Family Secrets (Vol.1)

Tonight I perfected one of my all-time favorite foods.  I can remember when I first asked my dad for the recipe – it was right after 9/11, when I needed comfort foods.  His response was, “why couldn’t you ask for something easy?  That’s one of those things I just…DO.”

 

In short, there was a recipe once upon a time, but my mom and dad have been making it for so many decades that there’s no guarantee they’re still following it.

But it’s so STUPIDLY SIMPLE.  It only has 7 ingredients, and none of them are measured carefully.  It’s one of those things I make for people, and EVERY.  SINGLE.  TIME. they rave about it and ask for the recipe.  EVEN WHEN I MAKE IT BADLY.

When I was a kid, my parents would always prepare this in the same pan.  I would pass through the kitchen on a day they were making it, and take it upon myself to fill the turkey baster with marinade and squeeze it over the top.  Multiple times.  And possibly poke the meat with the baster.  Repeatedly.

Ethnically, I doubt its authenticity.  But I like it better than the “real” thing.

So, without further ado, I have decided it is time to share it with the world.  The dish I grew up associating with the word… “teriyaki.”

I present the Illinois Extension recipe for “Teriyaki Marinade.”

1/3 c. soy sauce

1/3 c. red wine vinegar

1/3 c. water

several slices ginger

several cloves garlic

~1tsp brown sugar

If you are making my favorite main course of all time, add one piece of chuck and marinate until the marinade turns cloudy.

If you start early in the day, omit the water (if you really want her to, Professor Wahooty will step in and explain why).  Give it at least 2-3 hours though.

Grill.  It will sear well due to the fat in the meat and the bit of sugar in the marinade.  I keep it rare to medium-rare inside.  I will not be held responsible for well-done results (although it actually even tastes good when cooked medium-well, something I usually consider a crime against beef).

The beauty of this thing is that it is almost universally delicious, and works on beef, chicken, pork, salmon, etc.  There is some tweaking involved for other proteins, which I may reveal…some other time.

 

In the meantime, I invite you to share your stupidly simple family secrets in the comments.  I showed you mine – you show me yours!  I may reveal more easy recipes if I get some audience participation.

In Memoriam.

Nearly ten years ago, I puttered around too long, getting ready to go to work.  As a result, I witnessed world change unfold as one plane hit the World Trade Center.  The response was confusion, until the second one hit.

 

Nearly ten years ago, I felt my heart stop when I heard two more planes were en route to Washington, DC, where I had a father in a government building, a close friend at the CIA, and countless others unaccounted for in the middle of the workday.

 

Tonight, I watched that chapter of our collective memoir close.

 

And I am appalled.

 

I have witnessed the following (paraphrased, obviously) exchange in my Facebook feed:

Person: I hear the President wants to talk to us about something.  Makes me nervous.  Hope he doesn’t break into the Celebrity Apprentice.

Friend of Person: Word has it that Bin Laden is dead and we have his body.

Person:  YAY!!!

 

Accompanied by rousing choruses of “ding, dong the <insert insult of choice> is dead!” and lots of “patriotic” HOO-RAHing.  And one incredibly funny comment of “Trump wants to see the death certificate.”

 

Let me be clear: I do not believe in capital punishment.  I cannot take pleasure in the taking of a human life, no matter how evil I personally believe that human being to be.  Am I happy?  Absolutely not.  Intensely relieved?  Yes.  Satisfied?  Somewhat.  Do I think this is, by any means, over?  Not by a long shot.

 

Christians have lightning-quick “eye for an eye!” reflexes, but, when the moment suits them, their selective memories are quick to forget the coda introduced in the sermon on the mount. We will never extract our pound of flesh in this matter, and I do not have the fortitude to forgive this man for what he did.  I may never.  But amid all of the “YEAH”s and “God bless America”s, all I can think is… Goddammit, you people are no better than those that did the same thing in all of those villages the day those thousands of Americans died.

 

Celebrate progress, not death.  Fight the mentality, not the individual.  Stop the hatred, not the heartbeat. 

 

If it took a decade to win the battle, how long to win the war?