I walk a fine line in many social circles with my view on politics, but the one thing I’m completely open about is my full and un shaking support of equal rights for all when it comes to marriage.  Let me be clear on this when I say two consenting adults, regardless of sex. There are countries where children are married when they are babies. That isn’t equal rights, that is child marriage. So for those of you out there that like to make the absurd argument that if I’m a supporter of equal rights for all types of marriage, I should support the crazy dude that wants to marry an animal, let me be clear – You’re an asshole.

Yesterday the state of North Carolina passed a constitutional amendment that didn’t just ban Gay Marriage.  It also invalidated domestic partnerships and civil unions. They have essentially stripped gay couples of all of their rights under the law. Companies would no longer have to provide domestic partner benefits. A hospitalized gay man or woman could be banned from seeing their partner in the hospital. If their partner died, they could be legally limited from certain inheritances and are already banned from receiving social security benefits (b/c of federal law).

So really, North Carolina isn’t just making gay men and women 2nd class citizens, they are relegating them to a whole new class.  The unwanted, unequal, and unwelcome.  No one is asking us to force churches to marry gay couples. As a matter of fact, Catholic churches aren’t forced to marry non catholics, nor are they forced to marry divorced catholics.  They can simply say no. Gay couples aren’t asking to have churches, temples, or any religious body marry them.  They are simply asking for equal civil rights under law.  The government issues a marriage license. Its not a civil union license. Its called a MARRIAGE license.  With that marriage license comes specific benefits w/ tax breaks and medical benefits via their health insurance.

So what are you really trying to say?  If marriage was JUST a religious thing, then judges couldn’t marry people.  Only religious figures could. This isn’t about religion, this is about bigotry, hatred, and fear.  I am a christian. I believe in equal rights.  Some of the most loving couples I know are gay. I am straight and I am NOT threatened by gay marriage.  No gay man ever tried to steal my boyfriend.  No lesbian woman I know who wanted to get married threatened the marriage of a straight couple.

Get over yourselves, America. Your protection of “marriage” as an institution is as flawed as a person who doesn’t believe in eating meat telling everyone that eating meat is now illegal.  Could you stand there and tell someone who’s life partner is dying that they are not allowed to be there to hold their hand while they take their last breath? Do you honestly believe a human being who loves another isn’t allowed to legally declare that love by forming a binding contract and form a home together? If so, apparently you need to move to North Carolina.  Which sounds crazy because I live in Georgia and I thought we were in the bible belt, with Alabama being the buckle.  They just took this to a whole new level of crazy.  Now they’ve tossed the gauntlet for civil law suits galore and made other red states who need to prove how conservative they are in an election year inspired to pass similar laws.

It’s terrifying. It’s wrong. And I don’t thing it’s what Jesus would do either…

Any Southern Belle will tell you that the smell of football season is Bourbon.  The fall wouldn’t be complete without a Bourbon and Diet in my hand on game day.  As my tastes have expanded and I’ve become more educated on the “brown likker” as some like to say, I’ve come to appreciate the beauty of our truly Southern beverage.  Some of these fine beverages get served over ice.  You’d do yourself a disservice mixing them with anything else and most respectable bartenders wouldn’t ever let you dare order one in a mixed drink.  Just like a fine wine or a great scotch, bourbon has its notes and flavors.  Girlyfriend and I plan to take a girl’s trip on the Bourbon Trail in the near future. So over the past year I’ve built up my Bourbon selection and today I set up the bar.

Voila.

Blanton’s, Bulleit, Basil Hayden’s, Four Roses, Woodford Reserve, & Jim Beam.

Yes, it has been pointed out to me (by all the boys) that Jack Daniels is NOT a Bourbon. According to my Scottish friends, its also not a Whiskey. So lets just call it the ugly red headed step child of my Brown Likker family and let it stay on the display. Besides, it won’t fit in the liquor cabinet.  The clear liquors all pick on it horribly anyway.

