Friday, August 14, 2020

Drag Queen Coronation Salad

With apologies to Her Majesty, here we present a chicken salad fashioned after one that was created for Queen Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation luncheon. Its curry flavors remain a favorite throughout England today. Drag Queens are perhaps the most misunderstood entertainers, Learn a little about these fierce creatures after the recipe.

Here is an easier take-off made with common pantry items that will liven up any summer time get together. Not your grandmothers bland spread. A spicy chicken salad with the cool tastes of melon and dried cranberries. Serve as a sandwich, on lettuce, or in a wrap to carry with you.

Ingredients:

2 cans cooked chicken chopped

1 cup cantaloupe melon

1 stalk celery, chopped

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup mayonnaise

½ teaspoon dry mustard powder.

½ teaspoon Old Bay powder

2 TBS sweat and sour sauce

Directions:

Do your cutting. Cut the celery into fine little pieces. Cut the melon into ½ inch cubes.

In a bowl, add mayonnaise and sweet and sour sauce. Mix well. Add the ½ tsp of Old Bay and dry mustard. Again mix well. Taste test. You might want a touch of cayenne pepper if you like it really spicy, but TASTE FIRST! REMEMBER you can add but not take away.

In a large bowl add the caned chicken (this is even better if you start with a piece of chicken breast cooked in the oven and cooled, but who has time?)

Stir in the celery and the dried cranberries. Now add the dressing mix and make sure everything is coated well. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours to blend flavors.

This makes wonderful sandwiches, or serve on a piece of lettuce for a luncheon, or wrap up in a tortilla to carry with you.

For our music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx227986hc8

So happy to serve this for 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

=======================================

Drag Queens

A drag queen is a person, who uses clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate famine gender traits and looks for entertainment purposes. Historically, most drag queens have been men dressing as women. Drag shows frequently include lip-syncing, live singing, and dancing. They occur at events like gay pride parades and drag pageants and in venues such as cabarets and nightclubs. Drag queens vary by type and culture. What is most common is portraying over the top and exaggerated femininity.

Drag Queens are different from the way actors had to portray woman's roles back when real women were forbidden to appear onstage. Whereas most cross-dressers or transvestites do not want to draw attention to themselves, a drag queen demands attention. In Eastern cultures many drag queens present more of a Kabuki affectation. Note the film “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”.

Another term for a drag queen is female impersonator. Female impersonation has been and continues to be illegal in some places. American drag queen RuPaul once said, "I do not impersonate females! How many women do you know who wear seven-inch heels, four-foot wigs, and skintight dresses?" He also said, "I don't dress like a woman; I dress like a drag queen!"

RuPaul

The first person to describe himself as "the queen of drag" was William Dorsey Swann from Washington DC. In the 1880s Swann started hosting “drag balls” attended by other men who were former slaves, and often raided by the police, as documented in the newspapers. In 1896, Swann was convicted and sentenced to 10 months in jail on the false charge of "keeping a disorderly house" (euphemism for running a brothel) and demanded a pardon from the president for holding a drag ball (the demand was denied).

When vaudeville become popular, it allowed female impersonators to become popular as well. Many female impersonators started with low comedy in vaudeville and worked their way up to perform as the prima donna. They were known to perform song and dance routines with multiple outfit changes. In New York City, famous female impersonator Julian Eltinge found success, and he eventually made his way to the Broadway stage performing as a woman. Meanwhile, in San Francisco, Bothwell Browne was the top female impersonator of the West Coast. He performed at the Grand Opera House and Central Theater, among other venues, went on tour with United Vaudeville, and later appeared in the film Yankee Doodle in Berlin (1919), produced by Mack Sennett.

In the early to mid-1900s, female impersonation had become tied in the public mind to the LGBT community and thus criminality, so it had to change forms and locations. It moved from being popular mainstream entertainment to something done only at night in disreputable areas. Here female impersonation started to evolve into what we today know as drag and drag queens. People went to these nightclubs to play with the boundaries of gender and sexuality and it became a place for the LBGT community, especially gay men, to feel accepted. As LGBT culture has slowly become more accepted in American society, drag has also become more, though not totally, acceptable in today's society.

