Back from the Island

Life is full of sad, unalterable facts. Tasty sweets make you fat, babies grow up, and vacations eventually end. Last week, Tiffany and I enjoyed a nice break from the world on the stunning island of St. Lucia. A former colony of Great Britain, St. Lucia is a geographical work of art featuring mountainous peaks framed by sandy beaches and blue seas. The diversity of the island's terra reminded me a little of Hawaii.  Our home for the week was the Sandals Regency La Toc, where we stayed in a very nice two story villa situated on a bluff overlooking the Caribbean Sea.  Our resort was all-inclusive and featured butler service, which was a nice perk that I never got totally comfortable using.  While there, we enjoyed a romantic beachside candlelit dinner for our anniversary, went into Castries (the capital city) for a day of shopping, took a day-long tour of the island by bus and boat, and lounged on the beach in our downtime. As I said before, the island is simply beautiful...it seemed like every home, restaurant, and shop had a clear view of the ocean. The locals are kind and very hospitable. They live simply but are happy.  I suppose there's a lesson somewhere in that. Unfortunately the food nerd within me was disappointed with most of the resort's culinary offerings. Ours featured six different restaurants, all of which were vanilla at best.  Fortunately, we got to enjoy excellent St. Lucian cuisine on our days outside the resort. Seafood and local produce were the staples of our meals, and they were delicious - the island boasted the best bananas I've ever eaten. After a week of fun and relaxation, we returned home to find things much the same as we left them. No news is good news, I guess. 

I enjoy traveling, mostly because it means I'm going somewhere besides work. It also means I have time to read, so I always pick out a book or two before leaving.  My choices this time around were The Shack by William P. Young and God of the Possible by Greg Boyd. I'm not quite done with The Shack, so thoughts on it will come later. God of the Possible is a treatise on Open Theism, which states that God sees the future as a combination of certainties and open possibilities and works in relation to this. In other words, God does not "know" all things to come, only the things He has decided He will do. At face value, this is a jolting assertion. It denies a basic tenant held by most of mainstream Christianity - God knows all things that are, have been, or will be, and He is eternally changeless. Boyd, a former atheist, writes that he grew tired of trying to explain away scripture that described God as changing or being surprised (and there are many) in the name of the classical view of complete foreknowledge. He also struggled to make sense of the problem of evil in light of total foreknowledge - if God knew Hitler would kill millions, how could He go ahead and create Hitler?  In God of the Possible, Boyd outlines the open view in detail, defends it using scripture, and addresses common critiques. 

This book is wonderful. I won't say that Open Theism answers every question - that can't be done by any human theory. After consideration of the evidence presented, I believe it presents a scripturally accurate picture of God as He is. Now, I had to get over a hump in accepting this theory - am I removing omniscience or power from God by supposing He does not know all aspects of the future? After study and thought, I believe the answer is a resounding "no."  It seems that the notion of an all-knowing and controlling God is rooted in the theories of Hellenistic philosophers such as Plato.  Not until the fourth or fifth century did Christianity begin to assign these attributes to God in its teachings.  Logically speaking, the notion that God "knows" the future removes free will from the equation. If it can be unequivocally (trademark Bill Oliver) known a man will choose God over sin or vice versa, did that man ever really have a choice?  If we assert that our decisions are our own and that we alone are responsible, then how can these choices be "known" until after they are made? In the end, stating God cannot know the future decisions of free agents strips Him of no more power than saying He cannot make a square circle or a married bachelor. It is a self-contradictory concept. In scripture, God is repeatedly described as being surprised, shocked, disappointed, and regretful at the actions of His creation.  He also makes future events contingent on the behavior of His people - "if you will, then I will". Patrick Mead has done a thorough series on this very subject on his blog, and he lists many of these instances. I won't rehash those here, but you can peruse them at your leisure.

