In honor of Paul Newman: Chickenny Newman

FWK's alter ego is kenthecook. I've been playing around with this for about a year now. I've been using Paul Newman's Honey Mustard salad dressing as a marinade for chicken. I first tried it on chicken that I grilled. The results were excellent. But old FWK's brain wasn't done thinking yet, no sirreee.

I've always liked breaded and baked chicken. I thought if this dressing is a good grill marinade, maybe it would make a good base for crumbs. I had recently got into using Panko crumbs and decided to try them out. Another thing I did was season the chicken after it was trimmed of excess fat with "Slap Ya Mama" seasoning. I got this from Jerome, a former co-worker and cook who hails from New Orleans. I season the cut up chicken with Slap Ya Mama, put the chicken into a gallon zip lock, and add about 3/4 to 1 cup of Paul Newman's Honey Mustard dressing. Let it marinade in the fridge for a few hours. Take the chicken out and roll it in the Panko crumbs.

Place the chicken on a Pam sprayed sheet pan. I put foil down on the pan and spray that for easier cleaning.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Enjoy with your favorite beer.

You're welcome.

PS-the dressing is also very good on salads!

Happy 80th birthday to Anita!

How can you not love a woman (two women, actually) enjoying a beer at noon! Of course the woman on the left is my child bride. Her mother, Anita is on the right. Happy 80th Anita!

People have wondered over the years how I managed such a good catch in a woman. Well, the 3 men above are, in order: my brother in law Paul, father in law Pete, and brother in law Mark. Notice any hair on their heads???

One final note. When I ride to Mark and Katie's house, I take a shower. I came in today and Katie says to me, "Kenny, are you going to take a shower?" I replied yes, and she said she would get me a towel. A minute later, she hands me a towel and says "I have shampoo for you, too."

The "shampoo" was one of the blue bottles mentioned in my blog last week! Then, I happened to open a drawer in their bathroom, and there was another one of the blue bottles. I mentioned this to Katie. She just looked at me with a smile and said, "we're a very happy family!"

You're the best Katie!

WTF???

So I'm on my way to the in-laws in Excelsior for my mother-in-law's 80th birthday party. I get 4 miles from home and all of a sudden it feels as though my right foot is de-cleating. I look down just in time to see that I'm actually de-pedaling! The whole freaking pedal came off on my shoe! Thankfully I wasn't standing on a climb. Years ago in spin classes, the instructors would have us spin with one leg only. I never did it. I agree with Bill, if you can't do it on the road, don't do it in spin class. Well, here I was pedaling with one foot/leg the 4 miles back home.

Got out the Talladega, gave her a little lube, and off I went to the party.

What do you think????

Being married to a hair stylist, I'm used to having all sorts of shampoos, conditioners, etc constantly gracing the bathroom, shower, etc. Imagine my surprise when I opened up the cabinet today and saw what's pictured above. I know, it SAYS it is a "straightening ultragel," but it looks suspiciously like something else to me!

Sunday biking, Uptown bikes

Early Sunday morning, on my way to meet up with Bill.

Bill, taking my picture at Fletcher church. We're both raised Catholic, so we're covered.

Minneapolis skyline, viewed from Stella's Fish House.

Uptown, Sunday, late afternoon.


I'm always amazed at all the bikes locked up in the Uptown area. It's great to see that so many people are riding their bikes not for fitness, but for transportaion. So many older bikes, still in use, making an impact on people's lives.

And then there are the classic Harleys-beautiful bikes in their own right.

FWK doing what he does best. Newcastle Brown Ale, mmm-good!

Speaking of beautiful, here's shot of my wife at Figlios, where we chose to eat on the sidewalk. We visited several places: Stella's, William's Pub, Chiang Mai Thai, and finally Figlio's.

A very nice Sunday!

Beer commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnFdEQe8VxM

I am so SF

Here's my daily routine on my working days: I get up at 2 AM, get dressed, make a sandwich, brush my teeth and am out the door by 2:25. I drink a Red Bull during the 30 minute drive to work. I usually eat my sandwich and an apple about 7:30. I get off work around 12:30 PM and get back home by 1. I have a light lunch, usually a salad and a sandwich or some leftovers, maybe some soup. I take a nap for 2 hours. If I'm going to ride, I will have 1/2 cup of coffee with a banana or honey bread.

