Today is Tuesday.

Last night I made the best fish and chips recipe you could hope for. It's from Foodnetwork.com, a great site, courtesy of, of all people, the Neelys. You wouldn't think BBQ specialists would have a good fish and chips recipe but you'd be wrong. Really wrong. Like, watching "The Hills" wrong. Neelys, you rule. God bless Joel McHale while I'm at it.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup beer
  

Reserve one cup of the flour for dredging (I use that word a lot but never really cared for it. I associate it more with shoreline stabilization rather than cooking).

Okay, here are the vital modifications. I soak the cod fillets in lemon juice for at least half an hour. After that, dry them thoroughly before dusting (there, better than dredging) with flour. This is crucial. The fish can't be too dry. Oh yeah, add some salt and pepper to the flour. Also, add a little extra beer. By a happy mistake I added too much beer the first time I tried this. Almost a whole bottle. The coating came out light and crisp and delicious and, you know, insert more superlatives here ( ). I followed it to the letter the second time I made it and found the crust, while still great, was too heavy. So, keep the batter a little runny. The recipe calls for a deep fryer but a heavy saucepan and 2 1/2 inches of vegetable oil and you're cool. If you're new to frying, use a thermometer and get the oil to 360 degrees. Cut the cod fillets into 3 inch segments for the thickest pieces and a bit larger for the narrower bits of the fillet. They fry quick, maybe two minutes a side. Remember to salt them while they're still hot. For the chips, it's easy. Take a couple of large russet potatos, section them into 8 wedges each, coat with olive oil, rosemary, and garlic and place them on a baking sheet in a 400 degree oven. Flip them over after 20 minutes and let them go another 15 minutes. Grab some tartar sauce (mayonnaise, sweet relish, splash of lemon juice) and you're all set.....

I have a Harris Teeter right down the street. These are awesome grocery stores. They're regional here in the mid-Atlantic and upper South. They're quasi-upscale with an excellent seafood and meat counter. They have some great connections because wild caught cod is almost always $4.99 a pound. This recipe was fantastic with rockfish out on the island a few weeks ago. I've also used it on shrimp (wild caught Gulf of Mexico, natch), scallops, and soft crabs (from the island). Win. Win. Win. I'm gonna try it on a Snickers bar next. I have that much faith in it.....

Fire drill at work today.....



Luckily, me and my work pal Tim, an accomplished oceanographer and possibly/probably the funniest guy in the office, were already in the lobby when the alarm came on. Thusly, we avoided the excruciating 8 floor Bataan Death March down the stairwell. We were discussing sock/shoe mishaps. I'll explain. I came to work a couple of weeks ago and realized, after opening my eyes fully (I typically get dressed while still sleeping) that I had two different shoes on. Granted, they were both Docksiders but there were subtle differences. I then confessed that I fairly regularly get navy blue socks and and dark green socks confused in the half-light of my morning bedroom. Tim, laughing, said "Dude, you're worried about color?!!!!!" and presented the sight below...

Luvit.

All right, we'll close this out with a big tip. One word: Elks.

$3 pint of Warsteiner Deutsche ale......


High definition flat screen televisions.


But in my heart of hearts, here's where I'd like to be.....