Remember the greatest soliloquy ever uttered in a baseball movie?
I do. It was Kevin CostNer in Bull Durham with the astonishing Susan Sarandon at her most sensual. She says to him, in her persona of Annie Savoy, Kevin’s character Crash Davis gets up to leave:

“Oh, where are you going?”

“After 12 years in the minor leagues, I don’t try out. Besides, uh, I don’t believe in quantum physics when it comes to matters of the heart.”

“What do you believe in, then?”

“Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman’s back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.”

Then he winks and walks away.

Both Costner and Sarandon were fabulous in that film, before he got all self-indulgent in those bloated meg-pexs that bombed at the box office.

Keep it simple. Keep it real.

Anyway, that is what has been bugging me on and off. It strikes me that The Daily is starting to wear a little thin. I apply a fair amount of self-censorship to the stories most days, but as you know, sometimes the same thing happens to me as it does to the politicians: I actually say what I think.

Yesterday was a case in point. It was a real as anything- it was an actual conversation held in the early morning when both correspondents were at their mercurial best. It was, since I was in a hurry to move on and do something else, sort of on the shelf and said something that expressed what a lot of people were saying about a very strange race that came down to a couple of extremists from the depths of each side of the political spectrum.

If that is objectionable, and one correspondent said that the term “Marxist” was pejorative, I think in the context of the avowed Socialist who was elected mayor of New York. I have read what he said in the campaign and what he intends to do, and I will stick with my assessment.

But it is a larger world, and like yesterday, I have to go out in it.

I don’t agree with everything that Kevin Coster said in his soliloquy either, but it is consistent enough.

Vic pauses, then winks and walks away, leaving behind the best gol-darn fried chicken recipe he has run across:

Copyright 2013 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
Twitter: @jayare303

If you need a good recipe to recreate Southern fried chicken at home, you can check out the websites or published cookbooks. However, my go-to is from Bon Appetite – I’m sure you will find it beats anything you could bring home from the Colonel.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons kosher salt, divided 2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1 3–4-lb. chicken (not kosher), cut into 10 pieces, backbone and wing tips removed 1 cup buttermilk 1 large egg 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon cornstarch Peanut oil (for frying)

Special equipment:
A deep-fry thermometer
Preparation Whisk

1 Tbsp. salt, 2 tsp. black pepper, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, and onion powder in a small bowl. Season chicken with spices. Place chicken in a medium bowl, cover, and chill overnight. Let chicken stand covered at room temperature for 1 hour. Whisk buttermilk, egg, and 1/2 cup water in a medium bowl. Whisk flour, cornstarch, remaining 1 Tbsp. salt, and remaining 1 Tbsp. pepper in a 9x13x2″ baking dish.

Pour oil into a 10″–12″ cast-iron skillet or other heavy straight-sided skillet (not nonstick) to a depth of 3/4″. Prop deep-fry thermometer in oil so bulb is submerged. Heat over medium-high heat until thermometer registers 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, set a wire rack inside a large rimmed baking sheet. Working with 1 piece at a time (use 1 hand for wet ingredients and the other for dry ingredients), dip chicken in buttermilk mixture, allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Dredge in flour mixture; tap against bowl to shake off excess.

Place five pieces of chicken in skillet. Fry chicken, turning with tongs every 1–2 minutes and adjusting heat to maintain a steady temperature of 300°–325 degrees, until skin is deep golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 165 degrees, about 10 minutes for wings and 12 minutes for thighs, legs, and breasts.

Using tongs, remove chicken from skillet, allowing excess oil to drip back into skillet; transfer chicken to prepared rack.
Repeat with remaining chicken pieces; let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

This one is from Bon Appetite, along with the picture, so I am claiming nothing except the smile in the eating.

Vic