lancastermike

If you take up deer hunting with the same enthusiasm as you have all your other projects I urge the deer of Minnesota to make sure their insurance is paid up. Susan, growing up in Pennsylvania deer hunting was a right of passage. The single most important thing one can do to protect the meat is a proper field dressing. As Paul has told you, it ain't a pretty sight. The description linked to above gives an outstanding primer on it. For lots of reasons I no longer hunt deer. I know if you do, you will do it well with safety four most in mind. Please also respect the deer. I have seen too many left in the woods with just the antlers cut off. Or just left altogether. If a hunter chooses to harvest a deer they ought respect that deer by taking the meat and using it to feed their family. One of the reasons I don't go out anymore is I started wanting to shoot some of the yahoos posing as hunters. Keeping on topic, I never cared that much for venison. As you stated above, it is not good for smoking, and, as you know, I like to smoke EVERYTHING. Sausage is fine but only due to it being given enough fat to taste good.

Not me, Doc, not me

Many years ago when I worked at the old Host Farm Resort in Lancaster Chef Tell was there to do a demo for one group I can't remember. He wanted a little brandy and came to the bar. I gave him a glass and he said he just wanted it for show, said the crowd always loved a nice fire. Later after his gig was done he came over to me and thanked me and said they all loved it. He sat and talked to me for while and was a true gentleman, did not act like a big-timer. He simply could not have been any nicer to me and my bar staff.

Anne, think of it as a sociological experiment. I'm in need of a couple of vegetable side dishes. We're going to my SIL's, and I always do the veg. Glazed carrots need not apply; I've done them too many times. ← We also dine at my SIL's and I ALWAYS take a smoke turkey. My BIL always makes a turkey in one of those oven bags which, to me, makes steamed turkey. They always have a big crowd and the smoked turkey is a hit. I love oyster dressing and that usually travels with us as well. And a roasted shallot and cranberry sauce I stole from Andrea Immer's wine show.

The Annunciation Hellenic Orthodox Church is holding their 49the annual Greek Bazaar this weekend. A big annual event for the Lancaster community, and one that I never miss. Not as big as deal as some of the Philadelphia Greek church festivals. No liquor for one. Although, many year ago when I went to the bazaar with some friends of mine who were members of the church and there was plenty of ouzo to be had if one knew were to look. The Greek community in Lancaster has a history of running food business. Many pizzas’s sold in town are made by Greek owned business. The community has diversified and many outstanding professionals have arisen from the families that ran diners and other places. They remain a very family oriented community and I have been proud to know many members of this church through the years. The retired pastor of the church, Rev. Veroins, has been one of the leaders in the annual CROP walk to raise funds for those in need of food assistance in our town. He is still very active with this project. The church is at 64 Hershey Ave on the west end of Lancaster and the hours are 11AM to 7:30PM on Saturday and 11AM to 6PM on Sunday. The food just flies s out the door so plan to arrive early if possible. It is a wonderful chance to support a great community and enjoy some good food as well.

I think the dude needs to decide what is important to him. If he is going to be looking at things like eating habits in potential mates I wish him luck. I doubt that he will ever find that perfect person. part of a mutual adult grown up relationship is accepting your partner for the person they are and growing together with them through the years. We all change over time. If I was to be the same person today i was when I was twenty would mean I had not grown. We need to grow together and understand that though we may change, we still care about and want to be together in love and friendship So go ahead and dump her cause she is not a cool food dudette. I'm sure he can find someone else to find fault with. Dear Lord, does anyone else find this discussion to be as shallow as I do?

I picked up a bottle on Saturday and I will try this one, Katie My wife also picked up a bottle of plum flavored vodka. I made this experiment: 1 and 1/2 oz of the plum vodka 3/4 oz of the St. Germain 1/2 oz fresh lime juice. It was tasty for sure but too sweet for me. This stuff has such an interesting taste. I do want to try it in a Manhattan, I thik it will play nicer with rye than borboun. Going to try it with the Wild Turkey rye

Last night I had a meatball sandwich for dinner. That was prior to reading this topic. It came from my local pizza shop here in glorious Millersville PA. Nino's by name. It is my favorite item from this shop. They make the meatballs and the cheese was provolone. They make there own rolls from a variation of the pizza dough. This was real good. I doubt phungi is headed for Millersville, but I love a good meatball sandwich. Meatball sandwiches don't get the press that steaks and pork sandwiches get but a good one ranks up there in the sandwich hierarchy.

