budrichard

We all know that a Grand Fine Champagne cognac of 40 years ago has now gone upscale so that even most XO cognac's are not of that quality. But the bottle of Remy Martin XO that we just finshed with has set a new low in XO coganc's. I have had comparable quality VSOP's and the VSOP's of today are generally only good for cooking or mixers.. We are currently working on Hennessy's single distillery cognac's and have started with the Izambard. This is a nice cognac with a smooth taste, pleasant and certainly better that the Remy Martin XO. There are two others in the series that we have and I just wish I could justify a blind tasting by opening them all at once but we just don't drink that much cognac to justify doing that. -Dick

First, the fresher the better! Second grab a sharp pair of scissors. Use the scissors to cut off the fins and heads while pushing the guts out of the body, you can use the scissors to open the belly also. Third, prepare your coating/batter. Fourth, prepare your dipping sauces. Fifth fry in whatever oil you want and eat with dips and beer. There is a palatable difference for smelt fresh from the water to those purchased fresh in a market. -Dick

First, need to know the source of your rabbit. If frozen from China, then you are already behind the 8 ball. If fresh or a hunted wild rabbit, then you should debone the saddle and stuff it with the tenderloins and deboned meat from the legs. Use the carcass to make stock along with the liver for a sauce eventually. Stuff the saddle with the meat and whatever suits you. Tie it all up, sear in a fry pan and then into the oven until rare which depends on how big your rabbit is. They can rnage from a # or two to 5 for large domestics. Let rest for 5-10 minutes again depending on the size. Serve with the sauce and whatever vegatables you want. Keys are fresh rabbit, boned and rare. -Dick

Grandma Utz's are still cooked in lard and are still the best! I will find some Zapp's and try them though. -Dick

It appears I am the only one of the posters that has any bona fide professional credentials in Photography. I worked as a photojournalist at one time for the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison Wisconsin. As such, one has to photograph individuals in all sorts of conditions from happy(first child born in the New Year is a standard pic) to sad(death from accident or possesions lost due to fire are examples). One learns that are simply some times when one is in a group setting where photographing will affect others around you. It is very crass to think that this will not bother someone and I can do as I want. Asking permission is your best choice and gennerally works quite well. Amatuer photogrpahers are generally loath to approach someone they would like to photograpah, whereas professionals learn to do it. Professionals also know when and where they can and cannot legally photograph. If you assume that you can do what ever you want, where ever you want, then you are arragant. If you respect others around you, then you will ask first and if the response is negative, you will not intrude. -Dick

As correctly pointed out, these knives are for making square cuts on fish already prepared into blocks in most cases. The long length assures that the entire blade in one stroke can produce the cut. In my case, I was used to a 230mm blade and had tried 330mm and 300mm and knew that they were too long for me to be comfortable with and that 270mm seemed like the best lenght. I also would not wear my blade very much as it is not used and sharpened every day. Some of my Wustof blades are 15 years old and one can see the effects of sharpening on them, so it does happen. If you are serious about ordering one of these blades, best to find a place that has the different lenghts and try them. Best yet, would to buy an inexpensive knife and become familiar with its intended use and then purchase a honyaki. -Dick

Kenichi Shiraki made the blade which is 270mm long. Generally they come 330mm and wear down over the lifetime of the knife and chef but in my case that won't happen and I was used to a shorter commercial blade. If you have ever handled a 330mm Sashimi knife you will know what i mean. As i have said, this has nothing to do with sharp and has everything to do with craftsmanship and the value placed on this type of work. A commercial laminate will do just as good but to some the joy of using a product crafted by an individual is worth the expense.-Dick

Just tell me where you are going to be in the Chicago-Milwaukee area when you start photographing your food because you seriously don't want to do it when I am around. It appears to me that a number of individuals have lost sight of what fine dining is or was and elevated the food and the chef to 'cult' status rather than having a good time with people having good conversation. -Dick

Aun... A true Japanese hand forged kitchen knife is not all that common. Many of the more "commercial" brands do involve machine making operations (plus some hand work sometimes). I think Hattori (for their Unryu series anyway) and Kasumi and Global are like this to varying degrees. True hand-forged knives are usually made by the smaller workshops or individual smiths, of which there are numerous in Japan but not many are well marketed outside Japan. Some names have already been given in this thread. Other names I can mention are Murray Carter and Takeshi Saji. As you have correctly stated, true hand forged blades rarely make it our of Japan and are extremely expensive. Murray Carter, a true smith in his own right, acted as an agent in my purchase of a true hand forged 'Sashimi' Honyaki. It is made from Hitachi #1 White Steel with mirror polished blade and ebony and ivory handle and scabbard. In reality it is about as sharp as any good commercial Japanese Sashimi blade. As they say, if you have to ask the cost, you can't afford it! Seriously, we are talking in the low $K's. -Dick

I can tell you that i have already curtailed any European purchases until the $ gains significantly against the Euro. Wine will be no different. -Dick