Marsha P Johnson

Drag Queens have always been in the fore front of LGBT rights.

The Cooper Donuts Riot was a 1959 incident in Los Angeles in which drag queens, lesbians, transgender women, and gay men rioted; it was one of the first LGBT uprisings in the United States.

The Compton's Cafeteria riot, which involved drag queens and others, occurred in San Francisco in 1966.

Drag queens were also involved in the Stonewall riots, against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn. The riots are widely considered to be the catalyst for the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States.

When AIDS hit the community it was the drag queens who first raised money for support of the patients.

In December 2015, Radar Productions and Michelle Tea developed the concept of Drag Queen Story Hour. Launched at the San Francisco Public Library, Drag Queen Story Hour was adopted by the Brooklyn Public Library in the summer of 2016, and has since traveled to various libraries, museums, bookstores, and recreation centers, and parks across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Such events sometimes prompt opposition against the libraries and organizers.

The process of getting into drag or into character can take hours. A drag queen may aim for a certain style, celebrity impression, or message with their look. Hair, make-up, and costumes are the most important essentials for drag queens. Drag queens go for a more exaggerated look with a lot more makeup than a typical woman would wear.

Many parts of the drag show, and of the drag queens' other intellectual properties, cannot be protected by intellectual property law. To substitute the lack of legal protection, drag queens revert to social norms in order to protect their intellectual property.

Drag Queens tend to be performers who dress and perform in an exaggerated female persona. While appearing female, most of these performers don’t want to actually be female; they don’t even try to fool you into thinking they’re biologically female.

As a drag queen they’re able to perform their act, show their skills and be their true self.

Drag King

Drag King is the term used to define a drag performer who dresses in an exaggeratedly male persona.
Often the costume and personality of the performer will be a lot larger than the look and feel of an everyday man.

While performing as a drag king is as legitimate as a drag queen, it hasn’t enjoyed the fame and accolade provided to drag queens.

Thursday, August 13, 2020

Leslies Chops & Potato Sheet-Pan Dinner

Over the years I have lost count of the recipes for oven frying potatoes. The secret to having potatoes come out fluffy from the oven is to pre-cook them in the microwave. Tonight's meal is to honor LGBT hero Leslie Gore. You might remember her great songs from the early sixties, but not know of her work as an advocate.

Pork chops,Yukon Gold potatoes, some corn starch and green beans will give you the best oven dinner ever.

Ingredients:

4 pork chops (bone in – ½ inch)

3 - 4 Yukon gold potatoes

1 lbs green beans

2 tbs kosher salt

1 tbs pepper

1 tbs smoked paprika

2 Tbs brown sugar

1 tbs cornstarch

4 TBS oil divided

cooking spray

2 tsp corn starch

Directions:

Heat oven to 425°F. Spray 18x13-inch rimmed sheet pan with cooking spray.

Cut into the fat side of each chop a few times so it wont cup up as it cooks.

Mix the salt, pepper, paprika, brown sugar and 1 Tbs cornstarch use to rub into each chop both sides. Cover and let sit.

Scrub the potatoes, and cut lengthwise once, then crosswise into planks.

Arrange potato in a 1-quart microwave-safe dish. Add water, and cover. Microwave at HIGH 8 minutes or until tender. Remove to a colander to drain and let cool.

In a large bowl mix well, 2 tsp corn starch in ¾ cup water

Cook this 1 minute in microwave, stopping to stir every 20 sec. This cooks the cornstarch, into a pudding like consistency. Yes I know how it looks!

When it is slimy, dump the potatoes into this so that they have a slight coating on each.

Spray the cooking tray then add 3 Tbs oil and tilt to coat.

Arrange the potatoes into two columns leaving enough room for the chops to go in latter.

Roast for 18 minutes. Remove and flip each piece over.

Lay the chops down the center. I found the chops were bigger than expected, so I lined another tray with foil for the green beans.

Mix the green beans with some olive oil and spread on the tray, sprinkle with salt.

Roast 12 to 18 minutes or until pork is no longer pink and meat thermometer inserted in center reads at least 145°F, and potatoes are browned and tender.

