Howdy Partners!

Bryan Bobblehead: Howdy!

Me: Aw geez! Are you for real?

Bryan Bobblehead: I never kid about chili

Me: When I told you I was going to be making chili, I really didn't expect this? I do love your mustache? How'd you cut that out what with your arms being frozen into a sullen stance?

Bryan Bobblehead: Don't question my powers.

Me: What powers?

Bryan Bobblehead: The powers of my inner cowboy.

Me: Now you're really just making sh** up.

Bryan Bobblehead: (screaming and speaking quickly) DO NOT QUESTION MY POWERS!!!!

Me: Okay then, don't get your plastic panties in a twist.

Bryan Bobble: Well little lady, I like what you're fixin'. That thar looks like a hog-killin' time in a pot.

Me: Um....thanks? I think. What does that mean exactly?

Bryan Bobblehead: Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot you're not fluent in Ye Olde Western slang.

Me: Isn't "Ye olde" from medieval times?

Bryan Bobblehead: Little lady do not talk back to your elders! "A hog-killin' time" means a real good time. I actually thought that something you made looked and smelled delicious, and here I go trying to make you feel good and pretty and you have to go kill the moment. I mean, if I'm going to be treated this way then maybe I should just leave....

Me: I completely understand if you'd like some assistance with the door.....

Bryan Bobblehead: But since I know you cannot survive without your lil' sheriff over here I will dismiss your rudeness and we can just move on.

Me: Really? Are you sure? I mean I totally understand if....

Bryan Bobblehead: Moved on.

Me: Oh, Okay.

Bryan Bobblehead: I see you have busted out your soup pot, a wise choice that should have been made at the beginning of this Oregon Trail.

Me: Now you're just throwing in any Western related euphemism you can think of.

Bryan Bobblehead: Perhaps. By the way, where's the meat?

Me: There is no meat, this a vegetarian chili.

Bryan Bobblehead: Whoa, whoa! Are you trying to kill me. I'm a cowboy not an alfalfa desperado!

Me: (Blankly stares)

Bryan Bobblehead: Fine! I'm not a vegetarian, I want meat!

Me: I think you'll survive. I'm using butternut squash and black beans to add that protein factor and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Bryan Bobblehead: (sullen) Doubt it

Me: And just for that I am totally going to make you the butt of a dick joke.

Bryan: Hardy-har-har. Very funny.

Me: Well it made me laugh. And now we let it cook for a few hours, and then you'll see.

Bryan Bobblehead: Hmmm.......

2 hours later

Me: You have to admit it is tasty.

Bryan Bobblehead: I will admit that you are a brash breachy.

Me: I don't even want to know.

When Bobbleheads Attack!

Bryan Bobblehead: What you up to girlfriend?

Me: Just cooking up another Dorie Greenspan recipe from my new cookbook, chicken tagine to be more specific.

Bryan Bobblehead: Girl, you so crazy!

Me: Um...have you suddenly turned into a sassy black woman? And what are you doing here?

Bryan Bobblehead: 1) I wish! 2) I live in this kitchen and you need me.

Me (as I continue to chop onions and prep the chicken): How do you figure?

Bryan Bobblehead: Well you can't deny I bring something to this relationship. My steely blue gaze......

...hot tattoos....

and a tight ass.

Plus, you just effed up the chicken thus proving my point that you need a professional in this shamble of a kitchen.

Me: It's fine.

Bryan Bobblehead: Oh really, let's take a closer look....

....That is what you get for not fully reading directions and not knowing the basics of proper chicken preparation.

Me: Listen plastic boy, I know you have a fair point but this chicken is soon going to be smothered in all kinds of deliciousness and a little missing skin will be unnoticeable.

Bryan Bobblehead: I can see where you are going with this, but somehow I feel like you will fail.

Me: Thanks for the support.

Bryan Bobblehead: That's what I'm here for sista!

45 minutes later: cous cous cooked, and tagine finished and plated.

Bryan Bobblehead: I don't know, it looks a bit questionable.

....and did you just take a picture without me. Let's take another shot.

Me: Ugh you are a pain in my....(rudely interrupted)

Bryan Bobblehead: CHEESE!

(Snap)

Me: Listen, I know that this tagine may not win best in show, looks wise, but it tastes delicious. Chicken falling off the bone, sweet potatoes, prunes, cinnamon, saffron, and a dash of awesomeness make this a winning recipe.

