How to Grill a Good Steak

I won't go as far as to say that a sign of manhood is being able to grill a good steak, but I will say that every man I know wants to be able to grill a good steak.

Last Spring I ordered some steaks from Omaha Steaks. Mandy and I are trying to have a date night at least every other week after we put the kids to bed. So last night I decided to grill the last of my steaks, this time filet mignon. Steaks intimidate me, in part because they are so darn expensive but also because I've had my share of poorly grilled steak. Oh yeah...and it was date night. So I made the wise choice to consult the pros.

The good news is that it turned out to be the best steak I've ever grilled. Here's the basics:

• Season with a little salt and pepper
• Let it sit out for awhile (15 minutes in my case)
• Let the grill get very hot
• Place the steaks on the grill
• Leave the grill open while cooking
• After 3 minutes, rotate 90 degrees
• Wait 3 minutes, then flip
• After another 3, rotate 90 degrees
• 3 more minutes, then off the grill
• Don't cut into it. Let it sit for another 3 minutes
• Enjoy!

Scot McKnight on the Books Pastors Like to Read

About a year ago I came across a post from Scot McKnight that grabbed my attention, and that I've continued to think about. Here's the opening paragraph

Evangelical pastors have flipped in the last generation. 30-40 years ago what most incited excitement was a new book by the arch-pastor and expositor, John Stott, expositing a New Testament book or a J.I. Packer book on theology. Today's evangelicals pastors are enamored with the latest book on leadership, like that morsel of an idea in the book called Tribes, or the latest book on management, or the latest fad in creativity.

I guess part of this has to do with the fact that for the first time in my life I am reading John Stott. I'm one of those who, for the past decade or so, would choose books devoted to orthopraxy over orthodoxy. It wasn't so much that I was disinterested in theology but more that I wanted to flesh it out, to put it into action. However, lately I've been rethinking a lot of things. Though I've always known it in my head, today more than ever I believe that our orthopraxy must be shaped by our orthodoxy.

Today was Union Avenue Baptist Church's annual rummage sale to raise funds for mission trips, so I went down to check things out. I came away with 17 books, with all but two written pre-1980. Oh, and six of them are by John Stott.

CNET's New Guide to Internet TV

In years past, you had three basic choices when considering TV reception: cable, satellite, or the good old-fashioned over-the-air antenna. But a fourth option is now coming on strong. It goes by a wide variety of names--IP TV, streaming video, online TV, even "over the top" (OTT) TV--but we're calling it Internet TV for lack of a better name.

This guide is intended as a straightforward overview of this new entertainment medium. We compare the available services and hardware, and help you choose which ones are right for you.

More here