potatoes, sprinkle with parsley.

Creamy Turnip With Paprika Soup

Filed under: General — Artflux at 7:49 pm on Saturday, January 11, 2014

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds peeled turnip bulbs, not the
leafy tops, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 large onion, cut into large dice
1 tablespoon butter
1 pinch sugar
3 large garlic cloves, thickly sliced
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups chicken broth, homemade or from
a carton or can
1 1/2 cups half-and-half (or whole milk)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Garnish: shallot crisps*

DIRECTIONS:
1.    Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep saute pan until shimmering.
2.    Add turnips, then onion; saute, stirring very little at first, then more frequently, until vegetables start to turn golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes.
3.    Reduce heat to low and add butter, sugar and garlic; continue cooking until all vegetables are a rich spotty caramel color, about 10 minutes longer.
4.    Add paprika, thyme and cayenne pepper; continue to saute until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute longer.
5.    Add broth; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until turnips are tender, about 10 minutes.
6.    Using an immersion blender or traditional blender, puree until very smooth, 30 seconds to 1 minute. (If using a traditional blender, vent it either by removing the lid’s pop-out center or by lifting one edge of the lid. Drape the blender canister with a kitchen towel. To ‘clean’ the canister, pour in a little half-and-half, blend briefly, then add to the soup.)
7.    Return to pan (or a soup pot); add enough half-and-half so the mixture is souplike, yet thick enough to float garnish. Taste, and add salt and pepper if needed. Heat through, ladle into bowls, garnish and serve.

 

Dinner at WestLodge

Filed under: General — Artflux at 2:24 pm on Saturday, January 11, 2014

Adrian studying the menu.

The single iberico crumbed plump SCALLOP was paired with chanterelle mushrooms, caper vinaigrette atop a pile of du puy lentils. The scallop was cooked beautifully and the layers of flavours were interesting and wonderfully complimentary.

 

Toronto is getting a new look

Filed under: General — Artflux at 12:46 pm on Saturday, January 4, 2014

The old town in the foreground.  New new downtown in the background.