Mallet

Neither Grizzly nor Northern Tool seem ship to Canada *groan*. Are there any other similarly priced piston-type stuffers out there?

I couldn't find one in Kingston, but I am hoping the moscophilero will come pretty close.

I think Thomas Keller's Bouchon could fit the bill. The food is based on classic bistro dishes, but the technique is refined enough to introduce some challenges. Each recipe I've tried so far has been fabulous, and the instructions are very clear (sometimes a bit too clear ). I highly recommend it.

Ok, so here's what I'm thinking: how does this look? olivade and baguette Attoria La Rivolta Falanghina 2004 ($14.45) cherry and homemade tuscan salami skewers Montalto 2003 Nero D'Avolo and Cabernet blend ($8.95) fennel stuffed rabbit wrapped in pancetta Fontanafredda 2000 Barolo ($29.90) chianti-braised lamb shanks Ricasoli Brolio 2004 Chianti Classico ($23.90) cheese course (gorgonzola, reggiano, pecorino toscano) Masi 2001 Costasera Amarone ($35.05) sorbet trio Amalia Brut Sparkling Wine ($24.95)

LOS, I did some more research and both MONTESOLAE FIANO DI AVELLINO 2005 (16.95) ATTORIA LA RIVOLTA FALANGHINA 2004 ($14.45) are available at my local LCBO, so they are definitely an option

Yes!! ← unfortunately, I was unable to find this wine.

Thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate the help! I've bought three wines so far, based on the advice here and elsewhere. Prices in canadian dollars Montalto 2003 Nero D'Avolo and Cabernet blend (Sicily) $8.95 I was thinking as serving this with the tuscan salami and cherries skewers. I've had this wine before and really enjoyed it, and I could readily discern cherry/blackcurrant notes. It also had a really nice and long finish. Ricasoli Brolio 2004 Chianti Classico (Tuscany) $23.90 This will likely be served with the lamb shanks (the recipe itself calls for some chianti) Amalia Brut Sparkling Wine (Greece) $24.95 This wine, made from moscophilero grapes, is described as being floral and muscat-like. Although most people on this thread suggested not serving wine with the sorbets, I thought this might be light and refreshing enough to make a good match. I think a white wine would be nice to start off, is there anything that would go with the olivade? LOS, I was hoping to keep the average price per bottle to about $20-25 per bottle. Having the Montalto there means I can splurge on a more expensive wine (bordeaux, amarone, barolo, barbera ?), probably for the rabbit. Reading my fennel/bacon/rabbit recipe more closely, I see that it calls for 3/4 cup white wine in the pot-roasting liquid. Will this cause problems with pairing with a red wine? If not, it would be convenient if the same white as the first course could be used here as well.

The French version is still in stock, however (and comes with the comic book).

Breads usually freeze well after they've been fully baked (which should simplify things for you). Just pop them back in the oven at roughly baking temperature until warm throughout to defrost!

mmm risotto and chanterelles

Yet, the supermarket beef is probably much fattier. Interesting. ← I've found that the grass-fed beef we buy is usually far more flavourful than the supermarket variety, but that the texture is somewhat inferior because it tends to be leaner. I suspect this is not necessarily a problem of grass-fed beef in general because the person we buy from slaughters her cattle ar ~18 months instead of ~24 (I'm told this is where a cow will really put on some fat).

Hi everyone, I'm trying to organize a wine-tasting/dinner party and need some help. The crowd is basically people that enjoy wine, but don't really know much about it (myself included). I'd like to put together a menu with pairings that will allow us to sample a variety of different wines and have the food accentuate specific notes in the wine (which we might otherwise miss). Here's some ideas I've had so far: -olivade and baguette -cherry and homemade tuscan salami skewers (sicilian cab?) -fennel stuffed rabbit wrapped in pancetta -some sort of braised dish (lamb shanks or shortribs) -cheese course (I was thinking 2-3 blue cheeses that would interact with 1 wine in various ways) -trio of sorbets (some sort of tropical flavours) (NZ sauvignon blanc?) Am I being to literal (I basically just looked at some tasting notes and chose dishes that contained those flavours )? General wine suggestions (keeping in mind that I'm limited to the Kingston LCBO)? Thanks, and I apologize for the generality of this post, it's still a bit fuzzy in my brain.

