Probably something like Russian farm-raised walrus and polar bear. And the old-timers will lament how it just doesn't taste like the local stuff used to. And they'll have debates as to the merits of Nome-style vs. Anchorage-style preparation.

Since I can not cookout, I will be accepting invitations to BBQ's. My calendar is wide open.

Baby seal smothered in BBQ sauce is just divine.

Well, if Ms. Palin isn't otherwise occupied, I'm sure she'd be happy to shoot, field-dress, and prepare moose flambe.

Or perhaps we can track down some reindeer. I hear the ones with shiny noses are particularly succulent this time of year...

I've always been intrigued by penguin. Does anybody eat penguin?

Reindeer is tasty.

I don't know if anyone eats penguins, but puffin is an Icelandic delicacy.

OK RoCK, you're on. My next trip to the Punjab, you can be my guest of honor. The curried goat cookout is a three day affair since they start by making their own bricks for the uh, stove. Then it's hours of women pounding piles of spices with a huge mortar & pestle. I've done that, it's better than the gym. At some point, the goat has to be butchered and prepped.

Meanwhile, there are mountains of onions and garlic to be chopped and slowly, slowly fried in a small lake of ghee. Red and black pepper mingle with the smoke and dust in the air such that you need to retreat to take a deep breath lest your lungs be scalded. Your eyes sting. Despite wrapping scarves and turbans about themselves, the cooks' faces are permanently reddened. The meat is cooked long and slow, yet stays moist and succulent as it absorbs the flavors of the turmeric, cumin and coriander.

Finally, after darkness descends and the hunger has been gnawing at your belly for what seems an eternity, you sit down on a dhurri with your companions and are presented with roti and a bowl of the most mouth-searing, swoon-inducing portion of painful pleasure you'll ever endure.

And of course RoCK, since you're a man, you will be served first.

Lissa, did you try the Puffin? Had I had one more day in Iceland, I would have tried the Puffin.

I do, however, frequently get the Puffin cereal at the Whole Foods.

I look forward to grilling in the arctic, sitting back, applying sun tan lotion to my nose, swatting the mosquitos that have escaped the broiling heat of Minnesota and Wisconson, watching the fat drip from my rack of walrus, wondering if it's part of his own avoirdupois or what seeped into his hide during the last Exxon spill.

Laura Lee, that sounds like one hell of a barbecue. Delicious, too.

RoCK, I never found puffin on the menu. I think it was because I wasn't eating in the more expensive places. I did have whale kabobs, though, which one tour guide referred to as "Moby Dick onna stick."

Moby Dick onna stick

that's rich, Lissa.

I did it! I did it! For the first time!

italics

Oh, there's no going back now.

I had puffin in Iceland. It was good.

I say that if I had one more day, I would have had Puffin, but in reality my wife would have insisted we instead go to the Humarhusid or Lobster House.

Bucky, I'll bring the duck fries. You bring the ... duck fries? Or Rocky Mountain oysters? Both?
Is there such a thing as rainbow trout fries?

WOW, It took just over 1/2 day for the idiots to arrive.

This may be in response to the comment I decided to kill out. If so, sorry. EL

It was. Some people just ain't got no upbringin'

Having been to Alaska in the summer I can say the arctic doesn't need to import mosquitos from the lower 48. Since the mosquitos are the size of small chickens you could grill them.

When in Alaska go for the halibut and salmon. You've never had it fresher or better. I ate halibut just about every day, each time prepared a different way.
Mmmmm ....

Whale meat is pretty rich, Laura Lee.

Humarhusið is supposed to be excellent. I didn't get there, but I did have a lobster stew (I would have called it a chowder) to die for. And I don't like lobster. It is always a huge disappointment.

Icelandic lobsters are crawfish sized, though.

Aren't penguins just in the Antarctic? Or at least in the southern hemisphere?

Laura Lee - now try bold.

EL, I want to know what RayRay was talking about.

I spent many weeks this winter in FL on business. I can't wait for more global warming -- everyone should have a FL tan during the winter. Unfortunately the globe has been cooling for the past 12 years . . . it's true, look it up. Let's hurry up and pass cap and trade before everyone finds out!

Well, Bucky, Iceland isn't exactly in the Arctic, either. I was a good 60 miles from the Arctic Circle when I was in Akureyri, in northern Iceland, last winter.

Lissa have you ever seen the movie below. It's about a teenage boy trying to rebel but he has nowhere to go ij Iceland. He steals a car but where can you go? Good movie

Noi Albinoi
A wonderboy and drop-out on an Icelandic village scale, Noi (17), dreams of escaping from his remote fjord with the girl from the filling station. Noi (17) drifts through life in a remote fjord in northern Iceland. In the winter, the fjord is completely cut off from the outside world, encircled by terrifying mountains under a thick layer of snow. Noi dreams of escaping from this white prison, together with Iris, a city girl who works at the local filling station. But Noi's clumsy attempts to escape don't get him anywhere, and only get out of hand.

Yea, Icelandic Lobsters are more like crawdads, but who would go Crawdadhusid?

No, I haven't seen that movie, Owlie. I've seen it around, just haven't gotten around to it.

My memory is that it doesn't exactly take place in "a northern fjord", it is in the Vestfjordur (Westfjords).

Icelandic lobsters taste a lot better than mudbugs, though. They taste like I remember lobsters tasting. They are the Platonic lobster.

Happy Memorial Day weekend! LIke Robert, I will happily accept invitations to BBQ's. I'll bring German potato salad.

Potato salad, that's a good angle. All these years I've been showing up to parties bringing only p!ss and vinegar.

I thought that was the principle ingredients in potato salad.

Icelandic Lobsters are more like crawdads,

Are they some cold water relative of the langostine (sp) we had in Cancun?

Not sure, Eve. I was told by an Icelander that they are small because of the cold water, and that this concentrates their flavour. Which may even be true.

I think that's what George said on Seinfeld.

Crawdads are pretty good, I've had a most unhealthy version of them at Pineapple Willys while watching a Ravens game. They were lightly breaded and deep-fried (it is the South, after all) and served with an excellent Cajun mayo (remoulade).

And to make things even better, Publix now carries the Boars Head Cajun Remoulade! I guess I could make it myself, but the BH version is very good.