The Little Bakery at the Corner of Time

Years ago, when the only train in town let me off in front of the downtown Corner Bakery, I would have coffee and a muffin every day for breakfast.  I loved those light, fluffy chocolate muffins with the little crumbly, crunchy things on top.

Life seemed so much simpler then.  The terror of hurricane Ike was in the past; the town was on the mend. My job seemed secure, and it was pleasant to start the day with a smooth french roast, a sweet chocolate muffin and whatever work of fiction I was entertaining myself with back then.  I remember that it was at the Corner Bakery that started to take my coffee black... It was that delicious.

That was many years ago, and having a bit of freedom from the 2020 situations triggered feelings of nostalgia. I thought I'd stop into a local Corner Bakery and see if it was all I remembered it to me.

Of course the staff followed the safety protocols of the times and wore masks for everyone's protection. It had been six to seven years since my shadow had darkened the entrance of a Corner Bakery, and I was happy to see that they still had the little chocolate muffins I loved so much. I wasn't sure if they would serve me my coffee or if I would serve myself, having seen so many places during The 2020 Happening have to close their self-service bars.  I was happy to see that they let me serve myself, unfortunately, only the Hazelnut Cream was available, the french roast having run out.  Alas, isn't that the sign of these new times, The New Normal of the New World Order... As it says in the Book of the Psalms of Jager:

You can't always get what you want...

but if you try, 

you may find, you get what you need.

Not being a fan of flavored coffee, I took a hesitant sip of the current brew.  It was somewhat weak, as I, an old Devil Dog am used to very strong coffee, but then, after biting the muffin, and washing it down with the coffee, the hazelnut and cream sprang alive with rich, sweetness, like the Summer morning at that train station so many years ago, and for a moment... just one brief moment, it was no longer 2020, and I smiled.

Returning to the blog

 Hello once again blog followers,

Well, as fate would have it, I have a lot more time on my hands, so I thought that I would return to food blogging, because, of course, Keith likes to eat.

Let me know what you may like to see on my blog in the comments.

The Perfect Cookware Quest Continues - Stainless Steel

I continue in my efforts to get Teflon and other concoctions reverse engineered from the Roswell crash out of my life.  If you've read some of my other posts, you will remember that I became quite the advocate of cast iron cookware, and I still think that it is the best, but... of course, there is always some twist.  First off, I'm lazy; I like to cook, and of course, I like to eat, but I do not like to do dishes.  Needles to say, taking proper care of your cast iron is a chore.  If you are into it as a hobby, then it can be a labor of love; on the other hand, if Delphine is waiting for the Dragonborn, there is no Thu'um that cleans, dries and oils your cast iron... Kynesgrove has to wait while you do this yourself... EVERY TIME YOU COOK!!  There is no setting your cast iron to soak while you watch the next episode of Gotham.  Of course, even a guy like me could burry a cast iron skillet in the yard for a year and restore it back to brand new... may I bring your attention back to the first premise... I am lazy...

The second problem that occurred with my cookware quest is that I got a bad tennis elbow injury followed closely by carpal tunnel syndrome.  Using the heavy cast iron aggravated these conditions.  I had to find something lighter, yet similarly Terrestrial in origin... Enter Stainless Steel.

Over the years I have accumulated quite the assortment of cookware... aside from eating, Keith likes to buy stuff... I have a full set of Cuisinart Stainless Steel cookware, so I watched some YouTube and broke out the frying pans to see how non-stick they are.  I heard somewhere that if you know what you are doing, all cookware is non-stick... you will notice that the name of this blog is not "Keith Knows What He Is Doing."  I had some pancake batter left over from breakfast (sadly I used a Teflon coated pan for that)... I began to cook a pancake...  The results were not promising...  The darned thing stuck..

However, clean up was breeze...  So I researched a little more about cooking in stainless steal, and then fried an egg.  I was talking on the phone at the same time and forgot to take pictures, but the result was much better.  I'm going to run more experiments to see how I like it or if I can learn to use it, but I think this may be my next go to type of cookware.  It meets the requirements...

1. It has no poisonous coating.
2. It can be relatively non-stick when used correctly
3. It is light
4. It is easy to care for
5. It can go in the dishwasher
6. Should last a lifetime if not mishandled.

White Chicken Chili?

A few years ago, a friend sent me a package of Buckeye Beans & Herbs White Chicken Chili.  I cooked it back then and am a little sad that I did not blog about it a bit sooner.. The Buckeye Beans & Herbs company is based in Kent WA. and sells a variety of bean and soup products.  I think they may focus on dishes unique to the Northwest.  They may have even once distributed only in the Northwest, but lucky for everyone, it seems they are branching out.  I've seen their products advertised on Target and other stores' web pages, but you can definitely find them here: CLICK HERE.

