My Open Letter to LeBron James

LeBron James,

Hi buddy, it's me JD. How've you been? We haven't talked in a little while. How's the family? Good I hope. Give them my best.

Things have been pretty crazy here. We had to make some major decisions over the past couple of weeks. We decided to move. That was a big deal. Buying a house can be a big ordeal as we learned first hand. You're lucky you got to build your own dream house. No need to move from that ever, huh? It has everything you want and if you want something else, you can just add it. I'm envious. Don't worry though, we didn't leave Cleveland. Why would we do that?! We moved in to the house a few weeks ago and are getting settled. Once we get the hoop up you can come on over.

See any good movies lately? Have you seen Toy Story 3 yet? Don't see it in public, it might make you cry (seriously, even YOU. you don't want anyone to WITNESS that). Watch it in your home theater. I think you'll like it. What's your favorite character? Mine's Woody. I like what a strong leader he is; willing to stand strong, make the tough decisions, and help inspire all the other toys even when they keep failing. Plus, he has a real strong bond to where he came from and who cares about him. I bet Woody and your Nike puppet would get along great! Anyway, you should check out the movie.

Did you feel that earthquake last week?! That was crazy. I'm glad it wasn't as bad as those quakes in Los Angeles. That can be dangerous. Oh, you'll like this joke I heard: Did you hear about the earthquake in Cleveland? -- What earthquake? I heard it was just Shaq tripping on his sidewalk. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! I immediately thought of you when I heard that.

Aaaaanyway, any big plans for the 4th weekend? We should get together. If you're busy, that's cool. We should schedule something for August. Will you be around then?

Keep on truckin',
JD

PS. GO TRIBE!! LOL! Read more!

The Wally Szczerbiak Cheesesteak

You can stop looking for that perfect food to eat while you watch the Cavs dominate in the playoffs, I've found it for you: The Wally Szcerbiak Cheesesteak.

Why Wally (I'm going to keep calling him Wally, because I don't feel like typing Szcerbiak over and over)? Wally and this sandwich have a lot in common. Like Wally, at first glimpse you may think, "Oh, that doesn't sound very good at all. Why would I waste my time with that?" Like Wally, the ingredients are simple and unassuming; able to be enjoyed by young and old alike. And like Wally, it will surprise you. Tasting the Wally Szcerbiak Cheesesteak for the first time is a lot like this:



It's a lot like that ... only for your tastebuds. Have I hyped the Wally Szcerbiak Cheesesteak enough? Full disclosure, I did not create this recipe. Credit must be given to 10-year-old Jordyn Boyer who won the Jif Peanut Butter Cooking Contest. In layman's terms, The Wally Sczerbiak Cheesesteak can be known as the Po' Boy Peanut Butter Chicken Cheesesteak. The only thing I have altered from young Jordyn's recipe is hot sauce and the name.

Seriously, it's easy to make, delicious, and the closest thing to actually eating Wally Szczerbiak. Try it when watching the Cavs tear into Orlando/Boston. If you don't try it, the Cavs will lose, and you don't want that on your conscience the rest of your life.


THE WALLY SZCZERBIAK CHEESESTEAK

Chicken Mixture:

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 small onion
• 1/2 red pepper
• 1/2 yellow pepper
• 1/2 apple (red or green)
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
• 4 chicken breast slices (1 large chicken breast sliced in long strips)
• hoagie/sub roll

Sauce Mixture

• 3 T creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tsp. honey mustard
• 1/2 cup water
• hot sauce to taste

Cut peppers into strips, cut onions into rings, slice apples in strips. Place them in a skillet with olive oil and cook on medium heat until soft. Cook chicken breast and add to the pepper-onion-apple mixture in the skillet and cook for a few min.

For the sauce, In a sauce pan or small skillet on medium heat, add peanut butter, Worcestershire sauce, honey mustard, honey, and water. Cook and stir until creamy and soft. Add hot sauce to taste.

Place chicken-onion-pepper-apple mixture in a toasted hoagie roll. Top with peanut butter sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Read more!

Creating a Legacy

Yesterday was my birthday. I had a fun relaxing day that ended with a great dinner at Momocho and surprise tickets to tonight’s Cavs/Suns game. I hope it’s a good one. We have to cleanse ourselves of the 2 tough losses this week.

I turned 27. Yep, I’m getting old. In these twilight years I have thought a lot about my legacy: What will the name JD Drake mean generations from now? How will they speak of my grand achievements? What will those achievements mean to the world? I’m not getting any younger, I better get achieving. My problem is, I don’t have a lot of free time, and I don’t want to work too hard for a legacy.

My solution: create a sauce. I’m not sure what kind of sauce it will be yet: barbecue, salsa, cajun, marinara, or maybe teriyaki. All I need to do is create a classic recipe by the time my future offspring/business partner is old enough to learn it to perfection. He/She will then pass the recipe on to the grandchildren, who will then begin to sell and distribute it to grocery stores. By the time my great-grandchildren are in the Drake Sauce business it will be one of the best-selling specialty sauces in the country.

Now I don’t want to be too specific here, but the front of the sauce jar could have a cartoon rendering of my likeness giving the thumbs up (possibly with a chef’s hat or wooden spoon in my hand). On the back could be a blurb, something like:

“Four generations ago, in a modest Ohio kitchen, our great-grandfather Drake cooked up a dream of bringing friends and family together with a love of (insert type of sauce here). Today, his dream is a reality at kitchen tables across the country, thanks to Drake’s Sauces. This core belief has been at the core of our sauce making core for decades, and shall continue for decades to come.

So crack open a jar and enjoy! As great-granddad always said, ‘You can’t make sauce without a spoon and a smile!’ "

There, I have already done most of the leg work. All I have to do now is throw some stuff in a pot and let my progeny do the rest. LEGACY CREATED! Now to see what’s on TV. Read more!