KenzSailing

"I hear that train a-comin'" In our case, it's tomorrow's 9:50 Acela to the City-That-Never-Sleeps(TM). Quick hit: up on Friday, back on Sunday. A little dining, a little theater, a little more dining then back on the choo-choo. "Casey Jones you better watch your speed"

Huh. If Johnny had known about this he might have let nature run its course and spared himself the trouble. But now I have an excuse to tie in the word awful with how Evel Knievel got his nickname. (You'll have to google it.)

I can never read nor hear the word Reno without immediately thinking of this: It's such a masterpiece of C&W, but with a core of bluegrass-hillbilly. And his voice was mature, but so, so strong.

My dude, whoa. By mandate of OLoPP, Saturday night is steak night at the Chez. For a change of pace photo-wise, here's a beauty shot of last night's appetizer: sea scallops, perfectly seared, if I might say so:

The elusive, rarely photographed, smash Burger: Admittedly, not my best compositional work. But hey, tonight is Saturday night, and you know what that means...

Thanks again for your great write-up. You strike me as an interesting member of an interesting family. You'd be fun to swap stories with on some other cruise. Over a glass of wine (you pick the wine.)

I am seriously starting to think that with your new BBQ, burgers and chickens aren't the only things you're smoking. Now, will someone pass me the brownies?

Sorry, but the freshman high school note book "Billy 💗s Crystal" posts are getting out of hand. Yeah, I'm grumpy.

So Wednesday night was sous vide prime rib night: Followed on Thursday by another one bites the dust: Friday was smash burgers (no photos, happens too fast) And tonight is Saturday, and you know what that means... True story: the first time OLoPP and I ever encountered the phrase "haricots vert" it was verbally from a somewhat annoyed waiter at a posh restaurant in a very posh London hotel, many years ago. We heard it as "hairy corvair" and have been calling them that ever since. As well, at least we amuse ourselves.

I suspected something like this. Your prose is strong and exceptionally clean, a real pleasure to read. Thank you for this.

Saturday night is steak night. Before (the dry brine causes the redness) After (great Maillard reaction) Ready to plate Take that, Sweetgreen.

Ignore

So, we've been thinking about Explora cruise line. Their corporate parent is MSC. Now I'm not saying this is determinative, but these two guys are hilarious. In fact they even work in the old Woody Allen joke: Lady One "the food here is terrible Lady Two "yeah, and such small portions"

Well, next month we'll be at the Longacre Theater (thee-a-tah.) Advertised as "between Broadway and 8th Avenue." So definitely Broadwayish, and probably Broadway curious.

OK, off topic cruise line, but this is for a lady in Texas: Also, as a former altar boy, I must say I'm feeling especially tart deprived.

"The Sushi Bar is at capacity? OK, I'll wait, but I'm gonna be noisy about it."

Keith, C'mon Hoss, step up to the plate (of brisket): https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-stand-up-desk/announcing-texas-monthly-cookbook-recipes/

Shoot. We booked it so long ago, that it took me until today to realize we had been scheduled to board Crystal Serenity yesterday, LA-NYC, 18 nights. I has a sad.

Thanks. I'll answer your question by quoting the great Roy Blount Jr: " a southerner is someone who will argue whether you say grits is or grits are, and insist that it matters."

Misadventures in Cooking: Grills Just Want to Have Fun Today's Episode: Spatchcock of the Walk After Saturday's flame out of a thoroughly mediocre steak (hey, at least it was expensive,) the staff at the Chez needed a strong final performance to close out the weekend. And boy howdy, did they come thru. Feast your eyes: I think it was Brian who years ago asked me if I had ever spatchcocked a chicken. Well, I can now answer in the affirmative. It turned out really, really well. Approx 4.5 lbs of chickeny goodness. (This is what ceramic cookers are especially good at, turning out a bird like this with both crispy skin and moist succulent meat.) The cook: 24 hour dry brine with kosher salt Pepper and garlic powder sprinkle just before cooking Onto a 400F grill Cook until breast and thigh register 165F (took about 45 minutes) Let rest for 5 minutes, carve, enjoy Side note: removing the backbone of a bird that size is not as easy as the Youtube videos make it out to be (nothing ever is.) Good thing I have a pair of very sharp kitchen shears. Side note: the whole undertaking reminded me of that old country/western song "You Stomped on my Heart and Squashed that Sucker Flat."

Apropos of nothing: if this doesn't set your toe a tappin' someone needs to check you for a pulse. RIP, Lowell George, gone far too soon.

About that steak: Cooked to a medium rare 131F. No photos, it didn't deserve memorialization. Now, I know "a poor craftsperson blames their tools" but....The steak was a bone in filet acquired from a premium online vendor. As soon as I took it out of the package my heart sank. There was a substantial vein of fat running right thru it. In a filet, the leanest cut of all. I did my best, but even the Chez couldn't revive that baby. Oh well, a first time ever adventure for evening's cook as our weekend of magnificent weather draws to a close.

Sure, I cooked this to a food safe (for ground beef) 165F. I have a fancy constant-read thermometer thingie that I use to monitor proteins. I can track the cook from my phone, ipad and even Windows desktop. Pretty neat really.

For you, we'll set out a knife and fork, just like they eat them in Paris. Now, if you'll pardon me, I have a steak to flip.

The one to have when you're having one (I may have gotten a little carried away)