What's the purpose of all this, anyways? I do not believe this is an issue that is doctrinally critical - who among us can truly know the mind of God? If I'm 110% wrong, then that's OK. We are not saved by doctrinal perfection. The open view offers an explanation for questions that have troubled me for quite some time, and upon inspection of scripture at face value, it appears to be accurate. In my admittedly limited mind, a God who works with free, rebellious, immature, and constantly changing agents and STILL accomplishes His plans is far more amazing, loving, and perfect than one who knows all that will happen and controls all things. Humans need control to make things work...our God does not.

Well, I didn't mean for that to drag on for so long. Time permitting, I'll have some pictures from our trip posted for all to see very soon. Until next time!

A Friday Quickie

Happy Friday, everyone. I hope you've made plans to honor the father/father figure in your life. There may be no taller order in this world than to ask a man to emulate the role that God Almighty established and perfected. No small feat, that's for sure. Lucky me....I was blessed with a man who has filled that role with honor and dignity for nearly 30 years now. Thanks, dad. I love you. 

Modern Christianity has a load of problems, issues, and warts to deal with. For my dollar, the most damaging of them all is the seemingly insatiable need to judge, condemn, or shun people we deem more sinful than us. The church has, deservedly so, acquired a reputation of being holier-than-thou jerks who love nothing more than pointing out the faults of everyone and everything but itself. And we wonder why nobody wants to join us on Sundays. Sadly, it seems as though not a week goes by without someone telling me a story of a friend or acquaintance of theirs who refuses to consider Christ because they've been mistreated by someone in this way. Wednesday night, we heard the story of a gay man who killed himself because his circle of friends, who were Christians, refused to have anything to do with him after he 'came out.'  This is unacceptable, and it has to stop. Anyone who reacts to any sin in this way is foolish, immature, and way out of line. Who are you to judge? I don't know how it got this bad, especially given all the warnings we are given about it by Jesus himself. Take a long look in the mirror, folks. You'll see the worst of sinners. You'll see a soul marred by selfishness, immaturity, and pride. You'll see a person unworthy to even utter the name of God, let alone carry his Spirit around inside them. If you don't see these things, immediately go pick up a Bible and read it. Please keep your mouth shut until you have read enough to see the aforementioned person in the mirror. Then, go look again. See that worthless, self-damaged sinner...completely useless on his own....and realize that God's grace saved and justified that person.  Sin cannot be grouped into social classes. We are all equally guilty. 

I read a great little blog each morning called "My Utmost for His Highest."  It consists of the compiled writings of Oswald Chambers, a Scottish minister from the 19th century.  The wisdom of his words is timeless (wisdom from God tends to have that characteristic) and I draw a lot of motivation from them. Also, having to decipher the "King's English" Chambers writes in at 5:30am helps to get the blood pumping. Today's entry might have been my favorite yet. Coincidentally, it speaks to today's topic. Take it away, Oswald:

"Judge not, that ye be not judged." Matthew 7:1
Jesus says regarding judging - Don't. The average Christian is the most penetratingly critical individual. Criticism is a part of the ordinary faculty of man; but in the spiritual domain nothing is accomplished by criticism. The effect of criticism is a dividing up of the powers of the one criticized; the Holy Ghost is the only One in the true position to criticize, He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into communion with God when you are in a critical temper; it makes you hard and vindictive and cruel, and leaves you with the flattering unction that you are a superior person. Jesus says, as a disciple cultivate the uncritical temper. It is not done once and for all. Beware of anything that puts you in the superior person's place.
There is no getting away from the penetration of Jesus. If I see the mote in your eye, it means I have a beam in my own. Every wrong thing that I see in you, God locates in me. Every time I judge, I condemn myself (see Romans 2:17-20). Stop having a measuring rod for other people. There is always one fact more in every man's case about which we know nothing. The first thing God does is to give us a spiritual spring-cleaning; there is no possibility of pride left in a man after that. I have never met the man I could despair of after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God.

These and other wise words can be found at http://www.myutmost.org/. Have a great weekend, friends. Take dad out for Sunday dinner or something. He deserves it.

