Just another Saturday...

I woke up in a panic at 8:30 AM on Saturday. I thought it was a workday and I was late again. I had already grabbed my cell phone to call my boss when I remembered it was the weekend. Then I felt stupid.

I got a pack of chicken thighs out of the freezer to thaw. Now that I am done with the fridge, I am determined to throw away anything that has freezer burns on it.

But, the chicken thighs were okay. So, I set them in the sink to thaw and made the “sauce” for my main dinner this weekend.

It called for one small garlic clove, grated. Instead, I used a big garlic clove and, for the first time, used my garlic press. I was not impressed (see how I did that: garlic press; impressed? Give it a moment).

Also, I bought a bag of garlic back when I was only working part time and, even though I kept them in the cool garage, they have started to sprout. So, before I could smush the clove, I had to cut out the green sprout (otherwise the garlic tastes bitter).

As I said, I was not impressed with the garlic press (I did it again!) I could have minced up a clove of garlic better with my Shun knife, with no waste.

But, I put it in a bowl and added 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt (1/4 if you were using regular table salt), a quarter-cup of salad oil (I used Canola), 1/2 cup of lemon juice, three tablespoons of chopped onions, 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper and a 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme.

You need to let this sit and get happy for at least a few hours, so I’ll use it when I bake the chicken. Then I washed my work clothes.

I warmed up the rest of the beans and hotdogs and ate them for lunch. Then I started watching “Tarzan and his mate” on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). It was a 1934 black and white movie starring Johnny Weissmuller and a very young, very beautiful Maureen O’Sullivan. I was shocked (and I don’t shock that easy) at the underwater scene. Jane swam totally in the nude! Nice bum!! There must not have been the x-rating thing back then.

By then, I was in my weekend mode and decided my short ToDo list could wait until Sunday. So I stuck with TCM and watched a 1946 film noir movie called “Gilda” with Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford.

When that ended at 4:00 PM, I started making my supper. I put a cup of flour, two teaspoons of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and two teaspoons of paprika in a plastic bag. I shook each of the six chicken thighs in the mixture and fried them in a skillet with olive oil and butter, three at a time and skin side down, until golden brown.

I transferred the chicken thighs into my cake sheet pan, lined with foil (for easy cleanup) and covered the chicken with that sauce. Then I stuck it in a preheated 350 degrees F. oven and set the timer for 45 minutes.

I went and ironed my shirts for next week. When they were done, I went back to the TV and another classic movie. “Run Silent, Run Deep.” I have always been fascinated by submarine movies since I was a lad and learned my cousin, Bob Fuller, had served on a sub in World War Two.

When the chicken was almost done, I “baked” two russet potatoes in the microwave. I plated them with butter and sour cream and two chicken thighs.

It was delicious!

I went back to the TV and tried to work my way through taped TV shows until I fell asleep.