A Romantic Dinner for Two

I met someone really nice recently, and last night (1/27/10) I had him over for dinner and a movie.

I wracked my brain trying to think of the perfect thing to serve. It had to be lite, it had to be delicious, and it had to be easy to make. It took a while, going over and through every cook book in my somewhat extensive collection, but fortunately, I found it just in the nick of time.

My choice? Broiled Chicken, wrapped in prosciutto, served with roasted green beans, and potatoes with mushrooms.

We had a wonderful evening and he seemed to really like the food a lot, so, I've decided to share it all with you as an extra "Recipe of the Month".

"Broiled Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Roasted Green Beans and Mushrooms with Potatoes"

• 8 ounces, fresh green beans, stem ends removed
• 4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil (E.V.O.O.)
• Salt & pepper
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 6 thin slices of prosciutto
• 2 lemon wedges, for serving
• 1/2 lb small, redskin potatoes
• 1/2 lb bulk mushrooms
• 1 tblspn extra virgin olive oil (E.V.O.O.)
• 1 clove minced garlic

1. Set your oven (or toaster oven) on broil.
2. Line a baking sheet (or the small rimmed baking sheet) with aluminum foil (makes for an easier clean-up. Remember, no "unsafe-cooking").
3. Toss the green beans with 2 teaspoons of the E.V.O.O. and season with salt and pepper in a small bowl and then arrange on one side of your foil lined baking sheet.
4. Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper, then wrap with the prosciutto.
5. Place the chicken (seam side down) on the same foil lined baking sheet and rub with the remaining 2 teaspoons of E.V.O.O.
6. In a separate bowl cube your 1/2 lb of small, red skin potatoes and mushrooms (stems removed*) and drizzle with 1 tblspn of E.V.O.O.
7. Add 1 clove of minced garlic and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
8. Toss to evenly coat the mushrooms and potatoes before placing them on the baking dish with your prosciutto-wrapped chicken and green beans.
9. Broil till chicken is opaque throughout. About 15 to 20 minutes.
10. When done, transfer the portions to two separate plates and serve with the lemon wedges.

I would like to add that this is a very versatile dinner to make. If you want to serve it for a group of four, just double the amounts. If you want to make it just for yourself, cut the amounts in half. It's just that easy. The temperature and cooking time remain the same. It's just that simple.

Well, that's all for now. I hope you're all doing well. Remember, as always, eat and enjoy.

AT&T, Say it Ain't So!

A friend told me recently that AT&T supported the "Yes on 8" campaign. If this is true, I cannot and will not continue to remain a shareholder regardless of how satisfied I am with AT&T's stock performance.

I've sent an e-mail to the investor relations department of AT&T, and if they tell me they did indeed support Prop Hate, I will sell my position and invest my money elsewhere.

You Gotta Love the Hypocrites

Before I begin, I should tell you all how I was brought up in a religious household. Church every Sunday, two cousins in the choir, bake sales and socials throughout the year, and while I personally have not read the whole bible cover to cover, many of my relatives have, so I know as much, if not more, than your average, right wing, conservative bigot.

Now, yesterday, while I was waiting in line at the credit union to make my car loan payment, I saw one guy had tattooed on his arm "Leviticus 18:22". This is the chapter and verse the assholes of the world use to deny gay people their civil rights and basic human dignity. The dumb ass was displaying his hypocrisy for the whole world to see, and it drove me up a F***ING wall.

Why do I call him a hypocrite? Because if he had read just a little bit further along in the same book, he would have come across Leviticus 19:28 which is basically "Thou shalt not have a tattoo on thy skin".

Just one more example of the people who oppress us not living up to or living by the very Bible they use to condemn us.

God love 'em.

Pork Roast Dinner

This recipe is not the "Recipe of the Month" for January. That one is coming in just over a week on January 3rd, 2010.

This is sort of a special "Bonus Recipe" I'm posting because I wanted to try something different. If you read to the bottom, you'll see I've also added a video element that shows me actually preparing the dish in question.