Bryan Bobblehead: Say what you want, this is when I'm glad I don't have to try any of the crazy things you cook.

Me: You realize that I am bigger than you?

Bryan Bobblehead: You don't scare me.

(muffled voice from the kitchen drawer)

I was just kidding girl! HAHAHA! You know I was just joshing ya! Okay? We're cool right? You gonna let me out soon right? Right.......?

(Author's note: This recipe really was delicious, albeit some mistakes on my part. Thanks!)

How did I survive without you?

Oh Immersion Blender, how did I ever make soup without you? Why did I think that blending in batches in a blender was a solid way to go. How silly I was. Now that you are with me I am a one pot soup maker. Because of you I blended that pot of soup in 2 minutes flat. Let us never part again.

Sincerely,

Veronica

P.S. My sweet potato soup is delicious. ;)

No Knead Bread

Why do carbs have to be bad when they taste so glorious! Bread has been such an important part of the human diet throughout food history, and I just won't give it up. Atkins be damned, I love bread and I will have it! Especially when I make it myself.

My first adventure into bread making was pretty damn successful. I chose a no knead bread recipe, which I thought would be the perfect intro into this new baking experience. After reading about it multiple times in many blogs and books I just took it as a sign that this was where I would start.

The hardest part is waiting. Waiting for the dough to rise, waiting for it to rise again, and then waiting for it to cool so you can have a taste. But you will not be disappointed. A crunchy crust with a nice chewy center, which is perfect for dipping in oil and vinegar or making into a sandwich.

I did a little bit of both as I had to test the bread properly. :) For my next experiment with this recipe I will definitely try putting in some herbs or maybe dried fruit, the possibilities are really endless. Hopefully this will inspire you to give it a try as well.

So lazy...

I have been inexcusably lazy lately. June, that was the last time I posted and we are well into August now. My only reason is that life is happening. The 9-5, the restaurant blog I write, travelling, and general debauchery have kept cooking projects at bay. And yet I have been sitting on this blog post for awhile. Back in July, 4th of July weekend to be exact, I had bought an exorbitant amount of cherries because they are delicious and were on sale. You can't really beat that combination.

I am serious when I say that the amount of cherries in my fridge that weekend was beyond ridiculous for one person. A snack for the fireworks show is why I had bought them, and we definitely did some some damage, but there was still a lot of left overs. Knowing I could not destroy these cherries by straight snacking alone, I knew I had an opportunity to try some recipes out.

First up was Cherry Brown Butter Bars that Smitten Kitchen had tried out back in 2009 from a Bon Appetit recipe. The hardest part of this recipe was removing the pits manually as I am without a fancy pit remover device. My suggestion is to just turn on the tunes and just get your groove on while you do a bit of mundane work. But it is so worth the effort, because this recipe is delicious. It is also a relatively simple recipe to make. I could have browned the butter a bit more to bring a bit more nutty flavor into the bar, but I was so worried about burning it that I may have stopped just a minute short. No matter, because the results were amazing. I know that my co-workers agreed as I brought my baking efforts into work and they cleared the pan in no time flat.

With one baking success under my belt I decided to continue on this baking kick. This time I took a look at the member recipe site Tasty Kitchen that has been put together by Ree, The Pioneer Woman. This is a great site to find a multitude of different kind of recipes that are thought up by cooking enthusiasts. I also like that you can search the site by ingredient, so when I entered "Cherry" a multitude of ideas were presented to me. Wanting to pick something I could again bring to the office I decided another bar recipe would be ideal, and the Cherry & Crystallized Ginger Crumb Bar, by cookincanuk, immediately caught my eye.

Another clear success. The ginger in the title is no joke. Where a lot of ginger treats leave you with just subtle note, this is a very strong and prominent ginger flavor. This is definitely a recipe for ginger lovers. I ended up passing on the recipe to a few of my co-workers as they really loved it, and now I am spreading the word to you as well.

So for now that is it, but I do have a couple more posts in the works. A little synopsis of Montreal and a break down of my first bread making experience. Until then have a great weekend.

Cookie Monster!

I have been sitting on this post for awhile, though I have no idea why. It's not like my life of saving the world is so busy that I cannot take a little time to write. So today I have put a hold on my other extracurricular activities and decided I will do this. Because this is a great cookie recipe. Granted I am no Betty Crocker, but I truly enjoyed working on this recipe and even my mess ups of baking for a bit too long and putting to many on a sheet pan that resulted in some big connected globs of cookies were delicious.

