I always find it fascinating how some things never change in our ever-evolving world. Our tastes seem to come and go, whether it be for a certain food or movie or musical genre. Many of our likes and wants are refined while others seem to regress backwards as we age, and if anyone could please tell me that there is rhyme or reason to any of it, I’d like to hear the argument, because the only two things that have remained steadfast for me over the decades are beer and beef. The music has evolved, other food and drinks have evolved and even my pastimes have changed.
What happens in our adult life that precipitates a change in attitude towards movies and music to which we were never drawn before? I, for one, never found much humor in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation in my younger days, and while I certainly did not despise Caddyshack, it also never made my top ten list of must-watch cinema.
In my youth I leaned more towards Monty Python dry humor with obscurity as the true measure to cinematic worthiness, but I have noticed something else as of late. The more that I recognize and salute the dysfunctionality in my family during the 80s and 90s, the more I can relate to the various Griswolds and Noonans in these standards, and I quite enjoy sitting down for an hour and a half and watching these movies even if I am a third of a century late.
Now, I’ve been able to quote these movies — as can most red, white and blue-blooded Americans — but I can’t say that I’ve ever sat through Christmas Vacation even one time before last season. There was just something so droll in the humor for me. Now, I guess it’s time to relax and watch a movie whose purpose it is to be overly simplistic and stupid, all for the sake of slapstick comedy.
I’m pretty sure that I wrote about these movies a couple of months ago, but it bears repeating. I’ve seen Christmas Vacation at least six times this season alone. Caddyshack? I’m on my third showing at present, and as I keep finding glorious one-liners from Chase, Murray and Knight, I might have to make it four or five before I decide that I’ve had enough. Netflix streaming — thank you.
I remember when our kids asked to watch the kinds of movies that we watched when we were kids (meaning teenagers) and as I flipped through the search prompt, we ran across Wayne’s World. Another one of those movies that did little to impress me when it came out, my kids shouted that they indeed wanted to suffer through what was destined to be a horrible flick, all while exacting their judgments on us.
They loved it. Hell, we loved it. I could not believe that I would find this particular movie to be so funny. Is that part of senility kicking in? Have I finally eaten out of enough aluminum pans that it’s starting to have an effect on my capacity and faculties? (Please note that the use of aluminum cookware has yet to be proven as a cause of any aging disorders, and any correlation to the contrary is only suggested). I had forgotten the subtle nuances in the movie that made it clever in its incredibly not-clever manner.
No, there can be no simple answer on why we change our minds and attitudes, although I imagine that as we age, we realize that we’re not here for very long, so wasting time on elitism gets a little old. So I guess I’ll pour myself a beer and throw this flank steak on the grill so I can marathon a bunch of old movies tonight.
Flank Steak Yakitori
makes a full flank
1 Flank steak, cleaned and trimmed
1 cup Soy sauce
6 cloves garlic
2-1” pieces of ginger, peeled
1 cup Mirin
1 cup Sake
1/4 cup Rice vinegar
4 Scallions, charred
3 Tbsp. Brown sugar, to add to pan at the end for sauce
1. Combine all ingredients except for the brown sugar in a bag, ensuring to mix well and to coat the flank well
2. Preheat a sous vide water bath to 130F and submerge your flank steak (in the bag with the yakitori ingredients)
3. Cook for 2-2 1/2 hours and remove the beef and set aside for the time being
4. Preheat a grill, a grill pan or a cast iron pan (the method on how you get the ‘char’ is up to you)
5. Place the liquid from the sous vide bag in a saucepan, add the brown sugar, reduce to a thin syrupy consistency and then strain. Set aside until ready to use
6. Spray/season your cooking surface (grill or pan) and sear the garbage out of the flank steak for only two or three minutes per side. The pan must be hot to pull this off! Make sure that you do not overcook the beef that you just cooked to a perfect doneness via the sous vide magic
7. Remove from the heat and allow to rest before slicing for at least ten minutes
8. Slice and serve with the sauce drizzled on top
9. This goes great with steamed vegetables, rice pilaf, farro or myriad other grains and veggies
What happens in our adult life that precipitates a change in attitude towards movies and music to which we were never drawn before? I, for one, never found much humor in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation in my younger days, and while I certainly did not despise Caddyshack, it also never made my top ten list of must-watch cinema.
In my youth I leaned more towards Monty Python dry humor with obscurity as the true measure to cinematic worthiness, but I have noticed something else as of late. The more that I recognize and salute the dysfunctionality in my family during the 80s and 90s, the more I can relate to the various Griswolds and Noonans in these standards, and I quite enjoy sitting down for an hour and a half and watching these movies even if I am a third of a century late.
Now, I’ve been able to quote these movies — as can most red, white and blue-blooded Americans — but I can’t say that I’ve ever sat through Christmas Vacation even one time before last season. There was just something so droll in the humor for me. Now, I guess it’s time to relax and watch a movie whose purpose it is to be overly simplistic and stupid, all for the sake of slapstick comedy.
I’m pretty sure that I wrote about these movies a couple of months ago, but it bears repeating. I’ve seen Christmas Vacation at least six times this season alone. Caddyshack? I’m on my third showing at present, and as I keep finding glorious one-liners from Chase, Murray and Knight, I might have to make it four or five before I decide that I’ve had enough. Netflix streaming — thank you.
I remember when our kids asked to watch the kinds of movies that we watched when we were kids (meaning teenagers) and as I flipped through the search prompt, we ran across Wayne’s World. Another one of those movies that did little to impress me when it came out, my kids shouted that they indeed wanted to suffer through what was destined to be a horrible flick, all while exacting their judgments on us.
They loved it. Hell, we loved it. I could not believe that I would find this particular movie to be so funny. Is that part of senility kicking in? Have I finally eaten out of enough aluminum pans that it’s starting to have an effect on my capacity and faculties? (Please note that the use of aluminum cookware has yet to be proven as a cause of any aging disorders, and any correlation to the contrary is only suggested). I had forgotten the subtle nuances in the movie that made it clever in its incredibly not-clever manner.
No, there can be no simple answer on why we change our minds and attitudes, although I imagine that as we age, we realize that we’re not here for very long, so wasting time on elitism gets a little old. So I guess I’ll pour myself a beer and throw this flank steak on the grill so I can marathon a bunch of old movies tonight.
Flank Steak Yakitori
makes a full flank
1 Flank steak, cleaned and trimmed
1 cup Soy sauce
6 cloves garlic
2-1” pieces of ginger, peeled
1 cup Mirin
1 cup Sake
1/4 cup Rice vinegar
4 Scallions, charred
3 Tbsp. Brown sugar, to add to pan at the end for sauce
1. Combine all ingredients except for the brown sugar in a bag, ensuring to mix well and to coat the flank well
2. Preheat a sous vide water bath to 130F and submerge your flank steak (in the bag with the yakitori ingredients)
3. Cook for 2-2 1/2 hours and remove the beef and set aside for the time being
4. Preheat a grill, a grill pan or a cast iron pan (the method on how you get the ‘char’ is up to you)
5. Place the liquid from the sous vide bag in a saucepan, add the brown sugar, reduce to a thin syrupy consistency and then strain. Set aside until ready to use
6. Spray/season your cooking surface (grill or pan) and sear the garbage out of the flank steak for only two or three minutes per side. The pan must be hot to pull this off! Make sure that you do not overcook the beef that you just cooked to a perfect doneness via the sous vide magic
7. Remove from the heat and allow to rest before slicing for at least ten minutes
8. Slice and serve with the sauce drizzled on top
9. This goes great with steamed vegetables, rice pilaf, farro or myriad other grains and veggies