Today, however, when I got home from work, I looked in the cupboard and spotted an open bag of blue chips. And salsa. Paul Newman's pineapple salsa to be exact! Well, when you work in a bakery, salty stuff sounds soooo good. Anyway, I got into about half of the bag of chips with salsa. Then I decided I better eat some good carbs, so I had a bowl of Kashi heart healthy oat flakes with blueberry clusters. Satiated, I then went to bed for my nap. Got up after two hours, had my 1/2 cup of coffee while reading emails, decided I didn't need to eat anything because I was going for an easy ride, got dressed and off I went.

2 1/2 miles later in the park, I had what Bob calls a "stomach bonk." I mean I damn near fell over. I could barely turn over the pedals. I shifted into the granny gear and STILL could barely keep the bike moving. I broke out into a sweat and started to veer all over the trail and thought I was going to tip over. I turned around and thought about sitting down on the side of the trail. I decided to try and make it to this picnic table that is just off of a horse trail. I made it to the table and sat down. I ate a gel and drank the Propel I had in my water bottle. (the Propel, along with 6 bottles of Nevada Sierra Pale Ale, somehow showed up in my cooler after Cheq last weekend!) I sat there for 10-15 minutes, and all I could think about was food! Pizza being in the forefront. I finally felt strong enough to get back on the bike and pedaled home. I was craving salt and carbs. I opened up the cupboard and found a bag of kettle popcorn. This helped the carb part, but not the salt. I went to the freezer, pulled out 2 strips of pre-cooked bacon and nuked them. I finally started to feel better. Took a shower and then had a couple beers.

What can I say, but SF!

Happy 10th Birthday to our little buddy!

Our little boy, Charlie, is 10 years old today! For those of you that don't know Charlie (those of you that do- know to protect yourself, soccer style, when you come over!), he is a Wheaten Terrior. The picture above is graduation day from "puppy school." He learned to sit, stay, and lay down. He'll do them on command for at least 2 seconds-unless there is a treat involved, then he'll stay put for a while longer. Those of you with sharp eyes will notice the Fat Tire hat I'm wearing, vintage 1998. Diane is going to kill me for using this picture.

Charlie's "crabby old man" look.

Taking a snooze on the bed.


Freshly barbered, ready for Christmas.

Yes, he does sleep like this on occasion.



This photo is from the Rin Tin Inn kennel in Elk River, where Charlie stays when we are out of town.



Charlie has a peculier habit. We call it "nukking." Whenever he needs to relax, or is stressed, he will grab one of his stuffed balls and gently bite, like a child's nuk.

The "Look."

Give me a treat!

When you don't have kids, it's amazing how much love you can give to a dog. The devotion they give back to you can't be measured. Charlie always greets us when we come home, tail a wagging. We miss the hell out of him when we are gone. The joy and companionship he has given us for the past 10 years has been fantastic. He knows our habits, our moods, when we're leaving, when we're having company, and, when I take my naps! He loves taking naps with dad.

Happy birthday buddy! I hope we have many more.

Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival 2008

As usual, Bill is detailing his bike.

Bill, Bob, and Matt getting serious with the pasta!
Saturday morning, Rob, Bob, and FWK, about an hour before the race. Last year it was 22 degrees. This year, it was 45, but the threat of rain loomed.

Rosies Field-Matt is on the left #1856.


Bob rocketing in (#523). Bob finished in 2:40 on a single speed. All those hill repeats paid off!

Dave H is the 2nd cyclist in the picture. He finished at 2:35! He and Bob spent a lot of time training together. Our helmets our off to both Bob and Dave for their great performance.


FWK, Matt, and Bob after the race. They got colder then heck waiting for Bill and myself to finish. It was disappointing not to have the group of Loons and other local riders get together after the race. Understandably so, most everyone headed to where it was warm and dry.

Oh, and if you're wondering where Bill is-he's undressing in front of God and everybody on the side of the truck while the picture was being taken.

Last year I had a great race, this year, not so hot. I finished 19 minutes slower then 2007. Bill was riding very strong, but he had mechanical problems that kept him frustrated. Matt did better then last year, and Bob was actually 1 minute faster this year on a single speed then he was last year on a multi! Had he drank some Scotch the night before, who knows how he would've done?

Great time overall. It's always fun to be with the Amigos, eating, drinking, and riding. Can't wait till 2009!

Breckenridge CO Elevation 9,600 ft

First stop on the way to Breckenridge is stopping at Apple Jack's Liquor. It is one of the last Denver metro exits on I-70, the Youngfield exit. This is a picture of their beer aisle. I bought some 90 Shilling made in Ft Collins and some Single Track Ale made in Boulder.

