« Free Speech Is Free Speech Is Free Speech: We Don't Get To Choose! | Main | Gun Thread: Happy Father's Day!! [Weasel] »

Food Thread: Yes, They Look Like Aliens, But They Are Tasty, Tasty Aliens!

The opportunity for a Northeasterner to eat crawfish is limited, particularly if one wants to enjoy good American crawfish, and not the heavy-metals and coliform laden ones from China (the frozen variety around here). My first experience was as a kid in New Orleans, and while I was a bit put off by the weirdness of eating them, they sure tasted good!

The crawfish season is roughly spring, but there are enough farms that produce them year-'round that I imagine the ones served in Louisiana are always pretty good. I would be deeply suspicious of any offered to me outside of that region, but it's an excuse to go to New Orleans and also enjoy their other fine foods.

I have had them in a plain old (and marvelous) boil, in etouffee, and even in a pie (also wonderful). Hell, if I lived where they were plentiful I can imagine eating them all of the time, in all sorts of concoctions. Maybe not in a cocktail, although I wouldn't scoff at a Bloody Mary garnished with one!

******
This sounds like a great idea! I love smoky flavors in cocktails, but it is not an easy thing to manage. Smoky booze like Islay malts are far too pungent and strong for most cocktails, even in tiny amounts. But charring fruit on the grill avoids the ashtray flavors of the smoky Scotch, and maybe even produces a bit of caramel flavor from the sugars in the fruit.

Charred Citrus Margaritas

The problem with this recipe is wading through the pompous bullshit and overly complicated and busy recipe. But the concept is grand, and I will be trying this as soon as it stops raining!

******
Why didn't my high school have a BBQ team!
High school varsity BBQ teams? Yeah, it's a thing in Texas

ENNIS, Texas — When you say ‘varsity’ in Texas, the word ‘football’ usually follows. But how about barbecue?

At Ennis High School, a group of students loves their brisket and ribs just as much as their pigskin.

Last year, the school created its very first competitive barbecue and traveled to cook-offs involving other schools across the state. Only a handful of schools in North Texas have barbecue teams, but the idea is gaining popularity.

How does practice work? Do they have groupies?
******
I hear that they sell these things at Red Sox games.

Just in case this doesn't look perfectly vile, just imagine the feel of a frozen chunk of clam lubricated by a bit of frozen potato and some frozen milk as you crunch down on it.

******
The few times that I have used these sprays I found them unpleasant. Tons of overspray (I may be a bit of a retard when it comes to aerosols), and the end result looked sort of unappetizing. Besides, is it really that difficult to use a thin layer of plain old oil and then wipe it with a paper towel to get a thin and even layer? What is the advantage?
Homemade Pan Release {Baking Spray}
This is actually a recipe for a brush-on version, which isn't nearly as bad.
[Hat Tip: Artisanal 'ette]
******

******
Food and cooking tips, triple-cream cheeses, young wild pigs, crisp bacon, thick and fluffy pita, and good tomatoes that aren't square, pale pink and covered with Mestizo E.coli: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com. Any advocacy of French Toast with syrup will result in disciplinary action up to and including being nuked from orbit. And yes, shaking a Manhattan is blasphemy...it's in the Bible!