First of all, happy Independence Day, the day the nation
celebrates our cessation of being a British colony to our own sovereign United
States of America! We’ve lasted 242
years so far despite some rocky times in the last half of the 19th
Century. But we are still the United States, although we may have strained the “united”
part lately. Anyway, today is a day to
be with friends and family, stay up late enough to see the various fireworks
displays, eat all American food like ribs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, and hot
dogs! Enjoy!
Frankly Speaking…
Hot dogs provide a nice segue to remembering another tradition
which takes place every year on this day, the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest
in Coney Island, NY. Joey Chestnut will
once again defend his title as champ. In
2015 he ended a run of consecutive wins beginning in 2007, but regained his
crown in 2016 and defended in 2017. His
current record stands at 72 dogs in the required ten minutes and will try to
best that today.
Coney Island is the perfect setting for an event that is the
epitome of carnival, featuring an announcer that is a show unto himself. Kind of like the announcers for professional
wrestling. And the crowd dresses up in
outlandish costumes (mimicking a hot dog, etc.). I’ll watch for the theater and
the ghoulish consumption of the dogs. Great
fun.. Noon, EST/ESPN2. There is a woman’s division but it gets no TV
coverage.
Break, break, having
been conscripted by MFO to aid with food prep for tonight, I happen to get back
to typing as the contest is about to start, and probably will be concluded by
the time I add “DFD”. (see footnote)
Spoiler: Miki Sudo
repeats as five-time winner in the women’s division, stuffing 37 dogs in ten
minutes to defeat all comers, including one time champ Sonya “Black Spider”
Thomas.
Even more!
If you see this today, which I hope you do, be sure to look
at the google doodle. Taking a page from
the Feeder, they elected to have a food theme.
If you click on the doodle, you’re taken to a screen of the USA, with
various food items overlaid. You click
on the state of your choice (or inhabitation) and it brings up a so-called
State Recipe. Some interesting
choices: Illinois - Italian Beef;
Michigan - Goulash; and some expected ones: Louisiana – Gumbo.. Have fun while it lasts!
It’s a tough job
But somebody… well you know.
Over the years associated with the local Hospital and helping with their
annual “gala” in the menu selection process, I have sort of gravitated to being
the “wine guy” burdened with selecting the wines for the evening. For the past couple of years, we have gotten
a selection from Mills Fine Wines (and Spirits) on City Dock in Annapolis. I have scribbled about them before, but I will
reiterate it is a great wine store, filled with interesting and “off the beaten
path” wines from old and new world.
Worth a visit if you’re in the area.
Anyway, this year they sent four reds and four whites (old and new
world) to the menu tasting at Ken’s Creative Kitchen also in Annapolis which I have
attended for years. Unfortunately, because
of my “condition” it was a bridge too far and I missed it this year. They were,
however, considerate enough to send me the wines for my home tasting. So, I lined arranged them on our downstairs
table (where the temperature always hovers around 69) and set to work.
I made sticky notes as I went, eventually with notes on each wine
Serious stuff! I won’t divulge my results.
I’ll summarize at a later date, and I may venture up to Annapolis to
sample other options..stay tuned..
A New school of .....
Has appeared on the Solomons, in the location previously occupied
by the venerable Bowen’s Inn which has been vacant for a while. Completely gutted and remodeled it is now:
Housed in the lovely renovated building
As an aside, now that I have to consider entrance
configurations, this is nicely thought out with (handicapped) parking right
next to a gradually sloping entrance (read “no steps”!)
It is owned/operated by someone who has extensive food
experience having run a catering business out of Prince Frederick called No
Thyme to Cook. I had the opportunity to view the place the
other day when I attended a meeting for the upcoming Oyster Festival.
You are greeted with one of my favorite phrases mounted behind the cooktop
The "classroom" space itself is set up to accommodate several
students with their own workspace, and all can observe the instructor and
cooktop with aid of a flat screen. They are also equipped to do “hands on”
stuff (which I always enjoy) with small propane burners available to each
station. There is a nice view of the harbor from inside as well as an outside deck behind the schoolroom.
There is also a similar room
on the second floor which I didn’t have the time to visit. While there are other places that hold
classes, this is a fully dedicated cooking school, at a level which is
completely new to our area. Several
local chefs will populate the “staff”. Oh, they also have (not pictured) a wine bar! I am very impressed!
You can check out the details and class schedule by visiting their LINK
Footnote: Joey “Jaws” Chestnut has another jewel in his
belt, by consuming 64 (not as many as last year's 72) hot dogs to his nearest competitor’s 49.
And with that, it is finally time to remind you to
DFD
And
NMMJ
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