Guess that means I have to find a separate home for the Scotch I plan to get too? Or would THAT be allowed, just not Jack?

What do y’all think?

This past year I discovered brining.  I’ve had some chefs swear to me that it was better than just marinating your meat and my few attempts proved that theory true. More importantly, for smaller pieces of meat like chicken breasts or pork chops you can infuse a LOT of flavor in a short period of time (in a few hours, rather than having to wait for it to set in over night).

Because I’m a single chick, I make my portions for 2. 1 for dinner and 1 for leftovers the next night or lunch.

2 chicken breasts, boneless or on the bone

4 cups of water

1/8 cup of kosher salt

1/8 cup of sugar

2 tablespoons of herbs de provence seasoning

5 bay leaves

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tsp of tarragon

Put your water in a pot and add all the seasonings.  Bring the brine to a boil, remove it from the heat, and then bring the brine down to room temperature.  If you are in a rush, put the brine into a glass bowl and pop it in the fridge until it cools down. Once it is cool (this is very important) only then do you put your chicken breasts in. Put the chicken in the brine in the fridge for 1.5 hours.  DO NOT LET THE CHICKEN STAY IN THE BRINE FOR MORE THAN 2 HOURS!  It will absorb the salt and be inedible.

Grill the chicken.  Enjoy.

You can easily double the brine for servings for 4. Quadruple it for a whole chicken. The rule of thumb is the bigger the cut of meat, the longer you brine.  So a whole chicken would probably go over night.  Small cornish game hens? About 4-6 hours. A turkey? 24 hours.  The brine adds a ton of flavor.  If you don’t like Herbs de Provence, you can really use any spices you’d like to infuse into the meat.  The key is the salt and the sugar.

Enjoy!

So last weekend I was fortunate enough to be invited by Vino Vixen to accompany her to my first Gasparilla.  For those of you who don’t know what Gasparilla is, its essentially Tampa’s version of Mardis Gras…with Pirates.  Yes, Pirates. I’m not a huge fan of really big festivals because I hate crowds in a confined space. I can handle Auburn on game day because I can escape. Bourbon Street at Mardi Gras? Forget about it. So I literally lucked out because not only did VV invite me, but her husband and best friend were planning one of the biggest private parties in Tampa.  They were in charge of Gasparilla Bash, which was held in a friend’s 1920′s mansion on Bayshore. He might not call it a mansion, but for the 1920′s? That sucker was a mansion. And amazing. The party was fantastic. We had a fabulous time!  There were some definite highlights.

1) Because my friends were running the show, we got VIP treatment which was fantastic. This included being able to go into the house and use the facilities inside, instead of the (really nice) port potties outside.

2) Some old friends from Auburn who I hadn’t seen in years came down to help out with the event. So not only did I know the folks in charge, by sheer coincidence I also knew one of the bartenders!  SCORE!

3) If you’re going to Gasparilla, this party was the way to go. Elegant, well coordinated, good food (Taco Bus for the WIN!) and a seemingly endless bar.

4) Just like Halloween, some girls use Gasparilla as an opportunity to, well…uh.  Lets just say they dress like hookers and leave it at that.  But seriously…fishnets with flip flops? Even hookers have STANDARDS.

5) I have always prided myself on not being prejudiced. I try to be as open minded as possible and respect many cultures.  Yet this event taught me I am prejudiced. Its a small segment of the population and I feel NO shame for this. I am against ORANGE PEOPLE. Seriously, Oompah Loompahs are in the movies. You shouldn’t try to look like one in real life, folks. Yet every hour or so, I was startled to stumble across yet another tangerine orange person. Mostly girls. Seriously, lay off the self tanning products. You look ridiculous. And like you have jaundice from Mars.

I did add some photos with me in them.  I know, breaking my own rules.  Special thanks to Vino Vixen and her fabulous family for having me as a guest for the weekend. I had a fabulous time and I would definitely do Gasparilla (this way!) again!

Without further ado, so photos from our Gasparilla Bash. The good. The bad. The UGLY.

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