The first thing I thought was... "White Chili??? What the heck is white chili?"  It intrigued me, and this friend of mine has not steered me wrong with food yet. So, I went and got the additional ingredients required... a large onion, a couple pounds of chicken breast and a can of green chilies... The box calls for mild green chilies, but I couldn't find one with a heat rating.. so I just got a small can of green chilies from the Mexican Food isle... they did not turn out to be what I would call 'mild.'

As I started making it, I thought to myself... "This isn't chili at all."  In Texas, or at least a little deeper south, this would be considered a 'bean' dish.  that got me to thinkin' 'what IS chili?'  Have you really ever thought about it?  Some folks say that chili is a type of stew.  That's what I originally thought, but then I thought of the difference in consistency of chili and stew.  Although you can have a stew with a thick gravy, most of the time, they are much thinner than your typical chili.  Good chili has a thick, almost porridge like consistency... but does the consistency matter?

Some people I've known will put chili powder in left over spaghetti sauce, and eat it as chili.  Is that chili?  If you take spicy spaghetti sauce and put it over spaghetti is it spaghetti and meat sauce or is it Cincinnati's famous 5-way chili?

One web site mentioned that chili was once described by a travel writer (that's what they called bloggers in the 1800's) named J.C. Clopper on a trip to San Antonio.  He mentioned that the poorer residents of the town had to make their meat go a long way.  It didn't matter what they got that day... beef, chicken, you name it... they would chop it into a fine mash and stew it.

There are definitely regional differences when it comes to chili.  A Mexican friend of mine, years ago, after I explained what Texas chili was, said "oh! That's chili beans!"  I was expecting her to say "Chili con carne," but she said "chili beans," and, having been raised on a number of southern bean dishes, all having some sort of meat floating around in them, and most having a very think porridge-like consistency, that's what I was thinking when I sat down before my fragrant bowl of Buckeye Beans & Herbs White Chicken Chili.  "I'm gonna have me a bowl of beans!"

Oh, how wrong I was... even today... several years after the fact... I remember the flavor pouring through my senses when I took that first bite... the green chilies were some of the hottest I've ever eaten, but the heat did not overpower the flavor.  The heat was also the perfect complement to the seasonings of the chili.  Being made with chicken instead of beef added to the uniqueness.  I've had some good chili in my day, but they all sort of merge together in my memory.  None stand out, but I can remember this bowl of white chicken chili... and I remember thinking that it was one of THE best bowls of chili I ever had.

BOO! It's the Spooky Whopper

OOOOOO... Halloween comes a little early, or at least the season has begun, and Burger King starts it off with their Halloween Whopper. 

Yeah, I know.. the pictures in this post are pretty scary... 


I'm not typically a slave of advertising, but when I saw the adds, I had to get one as soon as I could.  The Whopper is quite possibly my favorite burger and I LOVE A1 sauce... I put it on everything from steaks to hot dogs and in sauces and soups.  The add claims that they baked A1 sauce into the bun, and I had my doubts... I mean look at it... it really doesn't look that appetizing... does it?

Well, they were true to their word...with the first bite, it tasted like A1 sauce was slathered on the burger, but it wasn't.  All the A1 flavor was in the bun, and sometimes, when the A1 taste sort of mixed with the ketchup it tasted a little like there was bar-b-q sauce on it too.. but that was some sort of magic flavor illusion.  Yep, Spooky looking burgers and magical flavors... I'd say the Halloween season is off to a delicious start.

WOW... The return of cast iron

For some years now, every Labor Day, a group of friends from around Texas have gotten together and played board games.  We stay in a cabin in the words, gloriously off the grid and away from mobile technology... for the most part.  This cabin belongs to a friend's family and has some fairly old cookware in it... by 'fairly old' I mean vintage cast iron.  Each year I forget to check if it is Wagner, Griswald or neither.  It doesn't really matter, its at least two generations old, and good as new.  When I cook on it, I'm always amazed at how truly non-stick it really is.  I also learn what it means to be non-stick.  Your food won't be slippin' and slidin' all over the place.  You won't have to chase your grilled cheese as it slides away from your spatula... but if you pay attention to what you are doing, your food will not burn or stick and clean up will be a breeze..

