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32 Hours in Las Vegas with Biz Dev Brett
by
There’s a tacit excitement as you sit at the gate. Out of the corner of your eye, you see a group of guys already dressed for their golf round. Approaching the gate is a group wearing matching sets, with one wearing white signaling she’s the bride. There’s beaten-down businessman, tournament gamblers, and—if you’re me—those who are going for work.
It’s the Southwest gate heading to Las Vegas.
I hadn’t been to Las Vegas until I turned 33. I experienced it the way you always envision it after seeing it in the movies: with my pregnant wife on a Tuesday evening. Since that trip, I’ve found myself in Las Vegas more than I’d like to admit.
Deal cigs aside, when you get a text from Biz Dev Brett that simply reads, “We have to go out to Vegas for some work next week,” you immediately book the trip and don’t look back.
32 hours. Numerous meetings. Brown cocktails I won’t be ordering for myself but will somehow find their way in front of me. Tableside caesar salads. You get it.
There’s a palpable thirst that emanates from Brett when we’re on work trips. At The Kentucky Derby, he was as locked in as I’ve ever seen him. Taking candids, holding our phones so we could walk the red carpet without having that embarrassing sag in your trousers, coming up with a “flawless system” that only lost me like $300 when it was all said and done.
“Haven’t you been to Vegas with Brett before?” you may be asking. And the answer is “yes,” for a bachelor party where we were paired together in the scramble where we finished a modest 12-under with rented clubs. Not our finest round but he carried our team. Dog mentality.
But what can I expect from him on a business trip? Is he going to be knocking on my door in the morning with coffee in-hand ready to hit the hotel Starbucks for a day-before debrief? God, I hope not. Will he really lay it on thick and end up buying $85 pours of Pappy 10 on the Sunday Scaries credit card? Entirely possible. Will he stay out and hammer a blackjack table when I inevitably go to bed early? Almost assuredly.
I’ve been told we have five restaurants to cover over the span of about three meals. And while I’m not certain how that will actually work out, I’m just now realizing I forgot to pack some antacids. Looks like I’ll be calling down to the front desk to beg them for some Tums or Pepto because I know in my heart of hearts that Brett will be ordering something bone-in tonight at a steakhouse whose name I can’t pronounce.
Am I a Vegas guy? No. Well, not unless my favorite band is playing at The Sphere. But am I more than willing to watch a bird of prey in his natural habitat just shaking hands and cooking up deals between Thursday and Friday of an otherwise forgettable week? Of course.
Fear, loathing, all that jazz. This is 32 hours in Las Vegas with Biz Dev Brett. And I can’t wait to tell you how it all panned out next week.
Pray for me. I need it.
Dillon’s Bachelor Cookbook
by
I almost titled this The Single Dad Cookbook but I guess they’re mostly the same, the only difference being that I sometimes cook for two, and the other palate in my household belongs to a nine-year-old (which can limit options).
There used to be a running joke on Circling Back about my inability to cook. It was mostly fair, to be honest. My skills in the kitchen, while improving, are not advanced by any means. One of the guys, usually Dave, would catch me off guard with a quick “Hey Dillon, what did you have for dinner last night?” with no prior context. They knew if I didn’t have time to come up with a fake answer on the spot then my real answer would get a laugh, and it did. One time I admitted to eating cubed turkey and cheese out of one of those pre-packaged protein packs you get at HEB. That was a mistake.
I think the jokes started around the time I admitted to having never cooked spaghetti before, an admission I wish I could take back in hindsight. I’m happy to report I have cooked spaghetti several times since that episode. It wasn’t bad, either.
One of my New Year’s Resolutions for about the third year in a row was to become more useful in the kitchen. I’m a dad. I have a growing boy to feed. Some added pressure is applied via his other household. His mom is a really good cook. I can’t have him eating like a king at her place and then kick him some cheese and crackers for dinner when he’s with me.
I had to step my shit up. If you’re handy in the kitchen already, move along. You’re not my target audience. If you’re like me, however, and you’re trying to establish a solid baseline cooking repertoire, maybe this will help get you rolling.
