Can I get a...free listen to the new Jay-Z album? Why yes, yes you can.

Listen to Jay's new album, The Blueprint 3, before it drops on 09/11/09 (also the 8-year anniversary of the release of the original Blueprint).  The first two singles have already hit rotation ("D.O.A."and "We Run This Town").  Nearly every track features a guest artist, among them Kanye, Rihanna, Kid Cudi, Drake, Swizz Beatz, Young Jeezy, and Pharell.  Through one casual listen, my standouts from non-released singles include the opening track "What We Talkin About", with a smooth early-90's-era electro-contemporary beat and "Hate", a cocky back-and-forth with Kanye brushing off the inevitable haters the two superstars have to deal with at this point in their careers.

The rest of the album is a bit hit and miss, a collection of duets of questionable necessity wrapped in alternating Kanye-soul or Kanye-spazed-out beats.  Less disappointing is Jay's unwavering swagger on nearly every track.  It's clear he's settled nicely into his role as CEO of the hip-hop game and his bravado alone carries some of the weaker tracks, reinforcing the fact that many of the featured artists don't lend any memorable presence to their respective tracks.  Overall, not in the top half of his catalog, but after his #45 Jordan-esque return from retirement, we should feel lucky we get to see an all-time great back in the game.

Pantry Raid: Pineapple-Curry Chicken

The fridge is pretty sparse these days, which always forces me into concoction mode when it comes time to slap together a meal. I had some chicken thighs thawing in the fridge and some leftover couscous from last night’s dinner. Some poking around the pantry found a can of pineapple chunks in juice and and a further search of the fridge found some heirloom cherry tomatoes, mixed hot chiles, fresh ginger root and red curry paste. Not exactly a classic dish, but I knew I could make this work

Dish: Pineapple-Curry Chicken

Ingredient rundown:
- 2 chicken thighs, skinned and deboned
- inch or so of ginger root, minced
- 2 hot chiles (any will do)
- handfull of mixed heirloom cherry tomatoes
- half a can of pineapple chunks in juice
- sprinkling of flour and cornstarch (enough to coat a plate)
- spices (garlic powder, ground chipotle, s+p)
- red curry paste (Trader Joe’s)
- splash each of sesame oil and olive oils

Serves 2(ish)

How I do it:

1. Cut chicken thighs into rough chunks

2. Cut chiles into thin strips, quarter cherry tomatoes, mince ginger

3. Mix flour, cornstarch, garlic and chipotle powders, s+p and sprinkle on a plate. Roll chicken pieces in mixture until well-coated.

4. Heat oils in medium skillet over medium-high heat and sauté ginger with garlic powder for a minute or two. Add coated chicken and sauté until browned and crispy, 3-5 minutes on each side.

5. Remove chicken to drain and add chiles, tomatoes and pineapple with a dash of salt to sauté for another 3-5 minutes.

6. Add chicken back to the vegetables and add a couple tablespoons of red curry paste and the pineapple juice from the can. Sauté for 5-10 minutes until the sauce is thickened to your liking.

7. Serve with jasmine rice or, in my case, leftover couscous spiced with powdered ginger and lemon juice.

Like I said, kind of a goofy composition, but it turned out pretty well. Would have been great with some coconut milk, and more diverse veggies, had I access to either in this case.  Another more-or-less successful concoction worthy of my first “recipe” here for the masses.

As you will come to find, I don’t really like recipes. That’s not to say I don’t use them, but more often than not they serve as jumping-off points, and they are almost always tweaked based on what I’m craving and what I have on hand. So consider what I post here a general framework for creating a tasty dish that you can customize extensively in most cases. I would love to hear from anyone who attempts any of these dishes and makes it their own. Happy cooking!

Just

Yeah, it's pretty arrogant to think anyone will actually want to read anything I've got to say here. I'm just a poor post-grad, recently transplanted to the suburbs, struggling in an anemic job market. If I've taken anything from the past year or so, it's that finding passions outside of your career path are the key to retaining your sanity (especially when you can't seem to find your way to the beginning of said path).

I guess the impetus behind this little endeavor is to spill my guts on the things I do to keep an even keel. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and I thought I'd share some of my go-to dishes here, along with some of my experiments along the way. I love craft beer and might even post some heads-up news or reviews of new/local offerings that I come across. Or maybe I'll forget about this all in a week or two. Who knows? Let's see how it goes.