Alton Does Wings

I was a bit apprehensive when I saw the title of last night's brand new episode of Good Eats, entitled "The Wing & I."

On the one hand, after all, this is Alton Brown we're talking about. His skill at getting to the essence and true soul of foods is legendary.

On the other hand, few foods are so universally verpfuscht.

First off, let me reiterate: There is no such thing as Buffalo Wings. If you are in Buffalo, you do not call them Buffalo Wings. If you are outside of Buffalo, you don't know how to make them. They couldn't be simpler to make, but somehow outsiders, especially national chains, keep finding new and unique ways to foul them up.

So, it was with an open mind, but some trepidation that we watched.

From his bar set first used in "Raising the Bar," Alton talked about their history. He went so far as to identify the Anchor Bar as being on Main Street. A little thing, I know, but shows a level of care to the subject matter.

What Alton focused on was the fact that it was thrown together late at night. It wasn't the result of meticulous planning and research. He then turned, as he always does, to how one can make the dish on one's own.

As far as cooking, I was rather wary. He actually eschewed the use of a fryer, the traditional method. His reasoning, however, was sound. Household fryers don't have the capacity to deal with a decent batch. His solution was rather unique.

He decided to use a steamer to cook the chicken, followed by an oven to crisp it. Not traditional, but it does the traditional job.

As is his wont, however, he stuck with tradition in the most important part - the sauce. The sauce was nothing but hot sauce and butter (with the option of some extra garlic) and the wings went straight into the sauce while they were still hot. This is a big place where people make mistakes. If the wings cool, the sauce won't adhere. If you mess around with the sauce, you will only get a mess.

I will reserve final judgement until we've actually tried his recipe. At this point, however, it seems that AB may have indeed gotten right what so many get wrong. I'll even forgive his misnaming.

Prohibitionist Scum, Part Deux

While perusing the Beerschool.com, I found a link to this great article over on the website of Reason.

It ties in quite nicely with my prior post on the subject.

Even the founder of MADD knows they've lost their way.

Why is nobody pointing out the obvious?

That this figure:



is obviously a Gorn.

A Good Cause

One of the bloggers I read is participating in a fundraiser for St. Baldrick's Foundation, which raises money for childhood cancer research. Check out Shadofax's post at Movin' Meat and make a donation if you can.

More Kenmore Wildlife

I continue to be amazed by the creatures who inhabit this area, many of which I thought were not indigenous.

Last week, it was an apparent eagle, now this.

ES1 & I were enjoying a long overdue Saturday morning rest. We looked out the window and saw some strange tracks.

From the angle of the window, we could see one dashed line in the snow, next to a continuous line. My first thought was 'a rabbit with a limp?' ES1 thought it could have been something dragging its tail.

When I went out to shove the snow, I got a better look at the tracks:









Finally, I saw the source of the tracks:

















The legendary European Tim Horton's Cup.

It had to be European:

African Tim Horton's Cups are non-migratory.


The things we find in this neighborhood.

The Great Eagle of Kenmore

As ES1 is expecting, my parents gave us a new video camera for Christmas. One of its very nice features is its 34x optical zoom. I sometimes find myself reaching for it simply for that reason.

The other day, I was outside with Molly. I heard a rustling noise overhead. I looked up, and saw this behemoth.

I finally went inside because I didn't like the way she was eyeing Molly.

Motherhood ≠ Great Grandmotherhood

ES1 is having issues.

She's looking for nice maternity clothes.

She's finding places like this.

This leads to one simple question:

How do people who wear clothes like this end up needing the maternity section?

Pregnancy journal

For those who read this blog that I haven't told yet, I'm pregnant. If you're on livejournal, I'll be using my livejournal page to do a pregnancy diary. I'm making the post friends only, so you'll need to friend me if you want to read it.