If you can get the Laird's Bonded I urge you to do so. I made sidecars with it the other night and they were much better than ones I have made in the past with the blend. I have a little of the blend left and other than mixing it with cider I'm not sure I will use it again. In PA the Laidrs's bonded is a special order item, but it well worth it

My wife loves smoked turkey so I often do turkey when I do a pork butt. I also like to smoke hot sausage as the smliness goes great with the spice of the sausage. Yours looks great, Arne. Happy Thanksgiving from down South of the Border

Amy was the third winner and I know Guy was a winner. Who was the other winner? Was it two guys who entered as a team who had a very short lived show? Or was it somebody else?

Here in Lancaster if I go for a cheesesteak what I get is not what I get in Philadelphia The meat is chopped and cooked on the grill with chopped onions. The cheese will most likely be American, there ain't no Whiz. And the largest difference is that it will be sauced with a marinara like tomato sauce. My wife, Maggie, grew up in Thorndale in Chester County. She tells me that in the tri-city area of Downingtown, Thorndale and Coatesville, the steaks are cooked the same way they are here, but you had the choice of the sweet tomato sauce or a hot version of the sauce. When she moved to Lancaster she was surprised that the hot sauce was not available. There is a place here that is Lancaster's best sandwich store. Thomas Deli. Bill Thomas makes them like you get in Philadelphia. Many folks around here find it strange as they are not used to it. They are used to steaks as served at Capt. Gus Steak Shop. Gus is the Pat Oliveri of Lancaster cheesesteaks. And he makes a damn good steak. Just a different thing. Lancaster is 60 miles from Ninth and Passyunk, Thorndale only 30 or so. Were does this change take place? How are steaks made in Eastern Chester County? How about Delaware County? Some place there is a line between what I call Philadelphia steaks and Lancaster ones. Thomas Campus Deli Can't find a menu for Capt. Gus, but here is a link to some reviews. BTW, Gus is a real character in the best sense of that phrase. Capt. Gus

bait

Pork porn at it's finest, Viva

Back from our yearly trip and a few comments: Avoided Blue Point this year. No need to take a chance on getting a huge serving of tude. Red Sky. As always we went there Friday night. Very busy. I doubt that any fish dish can be better than the nightly special at Red Sky. The food remains top notch. I have been a big supporter of Wes and his concept of good food in a casual setting. Casual is fine, but the service clearly lags the food. I understand the issues of staffing in the Duck area. The service was friendly, just totally unskilled. The bar service left something to be desired as well. I wrote to Wes about these issues. I still love the food, but every year there are more alternatives. The food and the prices deserve better. Gabriella's. On the advice of the famous s'kat we gave it a try. I had by far the best pizza I have had on the Outer Banks. The room was surprisingly tasteful and the pasta my wife had was very nicely done as well. Nothing fancy or cutting edge here. Sort of an old style red sauce Italian place,but it is done and presented well. Kill Devil Grill. We traveled south to dine here with friends. And it was well worth the trip. It looks like a diner,but the food was great. Excellent seafood chowder full of seafood. Wednesday night featured half-price bottles of wine. I deviated from the seafood and had a full rack of ribs. Served with sauce on the side they were done wet with a vinegary mop. Cooked perfectly and tasty as well. For desert we had there famous Key Lime Pie. Perhaps the best version of this I have ever had. Velvety smooth. A very nice meal. My friends told us this place is very popular with the local residents. Lighthouse Bagels. Our rental owner participated in their program of offering a free dozen to renters. The best gift. We went through that and another dozen. Outer Banks Coffee. Got coffee that had been out of the roaster about 30 minutes and stopped often for lattes for my wife and daughter-in-law. As always, very good coffee with friendly service. John, he owner, has become a big deal in the area with some other places, so he is not around as much, but did talk to him one morning. He has lots of energy without the coffee. Corrola Village BBQ. Nice sandwich. Perhaps my favorite BBQ on Outer Banks. Sort of an unknown place to those in the Dare beaches area. Real good. They serve Coke in the old fashioned glass bottles. Grandy Greenhouse. Simply the best peaches we have ever had. Currituck peaches are great. Were we live, I am surrounded by peach orchards. I can pick them myself. No insult to my Lancaster Co. orchardmen, but the Currituck peaches blow their doors off. We stopped on the way home to get some to bring along. A new Mexican place called Donkey Hotay's, yes too cute, beckoned but we did not make it. Also missed Meridian 42 this year, with regret.