After doing some cooking at the cabin, I decided to get back into cast iron.  Readers may remember that I had a fun adventure seasoning my Lodge cast iron skillet some years ago.  I may also have mentioned that at one point the seasoning started to flake off, and I just got fed up, packed it in a box

for my move and forgot about it... too much trouble... That was old ignorance... I took the old lodge out of the box, and, I must have done something right, because the cooking surface was unmarred.  There were a few spots of about 1 millimeter of rust on the outside and handle, but other than that, it looked EXACTLY like it did when I put it in the box years ago.

A little elbow grease and a single layer of re-seasoning and presto... it was back in action.  I used it for a few simple meals this week and was reminded of some of the things I really like about cast iron.  First, it is easy to find pieces made in the U.S.A.  I do not have the room to explain why that's important... but suffice it to say that it is important to me. 

Second, cast iron is indestructible... If anything you do in your kitchen can damage cast iron, you need to consider joining the Avengers.  On that note, you can do what you need to do... you can slam that STAINLESS STEEL spatula against that pan and flip that egg... you can take it off the stove with that sizzling steak and put it in a 500 degree oven... you can take a metal knife and cut into that steak or chicken to see how done it is.  A lot of this would ruin other cookware.. and trust me.. I've ruined some cookware... I've melted nylon forks in steaks and caught pots (yes plural) on fire. 

Third, its cheap.  You will spend one tenth on cast iron what you will spend for other quality non-stick cookware.  You will also typically replace every piece of non-stick cookware at least once in your life which doubles its cost.

Fourth, no 'chemicals' or should I say no 'weird' industrial chemicals you and medical science don't really know much about come near your food.  It's iron.... dug up from the ground and made from rocks... you understand rocks and iron... you probably don't know where the heck Polytetrafluoroethylene comes from or even what it is... but people cook on it.  With cast iron, you can also avoid silicon, nylon, and all kinds of other petroleum or polymer based utensils.  The only thing that will leach into your food is iron.

Most important of all... IT COOKS GREAT!!!! Last night as an experiment, I fried shredded cheddar cheese in it, and nothing stuck.  This morning, I cooked my breakfast in it, and was amazed... I've only recently been trying to make omelets 'the right way,' and had I known how to flip this baby this morning, it would have been restaurant quality.  The secret to an omelette  is 1) use butter.. and 2) to cook it slowly until it is thoroughly firm and able to fold.. I messed up the fold.. but otherwise it was fluffy and just right.

Supernatural Heat

Hello blog fans.  Well, I'm coming back.  Sorry for the time away... Life comes at you fast.

I'd like to introduce you guys to Ghost Chilies.  They were sent to me as a present for my birthday.  When my friend told me about them, I went looking all over town for them, and, though they have the Trader Joe's logo on them, I could not find them at Trader Joe's.  Indeed, I could not find them anywhere in Houston, so I'm very happy that my friend sent them to me.

Being a Texan, I'm rather familiar with a variety of chilies and enjoy a nice spicy dish whenever I can get one.  The only thing I don't really enjoy is how some peppers burn any living flesh they touch.  The fire should stay in my mouth, not singe lips and fingers.  that's one reason I shy away from the hottest of hot wings... I want an enjoyable eating experience, not to become the human torch.

Well, friends, that doesn't seem to happen with Ghost Peppers.  Don't get me wrong, these little babies stand up to their reputation.  They are HOT!  But its a heat that sort of sneaks up on you.  I've put these on pizza, hamburgers, beans and quesadillas so far, and the roasted pepper flavor transformed a rather ordinary meal into something extremely enjoyable.  Of course, after a minute or so of enjoying that full roasted pepper flavor, the heat hits you, and it hits mercilessly... filling your mouth with delicious flame.  I can't wait to try them in a pot of home made Texas chili.

Getting back in the groove

Hello Blog followers,


Sorry I've been a way for a while... long story, but I'll be getting back in the groove soon.  A friend of mine sent me some ghost chilies, white chicken chili mix and smoked salmon... all of which will soon be blogged about... well, the salmon, I'm saving as a special treat for when I move into my new house :)

Seasoning a cast iron skillet

I do apologize blog fans that I did not take pictures throughout this process, I'll try better next time...

That out of the way, I have successfully seasoned a cast iron skillet.  "Big deal" many may say, and they are probably right, but it was fun, and its even more fun cooking in the thing, because, after every meal, I get this little sense of accomplishment... a little thrill that I was able to cook whatever because I successfully seasoned this skillet.

The first thing you need to know is that you CAN screw it up.  I did...

As you can find all sorts of instructions on how to do it on YouTube, I'll not go into all the nitty gritty details, but hit the highlights.