This is a new feature, and if it gets a good response, I plan on including a video element for all future recipes and past recipes that are specially requested.

Pork Roast Dinner

• 1 pound red potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 pound small fresh mushrooms, stems removed
• 1 1/2 cups fresh baby carrots
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium parsnip, chopped
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 1 pork roast (about 3 lbs)
• 1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Place vegetables in a 5 quart crock pot. Remember to use a crock pot liner (no unsafe cooking).
   
2. Place the pork roast on top of the vegetables and the mushrooms around the roast.
3. Sprinkle the seasonings on top of the pork roast.
   
4. Pour the chicken broth over the pork roast.
5. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (or until meat is tender).
   

One last thing, please ignore my comment about a "Part One". I have no cameraman, had to do the filming and cooking at the same time, and didn't really know what I was saying. Still, I think you'll enjoy it.

I Just Love It when I'm Right!

I was right again about two other stock IPOs I discussed earlier this month (see "Still No New Investments"), and how I thought they would not be a good idea for anyone seeking a small speculative investment strategy.

Team Health Holdings (TMH) which listed at $14.00/share is currently trading at $12.81/share, and Cobalt International Energy (CIE) which opened at $15.00/share is now at $13.50/share. That is an average decline of 9.25%.

I'm not ready to say these stocks would never be good investments at some future date, just not right now. I'm withholding any judgement on these stocks till they have an earnings per share (EPS) figure, and currently, they have not yet posted one.

When (or should I say "if") the day comes and this changes, don't worry, I'll keep you informed.

Update on KAR

I was right about the IPO for Kar Auction Services, Inc (KAR). In it's debut Friday, 12/11/09, it opened at $12.00/share (was supposed to open between $15-$17/share) and closed that same day up only $.03.

Today, it fell to as low as $11.73 before closing back up to $12.00. This article I read in the Associate Press explains one of the reasons why (and I said it first!);

"Analysts said investors are likely wary of KAR's debt. According to recent regulatory filings, it owes creditors $2.5 billion".

It also probably doesn't help that out of sales of $1.31 Billion, it only made a profit last year of $17.9 Million. That's a profit margin of just barely 1.36%, and sorry, but I could do 4 times better than that by investing in any stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average that yields over 4% (Currently AT&T, DuPont, Kraft Foods, Merk, and Verizon).

Still No New Investments

I check the listing of IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) listed by Charles Schwab (where I do my investing) just about every day, looking for the next Intrepid Potash that earned me a 50% return in one month. So far, my luck has been non-existent.

In my last post, I told any of you that were thinking of investing in Kar Auction Services, Inc., to not invest in that stock, and I have the same advice for any thinking of investing it the two most recent IPOs listed by Charles Schwab. Team Health Holdings, Inc. (proposed symbol THM), and Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (proposed symbol CIE).

Why am I not recommending either of these stocks? Quite simply because both companies are carrying a shitload of debt, and neither has the track record or promise of future earnings to justify the risk.

If THM sells all 20 million proposed shares at the maximum price of $16, the roughly $320 million raised in this offering will mostly go to paying of certain indebtedness, including an interest bearing note of 11.25%. I'm sorry, but when a company sells stock to expand it's business, that's a good thing. When they sell stock to pay off debt, that's a bad thing.

The other company, CIE will be using the money raised (roughly $1 billion) to expand oil exploration and exploitation of deep water, off-shore sites, but, in the company's own words (found in the preliminary prospectus);

"We have no proved reserves and areas that we decide to drill may not yield oil in commercial quantities or quality, or at all."

So, my answer to both companies is, "I will not be buying your stock in this initial public offering. There are just to many uncertainties and you are both to risky for my blood."

For now, I'm sticking with my short-term treasury bills, my dividend paying stocks, and my two mutual funds. They may not be exciting, in fact they're downright dull, but I can sleep at night.