[Sca-cooks] Happy Trails!!

[Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach DeeWolff at aol.com:
>Here's wishing all of you travelers and safe and sound journey. Hoist a few
>for me and remember to drink plenty of water (Especially around the cooking
>fires).
>
>We'll keep an eye out for you at home.
>
>Andrea
>
>Now......what can we stir up (talk about) while they are away??????

Okay... I was thinking we might give Mario Nebbits the year off this 
time around, if people are okay with that.

And I think maybe we're getting a little tired of our annual Twinkie 
discussion...

And, well, I think, for myself, the cuskynole thread is a little too 
deep and the deep-fried Mars Bar thread a little too shallow.

So, where does that leave us? I've been giving this some serious thought...

...and here's what I've come up with:

Anybody seen a Taco Bell television commercial lately? I've been 
losing sleep over this, I can tell you...

Just what the H**L is a "crispy red strip" anyway??? Manifestly one 
of the great mysteries of the 21st century, alongside whatever _did_ 
happen to Judge Crater, what gender is Pat, what's up with the 
Bermuda Triangle, and the insoluble ten hot dogs/eight buns per 
package mystery...

I'm thinking a "crispy red strip" _might_ be a meat entity, possibly 
salami (finely ground to disguise its origins) or pepperoni slices, 
cut into strips and briefly deep-fried. It's hard to tell what it 
might be since it's equally hard to identify its intended niche. I 
mean, if you look at a real Caesar Salad, and God's In His Heaven and 
All's Right With the World, it's a pretty safe bet that those brown 
strippy-things are anchovy bits. But since "crispy red strips" aren't 
a recognizable part of the whole Caesar Salad ecosystem in the real 
world outside of Taco Bell (is it a protein supplement, a colorful 
garnish, or whhaaaat???), it's hard to assign an arbitrary niche/role 
to the Crispy Red Strip. If it appeared in a dish (and in Taco Bell's 
case I use the term loosely) that called, say, for bacon, and they 
included Crispy Red Strips instead of bacon, it would be pretty clear 
it was intended as a cheaper or more universally acceptable to 
various religions, substitute for bacon.

I haven't slept in weeks... please help me... I must know...

Adamantius Of The Slow News Day