Dueling pig roasts

Classic first world problem. I had two pig roasts on the same day last weekend. What could I do? Choose? Psh, obviously you haven't been reading long.

For the first pig roast I was cooking the pig, so my morning started off at about 7:30. Toasting and grinding whole cumin, cinnamon, and star anise. Fresh ground always adds such a welcome kick. I mixed that with a bunch of turbinado (raw) sugar, garlic powder and salt.

Do she got a booty? She DOOOOOO!

Half cooked pig

Half of the spice mix was rubbed into the cavity of the pig and half was made into a mop.

What's a mop you say? It's the juice of the gods you baste the pig with while it's roasting. This particular god juice was made with those spices plus apple wine vinegar, ginger ale, Coke, water and coconut rum. That was "mopped" on every half hour or so.

The best head at Reykjavik bus station

Sheep's head that is. When we were at the Blue lagoon in Iceland we met another American who actually lived a half a block from Tartine bakery, my favorite bakery in San Francisco. He told us that in Reykjavik he had gotten drive-though sheep's head. Basically a half a sheep's head with mashed potatoes and turnips on a Styrofoam platter that you pick up in a drive through. Immediately I knew I needed to eat this collision of old and new, rough country food and convenience.

He was pretty sketchy about the location of this culinary delight, but showed us a great video of him eating the eyeball and a picture of the billboard out front.



After visiting the Pearl, a large touristy lookout point on a hill we talked to some locals about where to get some good head. Apparently the only place they really knew about was at a bus station right by the airport. Low and behold, HERE WAS OUR DRIVE-IN! We ordered a half a sheep's head which came with a nice cauliflower soup, mashed potatoes and mashed turnips. I couldn't help myself but to dive right in.