August in Michigan. For my family it means a trip “up north” (as if north would be anywhere other than up) to a cottage on a lake. Yes, my friends, a break from the day to day grind of taking care of young children at home, in exchange for a chance to take care of young children in a totally new environment. Between making sure they don’t drown, frequent applications of sunscreen, and child-proofing a cottage, I’m hoping to find a moment to eat delicious food as well.
Northern Michigan (we will be in the Frankfurt area) offers some, but not many culinary diversions. Cherry pie at the Cherry Hut is a must. The best eats come when we charter a fishing boat and catch Great Lakes salmon, which, for lack of a better word, is great. I will eat every fish I catch — save one which will be wrapped in newspaper and sent to an appropriate villain of my choosing. The fish I keep will be cleaned, gutted, and then feasted upon. A couple places will let you BYOF (bring your own fish) and cook it for you any way you like. I usually walk in, hand them the cooler, and say “blackened, please.” Or we will fire up the grill and make it at the cottage. Either way, freshly caught salmon from Lake Michigan is AMAZING. Add some homemade French fries, cole slaw, a cold craft beer, and a lake view and I will be as close to Shangri-la as you can get while still in Michigan.
It is with a hint of regret, however, that technological limitations will keep me from posting on EP for a week. It is also with more than a hint of regret that I have decided to allow my teenage cousin, Penelope, to write a guest column or two in my absence. I shudder to think what will she will say, but hopefully it will be in English with something resembling correct grammar. I am shuddering again at the thought. I would like to state in advance that I accept zero responsibility for any posts bearing my name that may appear in the next week. (No worries, John, I’ve cleared this with the Epic Portions legal department, I bribed them with some cupcakes and they were putty in my hands.) So farewell for now, I’ll be back soon and hopefully you will enjoy the post(s) in my absence.
Is there anything worse than spam? Be it the culinary version, or the kind that has been assaulting EP, few things are more loathsome than spam. On that note, our comment feature has been modified for the time being. It seems our spam filter is having problems because insurance, cialis, and whatever other crap the moronic spammers are into these days have been getting through. Until we get this figured out, all comments go to us for approval. I want to reiterate to all EP readers, we do not believe in censorship. We will approve every legitimate comment that goes through. If you doubt this, check out comments on our posts. We have been verbally assaulted on more occasions than I can remember. And not just from the Guy Fieri mafia. Hopefully this minor inconvenience will be rectified soon. If I felt eating Spam and eggs would help, I would do it. On that note, is there a reader out there that actually likes Spam? If you do, please share. If something seems appetizing I’ll give it a shot…now to the random musings.
I can’t think of a better culinary topic on the Fourth of July than corn on the cob. On the grill or in the oven (I refuse to boil corn on the cob) has to be the way to go. Not too long ago, I started cooking or grilling it while still in the husk. For me, there is no other way. The husk keeps the moisture in and steams the corn. It is perfect every time. 30 minutes in a 375° oven, give it a few minutes to cool and dig in.
When did putting grapes in chicken salad become commonplace and why is this still tolerated?
Chicken salad with grapes, served in a glass on a bed of lettuce. Wrong on so many levels.
Speaking of salad, potato salad can really surprise you sometimes. I was at a BBQ last weekend and the host, who used to cook at the now defunct Cottage Inn Café on Washtenaw Avenue (moment of silence, please) made a potato salad that had capers in it, and it was quite good. Normally I have no use for capers. I’ve got to get his recipe; beyond chicken piccata I had no idea capers could be delicious.
I broke down and bought a gas grill last year. I know, grilling enthusiasts, charcoal is the way to go, but the simplicity of gas has proven valuable. I grill far more often with the gas grill than I did on my Weber. But today I ran out of propane before my burgers were finished. I cried out “NOOOOOOOOOO” to the heavens. Score another point for charcoal.
Fourth of July food discussion can’t be complete without mentioning beer. I tried Michelob’s Hop Hound at a party this weekend, as it was either that or Bud Light. Review to come sometime later this week…
Why is Poochie the rockin' dog on this beer bottle? Tune in later this week to find out!
As long as we are talking about beer, I love a good Hefeweizen but if I can taste banana in my beer I am going to switch to something else. Unless it is Bud Light Golden Wheat.
Did anyone else see this picture of Cookie Monster with the hot Russian spy chick?
Cookie Monster with hot redhead Russian spy. Seems like our old friend is doing pretty well for himself since retiring.
Looks like CM has been living an interesting life since he retired. Perhaps he’ll send us another letter someday…
And even though John hates soccer, one World Cup comment. If Netherlands wins the World Cup, the greatest party in history will be in Amsterdam. I would do unspeakable things to be there on that night.
Dutch soccer fans. Makin' orange look gooooood.
Every now and then you read a study from a research university that just seems completely pointless. One study (source = Newsweek) recently that said people who are not considered attractive have “less chance of getting married.” Wow! Did they have a team of brain-dead chimps work on that?
Now comes another pointless study in that vein from our fellow Big Ten (going on Big 16) brethren Penn State. Known as the home of meteorologists, Beaver Stadium, and a football coach who fought at Gettysburg, Penn State set their formidable research talents on soda consumption among children.
It turns out (shockingly!) that girls who consume soda at age five are not as well nourished as girls who do not. Seriously. Not only did they engage in the most useless study ever, they tracked these girls for TEN YEARS! You know, just in case soda consumption turned out to be a positive dietary aspect. One of the more shocking revelations from this study is that the soda drinkers had an increased sugar intake. Thank goodness for higher education.
Don’t take this as Penn State bashing, I’ve been to State College and from what I remember I had an outstanding time. The campus is beautiful and I love the old school football uniforms. But please, devote your research time and money to something a little less obvious next time. Why don’t they next study what it is about Guy Fieri that people like and find a way to remove that gene. For the sake of all humanity.
Twitter
Facebook
Youtube
Flickr