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United States, North Carolina, Carrboro, English, Paul, Male, 56-60, All Music, All Food.

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Friday, November 21, 2003

Remember when The Coalition Of The Willing attacked The Palestine Hotel (rooms from US$ 29.00, in case you’re interested) in Baghdad back in April, killing 3 journalists?  Now those irascible Iraqis are going after the same derned hotel with explosive laden donkey carts. Room service must really suck there if even sworn enemies can agree the place needs blown up. I remember a Holiday Inn in Fayetteville I felt that strongly about… 8:27:41 PM    comment []

Pellicle   It’s a fancy word for lightly glazed, like your eyes might look the morning after a few too many. It is slightly sticky and means the salmon is ready for the smoker. If you smoke before the pellicle forms, the heat will force out more moisture and the smoke will be pushed away from the surface. The pellicle keeps moisture in and lets the surface take the smoke.   The salmon is paler now than when it came out of the brine - it was a bright orange. All the fillets are in the smoker and gradually being brought up to about 120ºF when the smoke will be kicked in. 7:59:28 PM    comment []

They're in the oven drying just by the heat of the 40-watt appliance bulb. The skin side was sprayed with aerosol olive oil. When they're ready to smoke, I'll try to get a close-up of the pellicle. 11:48:10 AM    comment []

Twyla has been complaining because I haven't posted any snapshots of her lately. Here she is luxuriating in the empty wine case from Tuesday's shopping spree. The pleated cardboard thingie she's sitting on is some packing material that showed up at work. Instinct told me that this was something the cats would enjoy, so I brought it home. 11:25:33 AM    comment []

These are yellow stone ground grits. They look better than the white variety. They take 20 minutes to cook, as compared to 5-7 for quick grits. I’ve never seen these in a box; in fact the only place around here to buy them is from the bulk bins at Weaver Street Market.   The salmon are ready to take out of the brine. Photos will be posted if there’s anything interesting. Last time I did this was back in March, there’s a photo of that batch here. 11:19:15 AM    comment []

Pssst…here’s a little tip for you Code Name Dudes and Dudettes at the Pentagon!   Maybe you could avoid embarrassing confusion between Iraqi freedom missions and Nazi war operations if you clear the names first at The War Room.   I found this page with a Google search, of all things. If you select a name like say, Iron Hammer or Eisenhammer, just go here and see if it matches any of those on the Nazi list before you make it public. The list is fairly complete and a preemptive “ixnay” might prevent those silly and unfair analogies. 2:06:27 AM    comment []

Why, on the eve of the Big Game, would a dedicated OSU fan like Wernher ask me to scan this picture showing an exuberant Michigan celebration? 1:37:21 AM    comment []

Still using the same old brine recipe. Still brining the salmon for 10 hours. 10 years ago, I would smoke 10 pounds a week for a local restaurant. The recipe got perfected, now it’s boring.   Here’s a riddle for parents who are thinking about letting Michael Jackson baby-sit their kids:   Q: What did the blonde say when she saw a banana peel ahead on the sidewalk? A: “Oh no…here we go again!”   JFK Assassination Conspiracy Motive Gap: Why was Joe DiMaggio never considered as a suspect?   1:07:50 AM    comment []