We all want great tasting recipes and we want to get the compliments from the people we cook for. It also helps that the recipes can be low cal and low fat. I have a recipe that can give you all of these traits in one great recipe.

First of all traditional buffalo wings start by being deep fried. This seals the skin and keeps the fat inside. My recipe is baked which adds tenderness and also renders off the chicken fat and drains it away. The wings are baked at 400 degrees for one hour, defrosted and 11/2 hours if placed in the oven frozen. Be sure to drain off the fat and juices at the half way mark.

Traditional wings are made with a buffalo sauce which is traditionally ½ melted butter and hot sauce. The butter adds 200 calories per tablespoon. My sauce is just as good with far fewer calories. You mix your favorite BBQ sauce with half or less hot sauce and brush this sauce on the wings at the half way point. Be sure to coat all sides of the wings.

Every time I have served this version of wings, I have gotten rave reviews, then I told them that it was a low calorie low fat recipe and they were really amazed. It is so simple and easy. You don’t have to tell people that you did not slave over this recipe, just enjoy the compliments. This recipe is easy even for the novice cook.

John Wilder is a Cool Old Guy and regular contributor to CoolOldGuys.org and can be reached at marriagecoach1@yahoo.com

Tuesday May 25, 2010

Join TJ and Author of “Being the Strong Man a Women Wants” Elliott Katz as they discuss how this book, which has been translated into 19 languages, and the “Timeless wisdom” from the book. In Program 1 of 2, Elliott will discuss the traits women want in a man, how the media portray men today and how us COGs can still be “Strong Men.” Program Length- 17:20

Elliott Katz is a COG and professional speechwriter from Toronto, Canada who has authored seven non-fiction books including “Being the Strong Man.” Contact Elliott at ElliottRKatz@aol.com

According to Esquire Magazine there are 19 words men shouldn’t use any longer. I won’t list them all here because most don’t deserve the acclaim. But I will try to use a few in a sentence or two:

I’m not sure why this mixed bag of willy-nilly folks have gotten their panties in a bunch. It is what it is, that these boobs in slacks, eating their veggies and looking at their belly button decide it’s not cool to use the word Mommy. That’s only eleven of the nineteen, but it’s clear to me that these people just aren’t COOL!

Fact is…it is what it is!

My mother, Faith Gillespie, wrote a cooking column in the ‘60’s called the “Queen of Hearts” for the Observer/Eccentric newspapers. She was a trained chef but, really, it was a weekly column that she used to spread her wisdom and wit about all things domestic and beyond. That being the case, the editor was reluctant to provide her with press credentials when she requested them. “You just write a cooking column!’ they told her. Her response was that she worked as hard for that newspaper chain as anyone and deserved to be as accredited as any of the rest of them.

Faith be of Love

She got her press card.

My mother was also very politically active and in March 1968 she took my sister, my brother and me to see Martin Luther King speak at the Grosse Pointe High school auditorium.

Demonstrating amazing courage, she dragged us through a literal gauntlet of racial taunters and otherwise loud and angry people that lined the streets that led to the school. The whole scene felt like a powder keg and someone, somewhere just had to be lighting the fuse.

When we finally reached the entrance, the two sheriff deputies at the door stepped in front of my mother and told her that the Fire Marshall had ordered the doors closed and, even with a ticket, no one was getting in.

No sooner had the words left the deputy’s mouth than my mother had her Observer/Eccentric press card out and in his face. “I’m with the press!” she declared, In a moment of trying to decide what to do, he loosened his grip on the door, my mother grabbed my sister, my brother and me by whatever she could get hold of and then this 5’2″ woman lowered her shoulder and pushed her way into the building, dragging us behind her.

I was 12 years old and it was one of the most richly amazing experiences of my life. The fear, the courage, the momentary disappointment and the pride in my mother are still so real I can still feel them. These intense and rapid-fire emotions made seeing Dr. King speak all the more powerful.