Follow up

As a quick follow-up to yesterday's post, I'd like to share a link from Patrick Mead's Q&A Blog, Tentpegs, that deals with the issues I talked about yesterday. He does a much better job of verbalizing on this subject than I could.

http://tentpegs.patrickmead.net/?p=1469

Tough Questions

Hello again from Central Arkansas. Despite this surprisingly aggressive storm season, we are all still here and doing well. Things are rolling along routinely, I suppose. Tiffany and I are counting the days until our summer vacation to St. Lucia. In preparation, I have been exercising, running, and pumping iron like never before.  I'm in the best physical condition of my life at just south of 30 years old. Special thanks to Joey, Matt, and Chris for being reliable workout partners. I met a man at our monthly Wednesday night meetings with the Christians at Emeritus Retirement Center who told me that he'd made it to 97 years old recently.  I could tell this wasn't a medically assisted number. He stood before me looking fit and healthy, with good posture and strong shoulders.  He told me that he attributed his longevity to regular exercise in his younger years.  As I shook his hand, I marveled at how he still had a firm grip.  I guess there is something to all this sweating after all.

I was going to pen an easy read today. It was going to be a quick update, followed by some thoughts on grilling for the holiday weekend. There's a problem, though. All these storms, along with the death, destruction, and pain they have brought along, have troubled me. I decided to try to verbalize the thoughts I've had and the conflict that has come with them. I apologize in advance if they come off as shocking, heretical, or otherwise faithless in any way, as I don't intend them to be. Here goes....

We pray to God for protection. We ask Him to be our shield, our shelter from the storm, and we mean it literally. "Don't let this tornado blow me away."  Then, when the storm passes, we thank and praise God for His protection. And then.....we ask His comfort on those who were killed, hurt, or uprooted.  Joplin, MO was nearly wiped off the map this week. Were there not saints there? Did they pray for protection?  What happened? And if God is doing what we like to think He's doing (answering our prayers for safety) then what did the saints in Joplin (or Tuscaloosa, Vilonia, or elsewhere) do that brought such a fate on them? Are we just special? Is it all a part of some plan, some grand design?

Consider a quote from famed Christian thinker and writer R.C. Sproul. These thoughts probably lie at the root of the questions I have. 

"If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God's sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled. Perhaps that one maverick molecule will lay waste all the grand and glorious plans that God has made and promised to us... Maybe that one molecule will be the thing that prevents Christ from returning."

Sproul is verbalizing what most of us have grown up believing without question. We believe, and rightfully so, that God's promises are true and that Christ will return. Therefore, God must be in total control of everything, because if He wasn't then He wouldn't be God and couldn't make such promises.  Right? Right?

I have weak moments, and maybe this is one of them. I'll admit to that. I'm just being 100% truthful with you when I say that this doesn't add up for me.  Do we conclude that God brought the storms?  Do we try to give Him a pass by saying he "allowed" them? I suppose these matters are far too complicated to be resolved by a quick answer or a couple of hastily selected scriptures. This is a mean, cruel, and unforgiving world that is occupied by an even more cruel enemy who, according to I John 5:19, has control here. Is this enemy, Satan, nothing more than "God's dog on God's leash," as some have said? If so, why is he constantly described as an enemy, foe, and general opponent of God's will? Alternatively, why are we told to stand guard, to "watch and pray," putting complete faith and trust in the Father if He is the one orchestrating all the calamity and trouble we face to begin with? Does that make any sense?

