Micah's Read of the Week, Vol. 77
The craziest wedding year ever, Wordle, "Super" Bob Einstein, an expanded Recipe Corner, and more.
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The ‘craziest wedding year of all time’: A photographer’s overbooked, overwhelming 2021
Photographers bore witness to 2021 weddings in all their cathartic, frenetic, superspreading glory.
Michael Cassara, 35, is a wedding photographer based in Long Island. This is his story of a wild year.
I shot 46 weddings this year. A normal year is around 30 weddings. Twenty-four of my weddings this year were rescheduled from 2020, and I had already booked 18 weddings for 2021 before covid hit.
Right around April or May, weddings started getting back to normal. I would say 75 percent of weddings I shot this year felt like weddings in 2019. One required that vendors be vaccinated and wear masks this year, but the majority really didn’t care about the risks as much as you would probably think.
So what was different in 2021?
Weddings went hard this year. You could tell people were cooped up for a year, and they wanted to get out and party and let loose. This year, I’ve seen everything from people mosh-pit stage-diving off speakers to one wedding where they brought in a gigantic jump rope and the bride and groom were jump-roping. I’d never seen that before. I’ve had grooms break-dancing, guests break-dancing. I’ve seen a nine-foot dancing robot come in, with LED panels and smoke cannons.
Prove it
So what was it like to work in these kinds of environments with so much uncertainty?
It took a heavy toll on a lot of my friends and a lot of other vendors. My clients were phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal. But with a lot of people who were inquiring, or were scheduling their dates, there was a high level of demand, especially from parents of the brides and grooms. At some moments, it was almost like they didn’t really care that you’re a small business, or that you’re busting your butt for your client. They want results, and they want them quickly. Meanwhile, we were doing double the work that we would normally do for a calendar year.
I know a handful of other photographers who — this broke them. I’m relatively new to the industry, in terms of being a full-time wedding photographer. So I think I still have my mental sanity. But others, they’ve been in this for 20 years. And they’re just like: “Yep, I’m good. I’m done. I’m checking out.”
I highly recommend our wedding photographer, Angela King. Speaking of things I recommend…
Micah Recommends
Wordle
Wordle is taking over the world.
The rules, thought up by designer Josh Wardle, are simple: Figure out the word, with five letters and six tries. The game lets you know whether the characters you’ve entered are wrong entirely (by highlighting them in gray), right entirely (green), or right but in the wrong place (yellow).
Wordle asks little of you beyond typing in the URL that will take you to its bare-bones webpage.
Let’s get one more thing straight: Wordle is easy.
This is really what makes Wordle perfect for a weary populace: We’re playing together, but we’re also playing alone. The game, engineered for the Internet age, lets you click to copy an emoji representation of your most recent round for sharing on Twitter or text or anywhere else the disconnected gather to connect. The ease doesn’t hurt, either. You’re hardly going to shout your failures from the rooftops, but in this case, you can shout your successes without getting labeled a braggart. You know everyone else probably succeeded, too.
Wordle 212 6/6
⬜🟨⬜🟨🟨
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨
🟩⬜⬜🟩⬜
🟩🟨⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
“The Super Bob Einstein Movie”
Super Dave Osborn. Marty Funkhouser. Bob Einstein was known for his iconic characters, but there’s so much more in this HBO doc. Did you know that Mel Brooks is his brother? Did you know Mel Brooks’ birth name is Albert Einstein? Did you know Bob Einstein got his start writing for the “Smother’s Brothers Comedy Hour” after a one-off appearance on a local TV show?
Everyone seemed to love Einstein and the talking heads in this doc represent a who’s who of comedy television history. Seinfeld is there. And of course, so is the funniest moment in the history of television. Don’t believe me? Watch it yourself:
Watch the doc. I loved it and think you will too.
Any coach other than Mike McCarthy
Grand Velas Resort, Rivera Maya
I just returned from an unbelievable President’s Club trip to Mexico with my wife and the amazing team at Leahy Lending.
We helped hundreds of families last year, and we’re killing it for our clients.
It would be my pleasure to help you solidify your financial future in 2022. You don’t need 20% down, and you may be surprised by how much you can qualify for.
Click HERE to schedule a risk-free mortgage consultation with me now. Or get started in just a few clicks at micahwiener.com.
I would love the opportunity to work with you. Thanks again for your support.