View of the 10 Mile Range. The South end of Breckenridge is barely visible in the middle of the photo. This picture is currently my wallpaper. It is a great photo when viewed on your monitor full size! Feel free to copy it. I took this photo from a lookout on Boreas Pass Rd.

Google Earth of Breck and Peak 8. The lake you see can only be visible if you climb Peak 8 to a certain elevation, which Diane and I did 12 years ago. My goal is to pedal as close as I can to it sometime. I got closer this year then ever before. Maybe next year I can do it. It will probably take about 3-4 hours to get there. I think I was within an hour this year, but I just wasn't prepared to push it further then I already had. Maybe if Bob had been with me...

Peaks trail:

The Peaks trail runs from Breckenridge to Frisco. It is a beautiful trail, except for the first third. It's pretty much like the 2 photos above; roots and rocks. I do a lot of walking and it's frustrating to try and ride it. The photos do not do it justice. Riding downhill on rocks is tough and very demanding mentally because you really have to pay attention or you will go down hard. Climbing is tougher yet, because I cannot get the momentum going to get over the big rocks. If you "stall" or if your front tire gets jammed, you go down. The rocks are not soft. The Peaks trail is the trail that Jody likes to bring up from time to time in her spin class. Her story is how a couple people that were going to ride didn't even make it to the trail head, and went back and ate bagels instead! I can vouch for the fact that just getting to the trailhead involves a lot of effort.

This is about 6 miles into the 10 mile long Peaks trail. There is a break and you get a nice view. What I'm trying to show though, is the effect of the pine bark beetle on the pine trees. All the rust colored trees are dead from this insect. There are whole mountain sides of trees that are dead in the higher elevations. The rust colored bike is the Santa Cruz Super Light that I rented. Jack's Cruel Joke, Moonstone, and Baker's Tank trails.

The above photos are of Jack's Cruel Joke. The trailhead is in a neighborhood. You enter it and it is all switchbacks up the side of a mountain. Not overly long, less then a mile. As you can see the trail is quite narrow and it angles to the downside. One mistake and you are off the trail and, well, you are fucked if you don't pay attention. It makes me nervous.

You can see the Beaver Run resort in the upper left background, which is where we stay.

Abandonded mine.

Nice to know there is a biffy at 11,000 ft if you need one.

A couple scenes from Baker's Tank trail. I think Bill took the first photo above.

I ran into a guy coming down Baker's Tank and asked him to take my picture. Yes, it's posed. Turns out he used to work at Vail as a photographer!

Next to me is John. He is co-owner of Avalanche Sports, where I've been renting bikes for the past 5-6 years. John is a great guy. Reminds me a lot of Larry Saylor. This is the bike he had for me to rent this year! Actually, I rented a Santa Cruz Superlight, same as I ride here. The reason I bought the Superlight that I have now is because I was so impressed with the bike after first renting one from John several years ago.

This is a Kenny and Kenny photo. Kenny works at Avalanche sports. Great guy-gave me lots of tips on where to ride. See you and John next year!


Burro trail: My favorite trail and the first one I ride every year is called the Burro trail. The trailhead is right behind the complex we stay at. It is moderately technical, mostly due to roots and rocks, and of course, the elevation. The path is well worn as it is used heavily by bikers and hikers. There is a creek that goes by some of it and a beaver pond part way up. What I like best about it is that there are jeep roads that go all the way up and over the 10 Mile Range to Copper mountain. It's still my goal to do that, as I mentioned earlier. I need Bob to push me over the damn mountain. It's a blast coming down.

This is Crystal Creek, elev 11,400 ft. I wasn't sure if I should pedal across this as the rocks looked slippery. I made it across with no problem, it was 4"-6" deep.Another shot of Crystal Creek. There is a small dam that I was standing on regulating the flow of water.

This is Francie's Cabin. This part of a network of CX ski lodges. It wasn't open, but I looked into the windows. There were a few bedrooms with either bunk beds or 2 single beds. I assume people share the kitchen and bathroom. I ran into a few hikers, one guy told me the story and to check out this website: http://www.summithuts.org/

Night life in Breck:





We found a newly opened (less then a year) bar and restaurant this year. It's called The Mother Loaded Tavern. Nate the bartender is pictured above with us. Great guy, you made us feel right at home!

I tend to forget names after we've been partying for a few hours... I think the guys name is Matt. And I think the woman is one of the owners of The Mother Loaded. Anyway, if you're in Breck, be sure to stop in! We only ate there once, but what we had was good.

http://www.motherloadedtavern.com/Site/Welcome.html

Sunset, Peak 8. Till next year....