Some of you might be troubled by all this. To some, it might appear that I am questioning the sovereignty of the Father. Trust me, that is not the case. I believe with every fiber of my being that God is who He claims to be, and He is sovereign. However, I don't think belief in a sovereign God requires belief in an all-controlling God. I don't think I have to try to find a "purpose" in every tragic event. Sometimes tragedies just happen. Sometimes, they might be caused by the enemy. And sometimes, we bring them on ourselves. I have to ask these questions, difficult as they are to consider. You see, I interact with people who do not believe in our God on a regular basis. They believe in man, science, and reason. If I tell them the storms were "God's will" or "part of a plan," they are going to call me on it and make me explain myself. And I can't do that without making God appear to be the culprit or an accessory.  I can, however, describe a God who is at war. I can speak to them of a God who fights with me through this battle of life, a God who is there with incredible comfort and strength when the difficult times come.  I can tell them that we are living on a battlefield, and I stand with the strongest warrior in the fight. Battles go back and forth, and casualties are almost a certainty. In the end, however, I know that the strong warrior I stand with will win conclusively and permanently. I can't justify or reason my way through every tragedy.  I can stand by the constant, unmoving God who will be there after the storms have passed.

A Weekend of Food

Another weekend has come and gone, and it's back to the grind here in Little Rock. Hopefully everyone got a chance to show love and respect to the mothers/mother figures in their lives. I see the imprint my mom has had on my life more and more as I grow older. She continues to be a source of inspiration and wisdom for me today. Thanks, mom. I love you.

I spent a whole lot of time manning the stove (and grill) this weekend. We celebrated Mother's Day with the Parris family at Casa Summitt, and I had the honor of making dinner. The menu featured jalapeno poppers (jalapenos were on sale), corn casserole, fried okra, potato salad, rolls, slaw, and BBQed chicken breast.  Everything was made from scratch.  I came away with a vastly increased level of respect for the meals my granny used to throw down for the family.  We'd do Sunday dinners at her house, and she would have an unbelievable spread prepared.  I now understand the amount of work that went into those meals  Everything came out great and we all had a great time. Also, chicken breasts should be cooked with smoked wood. Always. 

I had some spare time Saturday, so I made up a quick bread for our Sunday church class. Quick breads are fun because they are fairly versatile, which allows the cook to try different combinations of ingredients. I made a chocolate quick bread with coffee (from Guillermo's - www.g3coffee.com) left over from that morning. It came out so moist, complex, and flavorful that Sandra Oliver told me it was the best she'd had and that I should blog it. So, here it is. Enjoy!

Coffee-Chocolate Quick Bread 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups AP Flour (I use King Arthur)
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup strong coffee
• 2 tbsp coffee grounds (I used leftover grounds from that morning)
• 1 cup chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together in a bowl and set aside.

Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream butter and sugar together until the mixture resembles mashed potatoes. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix thoroughly. Add coffee grounds and allow to mix thoroughly. Combine coffee and buttermilk in a glass or measuring cup. With the mixer on low, alternatively add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to the bowl, making sure to stop and scrape the sides of the bowl periodically. Once all the flour and buttermilk are combined, stir in chocolate chunks.

Pour into a greased 8x5 bread pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until internal temperature is at 200 degrees. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before serving. This bread is best when made the night before and wrapped in plastic overnight.

My Life Group, A Helpful Article

I really love my Life group. We gather each Wednesday night at Guillermo's Gourmet Grounds, a fantastic little coffee shop in West Little Rock (you can order online and they'll ship). A typical evening begins with snacks and conversation, followed by a group discussion, then prayer. These discussions, which are generally facilitated by the wise and insightful Dr. Bill Oliver, have covered an array of subjects too wide to list here. We are not afraid of any topic of discussion or of any opinion...all viewpoints and beliefs are welcome and encouraged.  Participants have included Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and even an atheist or two.  We are mature enough to objectively listen to each other and agree to disagree when necessary.  Friends remain friends, even when opinions differ sharply. I've been attending this group for around five years and I have watched as souls have grown, matured, and developed together. It is truly amazing what God's Spirit has done to us. We have progressed from simpler discussions about everyday life to the deeper topics of God and spiritual warfare.  We have examined and challenged the very basic tenants of faith and have been unafraid to do so, knowing that God would prove Himself.  Recently, we discussed the Holy Spirit. We studied scripture and asked ourselves how the Spirit manifested itself in us, and if we were holding it back from doing more. I was so proud to be a part of that discussion. As we spoke of the promised gifts that came with the Spirit, I saw minds open.  As we talked about how much power the Spirit holds, I sensed excitement.  And as we discussed the reasons we don't possess the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Gal. 5:22-23, I felt hearts breaking.  Each of us began to see how much we get in the way of the Father's desire to fill us with His Spirit.  We are held back by so many things - fear, selfishness, ignorance, empathy.  Our group is still growing.  We'll continue to objectively study, discuss, and pray over these things in an attempt to improve ourselves and reflect the nature of the Father just a little bit better than before. I don't know what I'd do or where I'd be without this wonderful group.  That's something I really don't want to think about. 

