Monday, June 19, 2006

Well-fed and well-read

Generally, the families each take turns making dinner while on vacation. Mom had a redneck-themed dinner (corndogs, corn on the cob, potato casserole). Last night Uncle Mike (who every day makes ice cream for us) and Aunt Barb made chicken with morel mushroom sauce. Uncle Chuck's making ribs tonight. Mmmmmmmmmm. Unfortunately, since I'm leaving tomorrow, I won't be around long enough to cook for everyone, but I'm already planning for next year. I'm thinking I'll go Cuban.

Currently, I'm knee-deep in A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines by Anthony Bourdain and quite liking it. Bourdain's a great food writer (though I've never actually tasted his cooking). This book details his worldwide search for the Perfect Meal. Love this passage:

"Of course, I knew already that the best meal in the world, the perfect meal, is very rarely the most sophisticated or expensive one. I knew how important factors other than technique or rare ingredients can be in the real business of making magic happen at a dinner table. Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one's life. I mean, let's face it: When you're eating simple barbecue under a palm tree, and you feel sand between your toes, samba music is playing softly in the background, waves are lapping at the shore a few yards off, a gentle breeze is cooling the sweat on the back of your neck at the hairline, and looking across the table, past the column of empty Red Stripes at the dreamy expression on your companion's face, you realize that in half an hour you're probably going to be having sex on clean white hotel sheets, that grilled chicken leg suddenly tastes a hell of a lot better."

I love his unpretentious attitude. Since I'm hardly finished reading the book, I can't quite recommend it. But in the meantime, pick up his Kitchen Confidential - it's a wonderful read.

7 comments:

spydrz said...

CB-bring lots of Purell.

Micah said...

I'll pick that one up once I can find it for around the same price I got A Cook's Tour - $4.99.

More importantly, WTF?! How much notice did they give you? Detroit's lovely this time of year, I hear. Wanna borrow my Red Wings jersey?

Figures that you'd move 3 hours from Columbus once I got out of town.

Hasselback said...

"When you're eating simple barbecue under a palm tree, and you feel sand between your toes, samba music is playing softly in the background, waves are lapping at the shore a few yards off, a gentle breeze is cooling the sweat on the back of your neck at the hairline, and looking across the table, past the column of empty Red Stripes at the dreamy expression on your companion's face...

Ahh, sounds like pretty much every afternoon down here.

Oh, and just so you poor wags living in the real world can drool, you can see some great shots of the island at...

http://www.delbenson.com/aerials.cfm/saipan/

Moved into a new house overlooking the bay on the east side of the island that pushes out into the Phillipine sea. What a tough life. You're all welcome to visit.

spydrz said...

CB-I guess you'll be shedding the car-free lifestyle. I'd recommend something that can easily absorb the pockmarked roads of Michigan. Thanks to the wonders of Google Earth (shameless plug, I know), I see lots of roads in your future.

I recommend an F-150 with off-road package. That fulfills the Ford issue, as well as the bad roads issue. And you can go hunting in da U-P with it.

Micah said...

George - Jamaican' me jealous. Seriously, if Southwest flew to Saipan, I'd be there in a sec.

CB - Don't feel down. After all, the poet laureate H. Lewis believes that the heart of rock 'n' roll is still beating in Detroit.

Hasselback said...

Southwest, Northwest, what's the difference???

Actually, every once in a (great) while, they have some pretty good packages to get down here.

Micah said...

What's the difference? $$$

What would be a "good" package price? And let me know if one pops up.