Chicken Flambe

Yet another cooking disaster. I have signed up for remedial grilling school. This was to be beer can chicken. Being a bit nervous about the age of the old hen we wanted to make sure the internal temperature was well above the point at which Sam the Salmonella finds comfort. I violated Bubba's explicit instructions and put the hen on direct heat. I was distracted for a few minutes and upon return the fog had rolled in from the bay. Wait... no...thats not fog, its smoke, opening the grill, I was welcomed by a flaming chicken. The garden hose extinguished the flames, and a recheck of the internal temperature indicated it was not done. Perfect black on the outside, and red in the middle.

Note to self, there is absolutely no reason not to buy a roaster chicken. You can't do it as good at home.

The Gentleman's Companion

When I was in college my father introduced me to a set of Books by Charles H. Baker Jr. The Gentleman's Companion is a two volume set first published in 1939. From the inscription my father received his first set in 1965. The books detail the travels of Mr. Baker around the world, and his diary of food and drink he consumed while traveling one quarter of a million miles in the 20s.

Volume I Being an Exotic Cookery Book, and Volume II Being an Exotic Drinking Book. Apparently only a small fraction of the recipes he jotted down are actually in the set. Its not so much the recipes, or the fantasy life he details that has always attracted me, it the style of writing. Just as you can spot a Hemingway sentence, a Baker paragraph speaks of a writing style not with us any longer. For example the beginning paragraph of chapter 1, book 2.

Being a Brief Dissertation on This Pleasant Subject in General; why Too Many Cocktails Fail through Over-Sweetness & Plurality of Ingredients; why Hot Drinks must be Hot and Cold Drinks Cold; & finally a Second Invitation to The Blender.

I love people who take liberties with punctuation, capitalization and writing style. But looking through all that, its a mood that a simple sentence can put you in. An art I never learned, but I recognize it.

My father took notes in the book, which is great, he commented on food and drink he tried and the results. In the back is a concoction of his own.

2 parts english gin

1 part light rum

1 part tequila

1 part lime juice

Sugar to taste (prefer bar syrup)

Blend with shaved ice and serve in ???? (can't read his writing)

Name: Sea Island Lunch Cocktail. Discovered by accident trying to find a good use for Tequila in 1968 when entertaining those Maconites present in the summer colony. It is truly a 4 star cocktail.

After my father's death, I took the another set of books from the library at home, which was similar to this set, but only about the adventures in South America. Sorry mom if you were looking for that wild boar recipe or the Brazilian punch ingredients.

Cheers

Me

Culinary Inflection Point

I am not much of a wine drinker, or rather more accurately, I am not a wine connoisseur. All wine was binary, either it was drinkable or not. Spending more money for the same category was a waste of money. There seems to be a glut of drinkable wines less than $10 a bottle. I am sure I have offended many who think differently, much like anyone who says spending money on better food is a waste since McDonalds has a dollar menu.

We received a bottle of wine for our wedding from some friends. We uncorked it last night since our steaks on the grill menu seemed to need some excitement. After the first sip, it was clear there was a new wine category emerging. Something beyond drinkable, something flirting with "holy crap, that is really good". Indeed the bottle of Grgich Hills 1997 Cabernet was incredible. We began savoring each sip, and the wine was the highlight of the meal, perhaps even the highlight of the day. I can see why people buy expensive wine and hold them for special occasions.

There might be some questions from readers looking at the Biscotti in the picture. The Biscotti dunked in wine after dinner is an incredible tradition I have picked up from my wife's family. Thanks to Noni for the wonderful Biscotti!