I came across an archived post on Patrick Mead's Tentpegs blog which really left an impression on me. I hope he's okay with my reprinting it here, because I'd like to share it. We can't do a stinking thing about the negative interactions and challenging hurdles we run into, but we can certainly decide how we're going to deal with them before they hit. Take it away, Patrick. 

Act or React? 

In every circumstance today you will get a choice: will you act or react? Most people never give it any thought. They go through life as if they were a ball in a pinball machine, reacting to this and that all day, every day, never in control of their path. Others make a decision about who they are, what they will do, what they will not do, and how they will honor their belief system regardless of any “action” in their way. They are faith heroes. And you can be one.

Look at Hebrews chapter 11. It is considered the faith chapter, the honor roll of faith. You might know the chapter very well but I would like for you to check something out: look for the verbs. When you do, you discover that the chapter is a primer on HOW to live by faith. Real faith has a verb attached to it; a purposeful, decisive action.

11:4 — by faith Abel offered…
11:5 — by faith Enoch pleased God…
11:7 — by faith Noah prepared…
11:8 — by faith Abraham obeyed…
11:9 — by faith he dwelt…
11:11 – by faith Sara conceived…
11:17 – by faith Abraham offered…
11:20 – by faith Isaac blessed…
11:21 – by faith Jacob blessed…
11:24 – by faith Moses chose to be known as a son of Israel… forsook Egypt… kept Passover…
11:29 – by faith the Israelites passed through the sea…
11:30 – by faith the walls of Jericho fell…
11:31 – by faith Rahab received the spies…
11:33 – subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped mouths of
lions, quenched violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, went from the
weakness to strength, became valiant in battle, drove away the invaders, the dead
walked again…

These people did not merely believe (as some weak form of intellectual assent), but they matched that faith to a verb and so became great heroes. The scripture tells us that God honored their choice to act by:

1. God Himself witnessing that they were righteous.
2. They became heirs of righteousness.
3. They did not see death.
4. They received the inheritance.

You have a choice today and every day. You can either act or you can waste your life in reacting. Once I was partnered with three non-believers during a golf match. My opponent took every opportunity to curse, make noise while I putted or teed off, and never gave me a putt regardless of how close it was to the hole. In response, I helped him look for his errant tee shots, gave him putts well outside the normal range, and gave him every compliment on his good shots. The other two players in our foursome watched this almost the whole match before finally coming over to me. “Why are you still giving him putts and treating him so nice? He’s cheating! He’s rude!” and so on. I responded, “I decided before I left my house this morning what kind of person I was going to be. He doesn’t get to change that decision.”

I learned that from Hebrews 11. Faith means nothing without a verb. Choose your verb. Don’t let the world choose it for you.

Books, Lamb Meatballs, and Rules

Greetings, everyone!  Let's head to the kitchen...after a few random thoughts.


I've been reading a few good books recently - Disappointment With God by Philip Yancey and God At War  by Greg Boyd. These books were both challenging to read in their own rights. DWG deals with a painfully honest question - where is God when trouble comes? Yancey objectively asks and examines this question by interviewing people who have lost their faith because God did not "show up" for them when they felt He would or should. I think this an important issue to consider.  Many people among us believe that if they meet some undetermined level of faith and pray hard enough, God will rescue them from difficult situations or tough times.  This belief is reinforced each and every time they hear a testimony crediting God with pulling someone out of the depths of some kind of depravity or trouble.  The jarring reality (to them) comes when God doesn't seem to do the same for them in their time of need. What is going on? DWG takes the reader inside the mind of someone who is going through this struggle, then searches scripture to see what expectations we can have of God when we are hurting. Good stuff. 


