Sometime in the 1990s, when I wasn't paying enough attention (i.e. due to college and post-college idiocy), a trend became pretty mainstream in youth sports. The trend? That everyone receives a trophy. Worse, in some cases, leagues didn't even keep score! As a youth in youth sports in the late 70's and early 80's, I find that concept unfathomable. Almost every great athletic memory of my childhood (not that there are that many) revolve around the quest to win, the buzzer beaters, the late-inning home run, the near-misses, the questionable decisions, etc. My friends and I would talk about "how many trophies do you have?", and they actually MEANT SOMETHING! The local Little League championship or the youth basketball league championship. Man, those trophies were pursued! Not that I want to get into my views of modern days and the reasons why we are the way we are in this space, but let it be known that I do believe the "middling" of our economy and this era of entitlement and enablement stems from the same philosophy that gives trophies out for participating. I learned more from losing than I ever did from winning, and the lessons still apply today, i.e. continuously try to improve, persevere, never give up, etc.
In November of 2009, my wife and I got married in a Catholic church. For anyone else who has done the same, you know that we went through a religious indoctrination to marriage called Pre-Cana. It's an intensive (in our case) all-day seminar for engaged couples to learn, share, discuss their views on topics such as children, finances, house cleaning, etc. For some couples, it could be the first time to discuss some of these areas that can cause future problems when you are not in alignment. My wife (then, fiancee) and I thought it was "good", but we felt like we had already had many of those discussions. And that of course, made us happy. On the way home, we were laughing about some of the very young, wide-eyed couples who were overwhelmed with the topics, and we jokingly said that "We won Pre-Cana", and had a good laugh. When our friends asked us how Pre-Cana was, we simply said "We won".
That joke has evolved. Too far, perhaps. When we gutted our house and moved back in a year later, we were so happy with the outcome that we said, "We won". When we attended a pizza cooking class with about 30 other people, our pizza (calzone to be specific) was so good we decided that "we won" that too. And most recently, while on vacation, we did an amazing hike to a glacier on the Icefields Parkway in Alberta, Canada, and at the top, we decided that "we won" that too. We always laugh, and say it always in jest.
I already have many victories in this blog. Finding Paulina Meat Market? Win! Buying the Big Green Egg? Win! Deciding to cook everything in Paulina's main display case? Win! So, on Thursday, I went to Paulina and picked up two Porterhouse Steaks, the ultimate marriage of New York Strip and Filet Mignon with the much needed bone and marble. Yum. Thanks again to Michael Symon's book, Carnivore, I broiled some Paulina bacon slices and crumbled them, I roasted a garlic bulb and mashed it with fresh parsley, fresh oregano, some salt and the zest and juice of a lemon, broiled the Porterhouses for 5 minutes per side, topped them with the garlic spread and the bacon crumbles and took a healthy bite (along with some Sweet Potato Mash that my wife makes that is vegetable candy, to go with bacon, i.e. meat candy). Each of the recipes I've made so far in this quest have turned out great. And I'm excited about the growing repertoire. But these Porterhouses! And that spread! And the bacon! All I can say is, and hopefully my prologue helps you understand....I WIN!
4 down...53 to go!
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