Category Archives: Food

Fish Fry Season.

Last night we headed out West to St. Ferdinand Church for their Lenten Fish Fry which just so happened to be Elvis Night. I’ve been searching for a church Fish Fry since the last one I went to in Columbus was all out of fish back in 2006. The fish at St. Ferdinand wasn’t the best (I’d say it was frozen/middle school lunch-esq) but the atmosphere was top notch. First off the place was packed and you couldn’t find parking for a couple blocks. There were at least two different banquet type rooms that we could see both had their own bar. The bar by the way probably served the cheapest beer in all of Chicago: $1.50 Miller Light (no tip jar). Also, they were hocking girl scout cookies and carmel apples as soon as you walked in the door. Elvis worked the crowd and took requests all the while handing out scarfs to old ladies.

Needless to say St. Ferdinand has their act together when it comes to a Fish Fry.

Beer Can Chicken (indoors).

Last night I tried my new Beer Can Chicken pot/dish, not quite sure the proper term… stoneware. I used some kind of cajun rub (not sure of the brand) and a half bottle of Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale. I cooked the Chicken for a little over two hours at 350 degrees. It came out better than any of my attempts on the grill. The skin around the inside of the legs and the thighs could have been a bit more crispy but the breasts and wings were perfect. Now on to what matters.

The Carving:

After Thanksgiving I decided I have reached the point in my life where I need to acquire the skill to properly carve a bird. Up until this point I have cooked three turkeys and maybe three chickens. Not one of those was properly carved. Usually I’d hack a leg off and then the carnage would begin. Then I came across this youtube video from the Art of Manliness:

I believe I have reached the point in my life where I can properly carve a bird. A small victory but a milestone nonetheless.

Thanksgiving 2009.

This year Julie and I once again stayed in Chicago for Thanksgiving. We had some friends over and fried a turkey. As you can tell be the photograph above we’ve pushed our luck by going with a 13.9 lb turkey. This was by far the most dangerous frying attempt we’ve ever made. It took several tense minutes of easing the turkey into the oil to keep the pot from over flowing. Moving forward we will stick to a 10-12 lb turkey (and I won’t wear flip flops during the frying process).

All of the food turned out great and a good time was had by all.