I hope this finds all of you well on this Sunday, October 14.  There are only 72 days until Christmas.    Today is the birthday of Arthur Miller, Rita Hayworth and Dave Cutler.  On this day, in 1781, Cornwallis was defeated at Yorktown (USA! USA!) and RCA was created in 1919.  In 1961, the New York Museum of Modern Art hung Henri Matisse’s “Le Bateau” upside down.  OMG!  But it gets better – it wasn’t corrected until December 3^rd!  Today is also Alaska Day (if I have to tell you where, you have issues that require more help than I can give) and Mothers Day in Malawi.

I just want to take a moment to clear the air regarding the posting of this blog.  When I post it, it is in fact Sunday, here where I am.  But it is apparently still Saturday where Blogspot is.  So don’t be misled by the line telling you it was posted on Saturday because it was done on Sunday.  I hope that makes it clearer.

I need to vent a little.  Am I the only one who watches Iron Chef America and does not believe that the participants have no prior knowledge of the “secret” ingredient?  Let’s look at it.  First a challenger comes in and supposedly selects his competitor, except that the Iron Chef chosen is the only one there.  You don’t see the other ones walking off looking disappointed that they weren’t chosen or angry because they showed up for no reason.

Next we have the revelation of the “secret” ingredient.  The two chefs grab what they need and get to work.  Suddenly, they have created 5 or 6 dishes in the few minutes it took to grab the ingredient and get back to their area.  The sous chefs have already started cutting, sautéing, chopping, wrapping, etc. before the chef has even brought the ingredient back to his area.  How did they know what to start before their leader even told them?  How do the chefs come up with all these dishes so quickly?  I have stared at a piece of chicken for 10 minutes trying to decide how to cook it for one dish and they have created all these spectacular recipes in no time.

Now the event is under way.  Alton Brown is nattering away with the play by play (again am I the only one who would rather turn the sound off and play music?).  And let’s be realistic – how lucky are they that the pantry just happens to have the numerous unusual ingredients that were needed for the dishes they are creating.  Things like grated yak hoof and sliced duck tongue.  Not to mention the unusual plates they sometimes use for the special presentations.  Frankly, the whole thing is a little too farfetched to be believed.   And I don’t.  But you guessed that, didn’t you?

I appreciate the opportunity to sound off like this.  I do it when the show comes on, repeatedly, and I get “the look” from the lovely Elaine.  She was tolerant the first time, but has become much less so after about 15 times.

The secret ingredient is iguana, so grab your lizard and get cooking. 

 
Happy Mothers Day to all our Malawian friends.