Well, not that I didn't expect this, but now, it's official.

Courtesy Steven Raichlen: Saigon Chicken.

I started with a whole chicken and made up a basic marinade using soy sauce, cooking wine (actually a honey mead I have on tap), Chinese five-spice powder, cinnamon, coriander, garlic, and Asian sesame oil. Marinated overnight, and smoke-roasted on the ol' Weber until in the 170+ range. Here it is, crackling crisp skin and all:



I "pulled" the chicken and chopped up the skin, all mixed together. Below are the ingredients, clockwise from the top: chicken, rice noodles, romaine lettuce leaves, cucumber spears, peanut sauce, grilled green onions, and raw ginger spears. The peanut sauce is around 1/3 cup hoisin sauce, 1/3 cup peanut butter, 1/4 cup Thai sweet chile sauce, and a dose of Tabasco habanero sauce and ginger soy sauce to thin the mixture.



Now all put together, a refreshingly healthy way to eat barbeque:

I noticed something today that indicates what a total rip-off the 14th of February is.

Last week at our local Hy-Vee grocery store, one of the specials was a pound of strawberries for $1.88. Not a bad price, I bought a carton of them.

This morning I received the weekly specials email from Hy-Vee, and looking through it, I noticed a page that had Valentine's Day themed items on sale.

The same exact strawberries.

$6.88 a pound.

And people will buy them!!!

For those that love "Yazz Flute".

Seriously, that bass tone, when he starts kicking in around 1:30, it's all I can do but avoid saving my pennies for a pair of star-shaped sunglasses and a Space Bass.