The first thing they will tell you is if you have a brand new piece of cast iron cookware, you will need to strip it, and you can find ALL sorts of ways to do that from homemade electrolysis devices to spray oven cleaner.  I didn't bother with any of those, I just used soap and hot water.  Its the only time you will ever use soap on your CI cookware, so enjoy it.  Now, I'm not a smart man, but I know what rust is, so I dried the skillet in the oven, but I let it cool to room temperature afterwards, and that was a mistake. When you start applying oil to the pan, it should be warm enough that you need to use a towel or oven mittens to handle it, but not so hot that you can't apply the oil.  There is something about the iron being hot (or the oil being hot) that makes it stick better to the skillet.

The first thing I tried was to follow the instruction for seasoning on the packaging...that's all wrong.  The best I did there was to get a layer of goop on the pan that burned and turned my food black.  Then I found a site that said to put like a half inch of oil in the pan and bake at like 350.  That just made more goo... I was re-inventing the sticky part of the sticky-notes.  That was a little hard to clean off, so I thought I would cook it off... it was essentially cooking oil, after all...  After cooking some chicken breasts in it, it developed a fine soot like dust.  Back to the soap and hot water with it...

After that, I learned that the best way to season a cast iron skillet is to apply very fine layers of oil to a hot pan, then bake it (upside down) at 400 for about an hour.  To get a very fine layer, you oil the pan lightly, then you get a cotton rag and dry the oil off.  You will not be able to dry off ALL the oil, there will remain a light film of oil... that's what will polymerize and make a non-stick surface.  Four layers was all I needed.  The next step is to cook in it as much as you can, so I baked some biscuits and scrambled some eggs, and will soon grill a steak in it.  The biscuits fell right out and the cooked on egg cleaned right up.  I think I'm going to have fun cooking in this thing, and if I ever get an induction stove top, it's the only cookware I have that will work on it.

The perfect cookware

Over the past few years, I've had sort of an obsession to find the perfect cookware for me.  Of course I thought that the perfect cookware for me was the perfect cookware for anyone.  I'll say right now that that is wrong.

In years past, I've had a variety of inexpensive cookware, and I've caught some of it on fire... yes caught it on fire.

I forget the brand names of most of the cheap stuff I've had, however, I do remember having some TFal nonstick pots and pans that, at the time, I seemed to like, but eventually, the inside coating started to flake off.  My last TFal pot caught fire because I turned on the wrong burner. The exterior coating caught fire and was quite alarming.

After the Pot on fire incident (it wasn't the only one.. just the last dangerous one), I decided to get some no coated, or at least more durable cookware.

I bought a full set of Cuisinart Stainless Steel cookware.  I figured I 'd have a lot of trouble catching steel on fire... I was right about that.  It is extremely difficult to catch steel on fire.  I liked this cookware; it was durable, although I had to use nonmetallic utensils with it, and I could put it in the dishwasher, which is a selling point in my book.  However, something in me was unsatisfied... I eventually learned that this was not dissatisfaction, but an addiction or drive I have to buying cookware.  The main problem I had with the Cuisinart stainless steel was that it was not "nonstick."  Yes, I have since learned that you can 'season' stainless steel, but 1) I have trouble believing that stainless steel is porous enough for seasoning to get a good 'grip' on the pans, and 2) I got this set cause it said it was dishwasher safe, and putting it in the dishwasher would remove any seasoning I put on it.  Another slight issue with stainless steel is that it discolors in hard water.  The water in my apartment needs to be cut with a diamond saw its so hard.  Because of this, my Cuisinart cookware has rainbow discolorations that would make Cy Twombly envious, but that is merely an cosmetic problem and does not effect the quality of the cookware.  Another problem with putting stainless steel in the dishwasher is that any particles from other dishes can scratch the finish... so I usually wash this stuff by hand now, or I make sure that its the only think in the dishwasher... oh, and its recommended that you do not use dish-washing detergent that contains citrus... the acids in citrus will damage the finish.

The pots in the Cuisinart set are great, and I use them regularly, but I was still looking for the perfect non-stick frying pans so I could the perfect eggs... Next, I tried Calphalon Contemporary Nonstick.  This has a coating of some material from area 51 and, although you can burn stuff onto them, it will usually rinse right off.  I sometimes need to use a sponge on my Calphalon, but cooked on foods wipe right off.  Again, use silicon or nylon utensils with it and do not put it in the dishwasher... but you never need to, this stuff cleans up in seconds.  I also like my Calphalon skillets because they are oven safe up to 400 degrees, so I can toss them in the oven to put a finishing touch on omelets and steaks.