I'm still in the beginning chapters of GAW, but I'm enjoying it. Most of you who know me have heard me talk about the Patrick Mead lesson series by the same name, and this book is his source material.  Be warned - this is not a Yancey-style easy read. Boyd's main goal is to disprove the classical Christian view that God is in full, total, and ultimate control of everything that goes on, and that He has a purpose in all things. Boyd eschews this view in favor of what he calls a "warfare worldview," which supposes that there are free-acting spirits  with power that can and do oppose God.  Since this idea flies in the face of mainstream Christianity, Boyd writes in a scholarly level of detail to give credibility to his theory. This makes GAW read like a textbook some of the time, but it is compelling nonetheless. I am inclined to agree with Boyd's theory. There are too many intellectual roadblocks involved with trying to find "God's good will" in the evil acts of evil men.  Better to believe that there is a real enemy with real power to effect our world.  We know Satan has control/dominion over this earth, as we are told multiple times (Jn 12:31, I Jn 5:19, Mt 4:9, among others), so why wouldn't he have the ability to fight against God's people with real power? I can discuss this at length in another post if anyone is interested. 


I've been thinking about some of the rules and laws we Christians impose on one another.  It seems to me that a law of love ought to have the opposite effect.  We should understand that we are free from law and rules but bound by something stronger - a love that compels us to sacrifice and bend over backwards to serve others.   Last year's journey through the Daily Bible rammed home a very important point to me - the New Testament is not in any way, shape, or form a rulebook. Leviticus is a rulebook, and it reads like one. I'll bet the bones Ezekiel saw raised weren't as dry as Leviticus is.  Why, then, do we treat our new covenant like the old one men already failed at?  How many man-made regulations and procedures do we hold people to and defend to the point of separation, all in the name of a God who came to earth to free us from such things? I've heard of an interesting test for our "laws," and it makes sense to me.  If you were able to read the New Testament as though you had never seen it before and had no previous teaching or influence of any kind, would you infer from your study that your rules should apply? Try this with all aspects your religion.  By the way, absence of permission for an action does not mean that action is wrong.  If it did, we might need to reevaluate staff ministers, church buildings, and elders elected by the congregation.  Try it out - it's just another part of "working out your own salvation."  


Do you remember the time I devoted an entire post to the practice of chopping/grinding beef at home? Today I found this article, which supports my theory with some exhaustive research. Notice how pale that store-bought patty looks? Grind your own meat, people.


Tiffany and I have recently taken up attempts to eat in a more healthy manner in preparation for our summer vacation. Generally, this means cooking meals out of her litany of South Beach Diet cookbooks. Surprisingly, most of the entrées don't taste like "diet food" in the typical sense. The meal plan is mostly devoid of carbs and sugars, but you get to eat hearty meat-and-veggie style meals which fill the stomach. Am I ready to abandon 12-layer lasagna (we'll get to that one later), pancakes, and hearty, delicious burgers forever? Of course not, but as lean eating goes, the meals in these cookbooks are more than bearable. Plus, you trip across a gem every now and again. 


I love lamb. No, not the cute and cuddly versions which generally accompany Western paintings of Jesus. I'm talking lamb meat. Succulent and flavorful with wonderful texture and mouthfeel, lamb is truly awesome. Last night, we prepared lamb meatballs from the aforementioned South Beach cookbook. Actually, I adapted the recipe to a meatball application - the original called for leg of lamb. I'm sure the leg would have been delicious, but these meatballs were out of this world. They were hearty, full of flavor, and very filling all by themselves.  I plan to use them (sans mustard) in future spaghetti applications as well.  They'd also be incredible mixed with dill, feta, and cumin and made into Greek burgers. Kroger sometimes offers quality ground lamb for half price, so keep your eyes peeled at the grocery store and buy that stuff up when it's on sale. Store it in the freezer until it's time to cook. 