A really interesting article, to be sure. I think it's important to critically examine the relative benefits/costs of things like organic agriculture, especially if our underlying motivation is to improve the environment. I disagree with certain points that have been made so far, however. Norman Borlaug, the Nobel Prize winner and father of the "green revolution," has been making this point for years. As he explains over and over again in interviews, industrial farming methods have allowed crop yields to triple in the past 50 years without a significant increase in the amount of land under cultivation (about 10%); whereas, if we went back to pre-green-revolution (or organic) farming methods we've need to farm three times as much land to get the same amount of food. ← As far as I can tell, the relative yield of organic vs. conventional farming is nowhere near 3x less, but more on the order of ~20% (estimates vary widely and depends on crop etc. In years of drought, yield from organically grown crops can be substantially higher than conventially grown). Compounded to this is the fact that in the US, farmland has decreased by about 10%. If that farmland were to be reclaimed the difference between the two would be much lower. Add to that the notion that an acre of organically cultivated farmland has a much lower environmental impact than an acre of conventionally cultivated one and the difference shrinks even further. I think we need to remember that organic doesn't necessary mean 'traditional' and there is as much room for change and innovative research in this sector than anywhere else (I'm sure a farmer like Joel Salatin would agree here). Not knowing much about the accounting methods used here, I think an important distinction here between the type of energy being used can still be drawn. Artificial fertilizers are external inputs (external to the entire biosphere, since they are derived from sources which would otherwise be sequestered), whereas those used in organic agriculture are not (often, coming from the farm itself). Applying massive amounts of external fertilizers is doubly wasteful, not only in terms of the energy it takes to mine, produce, and transport but because by using them you often preclude the use of manure from livestock, which gets wasted and turns into a pollutant. Organic crops may take 'more' energy to produce per tonne, but much of this energy gets recycled back into the system, and much of it comes from a free source (the sun, via photosynthesis). In fact it is a testament to the productivity of some organic farms that, despite the increased energy costs, yields are able to match conventional agriculture so closely. I think the best point the article makes pertains to the transportation costs. First, to make it clear: So the article makes no claim against local, seasonal products, which is the cornerstone of the 'buy local' agenda. I do think that there is a lot of progress to be made here, however. Surely it is only by continuing to support the local food supply (when in season etc..) that it has any chance of developing it's own infrastructure and arriving at an even better solution?

My choice (by unanimous decision) was a desert I had at Luke's, a local restaurant. I like going there because the food is always creative and the chef tries really hard (sometimes too hard...). For desert we were served a smoked banana ice-cream topped with unweetened parsnip purée with a chocolate sauce that was spiked with a ridiculous amount of smoked paprika and topped with another smoked paprika cholocate tuile (which was really just a mushy wafer). I can't describe what an unholy mix of flavours this was, and was unquestionably the most vile thing I put in my mouth this year.

As far as I know, cloning is still a very imprecise technique, with the majority of clones dying prematurely: the surviving offspring (as you mention) often suffer many disorders related to dysfunctional gene expression. While the DNA sequence may be identical, many other important factors (e.g: epigenetic markers) are not, which causes me concern. If cloning is only to be use to propagate broodstock, then I don't see the point in allowing cloned animals to enter the foodchain.

I scored 44 (Oddly enough, I lost a point for not "grabing the waiter by his neck,shoving him in a tiny crate, which you load into the hold of a plane bound for Auckland, while shouting:'How would you like it, you animal abusing spawn of the devil?" ).

Dave, do you have a picture of the belly as well? (where's the drooling emoticon when you need it?)

The dies on the Kitchenaid grinder seem pretty straightforward to duplicate, it should be possible to have a machine shop make some of a variety of desired sizes...

I just chuck them directly on the oven floor

I find this to be a particularly interesting statement. Catching wild animals certainly has a role to play in our food system, and the way certain stocks are managed it may as well be called agriculture. I think the organic label should also carry a meaning that relates to the environmental impact of its practices. A sustainably managed fishery, paying attention not only to population numbers but to habitat preservation and minimizing bycatch, surely deserves the organic label.

I used a cast iron frying pan for a 12 lb turkey with no problems whatsoever.

I am curious to see if the link is caused by red meat per se or the hormones fed to cattle. Are "industrially" (for lack of a better word) produced broiler chickens etc.. given the same compounds? If so, one would presumably stand a good chance of finding a similar correlation with something like chicken. I agree that it does seem like a lot of red meat.

I am also frequently guilty of this (by the time the soup/stew/whatever cools down I've forgotten about it and gone to sleep). Recently, I've been telling myself that it's actually a critical "ripening" stage .

This was my feeling as well. I'd love to be able to just dial-in a temperature and stop worrying over every micro-adjustment of the range knob. Again, great job Pielle! Once I stop renting and actually own my own stove, this feature will be a must! I wonder if there would be a way to use a similar design to use for non-liquid applications (like sautéing etc..), perhaps by wiring in a non-contact thermometer instead of a probe-type?

Other than sour cream, you could also try plain yoghurt for something different