LGBT Hero Chad Griffen Chicken Dinner

This is really a simple dish to fix and tastes so very gourmet! Marinade the chicken and it will reward you with a juicy mouthful. The basic marinade consists of an oil and an acid. You will soon be able to design your own marinades and whole meals. First, however, do it as written, then feel free to fly.

Hope you have a safe, sane, and consensual Halloween. Load up on a good meal before hitting the candy and booze!

Ingredients

2 skinless boneless chicken breasts

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chicken broth

½ cup heavy cream

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

2 lemons

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 cups baby spinach

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste. Place in a dish with oil and vinegar. Zest one of the lemons over that. Cover and let marinade for about 5 hours or even while you are at work.

Mince the garlic. Zest the 2^nd lemon into another bowl and squeeze the juice into that. Add 2 Tbs of butter and melt in microwave (about 15 to 20 sec.) In another bowl measure out the cup of chicken broth and ½ cup of cream (or ½ & ½). Stir in 1 Tbs cornstarch until well blended.

Slice the breasts down the middle to make them thinner.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side; drain excess fat and set aside.

Melt remaining tablespoon butter in the skillet. Add garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, cream, lemon juice – butter.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat, stir in spinach, one handful at a time. When it is all wilted stir in the Parmesan and let simmer. The sauce will become thick, about 3-5 minutes.

Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish. Spoon the creamy spinach in creating a flavorful bed and arrange the chicken breast on top. Sprinkle with some Parmesan and let bake for about ½ an hour. You want the chicken to reach 175 on the thermometer.

Serve with brightly colored mixed vegetables! What a wonderful treat. That creamy lemon spinach with a touch of garlic will make a “Popeye” out of anyone.

For music: What else could we pick!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIoKvRirIQg

So excited to be allowed to serve my Master Indy.

Socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via @amazon

Chad Griffin

Last year Chad Griffen wrote: “I was struck by a thought. The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has always had to rediscover the heroes of our movement. And, when you think about it, it's pretty easy to realize why."

"When we come out, we often search for role models, people whose stories we can look to for inspiration. And because of that, the stories of our community -- our legendary role models -- depend on a different kind of oral tradition to survive. Instead of aunts and uncles, parents and grandparents, we hear stories from historians and directors, authors and storytellers, who help us ensure that our history is never truly lost. This is how a generation learned the name Harvey Milk, how the story of Stonewall survived decades of media blackout, how an AIDS quilt shattered political inaction.”

So to finish out our specials on LGBT History Month we honor this young hero.

Griffin was born in Hope, Arkansas, and grew up 45 miles to the northeast in Arkadelphia. He volunteered for the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton. Following the election, received a job offer to join the transition team and administration. At the age of 19, the youngest-ever member of a presidential staff. He worked as a White House Press Office manager for two years.

Griffin went on to lead Director Rob Reiner's charitable foundation and to work with Reiner on numerous political efforts, including the founding of the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER).

AFER's challenge to California's Proposition 8, which barred the recognition of same-sex marriage, (Perry v. Brown) was ultimately successful following a decision by the United States Supreme Court in June 2013. In 2012, Griffin was appointed president of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT rights organization in the United States.

Chad Griffin is listed at #16 in Out Magazine’s list of the most powerful LGBT activists in the U.S. He’s been on the list since 2010

He was one of the executive producers of the 2009 documentary Outrage, which investigated allegations of homosexuality among a series of political figures who had worked against LGBT rights.

"As long as institutionalized discrimination exists," says Griffin, explaining his larger motivation, "it gives people a license to hate. As a result, gay teens continue to kill themselves, people commit hate crimes, and gays and lesbians continue to face job discrimination."

We must remember the LGBT's that went before us, who fought in the shadows so that we may enjoy greater freedom today.

As a community, LGBT people have our own family, our own stories, and our own heroes. Now that we have a “History month” let us all learn some of those rich stories.

The Historic Stonewall Inn Memorial Flank Steak Dinner

It has been awhile since doing a nice steak recipe so slave decided on a flank steak. These used to be very cheep because they tended to be very tough. But now flanks steaks are popular for many kinds of Mexican dishes. So the price goes up.

Be careful to avoid overcooking which will produce a chewy piece of leather! Always cut across the grain into thin slices and you will find it extremely juicy with a wonderful taste.

Ingredients

1 beef flank steak (1-1/2 pounds)

2 yellow onions sliced thin

2 stalks celery cut to about 1 ½ inches

3 Carrots also the same size

1 cup beef broth

½ Cup Jack Daniels

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

Do your cutting. The celery and carrots can go into the same

 bowl. The onions are best if carefully sliced on a mandolin. 

Slice them into a large bowl and soak with ½ cup of Jack 

Daniels.

This is a good time to also rinse and drain the mushrooms

 and chop the other 2 onions for the steak sauce.

Pre heat the oven to 350 Degrees.

Score surface of steak making shallow diagonal cuts.

