Roasted Squab (Page 406)

RECIPE #1254

• Date: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 -- 7pm
• Location: East Lansing, MI
• Kitchen: Our House
• Dining Companion: Matty
• Recipe Rating: C
  

A while back I ordered all the squab I need for the rest of this project and they have been sitting in my basement freezer. I decided it was about time to pull some out and make another squab recipe. I prepared a mixture of butter, shallots, thyme, lemon zest, salt, and pepper, and worked it between the skin and the flesh of the squabs. I seasoned the birds, then browned them in butter. I roasted the squabs in a hot oven. As it turns out, I just don't like squab. This is the second squab recipe I have made from The Book and the second squab recipe from The Book that I have not liked. Fortunately there is only one more squab recipe left, and my plan is to put that one off for a while. It's odd because in general I very much enjoy eating poultry. But pigeon just isn't my thing. It is incredibly different in color, flavor, and texture than other poultry. The dark, livery meat doesn't appeal to me. My special gentleman is a bit more neutral about squab than I am, but even he couldn't get on board with this recipe. There was no sauce or other components to this dish, so it was the meat that was meant to shine. Unfortunately instead of shining it just tasted kind of bad. I certainly won't make this dish again.

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I ate dinner tonight at an establishment claiming to be the World's Largest Truckstop. I couldn't possibly verify the accuracy of their claim, but I will say that it was one of the largest truckstops I have been to. This particular stop was out of desperation -- about 6 hours into the 7 hour drive from East Lansing to Iowa City, I became extremely hungry. The World's Largest Truck Stop was the best option available.

I am in Iowa City now. This week was a whirlwind. We got home from our East Coast trip on Saturday night. Sunday I went to church and then spent the rest of the day desperately trying to prepare for the week ahead of me (grading, writing lectures, writing exams, working on my annual review documentation, etc...). I never did end up feeling prepared for the week. Indeed, I would say that this week kicked my butt. Being home for four days between trips is a little rough. It's long enough that you try to settle back into a routine. But it's not long enough that you can really buy groceries and unpack your suitcase. The contents of my suitcase were dumped in the washing machine, then folded and put right back into the suitcase. I am giving exams in both my classes tomorrow since I won't be there to teach. So this week included a lot of exam writing and meeting with students who were worried about said exams. That, on top of the usual stuff, plus some fun stuff (e.g. a Sarah McLachlan concert), and getting ready for another trip, made for a busy week. But I think that everything that needed to be done got done. I finished writing the second exam at about 1:30am last night. This morning I edited it, photocopied it, and handed it off to the friend who is administering it tomorrow. Then I did several related rates problems with a student before running home to get the house ready for the pet-sitter will be living there this weekend with our kitties. My special gentleman and I hit the road in the early afternoon. I dropped him off in Chicago, where he is staying overnight before catching a flight to Canada tomorrow. I continued on to Iowa City.

Now I am sitting in my hotel room, a little bit exhausted, but looking forward to what should be a fun weekend. There is a meeting of the American Mathematical Society happening here this weekend, and I am co-organizing a special session in the meeting. Some good friends of mine will be here, and we have a great line-up of speakers. It should be fun! And for the moment I am trying not to think about the fact that when I arrive home Sunday night I will have two sets of exams waiting to be graded, and a couple lectures to prepare for Monday! I have a feeling there might be another busy week ahead of me...