Lamb Meatballs 


Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground lamb 
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tbsp parsley, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (a microplane zester is great for this)
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp freshly cracked pepper
• 2 tbsp EVOO
• Dijon Mustard, to coat

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 


In a large bowl, combine lamb, egg, parsley, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper and mix with fingertips until combined. Try not to squish the meat. Form meat mixture into decent-sized balls-You should get 5 or 6 meatballs out of the mixture. 


Preheat the oil a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the meatballs with plenty of space in between. Cook the meatballs on one side for three or four minutes, or until a nice sear develops. Using tongs, flip the meatballs over and sear for another three or four minutes. If you want to be really fancy, braise the meatballs by tilting the pan slightly to the side so that the oil and juices pool. Using a spoon, pour the hot oil over the tops of your meatballs. 


Once the meatballs have developed a good sear, coat them in dijon mustard,  move to the oven, and bake until they hit an internal temperature of 160, about 10-12 minutes. Remove the meatballs and allow them to set for five minutes so that the juices redistribute. 

The Finest Burger in the Land

Greetings, one and all. As promised, I'm going to try to blog more often, at least once a week or so. Of course, this presents the small challenge of coming up with interesting content to write about. Sometimes that's difficult, as routine life here in central Arkansas can become a bit droll. Days run into days, as they say, and I just don't always feel like I've got pertinent information to share with you all. Every once in awhile, however, something jumps up and surprises me. Let me tell you about a meal I had this weekend. 

If you're like me, the act of eating a hamburger has degenerated from a memorable affair (remember "burger night" when you were a kid?) to something much more plebeian. As an adult, the thought of eating burgers conjures up images of endless drive-through lines, dollar menus, and barely palatable patties of pitiful construct. The great hamburger experience has truly fallen from its once lofty perch in my mind. I just don't expect that much from dine-out burgers anymore....frankly, I can do it better at home.  So then, I'm really not sure what motivated me to choose the burger from Capital Bar & Grill last Friday night. Maybe the unusual side of Parmesan fries caught my eye. Maybe I was just in the mood. Who knows? Boy, am I glad I did. 

The Capital Bar and Grill, located inside the Capital Hotel in historic downtown Little Rock, is a local institution. Alongside its sister restaurant, the exclusively expensive Ashley's, the Capital Bar and Grill (henceforth CB&G) is home to critically acclaimed dishes of all shapes and sizes. Knowing as much, I went in expecting good things from them. I ordered an Old Fashioned to start dinner and began perusing the menu. A few delicious-looking items caught my eye. The ham sandwich with house cured and smoked ham looked spectacular, as did the roasted chicken. Above all, one entry reached out and grabbed me. Simply titled "The Burger," it was a 7-oz. patty of all-natural local Arkansas beef, topped with house-made pimento cheese,  house-made pickles, lettuce, tomato, and onion, and served with a side of freshly cut Parmesan fries. Despite my instincts, I couldn't resist the pull. I ordered The Burger. Brilliantly, I was asked how I'd like it cooked. "Medium rare!" was my reply, and the excitement began to build. Could I finally have found a burger worth paying for? My mouth continued to water as I munched on complimentary deep fried black-eyed peas (oh yes) and sipped my drink. After a moderate wait, it arrived. The Burger, oozing with that homemade pimento cheese, looked as though it had been prepped for a photo shoot. I topped it with onion, lettuce, and mayonnaise (house made, naturally) and took a bite. 

