Varmint

That kid is me, from about 38 or 39 years ago. No, I don't want anything obscene, either, as I plan on wearing it around the L'il Varmints. Once folks come up with the design (remember, I'm trying to stay out of it as much as possible), we'll put it on CafePress.

Jaymes, not to make you envious, but the House o' Varmint has a metal roof, and our bedroom has no attic. We've been getting tons of rain, which makes it very, very difficult to get up in the morning. Jim, I'd love to join you, but I'll be in Franklin, over an hour west and south of Asheville. Come join us, please!

Pork shoulders are for sissies. As far as using charcoal is concerned, a purist would never use anything but hardwood. However, after the first 8 hours, the meat ain't going to take on much more smoke. Mr. Schlesinger is certainly welcome at the pig pickin'. He can pull the 2 AM to 4 AM shift. I also wonder whether he usually drinks PBR or if he brought it out for the Times reporter. My crew will get whatever damn beer they want (and that I can find!).

Turkey doesn't have much inherent flavor, so you can take advantage of that and add whatever pleases your palate. It also doesn't have much fat, so I'm often adding olive oil or some soft cheese -- usually ricotta. I've been making more chicken burgers than turkey burgers of late, grinding 2/3 thighs and 1/3 breast in my food processor. Chicken seems fresher to me and it has more flavor.

Thanks again for your tasting notes, Jim. If you're now in the mountains of North Carolina, I wish I were with you during this rain. It is indeed mighty peaceful. I'll be there in two weeks, and I'm counting down the days!

Not true, if caffeine naturally exists in one of the ingredients, such as coffee, tea, or chocolate.

You did say you wanted that in a cup and not a cone, right?

From Washington State??? That'd put you in the lead for greatest distance travelled!!! I want special mention for coming from another country Marlene, you're the reason that this is an international event!!!!

But how would such a school make this determination? And when would this happen? Wouldn't the applicants lie? At what point does it become painfully obvious that the student/applicant has no desire whatsoever to pursue a career in that trade? I knew after 2 years of graduate school that I didn't want to spend my live developing a humpback over a lab bench, but they let me stay in the program anyhow, and finally let me get my Ph.D. And they were even paying me to attend and get credits. I'm glad they didn't kick me out. I just wonder how this determination of students' ultimate goals would be made.

One hard boiled egg. One small handful of Froot Loops with Marshmallows. Finally, a nasty pre-sweetened cereal where the cereal gets eaten as quickly as the marshmallows. Mrs. Varmint bought it by the way. They were out of muesli, I guess.

From "Big Night" A guy works all day, he don't want to look at his plate and ask, "What the fuck is this?" He wants to look at his plate, see a steak, and say "I like steak!" To eat good food is to be close to God. Give people time, they will learn. ------This is a restaurant! This is not a fucking school!

Why? How? Are "hobbyists" somehow inferior to aspiring chefs? They're not inferior. They're just in the wrong place. Who are you to determine that? He's just offering his opinion -- it's the cooking schools who are failing to make this decision. It's about collecting tuition money. And therein lies the problem that has been addressed time and time again on this thread.

C'mon, everything I do today I learned in law school!

Ah, but it's pronounced, SHEEK-alicious. Maybe that'll help. Or not.

OK, I think Mrs. Varmint might like this option for lunch when we visit in the fall.

And the 10 most annoying lawyers I have dealt with are ones who were professionals in a different field and turned to law because they were disgruntled (myself excluded, of course, because I went straight to law school after getting my Ph.D.!).

From Washington State??? That'd put you in the lead for greatest distance travelled!!!

Where's Chateaurenard? Once you visit the place, you find out how big Provence really is. I feel like we barely scraped the surface -- could have been all that surprisingly tasty pink wine we were drinking... It's about 8-10 km south/southeast of Avignon. Pretty little town. Yes, Provence is big, but there's so much packed into it, too!!!

