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Ingredients
2 bags corn tortilla chips in 2 colors or different flavors, such as blue corn, red corn, yellow corn, lime flavored, chili flavored or black bean chips — pick 2 favorites

Pico de Gallo Salsa:
4 vine ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped, for medium to hot heat level
1 small white onion, chopped
1/4 cup, 2 handfuls, cilantro leaves, finely chopped — substitute parsley if cilantro is not to your liking
Salt

Beef and Beans Topping:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground sirloin
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dark chili powder
1 1/2 ground cumin, half a palmful
2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper sauce, giving you medium to hot heat level
1 can black beans, 15 ounces, drained

Cheese Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
3/4 pound pepper jack cheese, shredded, about 2 1/2 cups

Directions

Arrange a mixture of 2 varieties of corn chips on a very large platter or use your broiler pan as a platter.

Combine salsa ingredients in a bowl and set aside for flavors to marry.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, garlic, onion and peppers to the pan and saute 2 minutes, then add meat and crumble with wooden spoon. Season meat with salt, chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper sauce. Cook meat 5 minutes, then stir in beans and reduce heat to low.

In a medium sauce pot, melt butter and add flour to it. Cook flour and butter 1 to 2 minutes over moderate heat, then whisk in milk. When milk comes to a bubble, stir in cheese with a wooden spoon. Remove cheese sauce from the heat.

Pour cheese sauce evenly over the massive spread of chips and top evenly with beef and beans and the pico de gallo. UBER NACHOS! Serve immediately as is or, garnish with your choice of extra toppings from the toppings list.

Additional toppings to choose from, optional:
Sour cream
Chopped scallions
Chopped black olives
Diced pimento
Sliced avocado, dressed with lemon juice
Hot pepper sauces

Out on the road today, I saw a DEADHEAD sticker on a Cadillac
A little voice inside my head said, “Don’t look back. You can never look back”
I thought I knew what love was
What did I know?
Those days are gone forever
I should just let them go but-

– Don Henley

Our Thanksgiving holiday was a political free zone per my mom.  Our family did great keeping the political talk to a minimum.  The sign actually worked.

The Infamous Bilancio Purple Turkey.

This drunk bird is heading to the smoker and going to turn a golden brown.

How I get ready for Thanksgiving!!

Sambuca (Italian pronunciation: [samˈbuːka]) is an Italian anise-flavoured, usually colourless, liqueur. Its most common variety is often referred to as white sambuca to differentiate it from other varieties that are deep blue in colour (black sambuca) or bright red (red sambuca).^[1] Like other anise-flavoured liqueurs, the ouzo effect is sometimes observed when combined with water.

Cheeseburger, my cheeseburger,
O’ how I love thee.
Thy juicy, meaty flavor tells me:
“Take another bite.”

At first I think ‘no’;
But then I shout ‘YES!’
And I sniff your deliciousness,
Relishing your pickle relishy smell.

I listen to your warmth,
I hear you scream
“EAT ME!”
You look at me; I look at you.

I then chomp down into you,
With your outer bun,
And your inner mustard and meat.
O’ and how could I forget the cheese?

O’ thou delicious cheese,
Eternal companion of the burger.
How thy cheesiness melts in my mouth.
Thy cheesiness and tastiness are too much!
I must take a sip of my Dr. Pepper!

I take my sip and see;
‘OH NO!’ there is only one bite left.
I stare at it relishing this moment,
I eat the last bite.

O’ cheeseburger you are now in my stomach;
I wish I still had you with me;
O’ my love, I will never forget your mouthwatering taste;
It was fun while it lasted…

Now where did I put those fries?]

– zachary.eller13

This is the CENTRAL SCRUTINIZER . . . it is my responsibility to enforce all the laws that haven’t been passed yet. It is also my responsibility to alert each and every one of you to the potential consequences of various ordinary everyday activities you might be performing which could eventually lead to The Death Penalty (or affect your parent’s credit rating). Our criminal institutions are full of little creeps like you who do wrong things . . . and many of them were driven to these crimes by a horrible force called MUSIC!

– Frank Zappa

On this first day of snow this winter…this is the place I would rather be.

Slow-grilling over indirect heat keeps this chicken moist and tender. Giving the drumsticks a long rub with seasonings makes them taste great. Always baste at the end of grilling to prevent the legs from burning.

The Ithaca Farmer’s Market is a cooperative with 150 vendors who live within 30 miles of Ithaca, New York. Agricultural vendors grow and offer high quality fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, poultry and dairy products. Food vendors bring a wide variety of freshly baked goods, jellies, honey, and sauces as well as delicious meals to eat at the market. Many talented artists and craftspeople sell their exceptional, locally made items.