Now that I can get good cider I like a Minuteman. Nothing fancy, but real refreshing tome In a tall glass over some ice: 2oz Lairds Bonded 6oz good cider 3 dashes bitters, I like Angostoura, but try what you got. The Lairds blend would most likely work well here as well. Good fresh cider is the key

Just what I was going to ask you about, Bob. I live in Lancaster Co. and I'll be damned if I can find any for sale anywhere. My wife thinks that is ok as she does not want me drinking unpasteurized cider. However, I'm willing to risk it. Maybe I'll give our mutual friend Sam a call and see if he can hook me up

So over strolls the server and asks if we would like a drink. Of course I reply. A Manhattan up, I say. Well, the drink comes in a glass big enough to hold the contents of a small aquarium. However, that is another topic. Please, please, please allow me to finish my drink before food starts showing up. I guess I could solve this myself by not ordering anything until I am done, but than I have to wait. I would really like to finish my before dinner drink before dinner. I love bourbon, but not as a beverage with my food. This has happened to me in places I would hope would know better. But I guess we got to turn those tables. As an aside to this, many servers have not a clue to the rudiments of beverage service. This old bartender cringes at things I see. Put that cocktail glass on a tray and carry it over, don’t wrap your hand around it and bring it to me

Back in the day when I was a hunter we would haul them off to the woods and leave them around for the deer before the season opened. I would not hunt over bait, but we did like to encourage them our way. Never found much else to use them for.

I snapped up two more big assed bottles at the 19th & Fairmount store today - one for the restaurant and yet another for myself. I'll be drinking very good bourbon for quite some time into the future, but that's OK with me. I'm happy to pay less than premium prices for more than premium bourbon anytime. ← I got one of these this morning at the Lancaster store. A great price on a great product. We leave Sunday morning for a week at the beach. I am taking it with me and plan to pour it at will throughout the week. This really is a great deal. I am always in favor of good bourbon and even more in favor of it at a good price

Melissa, The only thing to do with that is to smoke it. Done on your WSM it will be perfect, but you are more than right, a roast it ain't. Smoked or not, that hunk of meat needs a a long slow cook.

While standing in line to check out my 73,000 roll pack of toilet paper and other packages of titanic size I checked out the menu board and was surprised to see offered a pastrami sandwich. This is a new item to me. I mentioned it to my wife and said maybe I should try one so I could report it here. She gave me the look so I knew it would have to wait. Has anyone tried this item at their local branch? BTW, we did take home a rotisserie chicken which was very tasty

I have never understood bread as an amuse or something to eat while waiting for the real food. I LOVE bread. If it is well made, that is. And I enjoy it along with my meal not just something to eat before the meal. many places want to clear the bread when the food arrives and I always ask it to remain.

I am happy to report that my first attempt since surgery was a success. No pictures this time as i was too relaxed to think about the camera. I am sorry to report to Susan that I did not order in the skin on butt. I smoked up 9 lbs of nice pork and it came out perfectly. I also did a turkey breast and some hot sauages as well. Nothing exciting to report other than I was thrilled to be able to even do this after a long slow recovery. The pork made me feel better and I was even happier to see my family enjoy it. Thanks to all my smoking friends for their kind wishes during my recovery.

Wonderful to see you blogging, Tracy. And like Susan I also love that pork. I smoke pork butt on Sunday for the first time in way to long. Looking forward to this blog, and maybe you can mention your trip to Lancaster for the big trip to Shady Maple