Food Thread: Corny And Cranky!

I know very little about the optimal growing conditions for corn, other than I think it needs sunlight, soil, and probably water. But damn! The local corn has been spectacular this year, and not just now at the height of the summer. Even the early corn was excellent. I guess that means that our spring and early summer was the ideal for corn.

Anyway, I have been using this unexpected bounty to my culinary advantage. Plain old grilled corn is of course a regular at my table, But I have also been making all sorts of fun corn-based salads, which are often coupled with local tomatoes. But don't believe the bullsh*t about Jersey Tomatoes being the best. Yes, this year has been pretty good, and they are always at least solid, but rarely to they rise to the level of greatness that I have enjoyed from among other places...Vermont! Yup! Some of the best tomatoes I have ever had were grown on a two-acre farm in Eastern Vermont.

But the best? Bakersfield California! Grown in my friend Jim's back yard.

But back to corn! I trim the ears, leaving the husk on, then soak them in water, microwave for a few minutes, then throw them on the grill for some color and smoke. The husks protect the corn from drying out or burning, and the end result is delicious and easy.

[Yeah...I was going to put a "Korn" song behind that photo, but I realize that I hate them and they have no songs that are even remotely pleasant!]

Most of these are absolutely ridiculous overreach on the part of some officious little pr*ck of an official or department trying to justify its existence. Why the government...in the form of school officials or health department apparatchiks or whatever...insists upon being our nannies is probably just as irritating a question for you as for me, and why you hang out around here. But some of these are so monumentally stupid that the people involved need to get slapped and told to snap out of it!

Oh man...I love chilequiles. I had a version a few years ago in San Diego that was spectacular. There is nothing quite like a late breakfast of chilequiles and good beer...yeah, I was on vacation!

FDA issues warning to producer of lead tainted applesauce

And...as much as I appreciate foods from around the world, I have the impression that third-world countries take food safety just a bit less seriously than we do in the West. I try to avoid Chinese-made food products, and as I pay more attention to this sort of thing I am probably going to avoid everything that isn't made in the evil, white, cis-het, slaveholding West.

Buffalo Trace bourbon is a good quality bourbon that is approaching cult status, and I have no idea why! It's a solid pour, and I have seen it in California for $22, which is a reasonable price for its quality. But it is pushing $50 around here, if one can find it, and that is just stupid.

Sadly, more and more good bourbon is being allocated, which is nothing more than the distillers trying to make more money. And that's perfectly okay with me on one level. The more money there is available in the industry, the more people will make bourbon (and rye), and the more good quality stuff will be available.

But what happens with allocated bourbon is that the retailers control the market, and charge ridiculous amounts for what is sometime piss-poor booze that simply isn't worth more than the run-of-the-mill bottles on the bottom shelf of your local liquor store.

The Future of Food Is Here and Queer

Keep your post-modern destruction of everything traditional and based on Judeo-Christian principles out of the kitchen.

Who are those poor deluded souls who shake their Manhattans? These are the same people who drink fine bourbon with coke, and probably shake red wine with ice too.

My and the world's patience has run out. Shaken Manhattans henceforth will be banished to the land of Long Island Ice Teas and Frozen Strawberry Margaritas.

And yes, I used to demand fancy bourbon, but let's face it, $1,200 for a bottle of bourbon is just stupid, insulting, and a ghastly affront to most people's palates and wallets. I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.

posted by CBD at 04:00 PM

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