Here are four dishes in my current rotation that are A) easy to make, B) require a few basic ingredients, and C) are pretty damn good:
Asian Glazed Salmon
In my home, my son and I do “Healthy Night” once per week. That’s not to say we eat unhealthily the other nights, but on Healthy Night, we make a point to eat clean and healthy. Usually I’m picking up salmon for this night.
What you need:
A six ounce Atlantic salmon filet for each person
Asian sesame and soy salad dressing
That’s literally it, aside from your side dishes. Lay down some aluminum foil on a cooking sheet, liberally cover the salmon with the dressing, and bake it at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Easy and delicious.
I’ll usually hit it with some steamed broccoli and a baked sweet potato and call it a day.
Grilled Shrimp
I cooked this last night for the very first time and it was a hit. It was very simple even though I burned my finger on a skewer.
What you need:
1 pound of shrimp
1 ⅔ cups of olive oil
One tablespoon of lemon juice
A little salt
A little pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Skewers
Access to a grill
Mix all these ingredients (minus the shrimp) in a bowl and stir. Peel those little bastards and marinate them in the bowl for 30 minutes and up to two hours, skewer them, then throw them on the grill at medium to high heat for a few minutes on each side.
They’re legit. I paired them with yellow rice and sautéed green beans. Healthy and delicious.
Grilled Bratwurst with Sautéed Onions & Blistered Bell Peppers
I make this a lot, mostly because my son loves it. He absolutely raves about the sautéed onions. It’s also carb free, for those prepping for pool season.
What you need:
Bratwurst
1 white onion
2 orange bell peppers
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Butter
Access to a grill
The brat part is easy. You grill them. A little twist, though: The onion and peppers are sautéed on the grill, too.
Tear off a square of aluminum foil and form edges so it contains all the juices. Chop the onion into long strips and slice the peppers. Coat the peppers with olive oil and hit it with a little salt and pepper. Lay these jawns down directly onto the grill and cook until they begin to blacken.
Take your chopped onion and place it in the foil. Add some olive oil and a couple scoops of butter, then hit it with salt and pepper. Place that foil on the grill and let all that good shit cook in there for a while. This is going to take a little longer than the peppers and bratwurst. Take it off when the edges of the onion start turning black.
The brats are great with a little brown mustard or curry sauce.
Baked Ham & Cheese Sliders
The kind of shit you eat for a few days. Not a healthy option, but you have to treat yourself every now and then, and these are a TREAT.
What you need:
1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
24 mini sandwich rolls
1 pound sliced ham
1 pound sliced Swiss cheese
Make the little sandwiches and set them inside a baking dish so that they’re touching each other. Mix the other ingredients together in a bowl and then spread it all across the top of the sliders. Bake for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Absolute gas.
We’re learning. We’re cooking. We’re having fun. We’re becoming more comfortable in the kitchen. We can do this.
What I’m Cooking, Drinking, And Watching This Weekend
by Dave
What I’m Cooking
I’d like to issue a pre-apology: This will be brief. I’m in Duncanville, The City of Champions, Texas, and I don’t think I’m cooking a damn thing. My pop picked up some tenderloin roast from Tom Thumb, and I don’t want to encroach on his grill session. I’ll offer my advice when warranted. Friday night is date night, and Mommy and Daddy are hitting Dallas hard. Sorry. Maybe I’ll have more to speak about on Monday’s Circling Back. I can’t wait to tell the tale of my five-hour drive from Austin to DFW with a three-year-old. DISGUSTING.
What I’m Drinking
Whatever the Ruffs have in the garage fridge. The garage fridge that started the garage beer movement. I personally put in a request for some Red Stripe, but I know there’s at least two stray Guiness and an Austrian beer that no one’s ever heard of somewhere in there. My dad is apparently on a brandy kick, so I imagine he’ll goat me into that at some point. Red wine with dinner. You know what it is.
What I’m Watching
The defending World Series Champion Texas Rangers hosting the Chicago Cubs. The good guys walked it off tonight, and it was a nice little bump after getting my D slammed in the door by Interstate 35 all night. Since I’m staying with my parents, I imagine I’ll get a healthy dose of local news, and an unhealthy dose of Turner Classic Movies late-night.
Hey, if it was up to me, I’d be watching the back of my eyelids all weekend! Sure could use some shuteye right about now! Haha. Seriously, though.
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fellas dropping GAS