That's Good Eatin'!

So my buddy, Eva, went on this crazed food binge this weekend which looked fantastic. Nice spots, great pics - the good life as they say.

But things here in Pursitland, well they ain't so bad either friends. Of course, we're not out and around dining with our sophisticated friends, but we do manage pretty well. Pretty, pretty well. Sunday was no exception. For whatever reason I was feeling inspired, and Mrs. P's declaration that "I feel like some fish" was all it took to put the culinary gears in motion!

Off to the store I went in search of something to cook. Upon arrival at the fish counter I saw my initial plans were out the window. I had been thinking we'd go with some Halibut, but at 20 smakeroos a pound for a decidedly gray pasty slab of flesh, I new adjustment was in order. That was when I spotted the striped bass. Oh, it looked wonderful. Fresh, gleaming and at only 11.95 (American) a pound I was sold. I also picked up some potatoes, Brussels sprouts, Nueske bacon and assorted other items.

Upon arrival at home, the Bears game was in progress so I sat down to watch the hapless dolts and used the first quarter to core the sprouts. Towards the end of the first half I peeled the potatoes, pre-heated the oven and set a pot to boil.

Half-time was a flurry of activity! I par boiled the sprouts, started the potatoes on the stove and then tossed them in the oven to roast. With my initial work done I mixed a martini, set out some shrimp cocktail and enjoyed the second half.

Timing is critical in these things and as with most things, luck plays an important role as well. The taters were finished towards the middle of the fourth quarter, so I removed them from the oven and put them in the warmer. Martini number two was then served.

Miraculously, the once and future world champions found a way to win the game, but there was no time to savour sweet victory; dinner was calling my name. Off to the kitchen, I diced and sauted the Nueske's, separated the individual leaves of the sprouts and added them to the saute once the bacon was nearly done. 3 minutes and the sprouts were removed to the warmer. The fish was easy, a quick sear in the pan 4 minutes in the oven and then, you guessed it, a quick stay in the warmer while I made the sage cream sauce in the roasting pan.

Within 45 minutes from the completion of the game dinner was plated and served with a delightful French Chablis. My goodness, it was a fantastic meal! Pictures are above, and frankly they don't do the meal justice, but in the interest of full discloser I posted them anyway.

I think the moral of the story is that cooking on two martinis = good food. Picture taking is an entirely different story!

Wow! That Global Warmin is Really Bad!

Click for a complete list of all the bad stuff caused by global warming.

Personally, I'm buying sunblock futures like Algore buys chalupas.

The Truth About Intergalactic Warming

I can't believe it is happening so fast, but it is and dammit I'm worried. Intergalactic warming is on the march, and people, not even Algore is hectoring us yet!

It's true. Comet 17P/Holmes, discovered in 1892, forgotten and then rediscovered in the 1960's is breaking up before our very eyes. Not alarming you say? Ha! This is yet another sign that our galaxy is warming to unprecedented levels. Oh, sure read the article and you'll find a scientific community in denial. They claim to not understand why the comet, WHICH IS MADE OF ICE, is breaking up. The speculate that it is spinning too fast or some such nonsense, but it seems clear to me that more is at work here.

The darn thing is obviously melting!

I mean really, combine this information with the hysterical reports of global warming. Then add in the findings of Martian warming, Pluto warming and Uranus warming and it isn't long before you begin to discern a trend!

The solution is obvious. Aliens need to stop driving SUVs right away!

Sidney Lumet Daughter Watch

We've raised the Lumet daughter watch to Defcon III with the debut of the esteemed Mr. Lumet's latest movie, "Before the Devil Knows Your Dead". Critics say it's quite good and may even have Oscar potential!

Oscar fans, and readers of my friend Eva's old blog will remember the young (that being a relative term) Ms. Lumet's buoyant celebration of her father's honorary Oscar a few years ago.

Will history repeat?

Disney Stars Gone Bad

I can see it now. Agent calls rising young star, says "kid things are going well". "You did the Transformers, Holes, got the Daytime Emmy and now you've been selected to be Indiana Jones' kid. Fantastic!"

"But here's the deal. You're too clean cut!" You want to get some action roles, work into more heavy drama, realize your Oscar potential".

"Never gonna happen unless you rough up that image a bit kid". "Go out have some drinks, start a fight, pay some local heavy a couple bucks to make it look like you rolled him."

So what does the kid do? Gets kicked out of a local drug store for being drunk.

The police said he was real polite. Some kids never learn!

