Dave the Cook

The Basques serve black cherry preserve with cheese, for what it's worth (if you're seeking validation). She really didn't need to look any farther than a Sara Lee frozen strawberry cheesecake, come to think of it!

I've known a lot of singers. Admittedly, only a couple performed at your level, but every one of them had voice preparation/preservation/performance rituals that involved beverages and/or gargles: lemon, honey, tonic water, Listerine, you name it. Will we be seeing any of that in your blog?

I give you some cover, Lily. Sauerkraut. Silly, smelly stuff.

Actually, I've been told it's good on rye toast. Anyone out there tried it? I'm with you on the jelly. And preserves seem inappropriate. However, PB and honey, on (yes) dark rye toast, is very, very good.

I hate you. This popped up as I was finishing off a plate of reheated wings. Great pictures. I know porn when I see it, and this is it.

Exactly what I was thinking!

Must be a bitch to force feed penguins for the foie.

Had penguin today again. 42nd day in a row. Maybe I'll make a penguin stew tomorrow. Except I don't have any vegetables. Thus, I guess it's roasted penguin again. To drink: ice water. Sigh.

Yes, and Awbrig tried it, too. But I think a three-to-five day thing, with the inherent lack of long-term commitment, is more doable. And if we make it terribly formal, it will get bogged down. That's why I think Soba should be the de facto umpire. He appoints, you write. Alternatively, we could do it like a game of tag -- the current blogger chooses the next one. I kind of like that idea. And yes, we have posters from every continent except Antarctica. We are huge.

I enjoyed it so much that I think SA should pick one eGull per week to do this on a regular basis. For instance, I'd love to see a MealBlog from Andy Lynes.

That reminds me: conch fritters. What's the point of eating something so tough that you have to grind it up (or pound it into submission), bread it, fry it and douse it in citrus or some emulsion so as to completely obscure its taste? And that reminds me: fried squid. Every time I've ordered it, I've been presented with a pile that would cover Gibraltar. The first five rings are good. After that, you might as well try to eat the innertube from a twenty-year-old Schwinn.

Good God, Dean, what a fabulous idea! Is it Southern, or a product of your ever-nimble brain? Oh, that's Dean. Trust me. Edit to add: this is something I do get. But I'd leave on the tomato, along with a crunchy, cool leaf of iceberg lettuce. And onion. No pickle.

You're right. Capers are out, too. I'm not really asking to be convinced pickles in tuna salad (or soft-shell crabs, tommy)are a good idea. But since no one has advanced a logical explanation, let's move on. For instance: cold pasta salad. And speaking of noodles, what about those clear noodles that sleep in the bottom of the vessel and make you think it's got nothing but water in it -- until you nudge the pot and it comes alive like a pool full of invisible snakes? Creeps me out. I'm sure I'm not the only one who just plain misses the intent of certain conventions, or is stumped by the popularity of common foodstuffs. What don't you get?

What's the point here? A sweet note amid the fishy astringency? Totally out of place. Piquancy? Use lemon juice -- or capers, if you must. But not pickles. They stand out like little sweet 'n' sour jujubes. Here's another one: soft-shell crabs. Fingernails that taste like crab are still fingernails -- fingernails the size of a Kosher pickle.

The reference to Hemingway reminds me of the apocryphal exchange he had with F. Scott Fitzgerald (a version ended up in The Bacon of Kilimanjaro): “The very rich are different from you and me.” “Yes, they have more bacon.” A similar version is recounted in Fitzgerald's The Rich Boy. Suprisingly, Fitzgerald otherwise seems to have avoided the subject, with the exception of the remarkable short story Bernice Bobs for Bacon. edit: spellig

As I Lay Bacon A man after my own bacon, I see! I believe the Great Man himself was a porkophile, as evidenced by his titles: The Ham and the Fury If I Forget Thee, St. Louis Cut Intruder in the Butts Links in August Go Down, Chitlins Headcheese for a Nun and of course: Backbacon, Backbacon! And, of course, the Bacon Trilogy: The Bacon, The Rasher of Bacon, and The Pork Belly. And let's not forget the screenplays! The masterpieces, of course, are To Have and Have Not Bacon and The Bacon Sleep. (By the way, both movies starred the inimitable screen and real-life couple Bacon and Bacall.) Is the rumor that he helped write the script for Bacon Along the Mohawk true?

Here's your solution: If you're want Bacchanalia but can't afford it, try The Floataway Cafe near Emory. It's owned by the same people, with the same emphasis on fresh, creative food. The ambience is more relaxed, and so are the prices. I agree with Eric on Fogo de Chao. Good stuff. Until recently, Harold's and Fat Matt's were my choice for barbecue, although as a thirty-plus-year resident, I have to agree with dscott and admit that for some reason, Georgia has surpringly few decent 'Cue joints; I can do much better at home. But Pig-n-Chik is awfully good. It's a relatively new place in Sandy Springs (on Roswell Road, so it's a straight shot up from Buckhead). It's getting raves from just about all corners, including mine. It's not the best I've ever had, but it's the best commercial source in Atlanta right now.

Home is where the bacon is.

As I Lay Bacon A man after my own bacon, I see! I believe the Great Man himself was a porkophile, as evidenced by his titles: The Ham and the Fury If I Forget Thee, St. Louis Cut Intruder in the Butts Links in August Go Down, Chitlins Headcheese for a Nun and of course: Backbacon, Backbacon!

As I Lay Bacon

You should see it on a U-10 shrimp. It's almost the diameter of a pencil, and varies from that yucky yellow to a fluorescent orange that makes you wonder if they've been mating in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant.

Well, as Arthur C. Clarke once said, "Any sufficiently advanced bacon is indistinguishable from magic."

Bacon hath charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften guts, or bend a knotted bloke.

I wouldn't be averse to a primer on bitters: what are they, where did they originate and why, what's their shelf life, are there cooking applications; that kind of stuff.

I can't help with your cooking, as the buffalo (actually bison) in the US is a different animal altogether. But I thank you for a fascinating glimpse into Indian culture.