Flames

If you read yesterday's post, you saw I had some plans for Memorial Day.

We got the Kentucky Warbler at Maybury State Park (county bird #272). It was "grocery shopping birding". You know when you need to fine something in the store and you ask someone and they simply tell you where it is found? This was the same thing. The bird, a beautiful singing male, was seen within minutes. A stunning bird and a toughy for Wayne County.

The Summer Tanager? Well, no such luck. I am 0-3 with that damned thing on the Campus.

Dinner was a real treat. Both preparing and eating!

Mastering the Grill, a book I have recommended before, had a recipe I have wanted to try for a few months now - flaming brandy burgers. The key was to splash each burger with a shot of brandy! Now that was fun! Anybody who has ever played with matches or torched marshmallows on the the campfire would love this recipe! Basically, make some burgers (including minced onions, salt, pepper, and allspice). Just before you take them off the grill, throw on the brandy. The trick is to get the brandy on the burger to flame up (as opposed to splashing the good stuff all over the grill). Once the alcohol has burned off, you are left with a light caramelized sugar taste. Very cool. Oh yeah, use a kaiser bun.

The other fixings were quite good, too. The grilled squash and zucchini were pretty slick , but watch those pepper flakes! The dried mint did not seem to do enough to counter the nuclear leanings of the pepper. Plus, evenly distributing the flakes was a challenge. The white BBQ sauce was easy and good. Basically, mayonnaise and vinegar. Not bad!

What about that beer? Wacko? Yikes. Life beer #562 was simply not a good beer. A crash-and-burn for sure. Had the flaming brandy gotten out of control, dousing the flames with this beer would have been fine. "Junko" might be more appropriate. It was not something I would recommend. Magic Hat Brewing Company claims to have used beet juice (or sugars) during the brewing. I think it is a nifty little gimmick that fell flat. The drink itself is a fascinating shade of red leaning towards pink. Not much head. Not much lacing. Pretty bland to the eye. It was equally as bland on the nose and palate. Too much happening, but not much jumped to the front. Somewhere in there was a fruity taste. The carbonation was waaaaay too high and the finish was beyond dry. It was more acidic than anything. All in all, a poor beer. Ultimately, one could use it as an appetizer beer (the fruit and cheese thing). Not that you should, but you could. 2 out of 5. Maybe...