don't judge a beer by its bubbles

Not my picture

We had a discussion on Christmas day about which beer cans looked like beer cans. I had bought some beer from the Echigo microbrewery (at the supermarket). Stout, lager, pilsner and a blond (or make that about four of each). Two of the guys who joined us for Chrismas are English and they and their Japanese wives all drink Guinness, so I had that, too. My American colleague also likes it, so they were all well-catered for. I don't like it, but you know, a good host and all that.

Guinness is going to win, anyway. It's well-known and it's got that harp which, despite the effects Guinness might have on the drinker, gives the can (we drank the bottles first. We live in Japan, remember, and not Tokyo, some things are hard to get) a touch of class. Know wot I'm saying? Well, sobriety and serenity. Also had some Lowenbrau, which has that wicked griffin kind of design, and Kirin also has a griffin. Yebisu (pronounced Ebisu) has a smiling god, but Echigo has a goat.

A goat sporting a lovely Pilsner in its cloven hoof. This is the Pilsner, as you may have gathered. Jim and I both agreed that the design for the Pilsner and the Blond, which are similar, definitely looked like the product, 'beer'. Ooh, and again, not my photo.

I am in love with the goat, actually, and I like their design a lot. The pilsner and blond are the two that look the best. The lager, though, very tasty, easy to drink, has stripes on the can. My friend was right (let's call him Jim). He said it looked like pop, soda, a soft drink. The stout was apalling. It looked liked a Bundaberg and Coke UDL. We held up the 5 beers or so in front of us to ask Jenny, the only non-alcoholic, which one didn't look like a beer can. She picked the Yebisu. The beautiful red of which is in the picture below in the post on the Japanese party (I'll post another picture later). Just to reiterate, everything tasted fine, but this post is a matter of æsthetic taste.

Not my picture

I had to disagree on Jenny's call. I love that red (you can see it in the first picture above) and would not equate it with Mountain Dew or Pepsi. Anyway, I'll put up some other pictures later, and throw the question out there if anyone is reading over the holidays - which beer design/can/bottle doesn't in anyway look like a beer to you? Which is a disgrace, in design, if not in taste, to the whole nation of beer-dom?

Divinity, Part Two

I burned out my hand mixer. I didn't like it anyway, I wanted to buy a new one. If I ever get rich, I will buy a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. I beat the last bit by hand and folded in the walnuts. I spread it in a pan. The results:

I think it will set up. This is the stiffest I ever got it (hurr, hurr). I don't know if it will be the right texture. To be honest with you, I'm not sure I will remember what my grandmother's divinity was like. But it's tradition, and I like traditions.

Divinity

My grandmother made Divinity every year for Christmas. She died when I was 8 years old. We haven't had decent divinity since. Almost every year I attempt it. I have failed every single time. This is my grandmother's recipe:

2 cups sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup water

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla

That's it. No directions, and doesn't even mention the walnuts she always put in it. In the past, I have tried recipes out of cookbooks. It never sets up. I always end up making some sort of marshmallow cream. This year I am using my grandmother's ingredients and following the directions from another recipe, which is basically: boil the sugar, corn syrup, water and salt until 254°F, beat egg whites until stiff, pour syrup into egg whites slowly while constantly beating, beat the hell out of it until it loses its gloss and sets up.

It's that last bit that never happens.

This year, I am aware that my thermometer is off, so I'm taking that into account, and I am not making it at 11 pm after a full day of cookie-making. I hope for success. The syrup is boiling now, and almost hot enough. Time for me to chop the walnuts and whip the egg whites. Stay tuned.

Food and beverage pairing

So many times I hear that phrase. Pairings for wine, for beer. White wine is for white meat and fish. Red for beef and lamb and so on. But shit really does it matter? The great part of having free will, and yes we have free will even in food, is deciding what tastes good with what. The guidelines are thrown out. I had a red Lebenese wine that was so perfect with chocolate cake and baklava. I found a white wine that was strong enough to stand up to Hatch chilies. So i have quit worrying about the "rules" and when I taste a new beer or wine I consider where in my food playlist it will fit. So go on! Eat, drink and love well!

Christmas Party Noms

I don't cook so often, but I would if you were all around. Still, I know that anything I could rustle up would pale in comparison to the yummies that RB has posted, that timo has us salivating over, that 'glo can crank out with hardly blinking, and that fan has been making since her teens.

However, I can go to parties. Some yummy noms from a Christmas party I went to. Pictures of your Christmas parties, Thanksgiving gatherings and so on... post 'em! I want to see them ♥

Seared steak. My friend, Kikuchi-san cooked this. It was done to perfection. I don't really eat very much red meat at all, but this one cube was just enough and oh so fucking delicious.

Just to give you some idea of the variety on the table. The parties that Kikuchi-san has are pot luck. Usually I cook, but this time I just brought fruit salad. Cheat's way out, I know.

Sorry, 'glo! But I just adore crab! I don't usually eat it though, because it is too expensive, and too fiddly to eat. However, the crab that Kikuchi-san's friend had brought was meaty and cut so that it was easy to get the meat out. Yummmmmm! In seventh heaven. You will be pleased to hear that I didn't partake of the crab brains, though. This girl sometimes doesn't go there ;)

You might have noticed an abundance of alcohol in the pictures as well. Of course! This wine was from New Zealand (one of my contributions) - also very seriously fucking delicious. The beer in another post is Yebisu - good. I don't drink red, but it took a good photo. And also brought some local blond and pilsner beers! Maybe not bitter enough for the table, but I liked them. White wine goes with seafood, right? Oh, and Kikuchi-san's friend who brought and bought the crab also brought a huge m-f bottle of sake. I should have taken a close shot of it. I don't drink it, so you know, off my radar, but I'm sure the foodies of the Q would have enjoyed it.

That's kaki-gohan in the background, or oysters and rice. Kikuchi-san again. I wish I could cook like her. I think I can, but it's an ingredient and method knowledge thing!

She later brought out some kind of shellfish (maybe oysters again?) which she'd put a 'secret ingredient' into. She's infamous for this. Putting wasabi (very hot, a form of horse-radish) into things that just shouldn't have wasabi. One of them apparently had a lot of chili, but it must have cooked out. We all said it tasted fine. Then again, I love chili. Maybe I ate the trick shellfish and never even knew it.

How to Make Gravy

Just to add to Fan's post on gravy and the fact that Christmas is coming up:



How to Make Gravy, Paul Kelly, an Australian legend... but, not my favourite song, but a good song. Got any good food songs?

Food Confessions?

What strange things do you eat when alone, that you wouldn't eat in public? To confess, or to view the confessional, just click on the comments!