Remove and let the chops rest for 5 minutes before serving.

For our music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTpvirQ-hPA

So excited to discover this for 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

==============================

Lesley Gore

Lesley Sue Goldstein (1946 – 2015), known professionally as Lesley Gore, was a singer, songwriter, actress, and activist.

She was born in Brooklyn, New York City, into a middle-class Jewish family. Her father was the owner of Peter Pan, a children's swimwear and underwear manufacturer, and later became a leading brand licensing agent in the apparel industry. She was raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, and attended the Dwight School for Girls in nearby Englewood.

At the age of 16 (in 1963) she recorded her version of "It's My Party" with Quincy Jones. She was a junior in high school. It became a number-one, nationwide hit. Gore's record sold over one million copies and was certified as a gold record. It marked the beginning of her fame.

"It's My Party" was followed by many other hits, including the sequel, "Judy's Turn to Cry" (No. 5); "She's a Fool" (No. 5); the feminist-themed million-selling "You Don't Own Me", which held at No. 2 for three weeks behind the Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand"; "That's the Way Boys Are" (No. 12); "Maybe I Know" (No. 14); "Look of Love" (No. 27);. In 1965 she appeared in the beach party film The Girls on the Beach in which she performed three songs: "Leave Me Alone", "It's Gotta Be You", and "I Don't Want to Be a Loser".

Gore recorded composer Marvin Hamlisch's first hit composition, "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows",in 1963, while "It's My Party" was still climbing the charts. Her record producer from 1963 to 1965 was Quincy Jones. Jones' dentist was Marvin Hamlisch's uncle, and Hamlisch asked his uncle to convey several songs to Jones. "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" was released on the LP Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts, but did not surface as a single until June 1965.

Hamlisch composed three other songs for her: "California Nights", "That's the Way the Ball Bounces" and "One by One".

Gore was featured in the T.A.M.I. Show concert film, which was recorded and released in 1964 by American International Pictures, and placed in the National Film Registry in 2006. Gore had one of the longest sets in the film, performing six songs including "It's My Party", "You Don't Own Me", and "Judy's Turn to Cry".

Gore performed on two episodes of the Batman television series, in which she guest-starred as Pussycat, one of Catwoman's minions. In "That Darn Catwoman", she did the Bob Crewe-produced "California Nights", and on another episode "Scat! Darn Catwoman" she did "Maybe Now".

"California Nights", which Gore recorded in 1967, returned her to the Hot 100. The single peaked at No.16 in March 1967 and stayed for 14 weeks on the chart. It was her first top 20 since "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows". Gore also performed "It's My Party" and "We Know We're in Love" on the final episode of The Donna Reed Show, which aired on March 19, 1966.

This all happened before she graduated High School in 1968.

Gore signed a contract with Mercury Records but did not have her previous success. “He Gives Me Love (La La La)", only rose to #96! She was then paired with successful soul producers Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Thom Bell for two singles: "I'll Be Standing By" and "Take Good Care (Of My Heart)." However these soul songs just did not her image, and the singles were not played. Her contract with Mercury ended after the release of "98.6/Lazy Day" and "Wedding Bell Blues" failed to make headway on the charts.

Gore’s string of hits ended when girl-group pop gave way to psychedelia. But she kept performing — in movies, on television, on theater and club stages.

Ms. Gore did not write her early hits. But after she was dropped by Mercury, she worked on becoming a songwriter. She moved to California in 1970, and her 1972 album, “Someplace Else Now,” was full of songs she wrote herself or with the lyricist Ellen Weston.

Leslie Gore moved on composing songs for the soundtrack of the 1980 film Fame, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for "Out Here on My Own", written with her brother Michael. Michael won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the theme song of the same film.

She played concerts and appeared on television throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Gore returned to New York City in 1980 and continued to sing her oldies on the nostalgia circuit. She also performed in musical theater, including a stint in the Broadway production of “Smokey Joe’s Cafe.”

Gore co-wrote a song, "My Secret Love", for the 1996 film Grace of My Heart. The film includes a subplot about a young singer named Kelly Porter, who is based in part on Gore and is played by Bridget Fonda. The character, who is a closeted lesbian, performs "My Secret Love" in the film.