One day I was in Bed Bath and Beyond and there was a deal to get two Aeternum Enamel coated aluminum skillets for $50.  That weakness kicked in and I got them... Talk about non-stick... nothing sticks to this stuff... the first time I was ever able to flip a fried egg by just flipping the pot was with an Aeternum enamel coated aluminum skillet... that was fun... this stuff is so non-stick that sometimes you can't even get a spatula under the thing you are trying to flip cause you push it instead of slipping under it.  I really enjoy cooking eggs in these skillets... unfortunately, one night I wanted to make some tea, and turned on the burner beneath my empty Aeternum skillet instead of my tea kettle... and you guessed it... I damaged the pan.  It didn't catch fire, but It came close.  The coating on the bottom is marred.  the enamel actually melted onto my electric burner, and the cooking surface cracked slightly.  It's still usable, but where the cooking surface got damaged, it is not 100% non-stick...

After reading several blogs on cooking with cast iron, I went and bought an Emerilware cast iron skillet.  I wanted to get a Lodge and recommend them because they are made in America, but I couldn't find any, and when I get the buying bug, the Internet just won't do.

The first thing that I'll say about cast iron is that cooking with it is a hobby.  You are going to spend a lot of time caring for cast iron than any other cookware.  Oh yes, they make seasoning cast iron look easy on YouTube, but truth is, it is rather time consuming, especially when you compare it to the other cookware in this post.  The cost of brand new cast iron cookware is about the same as the others listed in this post also.  When someone says that cast iron is a lot cheaper than other pans, they are usually referring to the fact that you can sometimes... SOMETIMES... find old, used, neglected cast iron cookware in garage sales for a handful of dollars.  Turning that rusted, neglected piece of junk into a beautiful cooking utensil that will last generations is a fairly major project... that you can get wrong the first couple times.  Keeping cast iron viable is also sort of a chore.  I am in the process of re-seasoning a cast iron skillet, and will no doubt blog about it.  Although there are no lack of YouTube and blog posts concerning how to season cast iron, none of them mention what happens when you do it wrong... I now know what happens when you do it wrong.

Summary: As some website I saw said... The best cookware is the cookware you love to use every day... My favorite of all the ones listed above, in all honesty is the Calphalon Contemporary Non-stick.

The Black Bear Diner, Federal Way, WA.

If you are ever in Federal Way WA. you have to have breakfast at the Black Bear Diner.  Actually, you should have breakfast, lunch and dinner there, but if you are only going to have one meal there, make it the one that starts your day.

On my last trip to the Sea-Tac area, I stayed in Federal Way, and when I'm there, I always make it a point to eat at least one breakfast at the Black Bear Diner.  This time I had time for two breakfasts :)

The furnishings and décor in the restaurant stays true to their theme of a country hunting lodge.  The menu is even printed like a little local newspaper, which I thought was a nice touch.

I always have trouble deciding what I'm going to want there... a stack of pancakes with maple syrup or a full breakfast platter with all my favorites.  My first breakfast was the Hickory Smoked Ham Combo.  This includes a huge over 1/4 inch thick ham steak, country potatoes and 2 eggs... any style.  I had mine scrambled this time, and they were light and fluffy and perfect!  We added a side of bacon, because I wanted to try that too.

The bacon was done perfectly, or at least how I like it, just on the right side of crispy.  Like the ham steak, the bacon was thicker than expected, almost as thick as a slice of beef jerky... and tasted... well.. it was bacon!!!!  The country potatoes are mixed with onions and peppers and definitely one of my favorites. 

Due to the great "over medium egg debate" (about which I may at some day go into greater detail), for my next breakfast there, I ordered eggs over medium on the link sausage combo.  The eggs were dead on truly over medium.  This time I got the hash browns, cause I like to use them to sop up the egg goodness, and again, they were just how I like them; crispy on one side and tender on the other.

I wish I had not waited so long before writing this blog post, because I'd have much better descriptions of the food... especially these sausages.  Exact memories fail me now, but I remember truly enjoying these sausages.  I guess I just need to make my way up there again and take notes... but that would be impossible... I'm not doin' nothing but eatin' when I'm at the Black Bear... that food puts me in the zone!!!

Geoduck at last!!!

I finally got to try geoduck (pronounced "Gooey Duck")!

As the reader may know, I'm a huge fan of Seattle Washington.  Its one of my favorite towns.  So my friend there wanted to find something uniquely regional for me to try there.  That's how I learned about the geoduck (see my post "Christmas Duck"), and, as they are only found around the Puget Sound area, that makes them a prime candidate for a regional delicacy.

