Smokin' Good

Mac n' Cheese

But First...

I have started another blog.

49th Films will focus on screenwriting and filmmaking, with an emphasis on Alaskan writers and filmmakers.

Whenever I visit one of my favorite blogs they are all pretty specific on what their subject matter is. Barnyard Devil began as a personal writing exercise and never stopped. It will continue until the tank runs dry, but...

... 49th Films will strive to stay on topic.

On That Note

Been feeling particularly down this year, even with all my good fortunes. So I thought of as many great restaurant meals as I could remember.

Great meals are among my fondest memories. Right up there with travel, sex, and firefighting.

Now I focused on restaurant meals, but that doesn't mean I have forgotten all the homemade ones, or those made by friends.

Those cannot be beat.

No restaurant meal - not even the most fantastic restaurant meal I have ever had hands down second to none, that stupendous meal Rhonda and I had at Melisse in Los Angeles - no restaurant meal compares to great home cooking.

Something about taking the time to get the sauce right, a good base, the extra care when it's a friend or family member's special occasion.

The back-deck in summer, creek running, cold beer in hand, and that home-made razor-clam chowder comes out... Or that sockeye fillet, cooked in foil over briquettes and still moist, almost raw, inside... Or homemade chili, cooked down for hours, seventeen different flavors in every bite (ok, maybe sixteen)... Pasta sauces from scratch, on your second bottle of wine by the time dinner is served... Smoked salmon strips, with alder, hickory or mesquite for hours, dried to a sticky kippered-like jerky...

Like The Smoked Salmon I'm Eating Right Now

Yes folks, this may be a cruel tease for you, but I made sure I had relief in hand before I whetted my own appetite.

Just finished smoking a second batch. Some friends brought us some sockeye they had vacu-sealed as we didn't make it dipnetting last summer.

None too soon.

To begin the smoke-salmon cravings this early usually leads to drooling frustration, counting the days until the first salmon runs begin. But like I said - I had relief close by.

Can't have your cake and eat it too, though.

Staring at the deep red strips coated in spices and brown sugar can make for a wonderful evening, but you have to dig in a some point.

And then it is difficult to stop --

Oh Yeah, Restaurant Meals

Melisse, as mentioned. I never thought I could go gaga for a soft-boiled egg appetizer. And it wasn't just the food, the service as well. Fork dirty? It's already been replaced. For us, maybe a once in a lifetime dining event, which is cool, cuz it wasn't cheap.

Ca 'Del Sole, also in Los Angeles. Fantastic beef carpaccio with capers and parmesan, and an excellent gnocci in duck ragout. Ate there many times.

Giraffe, Los Angeles. Whatever soup was in that shot glass to start the meal off was of the 'I'll have another right now' kind of good.

Q-Shack, Durham, North Carolina. BBQ sandwiches and (when available) home-made buttercream frosted cupcakes.

Actually most any of the BBQ we ate during our stay in the American Southeast. While living in Durham we took a drive up to see friends in New England and along the way hit some awesome BBQ joint in Delaware - name and town escape me, sorry.

Fao Fao Beach Fales, Saleapanga, Samoas. The palusami they made us is my favorite dish ever.

Some sushi place in Honolulu, Hawaii. Name doesn't really matter, the memory is there. One of those 'eat what the chef puts in front of you' places. Great fish, but the best part was being treated to an excellent (and probably very expensive) bottle of sake by the two Japanese women we sat next to.

Diaz Cafe, Ketchikan, Alaska. I'm serious now. Some great Philippine cooking.

Having A Bad Day? Eat Something

Can't say that everyone. For some it would be like telling an alcoholic to crack a fifth when they're having a bad day.

But I can tell myself that.

And if there isn't a great meal nearby, remember one. And then open that box of Mac n' cheese and suck it up.