Re:Lunch Reporter December 24-28, 2012: Open Mic!!!

About 9am, and I just returned from the store with all the little bits I needed to complete my concoction. Good timing to check out some of the latest posts and see this, huh? It's a little something I like to do after just about every major holiday that involves entirely too many portions of birds and pigs for my family to spread around and eat. You see, I'm a poor college kid. Nearly graduated, however, so not near as poor as I used to be, but in my days of penny pinching and scrounging I've found ways to make leftovers not suck like leftovers. This here is one of my favorite 'scavenger recipes."

So, my family sent me home with a bunch of ham and turkey from our holiday get together. Awesome, right? I'm not at all above just eating it from the tupperware out of the fridge, but I have a new girlfriend to impress, and after the 2nd date there's not much else to talk about, so I have to seem culinarilly adept. All in all the stuff costed about this:

Chicken Broth: $4
Milk: $4
Bag of Peas: $3
Bag of Corn: $3
6 Pie Crusts from the Grocery Store Bakery: $18
^^^The Local chain here (Copps) does awesome stuff like that.

All and all not terribly expensive.


So, I take my cast iron pot, because I don't really have anything else, and I cover the edges with all but one of the pie crusts. They're fresh, so I just mush the edges together to make like one big ol' pie dough bowl. I don't know if there's a crazy cool french name that spiky-haired dudes on the food channel would use for it, but if there was... hell, I probably still wouldn't use it.

On the stove I place my big skillet. Then I wait like 4 hours for the electric stove to decide to heat up. Afterwards, I fill it half with chicken broth, and half with milk. I usually already have salt, pepper, and allspice in my apartment, so I dump healthy amounts of that into there. My skillet is no where near the size of my pot, so I have to make this mixture 3ish and a half times to get enough to fill about half the pot with my <censored word> college kid gravy. I'll usually microwave the vegetables if they're frozen. Only about half the way they're supposed to be, though, so they're still slightly frozen before going into the pot. Then I just DUMP all my ham and turkey in there.

In summary, half frozen veggies, ham and turkey, and gravy. I also have a small tupperware full of stuffing my folks sent me with, so I'm just going to go ahead and dump all that in there. Never done it before, We'll see how it turns out. I've got some celery from my beef stew last week hanging around, so I'm sure I'll cut those up and drop them in the mix.

Then I place the last pie crust over top and crimp the edges down to make like a gravy-goodness filled gallon-bag inside a pot. Bobby Flay can go fly a kite. I live by myself, so I usually just it with a table spoon out of the pot with a beer. Guitars, beer, football, and single man cooking. There's the future day in my life as a bachelor in Wisconsin...




















...might even put beer in there, too.


Anyway, to fulfill the other criteria. I'm Jake. 22 year old broke college kid slowly building a collection of Tribute G&L models. I play a lot of the styles similar to the Drive By Truckers, the Gaslight Anthem, Lucero, etc. Fell into that from the world of Band of Gypsys and Derek and the Dominoes. At one point I owned 4 Strats, but I'm slowly trading them over for ASATs. Just joined, seems cool Nice lil' website you got here!

Alright, alright, just kidding. Here's my serious post.




Well, I guess the above was sort-of serious. That is actually what I'm having for lunch today. Likewise with the bottom part. That's me, I'm Jake. I've been playing for about 10 years now, got an early start. Did some session work with Barn 51 Studios in Madison before they sadly went under. So I go to school full-time, work, and play shows with one of the 3 bands I sit in with in crazy little places like this:



I have two G&L's. My ASAT Special you see there, and my Bluesboy. One of the problems that I often encounter with playing with my peers is that I have nicer equipment. I've been playing a little while, I like my quality a little bit. I play through a modded Fender Hod Rod Deluxe or my Fender Twin Reverb depending on the venue. Now, having friends and fans tell me how cool they think my gear is is pretty flattering, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it, but the inevitable issue comes up.

"Hey bro, I broke a string, can I borrow your guitar?"

I always, always, always carry a soldering iron, basic tools, and extra strings in the back of my amp. That usually solves any issues that other people have come up. I basically tech for all the bands I play with. I realized, though, that it wasn't out of charity, it's because I didn't want anyone touching my damn guitars!

So here's the discussion topic. How willing are you to let others pick up and play with your G&L's? I think I'm a bit too protective of mine. I hold them to a higher value than the average Epiphone DOT and MIM Strat user of the Milwaukee college scene.

Would you let a semi-stranger play your guitars at their show?

