Episode V - Everything has run aFOWL

 We're honing in on this Friday Night Bites thing.  That is, the format for what has almost become something of a bi-monthly ritual is beginning to take shape.  In our last episode the name of the game was aquatic life.  On Friday, September 23rd in the 2011th year of our Lord we made it our mission to gather and grill fowl.


The crack team at dictionary dot com refer to 'fowl' as "any of several other, usually gallinaceous, birds that arebarnyard, domesticated, or wild, as the duck, turkey, orpheasant."   


Yeah, but what happens when you subject the dead version of those birds to an exceedingly hot, charcoal-powered fire?  Mr. Mike Skvarla was more than eager to conduct said experiment.

Ok, so that pic was obviously shopped (it took me hours to place Mike's image into the original picture of the dead and skinned chicken that float-hovers curiously about 5 feet above my doorstep).  


Mike actually brought a trio of game hens.  Here is one.

In fact, everyone came through LIKE A BEAST for this episode.  Check out Matt's typically out-of-box offering of quail.

The Brothers Martinez showed up with some killer shrink-wrapped action. I think it was turkey...

As we were sorting through all the cookables in the prep room, Matt was able to steal a pensive moment for himself outside by the grill.

Oh, I forgot to mention that this serendipitously became our most alcohol-heavy FNB.  

Lost of finely crafted local California brewz.  Enough so, that apparently I felt comfortable spilling/breaking some of it.

Later in the night the smell of cooked birdies attracted a wild dog.  Mike Skvarla named him Bruno and took him home for life.

Seen here is a ziploc'd sack o Asian-marinated chicken wings, courtesy of Nipa and Jeremy (who BTW, drove out all the way from Marina Del Rey).  Thanks guys!  These wings ended up being my favorite dish of the night.

Matt's quails' cooked away while he and the friend group pretended not to notice in the background.

Now, normally Matt takes the ubiquitous "best photo of someone mid-bite" award with the kind of ease Tim Duncan experienced whilst dismantling his opponents in the NBA circa 2003-07.  This time however, Matt was presented with a worthy challenger.  You decide.  

I got my money on photo 2, depicting the young upstart ruffian out of Tucson, James Martinez.   


On to dessert!  I actually don't remember everything that was brung-ed,  but here is a photo of Erin and it.  

Ok, this pic is jogging the old memory bank... on the left that is a cut-up red velvet cupcake and a Guinness-flavored cupcake (AMAZING NIPA!).  On the right, you see a rum cake (and OH MAN was it inundated with rum) brought by Katrina from a super swell Cuban bakery in Glendale called Porto's.  And there in the middle....ummm okay i can't remember.  People liked it though, and it was frosting'd! 


We had like 13 humans show up for this episode of FNB.  It felt like an all out fiesta.  So grateful to everyone who made it out.  Such amazing (and I guess, hungry) friends.  


Lets sign off with a classic scene from Jurassic Park re-imagined by the venerable Derekh Froude.


Birds. Dinosaurs. Herds.  You remember.  


Love.


-b