Ask the Profussor – Deep Winter (pt. 2)

Even if you don’t follow my tweets or Facebook status updates, the savvy amongst you knew that I’d be back today with the second half of AskTP. It’s not often that my posts come in parts, but rest assured this is part two of two.

Speaking of my tweets and Facebook page, now would be the time to start following me, liking me, becoming a fan, or whatever the lingo of the moment is. After all, the pop quiz is right around the corner, and speed counts. You’ll want to jump on it as soon as it’s posted, since the person with the first complete and correct answer sheet will be the one who walks away with a $45 gift certificate to CSN Stores. It should be fun, and I suspect relatively easy for long-time readers. All the details are here.

But you probably already knew that.

Anyhow, I really did save the best for last. These questions were a hoot to answer, although if you are easily grossed out, you may want to skip the very last one. I hope you find these answers half as amusing to read as I did to write. Now on with the show.

RealFoodMom was looking for some closure on the Super Bowl.
Will you reveal from which esteemed establishment(s) you chose to purchase your wings and pizza noshes? Were you pleased with them?

For you, anything. I ultimately went with Pizza Central.

Who?
What?

Pizza Central is a relative newcomer, and their pizza is tasty but not great. What is great is their Buffalo chicken pizza, in a greasy, gut-bomb, perfect kind of way. The chicken topping is generous breaded and well-fried chunks of white meat, and the pizza sauce has been replaced with wing sauce. It’s a Frank’s Red Hot lovers dream. This was the pizza I wanted for the big game, and I thought I’d give their wings a try too.

Regrettably, the quality of the chicken topping was not what I had come to expect from getting slices in the store. But I can’t hold that against them. It’s a small and relatively new operation. Presumably they got slammed during the game and standards slipped. It happens.

I’ll still return for slices periodically. But next year I’ll chose another place for my Super Bowl pizza.

llcwine must have never seen me eat.
I wish I had stopped in if not for the yummy food, but to finally meet all of you – and scarf a nibble?!!!

Quick little story for you. I was sharing a fondue pot with this woman. And her piece of bread fell off her fork into the bowl of cheese. Naturally, I fished it out and ate it myself. It was delicious.

Next think I know, she stands up, raises her fondue fork over her head, and brings it down into my arm. I found myself stabbed at the dinner table. There was blood, but not much. Mostly there was shock. We were at a mutual friend’s birthday party, and about a dozen people witnessed this heinous act.

All I am saying, is one must be careful about the nibbles one scarfs. That aside, if any of you happen to see me out and about, I would be absolutely delighted if you came up, introduced yourself, and said hi.

Mirdreams was making local cocktails and ran into a snag.
Does anyone know of a NY State made vermouth?

I don’t, but I do have a potential sweet vermouth alternative: the delicious Sour Cherry Cordial from American Fruits, of Warwick, New York.

Danielle, who writes a healthy living blog, was clearly excited by the mention of cheese.
Can you please explain how to make cheese grits?

I’m a Yankee, so I can’t be expected to do the dish justice. And I reckon someone from the South would be quietly appalled by what I publicly called cheese grits. For the record, I didn’t set out to make a bastardized version of a traditional dish, I just pulled this recipe down from the Google and it was pretty tasty. Well, Mrs. Fussy and I liked it. Oddly the kids wouldn’t go near it. Maybe they are holding out for the real thing.

Capitol to Capital just moved to the region and hasn’t abandoned all hope, yet.
We’ve only had Yoshi Sushi in Latham so far – do you have other suggestions? [I used a question mark on purpose.]

Abandon all hope.

I haven’t really done a proper sushi rant, and I won’t right now. But raw fish is a delicacy for a reason. There can be some pretty nasty things in uncooked fish. So if I’m going to eat sushi, I want it to be of the highest quality. And since becoming an expert on assessing the quality of raw fish requires years of dedicated study, I rely on this useful shorthand:

1) Eat raw fish in cities that have access to the world’s best seafood.
2) Seek out highly trained chefs who insist on only using the best fish.

Seriously, I’ve just decided not to eat sushi in Albany. Maybe if chef Saso raises his head again around these parts, I’ll give his stuff a try. But the last venture where he was plying his craft recently ditched its Pan-Asian theme.

Stevo had a reasonable reaction to my post on manliness.
What, no mention of whisky? I know you are an avid whisky and distilled sprits aficionado. Whisky is a decidedly masculine beverage.

Not to answer a question with a question, but when did being an aficionado of anything become manly? 

I know what you are saying, and I agree that on its face whisky is manly. But what is manly is drinking it. And when I say drinking it, I mean either in a glass preferably without ice, or straight from the bottle. When one starts comparing the subtleties and nuances of one rarefied bottling versus another, or discussing the relative merits of Islay versus Speyside, whisky’s masculine power withers.

Sophia Walker had an amazing food rant that you should read. This is just a small part:
My question has always been for food snobs, if you’re so snobby about what you eat, are you equally snobby about what you shit? Do you boast about the firmness and odor of your stool to anyone who will listen? Do you brag about how your shit literally does not stink? I mean hey, if you’re that into what you eat, why not embrace the food’s entire journey through your body?

I cannot answer for other food snobs. I can only answer for me. But, yes, yes, rather I boast that it smells of roses, and I do. TMI?