Pork Roll......

I'm a little surprised that more people don't know about Pork Roll in this area of the country. It seems to me (and my father as well) that it would be the perfect southern food. You can cook it just about any way you want and each way it tastes great.

For those that aren't in the know, Pork Roll is a northern food, mainly restricted it seems to New Jersey and parts of Pennsylvania. According to the all powerful Wikipedia (sarcasm abounds) Pork Roll, otherwise known as Taylor Ham, was created by one John Taylor of Trenton, New Jersey. It is referred to as Pork Roll because of the "roll" or tube-like sack it comes traditionally packaged in.

My family, being from New Jersey originally, all love this stuff. When we get to have it we almost fight each other for it. I'll admit, it's not exactly the healthiest of foods, but sometimes the best foods aren't that healthy at all.

The typical way of preparing Pork Roll, at least in my family, is frying in a frying pan. If you bought the actual "roll" like my family usually does, you want to slice it pretty thick, at least 3/4 of an inch (I usually slice it thicker then that myself). Once done, just throw it in the frying pan and let it sizzle away. Flip it a few times and after a few minutes once it is throughly cooked throw it on a hamburger bun and serve. Tasty tasty tasty.

A hint: If you have more than one frying pan try to reserve one pan for your pork roll and DON'T CLEAN IT. If you can let the grease build up on the frying pan the meat will have a better flavor. But, if your health consciouses, I wouldn't even eat the stuff.

Anyway, I'm going to go eat my supper, which just happens to be some boxed Pork Roll I found today at Harris Teeter in Shelby. It ain't great, but it is DEFIANTLY Pork Roll.

A days work

So I had Thursday off and really had nothing to do other then sit around the house and piddle around or play a video game. I was determined to actually do something with my day but I didn't know what I could do. Then, a light bulb went off.

I had been meaning for months to put together a collage from my day at Lowe's Motor Speedway during the All-Star Race in May. I was going to package together some of the pictures I took with the front page story I did on local boy Anwar Parrish. So I decided today was as good a day as any to actually sit down and MAKE the collage.

After some runs to Ingles and Wal-Mart to pick up some supplies (double sided tape, monster poster frame, pictures from 1 hour photo at Wal-Mart) I sat down and began the creation process. Two and a half hours later, this was the final result. It's not great, but I think it came out pretty darn good. Let me know what you think!

Signs the (NASCAR) economy is in bad shape

Here are five signs that the NASCAR economy is in bad shape:

1. Crowds have been down at nearly every track this season during the Chase.

2. Former dominate teams are struggling. A multiple time Daytona 500 winning team, Morgan-McClure Motorsports, was forced to shut down due to a lack of sponsorship. Lets not forget Yates Racing, a former Championship winning team, hasn't had a full time sponsor all season long.

3. Another legendary team, Wood Brothers Racing, has not only been struggling to find sponsorship, but have also struggled to race their way into the top 35 in owner points. Without Bill Elliott around to guarantee them spots in races, Wood Brothers Racing would likely have folded already.

4. Merger, merger, merger. Wasn't it only last year that Dale Earnhardt Inc. merged with Ginn Racing? Now, all of a sudden, DEI is set to announce a merger with Chip Ganassi Racing (to create Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, supposedly). Lets not forget Bill Davis Racing, Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Hall of Fame Racing, Wood Brothers Racing, Petty Enterprises and Robby Gordon Motorsports have all been in talks to merge with one team or another.

5. Owners are selling stakes in their teams to investment groups. Roush/Fenway? Gillett/Evernham? Boston Ventures/Petty Enterprises? What's next? Hendrick/Steinbrenner?

Maybe all of these things really amount to nothing, maybe not. Truth is a lot of things are going to change in 2009. Will it be good or bad for the sport? I'm not really sure, but we will soon find out.