Kevin Gillespie is a COG who was born in Detroit, raised in Paris and lives in Ann Arbor. He helps people be better in everything they do. Visit Kevin at http://WhatsInYourToolKit.com email KevinGillespie@whatsinyourtoolkit.com

Note: I don’t even like Cheesecake, but this sounds pretty darn cool! Thanks John…

For Crust

21/2 cups slivered almonds
¾ stick butter melted

For Cheesecake

4- 8 oz packages non fat cream cheese room temp
6 ozs or ¾ cup non fat sour cream or Yoplait Boston Crème Pie Yogurt
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup Splenda
4 eggs at room temp
½ tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
About 24 Hershey’s Almond Kisses or half bag approx  enough to cover bottom of crust completely
1/3 approx of Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup from a squeeze bottle
Container pre made chocolate frosting
About 12 maraschino cherries.

Place spring-form pan in the freezer for at least 30 minutes prior to forming crust in pan

For crust, pulse blend the almonds until ground into a fine meal.  Melt the butter and combine with ground almonds thoroughly and set in the fridge for about 5 minutes.

Remove pan from freezer and take crust mixture from fridge and with a large tablespoon start pressing crumb mixture against the sides of the pan.  Finish up with the remainder pressed into the bottom of the pan. You want to have the crust at least 1/8 inch thickness on the sides of the pan.  Place pan back into the freezer while preparing batter for cheesecake.

For Cheesecake, cream together the non fat cream cheese and the yogurt or non fat sour cream, then cream together the sugar and Splenda.

Add eggs one at a time until thoroughly mixed.  Then add the extracts and thoroughly mix

Remove wrappers from kisses and place in the bottom of the pan until the whole bottom of the pan is covered.  Pour batter over the kisses.  Take the squeeze bottle of Hershey’s Syrup and place the nozzle down in the batter and begin squeezing out the syrup moving it around until you have squeezed about 1/3 of the bottle into the batter.  You can swirl a knife around to create a marbled effect if you like.  Place a sheet pan in the bottom rack of oven and fill with water and place the spring-form pan in the oven on the middle rack for one hour at 300 degrees.  After the hour is up, leave cheesecake in the oven until cool for another hour with the oven off.  Remove from oven and chill for at least 4 hours before decorating.

Decorate the cheesecake with chocolate icing placed in a piping bag with a medium or large star tip and pipe stars of chocolate frosting alternating with the maraschino cherries.

Serves 10-12 depending upon how you slice the cake

John Wilder is a Cool Old Guy from Indiana and a regular contributor to CoolOldGuys.org

One of the most common dietary downfalls is French fries. They are dietary suicide for all of the fat and the salt. Another big problem is commercially prepared hash browns. I am here to tell you that you can prepare potatoes at home with a much lower fat and salt content and actually make them healthy. I must first explain the science of French Fries to you.

Commercially prepared French fries or hash browns are soaked in running water to remove the potato starch. What happens is that this process makes the potato a virtual sponge, sucking up the oil that they are fried in. Also salt will dissolve much more readily and also be sucked into the potato yielding additional flavor. This is why French fries or hash browns or hash brown patties are so greasy. They are literally oozing grease that they have absorbed. I have a magic trick that you can do at home to prevent this so that you can have your potatoes and eat them to without guilt.

In stead of making traditional fries, make home fries that are sliced potato rounds with the skins left on. You can make home fries that are fast, easy, non greasy that are crisp on the outside and yet tender on the inside. Here is how:

You use one large russet potato per person. You microwave it like you are making a baked potato. Instead of cooking it all the way through to a tender fluffy baked potato, you cook it part way or about three fourths of the way. It is tender enough to slice easily with a serrated knife but is not tender to crumbly like a baked potato. You have to experiment with your particular microwave. A rule of thumb is if it takes 5 minutes to make a baked potato, you set the micro for about 3 and half minutes. You then immediately slice the potato while it is hot into quarter inch rounds. These rounds will be steaming. Two things happen here to your benefit. The starch is retained in the potato and the potato is steaming still containing moisture inside the potato. As you probably know, oil and water don’t mix. Between retaining the starch which seals the surface of the potato, you also have residual moisture that will keep the potato from absorbing oil. I cook the home fries in olive oil which is a rich and flavorful oil filled with anti-oxidants which are heart healthy. You cook the potatoes until they are golden on one side about 4-5 minutes and then turn them once and fry on the back side until that surface is golden. You will find that the fries are sealed and don’t absorb any grease. You immediately salt them when you remove them but again, since the surface is sealed, they won’t absorb salt and much less salt will stick. You cover the bottom of the pan with enough olive oil to have the oil be about one half inch deep. You can keep and filter this oil and re-use it again and again, because once your family tastes these fries, they will ask for them over and over.