Now, on to the recipes…
Recipe Corner
Let’s start this week with another mocktail from our friends over at Earlybird.
You can start your year off right with the official sponsor of Dry January, at earlybirdcbd.com/newyear. New and returning customers save 20% with promocode: newyear.
Wanna hear more? I have the founders of Earlybird on Mind of Micah this week. Subscribe here and get new episodes as soon as they are released.
Skillet Pork Chops With Horseradish Green Beans
Ok. We’re doing simple, quick, and healthy this week. Plus, grill a few extra chops for the recipe below.
FOR THE BUTTER
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 lemon, finely zested (about 1 teaspoon zest) and cut into wedges
FOR THE CHOPS
4 (6-ounce) boneless pork chops, about 3/4-inch thick
1/4 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or another neutral oil, plus more as needed
FOR THE BEANS
1 pound fresh or frozen green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise if fresh
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish, drained, plus more to taste
In a small bowl, stir together the butter, chives and lemon zest until combined.
Pat the chops dry and cut two slits, about 2 inches apart, through the fat on the edges of each chop, then lightly sprinkle them with the salt and pepper.
In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the chops and cook until well-browned on both sides and the meat has an internal temperature of 140 to 145 degrees, about 8 to 10 minutes. (Thicker chops will need to cook longer.) Using tongs, stand the chops on their side in the pan, fat side down, to render some of the fat, about 1 minute. Transfer the chops to a platter and, using half of the butter, add a dollop to each chop. Cover the chops to keep them warm.
In the same skillet over medium heat, add an additional 1 tablespoon of oil if the chops were lean and there’s not enough rendered fat from the chops. Add the green beans and lightly season with the pepper, if desired. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans begin to brown in spots, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the water, cover and cook until the beans are bright green, but still crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking until the water evaporates, about 1 minute.
Stir in the horseradish and the remaining chive butter and cook for 1 more minute or until the beans have reached the desired tenderness. Taste, and season with more salt, pepper and/or horseradish, as needed. Remove from the heat.
Divide the pork and green beans among plates and serve hot, with a lemon wedge on the side.
NOTE: If you don't plan to eat all of the green beans right away, transfer leftover beans to a storage container to stop them from cooking.
Spicy Pork With Vegetables and Soba Noodles
This would make a lovely salad for lunch or dinner with the leftover chops from the recipe above.
FOR THE DRESSING
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce, such as Ka-Me brand
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 lime)
2 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, plus more as needed
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce, plus more as needed
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
FOR THE PORK AND NOODLES
9 ounces soba noodles (see NOTES)
4 boneless pork chops (about 5 to 6 ounces each) (see NOTES)
Finely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola
4 scallions, sliced
1/2 cucumber (about 7 ounces), cut into matchsticks or bite-size pieces
1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper (about 4 ounces), cut into matchsticks or bite-size pieces
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus whole leaves for serving
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves, plus whole leaves for serving
1/2 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) salted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 lime, quartered
Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the chili sauce, lime, soy sauce, fish sauce and crushed red pepper. Taste, and season with a little more soy or fish sauce, if needed.
Make the pork and noodles: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the soba noodles according to the package instructions; do not overcook. Drain and rinse thoroughly under cold running water to stop the cooking. Thoroughly drain again. Transfer the noodles to a large serving bowl and toss with half of the dressing.
Pat the pork dry and generously sprinkle both sides with pepper. In a large, nonstick skillet over high heat, add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the pork chops, cooking until golden brown on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side depending on thickness. (For thicker chops, test the interior temperature to ensure it is at least 145 degrees.) Transfer the pork to a plate, spoon over a little of the remaining dressing over, cover with another plate or foil and let rest for 5 minutes.
Add the scallions, cucumber, bell pepper and the chopped cilantro and mint to the noodles and toss with the remaining dressing to combine.
Thinly slice the pork against the grain and arrange the meat on top of the noodles. Drizzle any juices or dressing from the plate onto the dish as well.
Scatter the peanuts and a few cilantro and mint leaves on top, tuck the lime wedges onto the side of the dish, and serve family-style.
NOTES:
If you don’t have soba noodles, try another thin noodle, such as 7 ounces of instant vermicelli rice noodles or 1 pound of angel hair pasta.
Did Micah do Yoga this week?
Yes.
45 minutes at Grand Velas Rivera Maya resort 1.14. 2/2.
Namaste.
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