I actually made this recipe twice in a one week period. Discovered through Tasting Table, the actual recipe come from David Lebovitz and his latest book Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes. I just knew I had to try my hand at making homemade cookies, and I was not disappointed. But the first time I ended up with my cookies exuding into each other's space and performing a little hanky panky with each other, which ended with these results:

I also put the cookies in for a little too long for my liking. I am someone that like my cookies crispy on the edges and soft in the middle.

So the second time around I became a factory line cookie backing machine. Rotating shelves and trays, which resulted in a more uniform shape and better texture.

In the second batch I also added in a bit of cinnamon which I really liked. And I think you could just add the cinnamon, and leave out the chocolate to have one mean snickerdoodle recipe. I also liked that I did half semi-sweet and bitter-sweet instead of just one or the either. It was a great combination that gave richness and depth to the cookie. But all in all you should give this recipe a try (see below). The results are delicious.

Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe adapted from Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes, by David Lebovitz (Ten Speed Press)

Yield: about 4 dozen cookies INGREDIENTS 2½ cups all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup packed light brown sugar 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large eggs, at room temperature 2 cups nuts (such as walnuts, pecans, almonds or macadamia nuts), toasted and coarsely chopped 14 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/2- to 1-inch chunks DIRECTIONS 1. In a small bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda and salt. Set aside. 2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract at medium speed just until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly incorporated, then blend in the flour mixture, nuts and chocolate chunks. 3. On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into quarters. Shape each quarter into a log about 9 inches long. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, preferably 24 hours. (The dough logs can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month.) 4. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. 5. Slice the dough logs into ¾-inch-thick disks and place the disks 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. If the nuts or chips fall out, simply push them back in. Bake the cookies, rotating the baking sheets midway through baking, until very lightly browned in the centers, about 10 minutes. 6. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to handle, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack. The baked cookies will keep well in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

I'm Chillaxin with some Chili

Winter is wily woman that is for sure. One day I am freezing my ass off under grey, cloudy skies; and the next day it is sunny and beautiful and I not even wearing a jacket. I bet you can guess what happens next in the scenario...yep she decides to play with my emotions and drop the temp just for a good laugh. Oh Winter....I am beginning to understand your ways.

So what does a young lass do to kill some time and keep her warm through the winter nights? Bet you said make soup! HAHAHAHA! While a very good guess I decided to turn toward soup's brotha from another motha chili. Venison chili to be exact.

Back at the beginning of December I participated in a Venison cooking class at Zola Wine & Kitchen. It was a great class where we learned how to make pot pie, chili, and steak and eggs with venison. Being someone who loves game meat I was so excited to learn some simple recipes that can be used with venison. And as far as game meats go, venison is the most mild in terms of that "gami-ness" taste that you ever love or hate. As I am a lover of all games meats (buffalo, yes, elk, yes, kangaroo, yes, camel, yes) I am game, hahaha, to try it all!

Not only did I make the actual chili I also cooked the beans and roasted my peppers for the recipe. I will toot my own horn and say that I am the bomb and was pretty impressed with my skills!

The other cast of characters included onions, chili, chicken stock, chicken broth, garlic, diced tomatoes, and venison.

Honestly this was such a simple recipe to do:

1.Brown meat, remove and set aside

2. saute onions and once softened add chili powder and cook for a minute

3. then add broth, stock, peppers, garlic, tomato, and beans and heat through

4. Once everything has come to temp add the meat and continue to simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.

For realz people....that is it. And chili is one of those things that just gets better the next day as it is allowed to marinate in it's deliciousness. I actually cooked this late in the eve for the next day when my parents would be over for lunch so that the chili could do just that. And my effort was rewarded. Simple and hearty without being so heavy that you are put into a chili coma. I served with some garlic bread and would have put together a salad if I would have thought of it earlier. Oh well....guess I can't be perfect all the time! :)

Gobble Gobble 2009

On this Thanksgiving, 2009,

Down to the Outerbanks where the views are fine.

Food was abundant and the wine was flowing,

I drank so much my cheeks were glowing.

The children were put to work stuffing the bird,

It seemed right to put them in labor while I watched and observed.