 

The geoduck was the culmination of a great day.  We had reservations for Shiro's Sushi bar when it opened at 5:30.  Reservations are required, and there is always a line.  Shiro's looks to be that good.  Its a very small, but elegant, Japanese Restaurant/Sushi bar.  Its well worth the time to get a table.  No reservations are needed for the sushi bar itself, but all the seats were taken when we got in. 

As we were going to downtown Seattle around rush hour, we left very early to avoid the traffic which is not much unlike Houston's, and spent some time sight seeing.  Down the hill from Pike's Place, is the touristy waterfront area with restaurants, amusements and tours of the sound.  Last year, an entrepreneur built the Seattle Great Wheel.  It is a huge Ferris wheel, much like the eye of London.  It is the largest observation wheel on the west coast, rising 175 feet above the piers.  It gives a great view of port including the Seahawks stadium, Mt. Rainer and the cargo loaders that inspired George Lucas' Imperial Walkers...

 

 Back to the geoduck...  I had watched some videos on YouTube about Geoduck and people described it as very buttery.  Well, I had never had clams before... yes, reader, I who likes to eat, had never had clams before... so, when they said that geoduck was a very "buttery' flavored clam, I thought it meant buttery in some sort of seafood way, like people say lobster is 'rich.'  I've never had lobster either, so, I've no idea what 'rich' means there... I know what a rich cake is, but not what a rich lobster is...

 

Shiro's serves their geoduck grilled in butter with asparagus and shitake mushrooms on a bed of lettuce with tomatoes on the side.  My first bite was amazing... that's all I can say... when people say that geoduck has a very buttery flavor, they are dead on... imagine if you grilled a pat of butter without it melting and give it a very tender fleshy consistency... and you have geoduck...  

 

Another wonderful thing about geoduck is that the geoduck you get in the restaurants and stores is farm raised, so the wild geoducks are free to live their lives minding their own business without hunters going after them for our culinary pleasure.

 

Hiatus

Hello Blog fans, sorry for the absence...I'll be back soon. If you're wondering what I've been up to... well, I've been distracting myself and escaping reality in various ways... most recently, Role Playing...  Take a peek at my other blog.  Not sure if I'll keep it yet, but we will see.

http://rpglegion.blogspot.com/

Don't try this at home...

I attempted the Mel's Diner Mega Mel... and... well... why rush to the end,,, As you all know, This past Saturday, February 9th, 2013, at 2pm CST, I attempted the Mega Mel Challenge.  The challenge: if you consume the entire Mega Mel burger along with trimmings in two hours, your name will be inscribed on Mel's wall of glory... and the honored dead of Skyrim will sing songs of you in Sovngarde.  Well, the Sovngarde stuff is my embellishment... but I guarantee it will be so if you finish this culinary monster.

Mel's diner... actually, Mel's Country Cafe is located at 24814 STANOLIND RD about one hour and 20 minutes from downtown Houston.  The drive out was an enjoyable trip. I kept thinking of my plan. I had only had one meal the day before.  I stayed up later so that I cold sleep in on Saturday and easily skip breakfast.  Needless to say, I was very hungry when I got to the cafe.

Evidence to Mel's popularity, the place was packed, but the wait was not very long.  Several friends, family members, and even a friend from work showed up, but seating was difficult that day due to the crowd.  My friend from work, and my sister are regulars, and they were surprised to see it so full, but, though I would have like for all of us to have sat together,  I am glad that the diner was crowded, because Mel's Country Cafe deserves to be very popular and do good business... they take food seriously. If you are anywhere in Northwest Houston, you HAVE to try Mel's.  My sister got the fried catfish... and when I got a whiff of it, and saw the huge portion, I sort of wished I was getting that.. then they brought a chicken frined steak to another table.. and I wished I was getting that...  I will be going back... quite a bit... it will be worth the drive... and they have many country dishes I HAVE TO TRY.

 

Then my Mega Mel arrived... the Mega Mel Burger is 1.5 pounds of juicy ground meat divided into five patties (if memory serves).  between each burger is a slice of cheese that melts and coats each patty in cheesy glaze.  Atop these patties is a pound of bacon... not the paper thin bacon you get with breakfast at your typical greasy spoon... this is a pound of thick cut Texas bacon.  The meat sits upon a shredded head of lettuce, about one and a half sliced tomatoes and onions and pickles.  The bun is pretty much just for show... but you still got to eat it.

 

I had not really been daunted until I saw it.. it was indeed huge... the first true Mega ANYTHING I had ever seen that deserved the name... but I had my plan. 

