Gorgonzola Cheese!

So I was cooking juicy steaks today and enjoying my day off by remembering what Independence Day is all about: to commemorate the day that Will Smith saved the world from aliens back in ‘96.  Remember when he punched one in the head?  That was outstanding.  He even saved us again from zombie/vampire things in December last year, which I think is probably the reason why people celebrate Christmas.

Well I offer a 4th of Julyish tip that may improve your life as it has exponentially changed mine forever and even made me want to post about it.

My tip is how to get those coals on fire in your grill without lighter fluid.  If you are a manly man, you know that the only way to start a fire is by polishing the bottom of a Coke can with a chocolate bar to reflect the sun into highly focused beam of light to ignite your coals (this method is actually doable as shown in episode 45 of the Mythbusters). But I’m really lazy and want to light things as fast as possible.  Usually I just pile the coals into a pyramid and then give them a healthy Homer Simpson dousing of lighter fluid and toss a match at it and hope my eyebrows don’t get burned off.  This usually takes a couple tries to get it going, doesn’t light all the coals evenly, and makes my food taste sorta funny.  So the secret tip of the day is to use a Charcoal Chimney instead.

I picked one up at Target for about 7 bucks today and filled the bottom of it with about 4 sheets of wrinkled newspaper.  Then I filled the rest of it to the top with charcoal, lit the newspaper from the bottom, walked away and played some Katamari Damacy (which was on sale last week on Amazon for $9.99).  When I came back 15 minutes later, the coals were bright red and I was just amazed how quick and simple it was.  I owe this tip to my bro-in-law after seeing him miraculously make a fire in mere minutes using a charcoal chimney to start a fire to cook delicious Korean galbi.

I apologize if I might be the last person on Earth to know about using charcoal chimneys so bear with me if you already know this and pretend you just read something new and interesting and act surprised.

As a personal note, I know I haven’t updated this site in over 2 months.  So I think I owe all of you an explanation.  I’m sorry but it’s sorta a long story but my life recently got flipped upside down.  So if you have a minute, just sit right there and I’ll tell you how I became the Prince of Bel Air.  In West Philadelphia born and raised, on the playground is where I spent most of my days.  Chillin’ out, maxin’, relaxin’, all cool.  And all shootin’ some b-ball outside of the school.  When a couple of guys, who were up to no good.  Started makin’ trouble in my neighborhood.  I got in one little fight and my mom got scared.  And said, “You’re movin’ with your auntie and uncle in Bel-Air.”

There’s nothing better than having the correct tool for the job. For the past year, I’ve been using a Leatherman Squirt, which is a tiny multi-tool that is small enough to attach to some car keys. It has served its purpose quite well with its built-in screwdrivers, file, scissors, knife, and bottle opener. Here’s a link to the Make store for their engraved “Warranty Voider” version of it (but you can find it cheaper at Frys or Costco). Late last year Leatherman announced it would be releasing a new tool for 2008 called the Skeletool, which gave me a bad case of upgraditis.

The Skeletool comes in 2 varieties: a steel handled one with a straight blade for $59.85 and a carbon fiber model with a serrated blade called the CX for $79.85. I don’t know what everyone’s obsession is with carbon fiber and prefer a straight blade for easier sharpening so I picked up the steel one (for sharpening tips and tricks, be sure to check out this blog: Knife Sharpening Tips, which has everything from the correct way of sharpening your kitchen knives, to pointing out that the razor stropping (sharpening) technique that Johny Depp used in Sweeney Todd was all wrong, now that’s hardcore).

The Skeletool is an incredibly sexy tool with an almost Steampunk design (if only it came in brass). I was extremely pleased with the construction and design that went into every little detail of it. It gets its name from the skeletonized handle and blade, which makes it lighter than other similar-sized multi-tools. There’s a belt clip and carabiner-like clip for easy transport, which doubles as a bottle opener!). The blade can be opened with one hand using just your thumb and has an ingeniously designed locking mechanism so it won’t accidentally fold back in.

It can take the place of a small toolbox since it includes: needle nose pliers, regular pliers, wire cutters, wire strippers, screwdrivers, straight blade, and a bottle opener. If the included Phillips and straight head screwdriver bits aren’t enough, you can also get this bit set for $14.99. I love how it is a barebones tool (har har) that is reduced to only the tools that are used the most compared with other bloated multi-tools. I highly recommend getting this for any hobbyist that may need all the essential tools available on the go. At $60 with a 25 year warranty, it’s a decent value too.