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What's so funny about that? Here's a few more ideas, direct from Minnesota: Fish Sticks on a Stick Sticky Buns on a Stick Eel Pout on a Stick (don't ask) SB (reserving his spot at the fair) Still under development - Wild Rice on a Stick

In the spirit of another Oscar, I'd serve B-O-L-O-G-N-A SB

Well, the Tonga Lie played fast and loose with the term "Peking Duck" too. That's just the way things were in Malibu back in those days. SB (also met the "Manson Girls" in LA back then, and sat in Dionne Warwick's baby blue Rolls convert before she did)(and had many other adventures, some of dubious legality!)

"Jimmy Legs" is an actual medical condition aka Restless Leg Syndrome. (you may have seen the recent tv commercials on the subject) Perhaps the word "jimmy" has some connection to "jimmying", or picking a lock? Besides the Seinfeld episode, the term appears in Melville's "Billy Budd".

Back in the early 70's, whenever I visited friends in Las Angeles, we would go to the Tonga Lei, a "Polynesian" restaurant on the beach in Malibu. It was one of the "tiki" themed restaurants that were popular in the 60's. (I understand it later became a Don the Beachcombers.) The menu was rather exotic for the time, and as I recall, their version of Peking Duck was pretty good, although I'd never had anything to compare it to. They also featured fancy drinks in hollowed out pineapples and the like. One night my friend Beetle asked the Oriental waiter why a drink was named the "Suffering Bastard". The waiter replied, "You drink, you see." Beetle ordered the drink, which came in a large wooden bowl and had several flowers and kinds of fruit floated in it. He drank it. He found out why it was called "Suffering Bastard".

I've just started drinking tea myself, but I always thought tea bags weren't considered a "proper" way to make tea? They sure are a lot more convenient in a business setting though. Any suggestions? SB

But .... those things taste like chicken! SB (including mopane worms)

Going by the old Brillat-Savarin/Tiny Tim/Chairman Kaga admonishment, "You are what you eat." I'd expect rural squirrels to taste like farm produce and their urban kin like garbage? SB (red and grey squirrel are obviously different)

It sounds like something from the Iron Chef "Olive Oil Battle"! SB

I've been to New York City just once, and that was under strained circumstances, and only know a few people who actually lived there. I never really understood the attraction until I followed this blog. For the right type of person, (being young and eager helps ), New York must be like "condensed life". It's not my style, but I can appreciate it. Bravo, brave and stalwart Megan!

I'm not a real big venison eater, but that sounds like damn fine fare to me! SB (but, what do we call "swede" here in the Colonies?)

A friend of mine, Michael, whose family operated an Italian restaurant, was going to make his mother's famous sugo for his college roommates. He called her on the phone and faithfully recorded her recipe. With much fanfare, he set out to prepare for a spaghetti feast at the frat house the coming weekend. Although he'd worked in the family restaurant since he was very young, he'd never been entrusted with making sauce, so he was careful to follow his mother's instructions to the letter. Unfortunately his handwriting wasn't very clear, and when setting up his mise en place he read 5-6 cloves as, yes, 56 cloves! (He says he remembers thinking this was odd, but diligently counted out exactly that number of cloves.) You can only inagine how the sugo might have tasted, which is all anybody did at the time. The sweet clove smell so thoroughly infused the frat house that everybody was afraid to even taste the sauce. Michael called his Mother for advice. He read back the recipe he's copied down. When he came to "56 cloves" she exclaimed, "Michael! That was supposed to be five or six cloves. My God! Pour that sauce out before somebody eats it! So, although the frat house spaghetti feed ended up with just a slightly doctored Ragu for sauce, enough wine and beer was consumed along with it that the dinner was deemed a huge success. In addition, the lingering clove odor precluded the need to burn any insense to mask the fumes given off by another uniquely pungent botanical product popular with college students of the times. SB (and Michael and his family are still in the restaurant business, reputations intact)

I hate root vegetables. Hate them. I can be coerced into eating roasted or raw carrots, but that's it. But, the idea of pasties with venison, potatoes, and perhaps a few diced water chestnuts does have potential! ← So you would probably choose "without", (rutabega)? Potatoes are a good base, and carrots add a sweetness, but you need another flavor. How about turnips? Their mild earthiness might be good with the venison? SB (will consult his brother; hunter and game eater par excellence)

Old Dutch??? Really? Them are ghetto chips out here! I suppose it's a case of "grass-is-greener" becasue you're not the first Easterner to mention a love for Old Dutch. ← Here in Minnesota Old Dutch is the chip we grew up with. Their product has a real fine saltiness I haven't tasted on other chips. Lays, etc were "newcomers", and seemed rather bland in comparison. Old Dutch is still a family owned company. The grandson of one of the owners has a fancy restaurant named Tryg's near Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. SB (once resolved a trademark dispute with the company over their windmill logo)

Venison Pasty? You might combine the venison with pork, or at least add some pork fat, but I think the flavor would go well with pasty's root vegtables. SB (and a real lard crust) PS: You could make little dough antlers for decoration!

That would be kind of like a "skinless" haggis! SB (gets his steel cut oats from King Arthur or Bobs Red Mill)

I agree. Steel cut oats are closer in texture to brown rice than they are to oatmeal. I'll bet they'd work real well in a risotto. SB (thinking about an oat/wild rice "hotdish")

While Rudy Perpich was Governor or Minnesota, about twenty-five years ago, we used to joke that slivovitz was the "Official State Liquor". Governor Perpich, whose own parents had come from Slovenia, was a native of Minnesota's Iron Range, where many people with Eastern European backgrounds had immigrated. Eveny then slivovitz wasn't real common, although local bars kept a bottle handy in case some old-timer got in the mood to propose a toast. You'd also see it served on special ocassions like weddings and Christmas. The Jelinek brand was the most common. I seem to recall it packed a pretty good punch, (100 proof), and had a slightly oily feel to it. SB (would have to say "no thanks")

My Mother used to take the seeds out of grapes for us! SB (will remember to thank her)

Ok. Although GF's DL says she's 5'3", but I think 5'0.75" is probably more like it? SB (knows from personal experience that another presumed advantage of petite women, that they don't eat as much, is patently false, especially when it comes to chocolate!)

My guess: it rose too much in the pan and had already begun to deflate?

Megan, Cute Feet! SB

I saw Sandra Bernhard in a Whole Foods, too. In Seattle, no less. Strange. ← I don't quite know how to say this. I don't want to shatter anyone's illusions, but we all know Sandra Bernhard can't be everywhere at once? The people you saw were probably just "Sandra's Helpers". SB

Heh, you know... I feel like an idiot. There is nothing scientifically special about 212 other than lots of bubbles. I usually step back and look at things objectively, but alas here I have failed to do that. Thanks for bringing me back to reality! :-D Mike ← We all know the feeling. Remember the old adage, "a watched pot never boils"? Well some times it can sure seem like it! SB (has actually cursed a watched pot for taking so long to boil)

Remember, the food begins cooking at room temperature, and will slowly remove heat from the water faster than your range can replace it for a little while no matter what. Maybe you could shorten this time by using a very heavy pan that fits the burner exactly? There is nothing magical about 212 degrees. If the water comes back to a boil in 30 seconds I don't think the food could be negatively impacted. SB