 

I slowly removed the saber-like tooth picks and slid the meat to its own plate.  My idea was to eat as fast as I could; thinking I could 'pshyc out' my stomach... This was a mistake.  I can eat A LOT of food... ask anyone who knows me.  I often try not to eat large amounts of food, because I'm a tad heavier than I should be, but when I get in my groove, I can eat some food.  I should not have changed that.  I should have trusted my groove.  I grabbed two burger patties an wolfed them down really fast.  Then I ate some bacon.  During all this time I'm chewing faster than I usually do, and I'm chewing a lot.  I had not expected the bacon to be so thick.  I had to chew a lot on it.  Then, I ate some lettuce and tomato.  Next, I made another 'sandwich' with lettuce, tomato and bacon, using burger patties as a bun.  I started trying to eat this as fast as I could, and then it hit.. the wall... my jaw was killing me, and my stomach started to let me know that it was not happy.  At that point I knew I wasn't going to make it.  My brother-in-law says I made it about a third of the way through, and I will defer to his assessment, I wasn't really paying attention... It seemed that the more I chewed the more there was yet to chew... it didn't seem to me that I was even making a dent.  Fifteen minutes in.. I threw in the towel, and the Mega Mel Burger had beaten me... but it was a lot of fun, and I was glad to have been able to share this friends and family.

It's On!!!!!

Well, blogger fans, I can put it off no longer... Saturday, February 9th 2pm... Tomball, TX... I will take on the Mega Mel Burger challenge.  This is the first of what I hope to be many food challenge. 

http://www.melscountrycafe.com/mega.html

At first, I had doubts as to whether I could do this... more important, I had doubts as to whether I SHOULD do this.  Now that I've set a date, and people are cheering me on... I'm sort of jazzed....

My strategy is to divide and conquer... I sort of have to.  Do you remember those ignorant chicken sandwiches that KFC had for a while... the ones that had no bread?  Well, that's what I have in mind for the burgers... it WILL NOT be a pretty sight.  the last burgers I'll eat with the buns as regular burgers... Then the remaining lettuce and tomatoes will be eaten as a salad...

Wish me luck.

Cresent City Beignets

My brother says that I have a tendency to wax nostalgic...and that may be, but it is hard to avoid when I go to Crescent City Beignets at 2360 Westheimer.  I'm from New Orleans, but that was a long time ago, and I remember very little of my youth, but I do remember mom's homemade beignets, and when I go to Crescent City, I always think of them.

I've had beignets at some other places before and was not impressed, but Crescent City gets it right.  They are a good size, about the size of your palm.  Light and crispy on the outside... warm soft and doughy on the inside, and covered generously with powdered sugar that sticks to your lips and fingers as your eat them.

Of course, they have coffee too... full bodied, rich, chicory coffee... another culinary delight that makes me wax nostalgic.  It's a perfect pairing with the beignets.  The price isn't all that bad either. 

Christmas Duck

My friend Chips had a 1lb geoduck sent to me as a Christmas present.  You see, he follows this blog and thought that the preparation and enjoyment of a geoduck would be a nice addition to these posts... and I couldn't agree more.  I think we all hate how Christmas has become nothing more than a celebration of consumerism.  Raise your hand if you have at least one present of Christmas passed collecting dust untouched in a closet or garage... I thought so.  I thought this was a wonderful idea of Chips, to share something of the American Northwest and my interests in exploring new food experiences.  I really appreciated this early Christmas gift, unfortunately, fate is unkind and the little fella didn't make it... but I get ahead of myself...

What is a geoduck (pronounced "Gooey-duck)?  A geoduck is a very large saltwater clam that is native to the American Northwest, especially Puget Sound.  The name of the mollusk comes from a Native American dialect (Lushootseed) and it means "dig deep."  Indeed, if you want to harvest a geoduck, you do need to dig deep in the mud of the sound.  The siphon of the goeduck can be 3 feet long.  From everything that I've read, they are the most delicious clam in the world, and the good news is that you do not have to invade their natural habitat to get them; there are fisheries that raise geoduck and ship them throughout the United States.

Ever wonder how fresh seafood is shipped?  I have... The outer package is usually very obviously stamped with the words "SEAFOOD" and "PERISHABLE."  Unfortunately, the staff of my apartment complex who are usually exceptionally cool and great people, did not heed the words on the box, and did not make an exception to their rule and leave the box in my apartment.  The box stayed in their closet for 2 days.

When I got the box to my apartment, I still had hope that maybe the delicacy had made it ok... Inside the box was a decent sized icebox, and I was really hoping that the critter was still alive, because shipping must have cost Chips a ton, and I felt bad.

