Thursday, January 24, 2008

Southern Chill

So last Friday we’re gonna go down to the deep south, Mobile, Alabama. We want to see a Mardi Gras Parade. I HATE BEING AN ADULT!

We both need to work. Stacey has her regular tax project from hell to complete by Jan. 31. I’m trying to finish this job for Alons Bakery. It’s going ok, but we got started about a month later then Alon had planned and now it’ crunch time. So we decide to go Friday night and miss the first real parade of the season, we will catch two parades Saturday night. We are also gonna work on the float and paint the kitchen down there, gonna paint it red.

Bullshit! None of that happened. We did go Friday night. It was cold and we were to late to see the parade. Next day, to cold to work on Fish float. Later that night to cold for either Staceys’ or my folks to join us for the parade. We’re going, me, Stacey and our traveling dog George.

So after 2 really big martinis with Marion, I’m ready. So George, Stacey and I drive down to Broad st. cause it is cold again. We are standing at the barricades when along comes the parade. First it’s the Budweiser horses and George don’t like it. Then the drums and George don’t like it. So George and I go over to the little wall at the CVS, thinking this might be a good spot. WRONG. George wants none of it and he decides to take off towards the house, I fall down, he runs over me, actually he runs on me like I’m a thread mill. I got his leash and I’m on my back in the middle of the sidewalk. George is on top of me trying to run, on my stomach, but he’s going nowhere, just running on me. I’m waiting for either Stacey to come help or the cops to come arrest me for public dog abuse. Neither, it’s so cold the cops are in their car and Stacey is at the barricades with her hands in the air yelling at the guys riding the float.

New Years in the South

I was gonna write about this a while back, but………..

A friend invited us over for New Years Eve. He had invited another couple, we’re all good friends. He thought we could all bring a little tapas style plate and a wine to match it. He was right. Between the three of us - we kicked ass. Now I’m gonna try and tell you about it. I might forget some of the wine’s that were enjoyed as I was consuming martinis as if I had a cab reserved for 1 A.M.

That’s right.

So where was I? What the hell was I thinking?

I guess I wasn’t.

Stacey and I put together a Anti Pasta platter, of sorts. All the usual suspects and a little more. Four cheeses - a Roquefort, a triple cream that I think was Brie, and a cheese that had fruit in it, fig and orange. I liked it, some did not. We also had another I can’t rem, yes I can, it was cheddar made with Guinness Beer. This is a very good cheese and it is not expensive, seek it out. We had lots more on our Anti Pasta platter, but it would take to long. So I move on………

I’m walking through Alon’s Bakery on the last day of the 2007, time truly flies. I’m putting this Anti Pasta platter together. My phone rings and it’s our host for tonight. He’s looking for oysters. He wants to know if my local seafood joint has them in the shell or should he go to Dekalb Farmers Market. I tell him “Don’t do anything till I talk to My Chef”. I hang up and call Butch, more on Butch another day. Just so happens, [and I am not making this up] Butch tells me he is on his way to his seafood monger as we speak, he will call back and tell me what’s available and looks good. He does so, and does so, and does so and I have to stop him after three minutes and tell him the host will call him direct. Butch knows the host, Butch will help the host. Thank you Butch.

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And so it goes… and we ended up with 100 oysters from the West Coast. Butch choose them for us ’cause he knew we wanted briny, salty, gulf coast flavors. He knew these had that flavor and they were the best looking. We ate most raw,

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we put some on the Green Egg Grill. They were all so good and it was fun shucking them with the host and laying them on a iced platter, ready to be enjoyed.

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Then we were treated to Shrimp and Grits. Not just any ol’ Shrimp and Grits. This Shrimp was done Pot Pie Style. I think there were green peas and all that pot pie stuff in a beautiful little crust, in the perfect little ramekin size. With a large dollop of Grits. Andy Griffith would have shit his britches. I remember we took the last Shrimp Pot Pie and laid it out, busted, on a plate and all had a few bites with the last of the grits.

Then my cab didn’t come and we tried calling and that didn’t work. I really thought I had it all set, but around 12:30, January 1st 2008, I started the year off like the dumb ass I am. I’ve seen the commercial ” buzz driving is drunk driving”. So I did what I had to and told our friends our cab was outside and we had to go. So we were just about to pull out of the driveway without anyone knowing the cab didn’t show. Damn, I left the car keys down stairs in the middle of everyone. By the time I went down to retrieve them, our host had Stacey out of the car and headed back in. I steered us back to the car and some how got out of the driveway.

I was having a little trouble with my phone, I couldn’t get the cab co. to answer and I was pissed I had to drive. We got home and I went to call our friends to tell them we got home ok. Phone is acting up, don’t know why, could be operator error, but I decide to throw phone at the house and pick it up and throw it at the house again. Welcome to 2008.

The food was good! The Friends are good too !