Mittie turns 21

On Monday, our beloved Ms. Mittie turned 21 years young, at least according to the sinful cake prepared by Nikki, our Reservationist. We celebrated the occasion with a frying of fish (and fried hotdogs), hushpups, coleslaw, and boiled potatoes. Lee and Terri fried the mullet (nope, it didn't taste muddy), Teresa provided the cole slaw, Charles made the potatoes (which were peeled beautifully), Sara brought decorations (and maybe food), and I made the Coca-Cola.

Interestingly enough, Lee does not eat fish. He does like to take control of virtually every situation to establish dominance. He likes to provide to meet our needs, such as nutrition, when the opportunity arises. Nevertheless, the mullet, which I was terribly skeptical about, was as good as any flounder I've sunk my gums into. The hushpups were a different story, but we'll revisit that on a later blog.

Nikki's cake was the show stopper. Apparently the icing was made with Crisco. I didn't think I liked to eat Crisco, but I'm now willing to recant that statement. With the smug clarity I extend in the culinary arts, I had condemned the icing to less than memorable things. Wrong. It was as good as any buttercream icing that I can beat out...or buy.

Speaking of cooking, I'll be doing plenty of that next week. On Monday night, I'll be cooking for a smallish group. Obviously, it's much easier to cook for small groups - but I like to take it seriously. I'll be baking chicken (Robuchon-style), mashed potatoes (1 lb potato to 1/4 butter) - then I'll put them through a sieve. I'll also crank out some green beans and maybe a cheesecake. I'll also have the opportunity of serving the food, so that I can get immediate feedback. Cooking is an art, not a service. Bernice - one of our cooks - epitomizes this in it's highest regard. Bernice is often requested by user groups to prepare her greens and fried foods...nobody ever requests me. Anyway, Bernice enjoys her work as much as I enjoy being Program Director...I'm glad we have her around.

She'll be preparing food for the upcoming class reunions this weekend, but I'll take my rightful place behind the grill. While Lee contends that he is the Master of the Flame, I hold that he is Master of the Lame. I turn out perfectly cooked Ribeye's, but I hold no responsibility for those who seek a well-done steak. Good luck chewing...

Enjoy the day...