budrichard

Most wild game that someone gives you is usually not well cared for and not well butchered. This usually results in the game being inedible and the harvester can't bear (no pun) to dispose of the meat properly so friends find themslves the recipient. I will not take wild game from most individuals. That said, what type of bear and where and when harvested? Black bear harvested in the fall is usually excellent if the bear is quickly and properly gutted, cooled and butchered. It actually tastes like roast beef and because of the fat content, its just about impossible to overcook. The gamey/bad smell tells me that the carcass was not properly gutted and bile or intestinal tract(feces) came in contact with the meat and/or it was not chilled properly or fast enough to avoid spoilage. Nothing like hanging your bear for others to admire while it rots in the sun. We slow cook the hams on the Weber and everyone that has come to one of our BearBQ's or Ocktobear Fests has not been dissapointed.-Dick

I'll second the Kitchenaid. I have the Pro-Line and it works like a charm. Waffle web thickness is related to the heat the maker puts out in watts. Less watts, smaller and thinner waffles. The Kitchenaid makes good sized waffles but not like a Pro machine.-Dick

I have purchased thousand of items over the Internet ranging in price from a Saveur 3 year subscription for $10(!)(actually not worth the money anymore) to items costing much much more. Never had a problem. Your browser will tell you the level on encription being used (most are 128 bit and outside of a Cray, impossible to break except for the NSA). -Dick

Reidel has made a small fortune out of convincing individuals that a different shaped glass is needed for every different beverage including wine. We have sets of the genreic Reidel type glasses for red and white but for Champagne its the Dom Perignon shape for just us two, Parties get Baccarat flutes I pick up on eBay. If you drink a lot of wine with guests , then you will break a lot of glasses, so price enters into the equation.-Dick

Last Saturday, $7.49/# for a 4.39 pounder in Chicago Chinatown. Lobster was very lively and was great for a big girl! Must be from Canada because I thought that females that large are thrown back in Maine with the tail notched.-Dick

http://www.wisconsincherries.org/buy_cherr...etail/index.asp I don't think there is a huge local supply and in any event, the growers are mostly in Door County which is a long way to go for a cherry.-Dick

The best glove is made from Spectra fiber or other some such, while not moisture proof, it is stab proof. I have an Ansell Edmont which is not listed in the current catalog but it looks like its been replaced by equivalent gloves. http://www.ansellpro.com/food/index.asp After stabbing my self once many years ago, I never open a clam or oyster without a cut-resistant glove. Note: up until I had stabbed myself i had been opening clams/oyster for many years, but sooner or later it happens. Price is not a concern for safety.-Dick

Location is in Southern Wisconsin and sources are varied but since sweet cherries are not a local crop, no farmers markets except in Door county where of course they are the sour or pie variety. Prices have ranged from $2.99/# to .99/# and except for one lot, all very uniformly bad compared to Bings I have purchased in the past. My next stop will be a wholesale restaurant supplier for a case of Bing's. Our local wholesaler went out of business, so i will have to go to Milwaukee.-Dick

For many many years my family and I have been eating predominantly Bing cherries. We would purchase them by the case for the children. In the last 10 years or so the Bing cherry is not available as much and other varieties are being sold. Over the 10 years, the quality has been less and less until culimnating this year, the cherries have been predominately bad. I have wasted a lot of money on cherries this year to where I will not purchase anymore. I have used many suppliers so it is not a local occurance isolated to one supplier. I suspect the Bing cherry may have gone the way of the commercial tomatoe and many cherry buyers do not have a measurement standard of what a good cherry tastes like. The growers of course make more profits as i suspect this has to do with varieties that are cheaper to grow and ship. Does anyone have any definitve information about what has occurred?-Dick

Pepperonchini are different than banana peppers. Banana peppers themselves can be mild or hot. If you like hot and your peppers are mild, then the addition of any hot peper will serve. Other than that its a standard recipe of water. vinegar(apple is best), kosher salt and any other flavorings you like. Process per canning directions.-Dick

A selection of palate enhancers is in order. A good crusty bread, a good aged Manchego, marintated roasted red peppers, some Goya canned seafood items(very reasonable). a good Spanish Rioja, and a Cava will go well with your Iberico. When our Pata Negra arrived last year, I served all the above and more and everyone said it was the best party they had ever been to.-Dick