There are two additional upsides to this article. Putting frozen potatoes in oil inevitably involves spattering of hot oil. This is of course dangerous, especially for children. My technique does not cause the potatoes to spatter. My method is far cheaper than purchasing frozen potatoes from the freezer case. You can check prices for yourself from frozen potatoes to individual Russet potatoes purchased in bulk.

Finally, by leaving the skins on, you add additional flavor but also a lot of nutrients that are outlined from this direct quote from a website called: The Wise Geek:

The potato , as well as the potato skin, is a great source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, copper , potassium , manganese , and dietary fiber. Potatoes and potato skins contain 18% of the recommended daily allowance of iron and 7.5 grams of protein which is rarely found in vegetables in such high concentrations. Potato skins also contain a variety of phytonutrients which are a natural source of antioxidants that help to prevent cellular deterioration of the body. The phytonutrients found in the potato skins as well as the flesh include carotenoids, flavonoids, and caffeic acid.

Potatoes are classified as a tuber, meaning bulb or root, which contains a protein called patatin specific to these types of vegetables. Patatin also works as an effective antioxidant as well as lowering blood pressure. Overall, potato skins help to provide protection against heart disease and cancer.

John Wilder is a Cool Old Guy and regular contributor to CoolOldGuys.org and can be reached at marriagecoach1@yahoo.com

Here’s the deal…we want to create a “COG Cookbook” that is packed with recipes Cool Old Guys love and want to share with other Cool Old Guys.

The catagories thus far are: Main Courses (Entries), Desserts, Snacks, BBQ, Sides, Appetizers, Soups, Salads, Beverages

…but you can send us anything you think other COG’s would find enjoyable.

Just like submitting any article, send them to tj@coololdguys.org in a Word.doc and feel free to include a picture, but it’s certainly not necessary.

NOTE: If you know a COG that isn’t an official member but a darn good cook…he can send along his favorite recipe too.

Questions???

Ok, we’ve all heard ad nauseam how technology has made the world smaller. The Internet, cell phones and satellite broadcasts bring us instantaneous information from around the world, and even from space. Don’t get me wrong, I love Gore’s Information Superhighway but I don’t need digital pundits to show me the shrinking world. It’s happened to me.

As a new college graduate in the ‘70’s with great job, my first apartment materialized with a bedroom, balcony, living room and kitchen. I bought a big TV, loud stereo with humongous speakers and a new mattress. A giant but used beanbag couch from my brother’s basement (only a little musty), and lawn furniture (on sale in the off-season) completed the living room comfort arrangements. Art-like rock’n’roll posters taped to the bedroom wall. Hendrix under black lights. Very Austin Powers’ cool. It was my vision of nirvana, and I owned it all. I was styling. Long hair, cool t-shirts, and occasionally I enticed some wary young lady to visit. A well planned but cheesy bachelor spider web.

Then along came my soulmate, Christine, marriage and a new house. A grown-up couch, and love seat appeared in the living room with matching end tables with lamps and coasters. We put up new decorative paintings on the walls – fields of flowers in cute pastels. The colors matched I was told. My sister-in-laws thought it cute. As compensation, I made a basement den of my own. Moved the rock’n’roll posters, black lights, stereo and TV below ground. My motorcycle posters stayed in the guest bedroom with a desk as the pretense for my office. Played the stereo as loud as I wanted down in my concrete and knotty pine cave. My soulmate smiled benevolently at us when my mates and I surfaced for more drinks and pizza. Somehow, her smile contained the knowledge that a grown-up future was stalking me.

