Well-fed and well-read

Generally, the families each take turns making dinner while on vacation. Mom had a redneck-themed dinner (corndogs, corn on the cob, potato casserole). Last night Uncle Mike (who every day makes ice cream for us) and Aunt Barb made chicken with morel mushroom sauce. Uncle Chuck's making ribs tonight. Mmmmmmmmmm. Unfortunately, since I'm leaving tomorrow, I won't be around long enough to cook for everyone, but I'm already planning for next year. I'm thinking I'll go Cuban.

Currently, I'm knee-deep in A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines by Anthony Bourdain and quite liking it. Bourdain's a great food writer (though I've never actually tasted his cooking). This book details his worldwide search for the Perfect Meal. Love this passage:

"Of course, I knew already that the best meal in the world, the perfect meal, is very rarely the most sophisticated or expensive one. I knew how important factors other than technique or rare ingredients can be in the real business of making magic happen at a dinner table. Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one's life. I mean, let's face it: When you're eating simple barbecue under a palm tree, and you feel sand between your toes, samba music is playing softly in the background, waves are lapping at the shore a few yards off, a gentle breeze is cooling the sweat on the back of your neck at the hairline, and looking across the table, past the column of empty Red Stripes at the dreamy expression on your companion's face, you realize that in half an hour you're probably going to be having sex on clean white hotel sheets, that grilled chicken leg suddenly tastes a hell of a lot better."

I love his unpretentious attitude. Since I'm hardly finished reading the book, I can't quite recommend it. But in the meantime, pick up his Kitchen Confidential - it's a wonderful read.