I did make one contribution to this fine feast,

a turkey wine bottle which was no mean feat.

In no time at all we sat down to our dinner,

I definitely walked away from the table no thinner.

And to round it all out, I will not tell a lie,

I had at least two pieces of the most divine pecan pie.

Dinner Parties and Brunch

This weekend I showed off my mad hostessing skills.  That's right...I have skills!  Mostly I just wanted to try out some recipes and needed people to be fatties with me.  Selfish, but also delicious.  So I think it is really a win-win situation.  Unfortunately I did not take any pics from Friday's get together which included such fun as carne asade (pre-marinated and packaged from the great Trader Joe's.  Or Trader Jose!)  I then made cilantro lime rice, spiced black beans, and corn pudding.  I know that corn pudding does not exactly go with the theme, but I had a ton of corn left over from last weekend's labor day festivities and wanted a recipe that would be fun and use up all of it.  Oh man people, was that corn pudding delicious.  Sweet and light with a bit of sinful cream to keep you coming back from more.  It will definitely be on the roster for Thanksgiving this year.

I did take pics of my amazing pizza I made on Saturday though!

As it was college football night, Go Trojans!  Fight On!, I wanted to make something fun and easy.  I know that pizza purists will send a hex on me, but I did not make my own dough.  I do not have the cajones yet to take on the task of making my own dough, but who really cares when the end result is the same.  Sausage, peppers, tomatoes, onion, cheese = savory, meaty goodness.  The pizza stone was a good investment and I cannot wait to try out some new crazy toppings.  As Fall is rolling in I feel that some pumpkin may take a run on the pizza with some goat cheese and basil.  I love that pizza has no limits and you can have an array of toppings as long as you have some imagination.  If you have any other crazy pizza ideas, shoot them my way.

Sunday I had a lovely brunch date with two of my girlfriends at Bistro Bis.  The bartender saw three girls who were ready for a Sunday Funday and decided to concoct us all kinds of different bubbly drinks.  And who was I to argue with him.  I just kept gulping them down with a huge buzzed smile on my face.  

The food was delicious as well. The tarte flambe was a bacon and onion tart that was salty and sweet and the duck hash was a rich duck confit with a red wine poached egg on top, which was decadent.   I wish I had better adjectives to use today but as we continued to drink most of the afternoon my vocabulary has been reduced to that of a child.  Actually my whole being is currently reduced to a child as I am currently craving a PB&J, and who am I to argue with that. So for now I will leave you to salivate over my photos and I will now go make a sandwich.  Have a wonderful week! 

It's Restaurant Week: Round 2

Technically restaurant week is over, except for those few places that extend their menus until Mid-September, but I did not feel like writing last night on my return from my latest reservation. First a bit of back story. This past Saturday I attended my first Pampered Chef party and had an awesome time hanging out with my friends, purchasing new fangled cooking tools (Can you say pizza stone?), and eating...eating a bit too much. As I have mentioned before I do Weight Watchers to stay on top of my weight and to continue to work on my healthy eating habits. For all those people who do not have the slightest idea of what WW is all about you are basically given a certain amount of food points per day based on your weight, age, and gender. My good intentions to stick to my points on Saturday were blown. What can I say...I over ate and messed up and gained the weight I had worked all week to lose. Now I know that this was my own fault but I was pretty bummed and was not the poster child for happiness on Sunday. So here I was with a reservation to Art & Soul and I just wanted to drop it. I mean it is a southern style restaurant which brings to mind fried chicken, fried okra, fried hushpuppies, etc. Boo hoo me!

What I needed to do was give myself a swift kick in the ass for being such a miserable mop and move on. I wish I could say I did that, but to tell the truth I was pretty down on myself all day. I didn't cancel my reservation to Art & Soul though. What I did decide was to not do the restaurant week prix fixe. The last thing I needed was 3 courses which would only add to the problem. Nope, I decided I would maybe spend a little extra money but have the freedom to choose an appetizer and entree that fit into my parameters of having good food while being conscious of the ingredients that were involved. And though I spent a bit more money, I was ultimately happier with this decision and did not add any more weight from my meal, which is a small success.

