Deep Southern Cuisine

The New Connoisseur of Patacones Returning from her Panamanian Adventures

I’m prepared to reclassify the recent family vacation and assign credit for cross cultural exchange. Anybody who has spent any time in Panama will know about patacones. They serve as a Panamanian side dish every bit as popular as French fries (or papas fritas as they are known down there). Patacones are slices of plantain that are smashed flat and then deep fried. It will surprise no one that knows me that I assiduously avoid eating them and remain fiercely loyal to the papas fritas side of the equation.

The New Jersey Version of Patacones

The FBR on the other hand is made of sterner stuff. While she was down in Panama last week her mother asked her to try patacones and she immediately became a true fan (she must get this epicurean adventurism from the Wingman side of the gene pool). In a move that thriller her mother my daughter bought some plantain this week and prepared some patacones at home for the FBR which were, once again, a huge hit, so credit for cross culturism in New Jersey.

And its Daddy-Daughter Day Today

I caught up with the m last night where the FBR agreed that patacones were a welcome addition to her snack array. She also revealed that she’s been brought into the old game that dates back to the time we lived in Rhode Island near Great Aunt and Soxfather. The game involved raising your hand for a high five saying “Up High” and after receiving that asking for a low five by saying “Down Low”. Before the low five can be delivered the hand is pulled away and the other person is mocked with a “Too Slow”. Soxfather was an acknowledged master of this with the toddler versions of my son and daughter. It was a little hard to manage over an IPad screen but the FBR did get me thirty to forty-five times last night while her mother and I tried to discuss the upcoming Oscars.

I also spoke with my Favorite Son and the BRS last night. They’ve fully recovered from their trip to Panama and the BRS is once again sleeping through the night now that she doesn’t have the enticing distraction of awakening at night to find her parents in the same room. She was in full “Viking” mode last night while eating -  roaring her approval whenever taking a bite of food and then seizing her water cup like it was a flagon of ale. She would subsequently slam that down on the table in satisfied glee. (I can hazard a guess from which side of the gene pool those antics derive).

I made my initial trek back to the movie theater to catch up on the movies I’ve missed over the past few weeks. I saw Cold Pursuit with old favorite Liam Neeson in the lead role. This was kind of a strange combination of action, revenge and dark humor. It never rose to the level of being a true dark comedy but had its moments. It would have been fun to see what the Coen brothers would have done with this material but I’m not certain Neeson would have been right for that. He plays a Rocky Mountain snow plow driver whose son is murdered by a smarmy Denver drug cartel. He sets about revenge by killing his way to the top even though he doesn’t have any discernible skills in that department. He proves a quick learner is is soon depositing bodies into picturesque mountain locales. The movie is all over the place with subplots involving a rival Native American drug cartel and a totally inept police department. Neeson delivers his usual amount of heart and gravitas but Laura Dern, as his wife, is criminally underused. There was some truly impressive camera work capturing the stark beauty of the Rockies. In the end, after thinking about it (which I shouldn’t have had to) I liked this.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law, formerly known both as MEF – Most Excellent Fiancé & MEG – Most Excellent Girlfriend; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt = my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rdmusquetera (musketeer); Buddy – AKA the Wonder Pooch – family dog, a black lab – hates squirrels, died in 2017; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog, surrogate grandchild while awaiting arrival of the BRS; PanaGals – female relatives/friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Excellent Boss – my former direct boss at work; Deckzilla Dude – senior citizen carpenter/contractor; Voices of Inappropriate Worth - members of public who come to every Worcester public meeting to complain, all are on public assistance along with demeanor issues