In 2005, Gore recorded Ever Since (her first album of new material since 1976). The album received favorable reviews from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Billboard Magazine and other national press. The album also included a revised version of "You Don't Own Me", about which the New York Daily News wrote: "In Lesley Gore's new version of 'You Don't Own Me'—cut more than 40 years after its initial recording—she lends a pop classic new life." Gore commented: "Without the loud backing track, I could wring more meaning from the lyric". And: "It's a song that takes on new meaning every time you sing it."

According to Gore: “When I heard it for the first time, I thought it had an important humanist quality. “As I got older, feminism became more a part of my life and more a part of our whole awareness, and I could see why people would use it as a feminist anthem. I don’t care what age you are — whether you’re 16 or 116 — there’s nothing more wonderful than standing on the stage and shaking your finger and singing, ‘Don’t tell me what to do.’”

Beginning in 2004, Gore hosted the PBS television series In the Life, which focused on LGBT issues. In a 2005 interview, she stated she was a lesbian and had been in a relationship with luxury jewelry designer Lois Sasson since 1982. She had known since she was 20 and stated that although the music business was "totally homophobic," she never felt she had to pretend she was straight. "I just kind of lived my life naturally and did what I wanted to do," she said. "I didn't avoid anything, I didn't put it in anybody's face."

On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Lesley Gore among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

Gore had been working on a memoir and a Broadway show based on her life when she died of lung cancer on February 16, 2015, in Manhattan, New York City, at the age of 68. At the time of her death, Gore and her partner, Lois Sasson, had been together for 33 years.

Her New York Times obituary stated that "with songs like 'It’s My Party,' 'Judy’s Turn to Cry' and the indelibly defiant 1964 single 'You Don’t Own Me' — all recorded before she was 18 — Gore made herself the voice of teenage girls aggrieved by fickle boyfriends, moving quickly from tearful self-pity to fierce self-assertion."

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Lazy Lobster Mac & Cheese

Here is an easy take on a restaurant classic. Especially in the Midwest where seafood is so darned expensive, I often rely on the “imitation” product. not too expensive with a rich comforting taste. Tonight we honor LGBT hero Steve Endean, read about him after recipe.

Here the old blue box Mac & Cheese gets a real lift with using pimiento spread and addition of a few slices American cheese.

Ingredients:

1 lbs imitation lobster pieces, thawed and drained.

1 box classic mac & cheese

½ Cup pimiento spread

2 slices American cheese

shredded cheddar to top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a casserole dish and set aside.

Thaw the imitation lobster, drain and dry with paper towels

Put the pasta from box on to boil according to package directions.

Dump the sauce powder into a microwave safe bowl. Add the required amount of butter and milk called for on box. Cut up the American cheese into small pieces and add. Spoon in the pimiento spread.

Microwave for 30 sec – 45 sec on high to melt everything together. Pour into the prepared hot pasta.

Fold in the lobster pieces. Be careful, they can break apart easily and you want the chunks.

Sprinkle with grated cheese and place into oven for about 25 minutes to heat and blend flavors.

Sides for Lobster Mac & Cheese:

Steamed Broccoli or Brussels Sprouts

For our music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJzbYEYrIXQ&feature=youtu.be

So happy to serve this to 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_vAT4sb0934RTMvia @amazon

==========================================

Steve Endean

Stephen Robert "Steve" Endean (1948 – 1993) was an American gay rights activist, first in Minnesota, then nationally.

He was born in Davenport, Iowa, and came to Minnesota to attend the University of Minnesota from 1968–1972, majoring in political science.

Steve Endean, had the most impact of any LGBTQ activist of the post Stonewall period. His interest in this type of activism developed shortly after he declared a political science major at the University of Minnesota. Identifying as a gay man and also working as a politician, Endean realized his sexual orientation would play a role in both his personal and professional lives.

He felt that his sexuality would keep him from having a career in politics. He said at first that he thought he must "stop being gay". But then he realized “being gay isn't specific acts but a state of mind." From then on he devoted his life to fighting for gay rights.