 

Place in a 9 x 13 baking dish that has been sprayed with 

cooking spray.

Place celery and carrots around meat. The onions on top.

 Combine the beef broth with Worcestershire, salt and

 pepper; drizzle over meat and vegetables.

Cover with foil and bake 50 minutes or until meat and 

vegetables are tender. Watch for over-cooking! Flank steak 

is usually served medium rare, closer to the red side. This 

meat gets hard and dry very quickly so err on the rare side! 

At end of 50 minutes remove foil and continue to roast for

 another 15 minutes or until a thermometer reads 145 

degrees.

While that cooks fix:

Mikls Marvelous Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

2 Tbs olive oil

 

2 Tbs butter

2 medium yellow onions

2tsp white sugar

1 ½ cups fresh mushrooms

Kosher Salt

½ C Jack Daniels

¾ C beef broth

2 tsp corn starch

½ C half & half

Directions:

Chop up the onions, wash and slice the mushrooms.

Over a medium low heat, warm 2 Tbs oil & 2 Tbs of butter 

in a large skillet.

 

Add the onions. If it sizzles, it is too hot. Stir in 2 tsp of white

 sugar. Cover and let cook for about 10 minutes. Add the

 mushrooms and raise the heat to medium high. Stir well as 

they are turning a light brown.

Dissolve the cornstarch into the beef broth. Be sure to stir 

well. Set this aside while you add the whiskey to the pan.

 Stir it well. That will quickly reduce as the alcohol cooks off. 

 

Now stir in the cornstarch mixture. Continue to stir as this

 thickens. This might take 2 to 3 minutes. Once it has

 reached the consistency you want, add the half & half to 

make it creamy.

This pan sauce turns out so very good that slave has been

known to cry real tears when he could not share it with

 others. 

Hope you enjoy.

When meat is done:

Remove the meat to a cutting board and cover with foil.  

Let stand 10 minutes before thinly slicing across the

 grain. Hold the knife at a 45 degree angle.

Fan the slices out on the platter for a pretty presentation.

 Scoop out the roasted vegetables and place on one side of 

the platter.

Serve with a nice green vegetable and the meat sauce on

 the side. 

 

For our music tonight as LGBT History month draws to a

 close, think back to the night the Stonewall riots started. We

 had danced to the Fifth Dimension's “Aquarius/ Let the

 Sunshine In” just 2 months prior. On the jukebox was the

 hit from the Beatles: “Get Back”! But the number one song

 that week was an instrumental from the movie “Romeo 

and Juliet”. After all that's why you went to the Stonewall, 

to hold on to Him and sway back and forth, to pretend the

 world was different, to pretend it was just you and just 

Him, forever. This is what you heard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGlUesIu9RI

socialslave 

 

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White 

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I

/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via @amazon

The Historic Stonewall Inn

This year The Stonewall Inn was the first site in the country listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places for LGBT history, and the first site in New York City landmarked for LGBT history. The building's tenure has been as rocky as the movement that now bears its name.

Originally constructed between 1843 and 1846 as horse stables, the property was turned into a restaurant in 1930. Themed for “a woman's crowd”. It remained a restaurant until it was gutted by fire in the mid-1960s.

In 1966, three members of the Mafia invested in the Stonewall Inn, turning it into a gay bar.

On March 18, 1967, the Stonewall opened in the space. It was, during its time, the largest gay establishment in the U.S. and did a very good business although, as with most gay clubs at the time, police raids were common.

Once a week a police officer would collect envelopes of cash as a payoff. It is true, the Stonewall Inn had no liquor license, because it was illegal to serve alcohol to “a native American or known homosexual”. Since they could not get a license, they ran it as they choose. It had no running water behind the bar. The used glasses were dipped into tubs of water to rinse off and immediately reused. There were no fire exits, and the toilets overran consistently. The drinks were overpriced and watered down, often made with hijacked booze.

Why was it the largest in town? It was the only bar for gay men in New York City where dancing was allowed; dancing was its main draw. It was against the law for people of the same sex to dance together, so the LGBT's started dancing apart from their partners! When the police raided, they could not tell who was dancing with who.

This worked on fast songs but everyone knew there comes a time for slow dancing in the arms of someone! The Stonewall was the place. You could get lost in the music, gazing into his eyes, with his body against yours. Once you have experienced this, you are not giving it up without a fight.

The patrons of Stonewall came from all walks of LGBT life in New York, street kids, drag queens, lawyers, hustlers, doctors and dealers. It was perhaps the most socially integrated bar in the city.

Police raids on gay bars were expected. Sometimes once a month per bar. Many bars kept extra liquor hidden so they could resume business as quickly as possible. Management usually were tip-offed beforehand and raids occurred early enough in the evening that business could continue after the police had finished. They never occurred on busy weekend nights. Except for the raid on June 27^th 1969. That's the night “Stonewall” became part of the language of LGBT's around the world.

