The Chicago Guys
Man Spot Online
Quick and Easy Smoked Chicken
Aug 28th
Before the BBQ experts grill me, let me say I know how to smoke food and this is not true smoking, but it is much quicker and easier and still provides some great flavor.
Now that I’ve taken care of the disclaimer, let me share with you my way of smoking chickens on the grill with minimal set up or prep time.
Supplies you’ll need:
Foil pans (larger enough to fit under chickens and small enough to fit on grill and shut lid)
Wood chips I like hickory, but mesquite or apple would work fine
Fruit (oranges, lemons, limes, apples)
Chickens
Fresh Rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Clean your chicken and pat dry. Take the citrus and slice thin to have enough pieces to fit under breast skin. Cut remaining citrus plus the apples into chunks. Place one orange slice under the skin of each breast. Depending on the size also put a slice of lime and lemon under skin as well. Take a sprig of rosemary and put into cavity of bird. Then add a couple chunks of apple, orange, lime and lemon and put inside cavity. All remaining fruit, along with wood and additional rosemary should be put into foil pans. Season skin of chicken with salt, pepper and paprika.
Bring foil pans to grill and place on first rack. Have heat on medium. Fill the pans with water after on grill (it’s much easier than trying to carry filled with water!) Close lid and allow water to get hot. This will start releasing the flavors of the wood and fruit. Then place your chickens on the rack above the pans. 4lb chickens should take about 1-1/2 to 2 hours to cook. Check the internal temperature and make sure it’s at 165 degrees and juices run clear. Remove, from grill, remove fruit slices from under skin, slice and serve. When pans on grill are cooled down, dispose of.
Almost done. Yum!A moist, flavorful chicken every time! Please share your suggestions or thoughts.
Facebook and 40 year olds
Aug 27th
This is too good. A friend just forwarded an e-mail featuring this Facebook misstep by an unfortunate woman over-40 (who I just realized is listed as engaged… interesting.) The next time I hear someone say that they “just don’t get this social media thing,” I’ll have to laugh on the inside…
(To read the details, right-click and choose "View Image")
Shaving Revisited
Aug 26th
This post was originally posted on my personal blog. I promise original content here in the near future!
If you’re not familiar with shaving your face, which I’d expect some of you may not be, let me tell you that it’s one of the most tedious aspects of being a man.
I realize that might come very close to stating that life as a male is pretty easy, but let’s not forget that we do have to navigate the intricacies of you women once we’re done shortening the hair on our chinny chin chin. We still have to figure out what it is you want to hear when you ask us questions we think we know the answer to.
That being said, shaving is a pain in the butt, but in college I was lucky enough to get a free Gillette Mach 3 Razor and the course of my shaving woes was forever changed.
I think Gillette (warning: do not click that link unless you LOVE Flash) may have given every single adolescent male a free Mach 3 Razor ten years ago because they knew that these things were the crack cocaine of shaving. I mean, one day your sliding a disposable razor across your chin and then next day you’re wiping the hair off your face with a soft laundered cloth that happens to have three razors built into it. Gillette probably doesn’t want you to know this, but you didn’t even need shaving cream anymore.
The thing was perfect. I think you could actually ask your facial hair to go away if you owned one.
Now granted, for the next ten years I was begrudgingly buying replacement blades which cost more than the outfit I’d put on after shaving, but that razor lasted me ten years, no joke. It lasted four dob kits (where does that word come from, anyway?) and five residences. Every girl I have kissed since freshman year in college reaped the benefit of that razor.
Until it disappeared on me about two months ago and I went through the same thing I went though when I stopped playing competitive soccer and my cleats wore out. The Do Not Replace Syndrome that’s founded in something you’ve taken for granted for longer than you can remember. Do people BUY razors these days? Once free, always free, no?
And please don’t tell me people are falling for the FUSION. Five blades is totally ridiculous.
So here I am, pushing thirty years old and in an all out battle with facial hair without a suitable weapon. I am not joking when I tell you that I was commuting home today on a bus, thinking that although I really haven’t blatantly asked for anything from the Gods of Blog, and I really haven’t received anything in return (besides some effing awesome new friends, sidenote), if they gave me one wish I think I might wish for a Mach 3 Razor.