So let's get down to original business. Art & Soul is located in the Liaison Hotel near Union Station with Chef/Owner Art Smith at the helm. I honestly do not think he is in the kitchen that often but after seeing him on Top Chef Masters I really wanted to go to his restaurant. I began my meal with a grilled shrimp and succotash appetizer. 3 grilled shrimp came out on a skewer with a bed of peas, corn, and chili limon sauce. The shrimp were cooked well, but were difficult to remove from the skewer which was square in shape and very soft. It was quite an effort to slide a shrimp off with both utensil and fingers. The succotash with the chili limon sauce was just too sweet. Peas and corn are already sweet vegetables and really do not need much to bring out their beauty. I felt that the sauce was more for show, with it's vibrant green color and frothy consistency, than to to complement the succotash. Overall it was a decent appetizer but was nothing to write home about.

For my entree I had the grilled lamb loin with artichoke hearts, white bean puree, and romesco sauce. The lamb was cooked perfectly and just melted in my mouth, and the romesco sauce only added to the depth of flavors. Yet I did not feel like it was a Southern style dish, instead it reminded me of something I would order at a Mediterranean restaurant. It was delicious, do not get me wrong, it just did not seem to fit in with the other dishes as I compared it to the BF's Fred Flintstone size pork chop with stone fruit and onion broth.

I would definitely love to come back here and have the true Southern dishes that Art Smith is known for: fried chicken and waffles, hoe cakes, and crab and grits. Hook still wins as being my favorite restaurant week dining experience ever, but I would recommend that you go check out Art & Soul if you have a hankering for all things cooked in oil and butter.

It's Restaurant Week: Round 1

I would not be a good foodie if I did not participate in restaurant week.  I mean how else can I afford to go to some of these high class restaurants without a little help from restaurant week?  But first I have rules for this sacred holiday: 1) You pick restaurants that are in the $25 and above range.  What's the point if you can afford it on a regular basis. 2) Check out the menu early and compare it to the regular menu.  You want to order things that are on the more expensive side so you actually get your $35.09 worth.

With that said my first reservation for the week was Friday night at Hook, a Georgetown seafood establishment which believes in only serving seasonal and sustainable seafood.  That is something that I can support. I have wanted to go to this restaurant since it opened and out of the 2 reservations I made for restaurant week, this was the one I was most excited about.  Did it live up to all of my high expectations?  Did it provide a delicious meal and good service?  Yes & yes!  I would definitely return to Hook again and would say that of all the restaurants I have gone to for different restaurant weeks this was by far the best meal I have ever had.     

The first thing that I liked about Hook upon perusing the menu is that most of the regular items were put onto this prix fixe menu as well.  You will see so many restaurants take away their best items, dumb an entree down, or put it on there with an $5 charge to try it.  What is the fun in that?  And I think that this completely defies the purpose of restaurant week.  To Hook I say thank you for allowing the masses to try some of your best dishes without extra fees.  

I began my meal with the grilled calamari with a fennel/spring mix salad.  The portion was amazing.  4 (head an legs!) gorgeous squid was set before me with alight salad on the side.  I was actually amazed to see that the head of the squid still had their little rutters attached, as I had never seen one this way before.  The calamari were smoky and still had a satisfying chew to them that set my palette off into a happy dance.  I literally closed my eyes and may have even let out a little moan of satisfaction.  It was so simple and clean, and yet it set off a complex set of emotions of satisfaction, desire, and need.  To put it bluntly, this dish will turn you on! 

For my entree I had the bluefish with polenta, carrots, green beans, and pesto.  Bluefish is an oily, flaky white fish which played well against the simple unfussed sides.  No heavy sauces., which would have drowned out the richness of the fish, just a perfectly crispy salted skin with  the flesh of the fish giving away easily to my fork.  I have never thought of seafood as decadent, but this entree changed my mind on that. There were definitely contented sighs and affirmations of "I must come here again", because it was that good.

 Dessert was a rich chocolate pudding topped with whipped cream and chocolate hazelnut biscotti on the side.  I wanted to make my bed in that bowl!  Curl up next to one of those little chocolate balls inside and never let go!  It was a rich, but manageable portion size and man was it good.  The perfect ending to this meal that blew me out of the water.  Get it? Water? Seafood?  HAHAHA.....okay it may have been funnier in my head than it is written down.   

Hook:

3241 M St., NW

Washington DC, 20007 

202.625.4488 

Sidebar: Whenever I read about Hook I think of the movie with Robin Williams and start chanting "Where's the hook?!" and "Rufio!".  Although hook is in reference, in this case, to what is put on the end of a fishing pole. :)

Random Thoughts on a Monday

I am 28 and have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. Is it bad that I do not consider myself a grown up? Does anyone ever truly figure it out?

