Brisling

I love science, and I love food. So I really love when people combine the two. There are fun books like "How Baking Works" that I've read that explain stuff, but sometimes it's nice to have some person explain things to you. No one does this better than Alton Brown. He really knows his stuff and demonstrates it in a really fun way. Good Eats is one of my favorite cooking shows. I never fail to learn several food-related things with every episode. Seldom has his advice led me astray. The popovers were delightful, the fan-made beef jerky was tasty and intriguing, and though my English Muffins didn't look as pretty as his, they were still pretty good. He had built a relationship of trust with me. I admired him. I trusted him. I even bought the book.

But then he convinced me that eating Brislings was a good idea. I should have known better.

You see, there was this episode where he used Brisling sardines as a topping for toast, and he made it look like it was the best thing he had ever eaten. I distinctly remember him saying that he could eat this particular snack for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was sold. I went to the store and bought me some Brislings of my very own.

 I assembled the ingredients he said I'd need: Toasted sourdough, lemon zest/juice, avocado, parsley, salt, pepper, and sherry vinegar.

I combined the ingredients as directed, and smoshed the little fishes in a bowl.

 Then I toasted and assembled.

The idea of this dish didn't necessarily repulse me, but the reality kind of did. It actually looked kind of pretty. I mean, really... Anything involving fresh avocado should be delightful...

Something about chomping down on little fishy tails almost made me ralph. They weren't bony or chewy or anything, but they were still definitely little fish tails. In my mouth.

Out of sheer pig-headedness, I managed to choke it all down. I wasn't about to let a little can of fish get the best of me. I can't really say that I enjoyed it. I took all of these pictures hoping this would be another Alton-Brown-Inspired success story...

Well, now I know. I'm now going to take any future food recommendations with a grain of salt.

I can have my own opinion, and that's OK.

Fish tails. Blech.