Not nearly as good as canned bacon.

There are few things as delicious as bacon. If you need proof that God loves us look no further than bacon. It is a divine gift given to use to make our lives a little tastier. It is a well known fact that everything tastes better with a bit of bacon in it. I learned that in my first week of culinary school. The only problem is the time it takes to cook and than there is the mess you have to clean up. That is why I don’t eat as much bacon as I would like.  That is until I found canned bacon.  Fully cooked canned bacon.  40-50 slices per can and it comes in a case of 12 cans.  That is 480 slices of pre-cooked pork deliciousness.  According to the site canned bacon hasn’t been available for 20 years. Top scientists have been developing the next generation of canned bacon for the last two years and now it is available for purchase. It has a shelf life of 10 years so it is perfect emergency food. I am going to put a few cans in my hurricane supplies. I have ordered my case. Now any time will be the right time for bacon.

A pinch of this, a dash of that, slaughtering chickens in front of a live audience. All ingredients in making a successful cooking show.

While in Oahu Mrs.  Mai Tai and I rented a car.  We took a drive to the windward side of the island.  I was looking for the North Shore because I wanted to see the surfers and the big waves.  Here is a tip for all you travelers.  There are no signs telling you when you have arrived at the North Shore so make sure you know where your going.  Otherwise you will drive right by it like we did.  Driving makes me hungry and I decided we needed some food.  We started to see lots of shrimp trucks.   If there was just one I would have probably would have just driven by and stopped somewhere else but when you see so many you think that that they can’t be half bad.  Plus we don’t have shrimp trucks in Orlando and it meets my criteria of places to eat when on vacation.  When on vacation you should avoid national chains at all cost.  You can go there anytime.  The place should if at all possible be local and unique.  We stopped at a bright yellow truck that said Shrimp Shack on it.  They had a dining area right next to it.  We both ordered some garlic shrimp with rice and had some corn on the cob as a side.  It was really good.  If you find yourself on the windward side of the island and are hungry try one out for yourself.

Fairs don’t have just fried food.  They have delicious hot beef sundaes.  It is a concoction of mashed potatos, cheese and sliced roast beef.   I couldn’t bring myself to try one. 

On occasion I feel adventurous and like to try new foods.  This was the case as I strolled through the produce department of the local grocery store.  As I walked through he aisles I found a fruit I have never tried before.  It was in the citrus section but looked different and had a name to match Uniq fruit.  It resembled a grapefruit.  A grapefruit that was 100 years old.  The skin instead of being smooth was all wrinkly and thick.  I smelled it and it didn’t smell bad so I thought I would try it.  I took it home and proceeded to peal it.  It looks like your standard citrus fruit on the inside.  I can’t say that I was overly impressed with the taste.    It was sweeter than I expected but it was very dry.  Very little juice.   Maybe my fruit was over ripe or not ripe enough I am not sure.  Maybe it was perfect.  One thing I can tell you is that I won’t be running out to buy another one anytime soon. 

Artist Stefan Stagmeister has a banana wall on display at the Deitch Gallery in New York City.  The wall is made of 7,200 real bananas.  I think you can probably smell the wall before you see it.  I have had a couple of bananas rot on me.  I can’t imagine what 7,200 rotting bananas smell like.  Still it would be neat to see.

You go to your favorite restaurant.  You sit down and the server asks for your drink order.  You get a nice cool glass of water.  They ask of you want a lemon slice and you think that would be nice and you say yes.  You might want to rethink that.  That lemon slice could be filled with bacteria, fecal matter and who knows what.  Don’t believe me? Check this out at HealthInspections.com

If you are still planning on how to cook your turkey you could always fry it. Be warned that this method is probably one of the most dangerous methods of cooking a turkey. Every year I read about at least one home being burned down due to a mishap frying the Thanksgiving bird. The local grocery stores here will fry it for you. Saves you from having hot oil splashed on you. That alone is worth the cost. Here is how not to fry a turkey.

I watched a Thanksgiving show on the Food Network this weekend. Alton Brown said that you must brine your turkey.  I don’t know that I have ever had a turkey that has been soaked in brine.  This year I will.  Mrs. Mai Tai will be brining the turkey before she cooks it.  I don’t know if it will make a big difference or not but we are going to try it out this year.  If you want to brine your turkey check out this recipe.