Inside this icebox was the geoduck.  It was double wrapped in plastic and a moist pad.  There were the remnants of ice packs inside the bags and out... but much to my dismay, all the ice was melted and the geoduck... when finally exposed... was quite dead and had a slightly bad smell.  Not a BAD reek, just enough to make me question whether it was ok to eat.  I called the people at Taylor Shellfish farms, and they agreed that if it was not alive, and older than 2 or 3 days, I should not eat it. 

Believe it or not, I've never had clams before because they have always been icky to me, but the first time I saw a goeduck, I thought it might not be slimy and icky.  Thanks again Chips, for trying to share this with me... looks like I'll just have to try it the next time I'm in Seattle.

Brew Dreams

I need to write this before the mists of memory drift away...

I tossed and turned all night with an acidic burning in my gut.  When I did sleep, I had really weird dreams... In the only one I can remember, there were kittens everywhere... kittens with butterfly wings who could not fly and refused to use the litterbox.  I was supposed to meet Imelda May for brunch, but she was late.  She was trying train one of the kittens, but she could not and ran screaming into the street and  smashed my Optima with a baseball bat.  Another women draped in flame embraced Imelda and she calmed down.  Then the woman in flames took Imelda to Coney Island and bought her a bowl of chili.

Bosnian Brew

I intend to reverse engineer coffee... but I get ahead of myself... I sit next to this guy at work... lets call him "Dan."  I often think that Joseph Conrad must have sat next to someone like Dan.  Only by regular exposure to someone who tells adventurous tales from exotic places could Conrad have gained such a thorough grasp of the literary device called "Framing."

I sit next to Dan, and one day we were talking about coffee.  He mentioned that when he was in Iraq, he knew some guys from Bosnia with a rather interesting... some may say utilitarian... way of making coffee.  He said that they would take a Styrofoam cup, put in 2 teaspoons of espresso ground coffee and 2 cubes of sugar... add hot water and stir. 

"What about the grounds?" I asked.

"They would eventually sink," replied Dan.

I had to try it...

So... I don't have Styrofoam cups, so I used a mug...  I put in 2 teaspoons of coffee and 2 sugar cubes.  I also didn't have any beans to grind, so I used Community filter ground coffee with chicory.  It ain't a freakin souffle.. right???

After that... I added boiling watter and stirred.

...and I waited...

...and I waited...

The grounds never seemed to sink.

Well, I had given it about 10 minutes or so and took a sip.. my mouth was filled with coffee grounds... I was instantly reminded why I never really took to dipping SKOAL...  I hate a mouth full of sand... Needles to say, the feeling was pretty nasty, but the flavor was AMAZING!!!  I had to find a way to drink this coffee... so I grabbed a filter and... and thought twice... wait... I'm a Bosnia partisan in the Iraqi mountains far from civilization, caring not for whom the bell tolled... I don't have any coffee filters... I get a handkerchief and strain the coffee grinds....

 
Afterwards... I was treated to one of the best cups of coffee I've ever had.  It was smooth, hardly bitter, rich and had a very full body to it along with a major caffeine kick.  ...And if you're not drinking your coffee like this, your a damned girlie man!!!!

Tornado Burger

I visited Tornado Burger of Stafford on Murphy Rd, and have to say, I was somewhat disappointed.  In 2001, The Houston Press awarded Tornado Burger the Best Burger award.  The sign outside the restaurant boasts the best philly cheesesteak... needles to say, I was rather jazzed about getting a burger here.

Inside, there are letters on the wall from alleged customers that claim extraordinary trips from far away lands merely to eat at this burger cafe... we had our doubts as to whether they were read or decoration.  We read them to the thump... thump of the potato slicer making fresh cut spuds for their seasoned fries.

I got a number 2 which is a single patty cheeseburger.  You can get it plain or spicy... I got mine spicy... of course  To make the burger spicy, they grind jalapenos into the hamburger meat.  I liked this idea, and it enhanced my anticipation of the tasty treat to come. 

Did I say I was disappointed... The burger was a little on the small side, about the size of  a Big Mac.  The veggies were fresh, but the onion was a little overpowering, drowning out any nuances of burger flavor.  As for the burger flavor, I'm not sure how they cooked the patty, but the only real flavor was the occasional zing of the jalapenos (which I  had mistaken for cayanne it was so slight).  This being said, if you go to Tornado Burger, I recommend getting the spicy.  It at least has a little more character than just a plain burger.

I had mentioned that the burger was a bit small, but you get a moderate helping of fries, so, at a cost of $5.79 for burger, fries, a drink and tax, you won't leave hungry, and you'll still have a little bit of something in your wallet.