At which point I realized that my aspirations could probably be raised.
Guys Like Cars
Aug 24th
OK, so that’s pretty obvious, but it’s always been and always will be true. So when fellow #chiguy Chris C. and I got to test drive a handful of luxury crossovers this weekend, well let’s just say we were more than excited.
We got to drive a BMW X5, Lexus RX350, Mercedes GLK and the Cadillac SRX. Jealous yet? You should be, but I should also mention the tweetup that Cadillac hosted after the test drive. Appetizers, drinks, mingling with Cadillac brass.
Yeah, a guy could get used to this.
Here’s a few pics I snapped from the test-drive.
Summer of Arcade | 2009
Aug 23rd
For the second time, Microsoft hosted their ‘Summer of Arcade’ on XBOX Live. SoA is a chance for Microsoft to feature some really top notch Indie games on Live, and really get the community talking.
This year, they had a few really good games, as well as a remake or two. In total, 5 games were released over the five week period. I’m gonna highlight just a few of them, for two reasons, 1. I’ve played them, and secondly, typing up a review of 5 games, let alone a few I have not played, seems unfair.
Golden Shiny Golden.
First up, ‘Splosion Man.
If you’ve heard anything about this game, many references to drugs have been put forward to describe it. I like to use language, and I use that language to say it was a super fun and very engaging. Controls are simple, run and ’splode. You ’splode against walls, you ’splode scientists, and you ’splode your way across levels and eat cake. Yes, cake. Apparently men made of ’splosion love their cake.
I’d say, totally pick this game up, its a wild blast of adventure and fun. It will cost you 800 Microsoft Points (10 Dollars in the real world).
Shortly now, we speak of Ninja Turtles. TURTLES IN TIME. Its a rehash of the old game, with updated graphics and not so updated audio. Its fun, but a bit of a bore. Its a button masher, and if you have some friends over its good for a play through.
Get it if you love Ninja Turtles, or are in love with some solid, but repetitive games. This one will set you back 1200 MS Points. (14.99 in Reality.)
Finally, the best. Shadow Complex.
While this game has some interesting controversy behind it, I won’t go into that, I’m going to focus on the gameplay. The sweet, sweet gameplay. This game is everything you would expect from a major production house. You’d be right, it’s created by the same people who made Unreal Tournament. They are some people who clearly know what they are doing. While the story itself is a bit light I felt, the gameplay, graphics, and just sheer in your face amount of fun is completely worth the price of admission. One of the best games I have played in a very long time, and I totally recommend picking it up. Seriously, do so now.
No rating, just buy it. Honestly. 1200 MS Points (14.99 monies.)
A Sad Day for Tennis and Men!
Aug 18th
I used to volunteer at a senior center on the northside of Chicago and Elzie, one of the seniors forwarded me this email- which I thought was priceless. I didn’t change anything. Enjoy!
Wimbledon hopeful Simona Halep wants surgery to reduce the size of her
breasts.
Halep is seen as one of the tennis stars of the future after winning a
host of junior titles and a place in the final of the junior French Open
last year.
But the 5-foot-5-inch Romanian tennis star said she thinks her 34DD bust
is holding her back.
“This fall I’ll have a breast reduction operation,” Halep said. “The
breasts make me uncomfortable when I play.”
“It’s the weight that troubles me (and) my ability to react quickly,” she
added.
WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL THIS KID THAT WINNING ISN’T EVERYTHING!! THIS SELFISH SPOILED LITTLE BRAT SHOULDN’T BE SO CONSUMED WITH “WINNING MAJOR TENNIS TOURNAMENTS”!!
WHAT ABOUT US…THE HARD-WORKING EVERYDAY FAN??
34DD’s??? FOLKS PAY TOP DOLLAR FOR WARLOCKS LIKE THAT! AND THIS LITTLE BRAT WANTS TO HAVE THEM “REDUCED”??? THE NERVE OF SOME PEOPLE ! …………..:)