Cured meat products can be consumed as is without heating, safely. The cure prevents harmful bacteria growth. Un-cured meat products must be heated for safe consumption as whatever process is used is not sufficient to guarantee food safety if consumed without heating.-Dick

In a blind taste I was able to identify the Torpedo from the 12th Release. My preference is for the 12th Release which tastes bit smoother. Both are excellent ales.-Dick

Most avid fisherman have a defined place for fish scaling. There is no way to assure yourself of a completely clean work area, its just the nature of the process. Me, I just scale with the fillet knife I am using, works fine.-Dick

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Or in other words you must determine yourself what you find as a cut of meat that you want to purchase. Within the USADA Choice and Prime are sub grades and all the top restaurants that serve Prime are competing for the top primal cut in the Prime grade. It is perfectly possible to have a USDA piece of Prime beef that is inferior in marbeling and tenderness to a piece of USDA Choice graded beef. Grading is not an exact science but more of an art althouhg i did read of an optical device that 'reads' the fat content in the rib portion but I don't know if that is in wide use. That's why Peter Lugers decendents pick out the primal cuts for aging themselves. Me, I go to a good source of USDA Choice and pick out my own primal cuts and cut and package. Sometimes it deosn't work out as well as I thought and sometimes it works out very well. I picked up a USDA Choice whole boneless rib eye a couple of weeks ago for $5.99/# that yielded superb Cowboy steaks and excellent sandwich steaks. It more of an art than science and you don't always get what you want. In terms of grass fed and organic beef, I have a feeling that use of these phrases is somewhat marketing driven. I don't particulary like any grass fed beef I have had(Cheaper for the producer though) and Organic has become just another buzz word. It's in the farmer's best interest to limit the use of antibiotics and other pesticides and herbicides to reduce cost. In any event, there is a definite delay time that antibiotics must be stopped to allow them to clear the animals system. I think your are more at risk breathing fumes from automobiles than US raised beef.-Dick

The two cases I ordered just arrived. It's another SV hit! More floral than the 12th Release and maybe not quite as smooth but we need to do a blind tasting to see the results. SV is making the best ales readily available in the US today. Quite a change from years ago when the only truly hoppy ale available was Ballantine "Aged in the wood".-Dick

All our tastings arer conducted blind. If not using blind tastings, perception can become reality.-Dick

Saveur is pretty well defunct as a magazine after the original crew left. This article is another example of writing that doesn't cost much in the way of resources to fill the magazine space.-Dick

Propane can be stored as a liquid at normal temperatures and that indeed is what is in a propane tank, liquid. Natural gas is transported as gas and there fore I don't know if the amount of energy stored comparison is really valid because one is a liquid and one a gas. In any event, the diiference is not that great when measuerd as BTU/Hr in an appliance. Since propane is manufactured from natural gas propane is more expensive. Me, I wouldn't have anything but natural gas and have avoided other sources of energy for heating and cooking.-Dick

Cast iron cannot be welded. There are metal stiching techniques for plate cast iron surfaces but these are only used on large expensive components like Emergency Diesel Generators that must be repaired in place.-Dick

Guinness!-Dick

I have a case on order as it flew off the shelves! The 12th release Wet Hop is also very good!-Dick

Replace 'hundreds' with 'millions' and 'some hundreds (or thousands)' with 'hundreds of millions'.-Dick

I really believe that what you grew up with is what you will like. You are correct "Nathan's all are more boldly seasoned than Vienna which is relatively mild in comparison". To my Midwestern dog palate, the Nathan's natural casing is a very tasteful dog with lots of fat and salt but that is not what I'm used to. I would try Sabrett's if available locally. I have curtailed much of my shipping because for next day, the cost of shipping is almost equal to the cost of the product!.-Dick

In a blind tasting I conducted with the aforementioned Usinger's Olympic dog and a Vienna Beef hot dog, the Vienna was chosen by all three tasters. In a comparison of Nathan's Natural Casing and the Vienna dog(my standard). the Vienna again was chosen the best. Usinger's does make a veal wiener if you special order a box. It is a very good weiner also. I get Vienna at the Factory Store and my Usinger's at the factory also. Both are great, just different. Since hot dogs are essentially a blend of meat, fat and spices, I wouldn't expect a Kobe dog to taste any better than any other dog. My instinct also tells me that the dog does not contain real Kobe beef but American Waygu.-Dick