We moved to a larger house and a child blessed us. Bedroom office became a nursery. Moved the motorcycle pictures to the basement. It was a little damp, dark and cool but the old beanbag couch, worn TV, motorcycle picture and still too-loud stereo made it mine. Another little one blessed us. Basement den became a playroom filled with pedal cars, legos and dollhouses. The TV covered with Disney tapes. The stereo was hidden a living room cabinet with dog-chewed headphones for rocking out. The rock’n’roll tribute posters, motorcycle pictures and black lights seemed to have disappeared.

Life moves on. The stereo with torn speakers went to charity. An antique desk and beautiful old furniture covered with crystal and ceramic knick-knacks became the home’s essence. I owned only the untidy workbench in garage that was covered greasy tools and hunted for plumbing parts for under harsh fluorescent light. Kids grew strong and healthy with bright futures yet to be.

Cornered in that partially heated garage, I came to realization that it is now time to re-conquer my empire and re-discover my soul. Downloaded I-tunes and bought kick-ass speakers for the PC.  The Stones, Animals and old blues singers are again rattling the windows. I enthusiastically sing lyrics to the dog when the mood strikes me. A facebook page where I can be as unconventional and immature as I want. I again own my own space in cyber space. Well, that is, as long as my wife isn’t home.

Tom Liles

Retired and Retread

BSEE – Trine University 1973

41 years as the “Best” bureaucrat ever. In box empty, Out box full. An expert at taking credit for team projects while distancing myself in case something goes wrong.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Join TJ as he interviews George Wolf, a Cool Old Guy from NY City that grew up in the garment industry and watched it disappear. George will touch on terrorism, politics and history as he weaves his tips on how to and not to dress as a COG. “If you want to be more confident…be more appropriate.” George doesn’t pull any punches. See What he has to say about Trump’s hair. Program Length- 21:20

George Wolf is a Cool Old Guy who lives in New York City with his bride of 52 years where he stays busy in his “Second Career” of volunteer work. If you have any questions for George, email him at: bandgwolf@aol.com

Our journey starts…

     1.  Fill shaker with broken cubed ice.

     2.  Squeeze TWO fresh lime wedges into shaker.

     3.  Savor the fresh lime aroma (AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!)

     4.  Add 2 parts GOOD 100% Blue Agave Tequila*

     5.  Add 1 part Roses Lime Juice (accept no substitutes!).**

     6.  Add 1 part Cointreau (accept no substitutes!).***

     7.  Cover shaker tightly!

     8.  Shake vigorously 8 or 10 times.

     9.  Rim glass with Lime peel (outside only!).

     10. Salt the outside only.

     11. Add fresh ice to glass.

     12. Strain mixture over ice.

     13. Place 1 lime wedge on glass rim for squeezing!

*That means any 100% Blue Agave Tequila. You can pick a Blanco, or “Silver”, that’s not aged, a “Reposado” that’s aged at least 60 days to a year or an “Añejo” that’s aged over a year. The “mas joven”, i.e. younger the Tequila, the more raw the flavor. I use mostly Repsado Tequilas in my Margaritas. I like some Silvers too. Here’s a quick list: Herradura, El Tesoro, El Jimador and Chinaco. These are my favorites but there are lots of good Tequilas. The most “cost effective” , easy to find, 100% Blue Agave is the Jose Cuervo Tradicional or Sauza Hornitos (see below). Either one is good enough to amaze your friends, (and yourself)!, and affordable enough to keep around.

**When you get used to your own tastes you can try other groovy lime juices, like Key West Key Lime juice and so on. Or, squeeze a whole bunch of real limes and the pay off is huge!

***A reasonable alternative to spending $35 on Cointreau  (have friends get it at the Duty free on their way back from trips abroad for $20) is Bols Triple Sec, at around $10 a bottle, it’s pretty good but not Cointreau!

Or…….

There’s an awesome summer refresher called The Fresca. Use only Sauza Hornitos, a great affordable Resposada, with Squirt and a bit of lime juice over ice and kick back………

Make one for me!

Kevin Gillespie is a COG who was born in Detroit, raised in Paris and lives in Ann Arbor. He helps people be better in everything they do. Visit Kevin at http://WhatsInYourToolKit.com email KevinGillespie@whatsinyourtoolkit.com

©Kevin Gillespie 2009