We have great friends in Chateaurenard. We've only been there once, but it was just incredible.

I've done something terrible: I removed the drawings of Gully getting jiggy with the piggy. Sorry, folks, but I'm just a prude, I guess. So, let's get this shirt designed! We don't have a slogan or name yet. Things that could be on it: 1. eGullet b. Pig iii. October 11, 2003 IV. Raleigh, NC Five. Varmint (very optional) F. Good graphics At this point, I'm inclined to do this on Cafepress.com, as we don't have to worry about eating any leftovers. We'll set the profits for this at -ZERO-, so we're not making anything on it. Let's get this resolved, as I now am wanting a couple in advance for publicity!

Busboy- Where in Provence were you? I love the markets in St. Remy and Cavaillon! I am very envious, indeed!

Time for a new attendee update: Hjshorter + 3 (DC area) ZebA + 1-1/2 (Raleigh) Marlene +1 (Toronto) Vengroff +1 (DC) Jaymes (Texas but Missouri by then) =Mark (NJ) =Mark's "bro" Rich maggiethecat (Chi-town) Holly Moore (Philly) KatieLoeb (Philly) Malawry +1 (DC area) edemuth (DC area) Dave the Cook (Hotlanta) Kpurvis (Charlotte) Dlc (Tennessee) Mummer (Philly) claire797 +2 (??) herbacidal (??) (Philly) Blondie +1 (NY) Ditsydine (Raleigh) NewYorkTexan (??) (Austin, TX) Jason & Rachel Perlow (Jersey – in their RV) Timothycdavis (Charlotte) Weka +2 (Cary) Hungry Chris +1 (Connecticut) Jmcgrath (Massachussets) Hscottk is very interested (NJ) Sam Iam is trying to cajole family members to come (Michigan) Ladybug +4 (a strong maybe) cat lancaster (Chicago) foodie52 +1 (Texas) tommy +1 (NJ/NYC) Lady T ???? (Chicago?) quajolote (Chicago) NeroW (Chicago) Awbrig +3 (Chicago) Aurora ? (Chicago) Fresser (Chicago) helenas +1 (NJ) -- Yeah, Helena!!!! joler +1 (Greensboro, North Cackalacky) zilla369??? -- (Louisville -- Jaymes has offered you a ride!) beans +1 -- (Cleveland, OH -- Cleveland rocks, and so does beans!) Strong work from the Heartland crowd. I'm very, very impressed. bigbear isn't sure he can make it, but he's trying to find some George T. Stagg bourbon just in case. Nickn from Maine is probably going to come, as the peer pressure is hell. Plus, Katherine needs a ride. And he wants to make sure that Maine is well-represented. Finally, he'll regret it for the rest of his life and burn in hell if he doesn't come. Xanthippe. Can someone fly her over on their personal jet? She really, really wants to come. Bourdain's too busy in Spain to pay attention to us. If everyone shows who said they're coming (or hoping to), that gives us 74 (including the Varmint family). I expect the numbers to grow for awhile before flaming out at the end. Please book your flights and rooms today! Operators are standing by. I am probably going to cap the total number of people at 110 or so, and that includes my local friends and family members. Thus, if you want to come, please add your name to the list!!!

Beans- That's great that we'll have a representative from Ohio (although I should claim you're coming from Alaska). You needn't bring anything other than yourselves, but I will assign you with a task: You must come up with a new drink creation for the Pig Pickin'. Call it a Varmint, a Stuck Pig, or whatever you want. Regardless, it needs to be something that we can make and serve down here! I'm working on some tea-infused rums to see if I can develop some sort of "sweet tea shooter." Results are somewhat favorable so far. Looks as if I need to start updating the attendee list soon!

Just got off the phone with a local farmer who raises pigs for Niman Ranch. I'm getting a full flavored pig, y'all, not one of those "new pork" tasteless carcasses!

You could borrow one of mine (children, not boats).