C&K, Not My Kind of Thing

Well we arrived in St. Louis tonight around 8pm. I dropped PD1 at the Adam's Mark so that she could link up with her team, and I went off in search of que.

My sojourn tonight took me to a seedier side of St. Louis. Not a bad area, I think, but definitely and underdeveloped neighborhood. I found C&K exactly where google maps said it was, parked the car and went inside.

C&K is a hole in wall, carry-out only operation. When you enter the place two thoughts strike you immediately; "Gosh the place ain't real clean", and "where the hell is the window to order". Neither of these things really stops you - I mean what good bbq place is clean? - but it is momentarily disorienting if for no other reason than there are cars in the lot, but nobody in the store. Casting these unimportant thoughts aside, I found the window and placed my order for a pork steak and some middle cut country ribs.

While I waited for my order I looked around the joint. 6 signs requesting that customers have their money ready when ordering, one sign informing us that our order will not be taken while we're on our phones, and most incongruously, a framed copy of the "St. Louis best article proclaiming C&K one of St. Louis' best. As I waited (what was the dude doing back there?) several people came in, ordered and then went out to their cars to wait. Mystery solved!

After about 10 minutes, my order came and I loaded it into the car and drove back to the Hotel. Sadly, the food wasn't really worth the trek. Oh, it was good, but to be honest, my ribs are better, and most of the ribs that we had on our tour this summer were far better. C&K serves country ribs, which are fine, but they had virtually no smoke flavor and were covered in a fairly pedestrian sauce. I understand that C&K sells sauce locally but I really wonder why. It's ok, but the locally produced Maull's is better.

Oh, the pork steak? Not bad actually. I think it is basically a grilled slice of pork shoulder with sauce on it. If you've ever had a grilled pork chop, you pretty much get this. Except a grilled pork chop, properly cooked is better.

So, I wasn't impressed. Perhaps Texas spoiled me. Maybe I'm just not a St. Louis kind of guy. Who knows? What I do know is that I'm quite happy I had the presence of mind to pack a 2001 les Caves de la Columbe Chateanueuf Du Pape. I found this in a close out bin last week, and it is pretty good. So all is not lost. Tomorrow we'll seek salvation for the St. Louis rep at Phils. I think I'll go for lunch, and then perhaps talk some of the parents into a Ruth's Chris for dinner. I hope they have one here. Mmmmmm, martinis and beef.

St. Louis BBQ

Next stop on the Pursuit national BBQ tour: St. Louis - The city that built a monument honoring those with the gumption to leave!

This weekend, PD1 will be competing in the Metro Fall Classic Soccer Tourney, and I will use it as an excuse to sample another of our country's fine regional ques. Tonight, sometime around 10p.m. I expect to pull into C&K BBQ and pick up some ribs and a pork steak. Tomorrow I'm driving over to Phil's.

Unfortunately, I gave the camera to Mrs. P who is vacationing in Door County with PD2 and Dr. Codopolis this weekend, so no pics. But I will report back on the smoky goodness.

What does it say.....

...when your wife is missing (your third wife was found a few years earlier drowned in the bathtub) and you choose to appear before the media in an American flag scarf and the iconic NYPD hat?

Just wondering

Eeeeeew! Men!

Note to Hillary:

I have to admit I was pretty amazed in 2000 when you pulled off the whole predatory man charge on poor Rick Lazio. I mean, he was only trying to get you to sign an agreement to not take soft money donations, which you know, should have been something that was easy to do. But this is why I don't run for office.

You actually calculated that your friends in the media would help promote the charge that he was "ominously invading your personal space" while simultaneously ignoring that you'd been married to the country's most famous victimizer for over two decades! Brilliant really....especially so since poor Lazio was a pretty boy who couldn't hurt a flea. The kid was out of his league and he found out that night. Nobody's seen him since.

So, you're up to it again, but this time on a bigger stage. Got to tell ya Hill, I'm not sure it's gonna work this time. First of all, you're running for president, not the Senatorial representative of the hand wringer club. So, if elected, you're going to have to deal with and win against a whole bunch of icky boys. See, they run most of the world's countries and all of the world's leading terrorist outfits and a lot of them mean us harm.

Secondly, and it's nothing personal dear - just a fact, people simply don't like you. Really. You're an unattractive, loathsome scold who's only chance to win is founded in your opposition's near historic level of incompetency. I know, it hurts, so just don't think about it. You've been able to ignore so much, this is just one more thing you know. But you do have to deal with it because folks are pretty much looking for you to give them a reason to take a leap of faith on the other guys. This could be just that moment.

So I'd tread carefully here. Just my advice.