I view the different types of blues as really different cheese categories. There are the blues that are made to be combined with other ingrediants in salds and such, Maytag is certainly th best of the lot. A true roquefort is hard to find but an excellent cheese. The English blues such as Stilton or Shopshire are just made for Port and cigars. The soft blues such as a gorganzola are great with crackers or a crusty bread. What i don't care for is the factory blues produced in the US that bear no relation to anything or than the name. -Dick

Viking, 4-15,000BTU/HR burners, convection oven/broiler, wouldn't be without it! Note that true commerical ranges are not rated for NFPA residential fire codes. -Dick

American Coot, 'Fulica americana', superficially ducklike species have conical bills, dives for aquatic plants, feet are not webbed. Source, Sibley 'Guide to Birds'. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i2210id.html Source of great joy to veteran duck hunters, when they see a 'newbie' coming out of the marshes with a brace of coots. -Dick

Did they 'prime' the glass with wine from the bottle you ordered? Did they use another wine? What happpened to the wine used for 'priming'. Never heard of the practice, sounds like something dreamed up. Of course what do i know, I only have been collecting and drinking for 40 years. -Dick

Sorry I didn't answer sooner but I was hunting. The only simliarity between a domestic duck and a wild duck is the name and two feet and two wings. Otherwise they are two different birds. As I have already posted, hanging is not required and can infact be dangerous. Treat a wild duck like rare beef and roast until rare to medium rare serve hot with some sort of sweet sauce. Put aromatics in the cavity. Any over cooking and it will be tuff. There are fish eating ducks and coots that are never going to taste that good. There are all sorts of recipes out there to cope with this but they don't really work. A slow braise in some sort of aromatic may help. Most of the posts that one gets about wild game are from inidviduals with not a lot of experience. I have been shooting and eating wild ducks for 40+ years. Great water fowl! Just don't shoot the coots! -Dick

Rick ,thanks for the reply. My post was a bit facietious because I purchased the brew for the novelty and to have with Sashimi as a first beer, we then switched to Asahi 'SuperDry'(real 'SuperDry' from Japan) and unfiltered Sake. I don't age beer and don't plan on it in the near future. I will stick with wine. -Dick

Various Point brews are still available in Wisconsin. I think that the number of micro-brews available now are dipping into the Point market. Augsburger is brewed by Huber and used to be basically Huber Bock, the diff is about $7/12 for Huber Bock and $6/6 for Augsburger. I think Huber would like to take all its brews upscale but don't want to alienate thier long time Huber drinkers just yet. Huber Bock in non-returnables is available again after being off the market I assume for a transfer from returnables. -Dick

View showing the John Boos countertops and Franke sink. Another view. All appliances are Kitchenaid except for the Viking four burner. Dick

Franke Manor House sink with Franke Pot Faucet in brushed nickel. One big sink with no other adornments. -Dick

We always have a 3l can of Colavita EVOO and pay about $20US/can. There is some acidity but for most uses it suffices. Have experienced no quality or degradation problems. -Dick

You mean it's not a National Holiday? I was born in Boston, live about 80 miles from Chicago and have an Irish wife. You could have fooled me! We go to http://www.chiefoneillspub.com/ on St Pats. Real Irish Pub with real Irish people, real Irish music. In fact we go there a lot! -Dick

"And not to rub it in, but...You better get you some Yuengling and prepare to watch the Iggles! " Translation please! -Dick

Marketing Hype. -Dick

Maybe you were looking for this: Egyptian Beer Experiment. Here's the Japanese Story. And through this company, Pharaoh's Brew, you can reserve a bottle... Before anyone orders a $250 bottle of beer, let me post what i know since i live in the area of the distributer. The Gold Pyramid is a large structure built by a contracter many years ago and there are or used to be tours, I have never gone. Wadworth, Illinois is not known for its water used in brewing. The whole thing looks like hype to me. Reminds me of a fellow I knew in High School who tried to ferment alcohol by using suger, yeast and grape juice! Completely undrinkable. -Dick

Huber Bock has always been brewed in Monroe Wisconsin by a guy who commutes from Chicago, at least last time I knew. It is a good brew with a 'smokey' flavor. It started out at $6/case for returnables and gradually escalated to about $10/case. For a while it was simply not available. Now it is back in non-returnables for about $7/12 pack or $14/case. I wonder if the cost of returnables was actually more than the cost of throwaways? BTW, it my understanding that Berghof 'Dark' is essentially the same brew and that the reintroduction of 'Augsburger Dark' is also about the same. That is about as good a story as Miller taking Leine's from a $6/case beer to about $12/case by tacking on Miller's overhead and advertising costs. Of course Miller was also responsible for killing the Lowenbrau brand in the US! Yes, I know it is now available again but only as a light beer. When asking the importer why no dark, the answer was that dark doesn't sell. Reply, of course not, all your data is based on beer brewed in Canada. Enough, I have to get ready to watch the Pack! Requires beer and brats! -Dick