Hey Jake, welcome aboard

Good start, your recipe post gave me a good laugh, not the recipe itself though that sounds good to me and it just so happens I have a pie crust in the freezer

As far as letting someone play my gear at their show, no way.
At one of my first shows some drunken fool knocked a pa speaker onto my acoustic and snapped the headstock off, and they were just near it, I can't imagine what would happen if I let someone touch it!
Seriously though, I wouldn't trust someone at a show to use my gear unless it were a close friend and even then I'd have to know how they treat their own stuff. Sitting down jamming with friends I don't have problems with it.
Like you I generally carry a few sets of strings and some basic tools, although I leave the soldering iron at home.

Have a good one!
-Dave

Hey Jake,

Thanks for picking up LR duty today. Loved your playing in your other post. My prediction for you is that one day there will be a US made G&L ASAT in your future. Pretty safe bet, me thinketh ...

As far is cooking is concerned, I have a similar history with my 2nd girlfriend in that pretty early I showed off my prowess in the kitchen. And 30 years later, I'm still doing it for the same person (who is now my lovely wife) but fortunately it is not because we ran out of subject to talk about ...

I actually like other people to play any of my guitars or amps, just so I can listen to it (and maybe steal some licks in process). Since I don't gig, this all happens within the safe confines of my home or the porch; likely I would think differently if it was at gigs. It is always refreshing to listen in from the outside and hear your gear in different ways.

I like it you're willing to help out other musicians. I did the same in my younger days. Only problem is, they will never learn to bring their own reserve supplies. Maybe one day you should just stare them in the eyes when they need another string and go: "Dude, sorry, but I think you're f*#$ed!" As some form of comfort, you can tell them Keef only needs 5 strings too ...

- Jos

Hi Jake

Your recipe brings back memories of instinctively-concocted youthful cookup goodies; sounds pretty damn good!

In the 1960's / 70's, when I was at a similar stage of my playing life, I always took a soldering iron too, and basic tools. Back then, anyone who seemed like a nice person / keen musician could use my Gibson semi or Yamaha acoustic. The guitars were used, I was young, I didn't appreciate the finer points of guitar setup, and I was lucky; everything somehow survived fine. Mind, I do think attitudes to property, and respect for instruments, were better than now. They were thought of as special and personal (I still think they are; there are bonding processes that happen with every player's most significant guitars).

I guess I've become a bit more informed and selective, though: to use my Fenders or Danelectros, I think I would now want to know that a player washes first, and has reasonably musicianly maintenance on the nails of the fretting hand, so fretboards won't get torn up (Jerry Donahue bending in anger would be OK, but I have actually seen his hands close up, and he does a good engineering job of maintaining his man / machine interface!)

My G&L WR would only be handed to a close few; that guitar has exceeded every expectation of mine, over 50 years of playing. The relationship has been unlike any other, and taken me some time to appreciate properly; I don't expect to better it! I would have to be very sure of someone to hand that one across....

Welcome to G&L's; they're special!

Very best wishes for Christmas
Nick

Hey Jake, sounds like a good bachelor meal. Don't forget to belch loudly and unbutton/remove your pants while you eat it I'm a big fan of xmas leftovers and have never understood how other people can get bored of them! We never get turkey any more, pretty much any other farmed meat is a far tastier, cheaper, juicier alternative.

I don't have a problem with guys from other bands on the same bill playing my instruments, I know I'd appreciate it if someone let me use theirs if I broke a string or had some other problem - that said I've only broken one string in the last 4 or 5 years, and that was in a rehearsal! I wouldn't let someone from the crowd use them though. No way. Same goes for lending instruments, not a chance in hell unless you're a very close personal friend.

Hope you like it enough here to hang around

Welcome Jake. I believe you had a music clip earlier that I tried to load but I could not load it. I am a neighbor here in Minnesota country and I loved the preparation details for you meal to impress the new girl! Let me remind you that you don't want to impress them too much as you will not be able to continue at that level. The expectation bar isw important and you don't want to start with it too high!

I just had leftover potatoes, dressing and the best gravy that Ginny has ever made. It was awesome as everyone had their covered with this tasty gravy and there is hardly any left for me.

As for others playing my guitars, I am very selective and would not let a stranger gig my guitar. On the other hand Steve, our lead player has played many of my guitars. He takes care of his guitars like I do. I carry strings, batteries and most things I could possible need, even a backup guitar and a spare bass amp head. If the power goes out in the place, that is not my problem but when we hire out, we are obligated to deliver. I have seen equipment failures and have used tin foil more than once to get something working. It is rare to have a string fail and I don't remember that ever happening to us. Most common is probably a blown fuse.

I hope the new girl was impressed with you meal preparation skills. You never know, in Minn or Wisc it could be road kill!! Hope you stick around.-- Darwin