Well, well, well…look at who is in the driver seat yet again.

Why it’s none other than Mr. How Sweet himself.  Why am I posting today, some of you may be asking?  What you are really thinking is that this blog is for people who cook.  Well guess what?  I cooked.  And I’m here to brag about my culinary skills.


I mastered dippy eggs. I moved on to filet with lobster sauce. So what is my latest creation?  Since I am a Grill Sergeant, I tackled strip steak.


Let me clarify that.  On my way home from a hard day’s work I get the following text: “I’m going to SATC 2…you need to fend for yourself tonite.”


That means several things:

  • Mr. How Sweet is spared from seeing that wretched movie.  Don’t get me wrong…I loved the show.  But aren’t they closer to Golden Girls than Gossip Girls at this point?  Just sayin’.  Not hatin’.
  • That I better eat before I start handicapping races for tomorrow night’s card at the Meadowlands or I’ll forget to eat.  Which means my darling wife gets to come home after the movie she has been waiting 2 years to see to a very hungry angry husband.
  • That since no meal was prepared for me, I took that as a clue that I need to get back to my Introduction to Husbanding: Happy Wife = Happy Life lessons.  I must be slacking.


(Note to self: some flowers and a card might be in order for the weekend to smooth over anything I may have  done wrong.)

(Further note to self: make apology vague so it covers whatever you may have done but doesn’t implicate you in anything she doesn’t know about.  For example, apologizing for losing this week’s pay at the video blackjack machine is way worse when (1) she had no idea you went to the casino in the first place and (2) she may not have even been upset in the first place.)


Fortunately, I was prepared for Memorial Day weekend.  If there’s one thing that Mr. How Sweet loves more than steak, it’s remembering those who died in service to this great country.


When I got home, I fired up the ole’ grill.  I then pulled out the 4 pounds of steaks that I purchased at Sam’s Club yesterday.  3 choice cuts were selected and first slightly sprayed with Olive Oil Pam.  Why, you ask?  Because my good buddy (and lifting partner for life) Ol’ Budweiser Bob (OBB) told me that olive oil has a high flash point and it sears the steaks, keeping the juices in.  OBB learned this trick from Bobby Flay.  The steaks were then lightly seasoned with cracked black pepper and sea salt.  Good steaks don’t need marinated.  They don’t need a lot of seasoning.  Just a tad to bring their natural tastes out.


While the steaks cooked at about 650 degrees, I set the mood.  That’s right – country music.  Not just any country music, but Alan Jackson and George Strait.  Can you get any more American than steak and good country music?  That twang.  That slide of a steel guitar.  That is classic, solid-gold music right there.  A little Good Time by Alan.  A little Amarillo by Morning by George Strait.  That was the fastest 10 minutes of my life as I waited for those steaks to cook, flipping them after 5 minutes on the grill.


I heated up some wild mushroom risotto (the Target brand), ’cause all you long-time readers know I need to have a side with every meal.  Sometimes that side is mac & cheese.  Sometimes it’s sweet potato fries.  And even other times it’s been a chicken breast.  Nothing compliments a steak like a barbeque chicken breast just to make sure you aren’t skimping on the protein.



Enjoy your weekend and the 1,100 miles of racing on TV Sunday. Let us also remember those that helped keep us free.