In 1971, Endean founded the Minnesota Committee for Gay Rights (later Gay Rights Legislative Committee), and became the first gay and lesbian rights lobbyist in Minnesota a year later.

To complement his small income as a lobbyist, he worked at the coat check counter at Sutton's, a popular Minneapolis gay bar, advertising "Well-Hung Coats by Wee-Bee (his nickname)," and used any opportunity for politicking.

In 1973, Endean started lobbying the Minneapolis City Council to include protection for Gay Rights in the Minneapolis anti-discrimination ordinance. Endean's efforts lead to a 12–0 vote as Minneapolis became the first major United States City to pass a Gay Rights Ordinance.

By late 1978, the murder of Harvey Milk in San Francisco sparked a renewed wave of protest, Endean moved to Washington, D. C., to become Director of the new Gay Rights National Lobby. This was the first of Endean's three-pronged plan for a functional political movement. His goals were lobbying, raising money for gay-friendly candidates, and creating grassroots pressure.

Thus, while leading GRNL, he launched the Human Rights Campaign (Fund) in 1980, the first national gay rights political action committee, and became its first Executive Director.

Originally, HRC was a political action committee, focused on lobbying and fundraising to support congressional candidates who were either LGBTQ or supported the movement. HRC was able to focus on campaigning against anti-gay laws created by Congress. In addition to lobbying efforts, HRC expanded their efforts to include more human rights organizations.

What was originally intended as an organization to raise money for political candidates has now grown into the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization in the United States.

By this time AIDS had become personal: diagnosed HIV-positive in 1985, Endean devoted his energy to AIDS issues through Speak Out, while also fighting for coalition-building, especially with feminists and African Americans, and continuing the fight for national legislation. Although Endean's declining health forced his retirement on disability in 1991, he initiated the National Endorsement Campaign, to persuade political and media opinion leaders publicly to support gay and lesbian rights, and began writing his movement memoir, Into the Mainstream.

In 1991 the National Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights Act was reintroduced in Congress with over 100 co-sponsors. No such bill has yet been passed, but many of its goals--in employment, health care, and domestic partnership rights—have been accomplished by other means. These gains stand as legacies of his energy and vision.

A self-described "Midwestern Catholic boy" who loved sports and sex, Steve Endean became a member of the Metropolitan Community Church, writing that "my quest for civil rights, equal justice and human dignity was a part of God's calling for me." "when I think about 'my family' I not only think of family and friends but in terms of the broader gay and lesbian community."

Steve Endean died of AIDS-related complications on August 4, 1993

Monday, August 3, 2020

Dunkin Pudding

Here is an ultimate desert for your family or the next pot luck you get to attend. It is a bread pudding made with donuts! Yes I know. So good you might need a lock on the refrigerator door.

A very easy variation to the familiar recipes you can find anywhere.

Stale donuts, a can of evaporated milk, eggs and vanilla! The simpler, the better.

Ingredients:

6 stale glazed yeast donuts cut into chunks

½ cup craisins (dried cranberries)

2 eggs (room temperature)

1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup milk

1 tsp “red hots” cinnamon candy

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 250 and line a baking tray with foil, spray lightly.

Start by making the glaze.

Place the cup of powdered sugar in a bowl and slowly add the milk a bit at a time stirring until the desired consistency is reached. Yes I do know what that looks like! Stir in the tsp of candy. Cover and let sit. The little dots will melt slowly into the glaze giving it a fantastic taste. This is why you want to do this first.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This recipe calls for stale donuts. Now they never last long enough to get stale around here so I used fresh. Cut each in half down the center, then cut each half into thirds. Measurement is not critical here, it just gives you an idea of the size you want. Spread these out on the baking tray and put in oven for about 20 minutes.

It was considered mean of me to prop open my apartment door while doing this as the hall began to have the aroma of a bakery! Remember kitchen smells are powerful gifts to your home, use them wisely.

While that is drying out, mix the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and a can of evaporated milk in a bowl.

Whisk them together well.

When the 20 minutes are up, spoon the donut chunks into an 8 x 8 sprayed baking dish.

Pour the egg mixture over the donut pieces and let sit for about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to mix everything up so that the batter is getting into each piece.