I love food, talk about food, and think about food more than is probably healthy.

Anthony Bourdain = HOTTIE!

Me and my BFF from college used to obsessively watch Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen movies. We would call each if they were on, dissect plots, rank our favs (Paris for sure!) and wish for more. God, I wish I could watch one right now.

This time last year I was in Morocco. Hopefully this time next year I will be somewhere equally exciting.

It is starting to get darker earlier, which means summer is almost done. What even happened to summer? It just flew by and I feel like I did not accomplish much.

I live on Capitol Hill in DC, but have yet to actually go and tour the Capitol. This makes me feel bad and unpatriotic.

Iphones scare me. I don't like the idea of being "connected" everywhere I go. It is fun to get lost and be able to get yourself around without being dependent on technology.

I have a book club meeting in September on "The Poisonwood Bible" and just can't get into it. I start to read and just fall asleep. This also makes me feel bad and unpatriotic.

I am joining the Julia Child craze. I figure there are worse people to buy into and any woman who can reinvent herself at 37 is worth reading up on.

One of my favorite words is discombobulated. Perhaps it is because that is how I feel most of the time.

Vegetarians, Vegans, PETA people, and general lovers of Charlotte's Web will want to turn away now! It's time to talk pig!

I receive a ton of emails on a daily basis letting me know what is going on in DC: boutique sales, gallery openings, new restaurants and bars, etc.  It was one of these emails that I found out about Poste Roast. (Check out Daily Candy or Thrillist if you would also like to hear about up and coming events going on in your town!)

Poste is a restaurant located in Penn Quarter in the Hotel Monaco; and though I had never been there to eat I was absolutely intrigued by this event. To participate you have to have a group of 6-12 people and make a reservation at least a week in advance.  Then you choose a protein that will be spit roasted and served family style to the group, along with various sides that are picked by the chef to compliment your pick. There are some intriguing options: salmon, squab, goat, lamb, brisket, pig, and more.  Our group decided, though, that it was go big or go home, so we chose something that you can't easily cook in our own kitchens.  Pig. I mean why not? There is something sexy and provocative about a pig roasting over the fire, being turned slowly, skin crisping, fats and juices rendering.  Oooohhhh boy!  I do have swine on the mind...still! 

We were supposed to sit in the Chef's Garden, but unfortunately it was raining and as their is no cover outside we were sat at the Chef's private dining table.  The bar was crowded for happy hour, which on another note has some really great deals, and we were causing a bit of a stir with the revelers as they tried to figure out what was going on in our room and why there were so many waiters coming in and out. 

Did you meet Wilbur?  Yes, we as a group have a sick sense of humor and named our soon to be feast after a beloved children's book character.  But you know what, I don't feel bad about it because we were having a good time and we worshipped, loved, and devoured that pig and respected the life that it gave to us.  When our waiter brought him in all the happy hour patrons parted like the red sea, some ran away (they were probably vegetarians), as they tried to make sense of what was happening.  Wilbur was brought to the table as you see above, and then was taken to be broken down into glorious porky portions that would be a little more manageable. As we awaited his encore appearance sides were brought out: macaroni and cheese made with 4 different types of cheese, saurkraut, roasted plums and peaches that were sprinkled with rosemary, rolls of bread with salty crispy tops.  Okay...my mouth is watering and I am not even doing it justice.  Just check out some of the pics.

In the picture above you see the main body of the pig, skin and all, broken down.  And to the right is the head that has been split so that you can try some cerebellum on brioche.  Oh hell!  It was brain and it was delicious!  I am shouting it from the rooftops:  I ate brain and loved it! And if you are grossed out...well you are just a pussy and need to give your taste buds a culinary adventure.  They are begging for it and you are just being cruel denying them.  The brain is creamy, rich, with a very subtle pork taste to it and if you like Pâté or liverwurst then you would enjoy this delicacy as well.  We also dove into the cheek and tongue, and if there had been an eyeball we would have given it a go. I think the following pic speaks volumes of our experience.

That's right, we devoured it.  We were in sweat from the effort, and it was worth it.  Delicious, gorgeous, a party in my mouth. I cannot think of the right adjective to do it justice.  So I'll just let this last picture be my conclusion.