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Food Thread: Quiet, Young Dog!

Plain old Hush Puppies! I used to eat them... a lot...at a good southern-influenced restaurant in NYC, and of course I order them whenever I see them on the menu in the real South!

But making them? Yup, it's easy, but I can't remember the last time I tried.

Well...tonight that changes!

But I think I will make an interesting dipping sauce, just to be difficult. Maybe Tahini-based, or even Chipotle-honey!

Or butter. Plain old butter!

Am I overthinking this?

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There is a huge difference between preferring foods that are not filled with unnatural chemicals simply because it is aesthetically pleasing to eat real food, and claiming that chemicals that contribute to safety, longevity, and taste should all be banned because of possible health effects.

I'm in the first camp. I prefer unadulterated foods, but I am not running screaming from the store if I see a food that has some sort of man-made preservative or stabilizer. The health effects are based on biomedical research that even in its best days is filled with errors. Nowadays, my supposition is that the research is politically motivated and is probably nonsense.

Why These US Foods Are Banned In Europe

The E.U.'s position is based on a report of the Scientific Committee of Veterinary Medicine about veterinary health published in April 1999. The report states that there's a risk of "developmental, immunological, neurobiological, immunotoxic and carcinogenic effects" from these hormones.

Notice the weasel-words used to describe the supposed dangers? "Can be..." May cause..." "linked to." Absent epidemiological studies that show causation, it's just feelings. And that is perfectly okay if it is admitted. But these puritanical scolds hide behind their increasingly discredited science (Covid vaccine anyone?).

Just say it" "We find food additives distasteful in our food-centric culture, and we prefer as pure food as we can produce without impacting populations on the margins." You know...the people who might go without because rich Westerners can afford more expensive food!

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Cooking food on racks is a wonderful thing. The bottoms don't get soggy, cooking is more even, stuff gets crispier and browner...it's a win-win!

Except for when it comes time to clean the damned racks that are liberally coated with cooked on BBQ sauce.

I might need to buy a sand blaster!

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This sounds pretty damned tasty! Anyone ever make it?

Creamy Baked Ricotta

The creaminess sounds like a perfect side. I like creamy grits and risotto and stuff like that, so this might be right up my alley!

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While I am not one of those lunatics who go to particular pubs in Dublin just to enjoy a perfectly pulled Guinness...I do enjoy a pint now and then. And two nights ago I was eating with family and the older brat ordered a Guinness, which sounded perfect for the rest of the meal (the Beefeater Martini I had just finished didn't go with pulled pork).

But to his and my chagrin, the Guinness came not in a pint glass out of a keg, or even a can with the nitrogen capsule! No, it came in a bottle.

And I didn't hear Simon & Garfunkel singing when I tasted it. In fact, it was pretty crappy! Frothy without being creamy, too cold, and it definitely was on the bitter, not mellow side.

Anyone drink this crap?

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Misanthropic Humanitarian sent me this with a note that the recipe for "Crazy Cake" was handed down to him "from my mother who was 6 when the depression hit."
15 Depression-Era Desserts That Hold up Nearly 100 Years Later

This seems right up Stephen Price Blair's alley!

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Well, the garlic is out in the sunshine, probably soon to be eaten by those vile rodents with bushy tails and a penchant for damaging my home. But if they survive the squirrel apocalypse, and actually grow into something edible, I will be in garlic heaven! In case it doesn't, send all of your excellent home-grown garlic to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.

Rumor has it that the Bourbon Bubble is bursting. I have seen no evidence of decreasing prices, but maybe the bursting started somewhere else! 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.

The problem...or the solution...is to buy lots of bourbon, take tasting notes, and eventually arrive at your favorites! It should take forty or fifty years, but it is worth it!