Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Magic Apple

I was recently gifted with a magic apple. Magic because the apple is unexpectedly pink on the inside and appears like a normal yellow/green apple on the outside. This was the second time that I enjoyed such a hot pink(!) treat.

In college someone told me they had a "magic apple." Later, I discovered one upon my desk. We took a picture of me holding the apple roast pig style.



This time around, I sliced up my gift and ate it over yogurt with toasted walnuts and honey.



Aren't they pretty? They're just like a blood orange.



The magic apple is actually called a Pink Pearl Apple. According to Wikipedia, it was cultivated in 1944 by Albert Ettle from a Sparkle seedling. They are in season from late August to mid September.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Eustace Conway



also, the cold splinters link i found this video through.

Adorable.



This makes me want to move into the woods and learn how to play guitar.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Blue Foot Chicken Feet

Last night I ate a blue foot chicken foot at Ottimista restaurant. The foot was confit-ed and finished off in the deep fryer.

This is what the foot looks like before being prepared. Kind of like a little dragon claw, huh? Or maybe the sort of thing you would grind up to make a magic potion.



The blue foot chicken is a larger type of chicken that has the ability to fly and possesses beautiful bright blue feet. See below. Click on the image to see the enlarged version and get a good view of those bright blue feet.



Blue foot chicken according to Wikipedia "is slaughtered later than the usual chicken and then air-chilled. It is believed that these two factors give it a stronger flavor and texture." Also, blue foot chicken is said to be salmonella free and it is one of the only breeds to be used in sushi (a special license is required to serve raw chicken in Japan).

The chicken foot I ate last night was the the final embellishment on half of a cooked blue foot chicken. Sadly my camera ran out of batteries and I had to resort to my cell phone camera, so my image of the dish is rather dim, but you can totally see those claws hanging out on top of the food!

I gnawed off as much skin as possible, and the toes had a similar texture to the end of a corn dog.



I found a New York magazine article from 2005 about blue foot chicken that discuessed the blue foot chicken's emergence as a boutique bird. Blue foot chickens have only been bred in North America over the last 20 years or so. They are a stateside version of the mythical French "poulet de Bresse." Restaurants often serve the bird with head and feet on, presenting it like a trophy. The one that I ate was juicy and supple and delicious, definitely the best chicken I've had in a really long time.

Friday, September 04, 2009

Vegas, Again? Bananas

I ended up in Vegas for the second time this year for my friend John's wedding. Dollar margaritas, baby dolphins, fancy hotel surprises with subsequent upgrades to the 25th floor, and an SUV stretch limo . . . whoo hoo.

A few highlights:

Hemingway Daiquiri at the Rhumbar in the Mirage Hotel:



Dolphin in the Secret Garden behind the Mirage:



and a surprise ride in a stretch SUV limo in post nuptial celebration. John's face is priceless:

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