A few months after the rebellion that started there, the Stonewall Inn closed. For the next twenty years or so, the building was in turns, a sandwich shop, shoe store, and a Chinese restaurant. Many patrons were unaware of the building's history or its connection to the riots.

Then in the 1990s, a new gay bar, named simply "Stonewall", opened in the west half of the original building. In 1995 the movie “Stonewall” was released. LGBT History was being told and a demonstration would gather each year at Pride to honor what had occurred here.

The building was again renovated and became a popular multi-floor nightclub, with theme nights and contests. However that did not last long. It closed again in 2006 due to neglect and gross mismanagement. In 2007, came the announcement of yet another major renovation.

This latest incarnation has regained popularity and now the Stonewall continues to pay homage to its historic significance. It is dedicated to incorporating various fund-raising events for a host of LGBT non-profit organizations.

While the building itself has no memories, it has come to signify the courage, the hopes & dreams, the blood lost and the motivation that sprang forth from its doors on that June night in 1969.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXCUVkfP2gY Fifth

 Dimension

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEEdck0DS6o "Get Back"

The Beatles

Billy Haines' Sailor Boy Breakfast

Have you ever had the breakfast dish where eggs are cooked in a bed of marinara sauce? Well slave decided to re-invent this to honor a Hollywood legend for LGBT History Month.

This makes a beautiful healthy breakfast that will have men asking for more!

Ingredients:

2 cups hash browns

½ yellow onion chopped

1 pkg loose sausage

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (undiluted)

½ cup grated Monterrey jack cheese

3 large eggs

Directions:

Rinse the mushrooms well and let drain. Chop the onion, freeze any you don't use.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a skillet over medium heat.

Cook hash browns for about 6 minutes, (loose but starting to tun brown) remove to paper towel to drain.

Add onions to skillet and cook 5 minutes until starting to turn translucent. Add the crumbled sausage and cook for 8 minutes, stirring well.

Add the mushrooms and let cook down another 7 minutes.

Carefully add the fresh spinach 1 hand full at a time. Don't hurry this. As soon as 1 handful is stirred into the heated mixture, the spinach will almost disappear. If you hurry this you end up with spinach everywhere. Slave took 8 minutes to stir in the whole bag, 1 handful at a time.

Cover and drop the temperature to low. Stir in the hash browns and let cook for another 7 – 8 minutes.

Spray a large baking dish. Spoon this mixture into the dish and add the cheese. Mix this well.

Using a large spoon, make four indentations into the mix. Break an egg into each “nest”. Carefully slide this into the oven for about half an hour. This gives you plenty of time to clean up and set the table.

Can be served with toast points, muffins or any bread of your choice.

For some music how about this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFHdRkeEnpM

So joyful that I get to serve my Master Indy!

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via @amazon

On LGBT History Month:

William "Billy" Haines 

 His life could have been written as a Hollywood classic love story. Except for the fact he was gay and it was in the early thirties!

The young and handsome Billy Haines quickly became a top box office draw in 1929. He was known as a wisecracking leading man with a smile that conveyed more than just being happy.

Born in 1900, Billy ran away from home at age 14 with his “boy friend”. By the end of World War One, He worked a variety of jobs in Greenwich Village, and was for a time the “kept man” of an older woman before becoming a model.

A talent scout from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer signed him in 1922 to a $40 a week contract and he was off to Hollywood.

After a slow career start, it was the film “Brown of Harvard” in 1926 that set his “screen formula”, a young arrogant man who is humbled by the last reel.

By 1928 Haines was a top box office star until 1932. He was one of a few that made a successful transition into sound films.

Then in 1933, Haines was arrested in a YMCA with a sailor he had picked up in Los Angeles' Pershing Square. By this time Louis B. Meyer was tired of covering up his stars “indiscretions”. His ultimatum: get married (in what was refereed to as a lavender marriage to a woman) or get out.

Just like a script writer would have stated, Haines refused to leave his true love (also a sailor): James "Jimmie" Shields.

The two spent the rest of their lives together. Their friend Joan Crawford once called the relationship "the happiest marriage in Hollywood."

Undaunted the two set up a highly successful Interior design and antiques company. Their clients were the who's who of Hollywood.

William Haines Designs remains in operation, with main offices in West Hollywood and showrooms in New York, Denver and Dallas.

It was not all hearts and flowers. In 1936 approximately 100 members of a white supremacist group dragged the two men from their home and beat them nearly to death. Their excuse was a neighbor had accused the two of propositioning his son. Police never brought charges against the couple's attackers. The accusations against Haines and Shields were unfounded and the case was dismissed.

In 1973, Haines died from lung cancer at the age of 73. Soon afterward, Shields left a note for friends that said in part: "Goodbye to all of you who have tried so hard to comfort me in my loss of William Haines, whom I have been with since 1926. I now find it impossible to go it alone, I am much too lonely." He then overdosed on sleeping pills. They were interred side by side in Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery.

A modern gay romance, a modern gay relationship, lasting successfully for 47 years. Like a true Hollywood love story their life can still inspire us all.