Bunny Man

Well JohnL whatever you speak must be gospel so I'll do whatever you say. But since you don't know my mother, let's keep her out of it if you please.

I've never had a problem getting a mahogany browned bird after brining. I do pat the whole thing dry before I rub it liberally with canola oil and then pop it in the oven. Regardless of the brining, the skin will dry quickly in the heat so it's not the brine that would be your problem.

Bringing it back to the beginning I'd say that Americans are not so much whiny but amazingly self absorbed. They think that they are the most important thing on the planet. Add to that the fact that most diners don't know anything about what they are actually eating and don't understand the basic workings of a restraunt. They are ignorant but demanding and arrogant. Years ago I had a late dinner out with my parents. The place closed in a hour and the room was mostly empty. My mother was complaining to us that the service was slow and the waiter was nowhere to be found. I told her that everyone was preping to close and had tons of work to do behind the scenes. They weren't ignoring us, they were getting ready to close. It had never occurred to her in the prior 50 years of her life that waiters did anything other than take orders and shuttle plates. She thought that when the place closed at the end of the day, the waiters just took off their aprons and went home. I worked as a waiter so I filled her in on all the side work necessary to close the place for the night. I explained that going in with an hour to spare on the clock meant slow service and all that kind of thing. She left a 25% tip and all was well from that point on. I unfortunately feel that the "Ugly American" is not only alive but well.

When I prep my pasta I sprinkle them with flour and then cover them with plastic wrap in a sheet pan. At my altitude the pasta will dry out in just a few minutes so a towel or flour alone won't work. This way I get layers of pasta to work from when I am ready for it.

Tonight is: Avery Brewing 14'er ESB. Mmmm ... hoppy!

My wife and I don't get into simple "tourist" travel. To us the best parts are almost always the ones not in the travel guide. When I go to a new town I always as the locals where they love to eat and am rarely disappointed. I don't want some 3 star fancy-schmancy place, I want a tiny joint that's been there for 3 generations. I want local flavor. With luck the local behind the hotel desk will say something like "Oh ... well head out of town about 3 miles until you come to a red barn on your left. Take that road a ways and then you will get to "Ted's Rooster Roadhouse". Best brisket in 4 counties and he makes great beer too!" Score! Yeah, wine country tours sound nice but I'd rather go on a week tour of, say, costal Mexico with Rick Bayless leading us from place to tasty place telling us about the local customs and why this tinga is so good and how they harvest the prawns that we are having for lunch. That to me is touring. Sign me up!

It sounds like a fun ride to me. But then I do love my spicy chocolate berry mole icecream. Icy hot!

Call me silly but I would say that if you are serving a sauce and it doesn't make you want to sop it all up, then your sauce needs work. The first thing that comes to my head is the jus that I make, when I do my 5 hour slow roast chicken, which makes my wife swoon.

I try to be as open minded as possible about anything considered edible. I assume that if people eat it, it should be tasty. I think that if it is fresh and prepared well I'll try it. I'll even try it a few times because some things are so different that it takes a while to understand what it is that you are eating. Sushi was this way for me, as was all beers more complex than a simple lager and vinagres certainly took a while for me go understand and then love - I stock 6 kinds in my pantry. At first taste Thai stews with lemon grass and coconut milk were disgusting but now they are super yummy. I find it interesting to see the things that people refuse to eat as they are often some of my favorites. Olives, beets, liver, cilantro, mushrooms ... all wonderful to me. I draw the line at something that is still alive and aware that I'm eating it. Freshly killed and then eaten, like say sushi or even a raw oyster, it fine with me. I just don't like the idea of something struggling in my mouth while I'm chewing it. I'm just not that much of a barbarian. But then, I'm not exactly right in the head either.