Located in the beautiful Finger Lakes Region of upstate New York, the market pavilion is situated  in a garden-like setting, and is surrounded by trees and flowering plants. On the waterfront where steamboats from Cayuga Lake used to dock, the Ithaca Farmer’s Market has successfully anchored itself and has transformed a wasteland into Steamboat Landing. Built entirely by volunteer labor, the market has developed a former debris site into a beautiful, thriving community gathering place. Visitors can shop for fresh, local produce, or choose a handcrafted gift. They can listen to music while savoring a wide variety of international foods, and sitting at the picnic tables along the waterfront.

The market first opened for business on Saturdays in 1973 as a venue for local growers, craftspeople and food vendors to sell their goods. The rapidly expanding market moved five times before settling in its current location. It opened a midweek market at the edge of Dewitt Park, in downtown Ithaca, and then added a Sunday market at Steamboat Landing. More recently a Thursday afternoon market at Dewitt Park and a Wednesday afternoon market at East Hill Plaza were added.  A dock was built to accommodate local fishermen, people arriving by boat, and those who want a picturesque picnic spot.

The Ithaca farmer’s Market has continued to grow and prosper, often attracting well over 5,000 people a day.  Today over 160 vendors sell at one or all of the five market days. What was originally an innovative way to sell local produce, crafts, and baked goods is now an Ithaca tradition.

Twas in a pub just off the Strand
When I was in my cups,
There passed a bloke with in his hand
Two tiny puling pups;
And one was on me with a bound,
Seeking to lick my face,
And so I bought him for a pound
And took him to my place.

Three acres by the shore I own,
A hut, a pint wood;
And there for fifteen years alone
He shared my solitude.
It was his own, his only world,
And when with hunting spent,
Each night beside my bed he curled,
And slept in sheer content.

My dog is dead. Though lone I be
I’ll never have another;
For with his master-worship he
Was closer than a brother.
My foot is frail and I am old,
Yet how my heart can pity
Pups straining on a short leash-hold
And pent up in the city.

From all thought of self above,
And purged of sex emotion,
I know no form of living love
So deep as dogs devotion.
I have no hope at all of heaven,
I’ve lived in sin and strife;
But thank God! I at least have given
One dog a happy life.

You are my skyline
The boundary line
Between earth and sky
My apparent horizon
You are the outline
Of my life
You are the building
Of my dreams
Against the twilight
You are the opening
You are the frame
You greet me in the morning and
You tuck me in at night
My lovelight

You are my
Skyline

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends
We’re so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside
There behind a glass stands a real blade of grass
Be careful as you pass, move along, move along

Come inside, the show’s about to start
Guaranteed to blow your head apart
Rest assured you’ll get your money’s worth
Greatest show in Heaven, Hell or Earth
You’ve got to see the show, it’s a dynamo
You’ve got to see the show, it’s rock and roll, oh

EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER LYRICS – “Karn Evil 9”

Off the coast of Africa
Bound for South America
A world away from here
Is a ship that sails the sea
Is a man who’s just like me and
I wish that I was there

I’m a lonely lighthouse
Not a ship out in the night
I’m watching the sea
She’s come halfway round the world to see the light
And to stay away from me
There is a shipwreck lying at my feet
some weary refugee from the rolling deep
Ah, could you lose it all and fall for me

Couldn’t we shine
I’m rolling all the golden moments into one
Like to shine like the sun
For one more summer day
Like to shine like a lighthouse
One more stary night
Flash it on, flashing, fading away

If you feel lost and lonely and don’t know where to go
And you hear this song on the radio
And if you wind up feeling helpless and small
You just like to sing along
Just because I might be standing here
That don’t mean I won’t be wrong this time
No, You can follow me and lose your mind

Couldn’t we shine
I’m Rolling all my golden moments into one
Like to shine like the sun
For one more summer day
Like to shine like a lighthouse
For one more stary night
Flash it on, flashing, fading away

Off the coast of Africa
Bound for South America
A world away from here
Is a ship that sails the sea
Is a man who’s just like me and
I wish that I was there

Like to shine…One More Summer Day
Like to shine…One More Stary Night
Like to shine…
Flash it on, Flashing, Fadeing away

– James Taylor

“Thirstily he set it to his lips, and as its cool refreshment began to soothe his throat, he thanked Heaven that in a world of much evil there was still so good a thing as ale.”

― Rafael Sabatini, Fortune’s Fool