Roasted Cornish Game Hen September 2004

Black Currant Glaze, Buttered Asparagus, Garlic Yukon Gold Potatoes

After a lifetime of electrically-whipped potato side dishes, I have finally acquired a potato ricer. It works like a huge garlic press. It is an ungainly contraption, but it superfluffs. I will never electrocute my potatoes again.

Chicken with Gremolata Oven-Roasted Potatoes and Onions with Fresh Dill, Buttered Broccoli, September 2004

This was just a really decent little dinner. Gremolata, which is minced parsley, lemon zest, and garlic, represents the highest pinnacle to which parsley can aspire.

Chicken Noodle Soup September 2004

Taking to your bed for a couple of days is always indicated at the end of summer, and nothing complements this pursuit like a bowl of homemade chicken soup. For optimum flavor, it should be eaten in late afternoon, while wearing a bathrobe, and be accompanied by a 7-Up and "All Things Considered." Sigh heavily as you crumble in the crackers.

Campbell's Chunky Grilled Sirloin Soup September 2004

When you run out of homemade soup, it's probably time to get out of bed. If you don't, at least exercise caution when hauling out the canned soups. The inertia exercised on those who descend to this level can make crawling back out difficult. Campbell's Chunky chicken noodle is OK if you pick out the weird pinkish chicken chunks, but avoid the beef soups like this one. They are made primarily of cornstarch. Note the fake grill marks on the meat nugget. These are the same meat nuggets, by the way, that come in foil pouches labeled "cat food."

Pan-Roasted Salmon Haunch Lime Glaze, Tagliatelle with Hatch Chile Pesto September 2004

Another case of a fish haunch looking much more horrible than it really was. It more or less lost structural integrity between the pan and the plate.

The Hatch chile is one of those over-hyped Southwestern phenomena, like armadillos, only not as inherently odd. Hatch chiles are also better-tasting, and do not give you leprosy. You know you can catch leprosy from an armadillo?

Lasagne Bolognese from Pasta & Co, Kerbey Lane, Austin, September 2004

For a store that makes and sells nothing but pasta, this Pasta & Co joint exhibits disappointingly little expertise in the field. This lasagne, for example, consisted of congealed tomato paste between layers of wild boar leather. The noodle flap you see at the top of the plate is the bottom layer of the neighboring slice, which was particularly resistant to the efforts of my knife.