It's been said that great food does more than fill the stomach or satisfy cravings. Truly great food takes you places, brings back memories, and evokes feelings that had previously been dormant. I'm going to tell you people something....from the very first bite, The Burger yanked me from my seat at CB&G and sent me to a time, years ago, when I loved burgers as much as anything. A time when a trip to McDonald's was a happening (these were much simpler times), and when ground beef smothered in cheese was my very favorite food in the whole wide world. The beef, seasoned with steak spices, was incredibly crisp on the outside, yet tender, juicy, and perfectly medium rare in the middle. The bun was toasted perfectly and added another level of crunch. The pimento cheese....well, the cheese was sublime (I'm running out of adjectives here). The locally-sourced veggies and homemade pickles were as flawless a compliment as could possibly exist, and the real mayo added a tiny bit of tang that blended right in. Every single ingredient was delicious in its own right, and when combined became an orchestra of contrasting flavors and textures. I enjoyed about eight perfect bites before the end came and I had to return to reality. The poor fries, tasty in their own right, were an afterthought. I munched on them for awhile, but I'd have traded three plates of fries for another mouthful of the Burger.  I could not think of a single other thing I'd have rather eaten at that moment.  As the check arrived, I realized that a cheeseburger had just vaulted itself to the very top of my list of memorable meals. Just like old times. Thanks, CB&G.

http://capitalhotel.com/CBG/

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Wow....I'm not all that diligent with this blogging thing, am I?  I'd love to blame this on my nonstop, too-busy-to-think schedule, but the truth is that I sit at a desk at work for eight hours a day and have more than enough time to punch up an entry now and then. Shame on me...I'll try to do better. Who knows, all this writing may come in handy someday. But enough talk. Let's get down to the business of baking. 


I have waxed poetic at the joy of baking on these virtual pages before. I love the technical, nit-picky nature of weighing flour down to the gram and carefully mixing everything together. It seems the quality of one's baked goods are directly proportional to the amount of obsessive-compulsive detail that goes into them. Give your cake, bread, or muffins a bit of time and effort, and they'll reward you with moist deliciousness. Baked goods truly come into their own during holidays, when the baker can fashion themed treats based on the occasion. Christmas obviously takes the cake (haw haw) on this topic, but I think that some of the "lesser" holidays deserve some baked respect. And since it's March 17 and your writer is fair-skinned, red-headed, and a lover of stout Irish beers, let's give some love to St. Patrick's Day with a fantastically moist creation called Guinness Chocolate Cake. 


Beer in cake? Yes, it's unorthodox. But as we have shown here before, beer is great at providing a yeasty backnote that is right at home in a variety of dishes. In this cake, the rich chocolaty Guinness brings a complex twist to an otherwise standard cake batter. I expected that, but I did not expect the incredible moistness this cake packs. Wow.  The "frothy" cream cheese icing is a perfect complement to the cake's yeasty sweetness. I took the cake to our church's small group and people were blown away by the moisture and pleasantly unexpected flavors. This one was an unqualified hit, and I'll absolutely make it again. Trust me, give this one a try. If you have friends/acquaintances who are teetotalers, just tell them the alcohol cooks out.  I think that it does, anyways. 


Guinness Chocolate Cake 


Ingredients:

• 1 cup Guinness stout 
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed 
• 3/8 cup unsweetened cocoa 
• 2 cups superfine sugar (pulse regular sugar in a food processor if you don't have any) 
• 3/8 cup plain yogurt 
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour 
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 

For the topping:

• 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar 
• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 
• 1/2 cup heavy cream 
• 
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. In a large saucepan, combine Guinness and butter. Place over medium-low heat until butter melts, then remove from heat. Add cocoa and superfine sugar, and whisk to blend.

In a small bowl, combine sour cream, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add to Guinness mixture. Add flour and baking soda, and whisk again until smooth. Pour into buttered pan, and bake until risen and firm, 45 minutes to one hour. Place pan on a wire rack and cool completely in pan.

Using a food processor or by hand, mix confectioners' sugar to break up lumps. Add cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add heavy cream, and mix until smooth and spreadable.

Remove cake from pan and place on a platter or cake stand. Ice top of cake and serve.