jsmeeker

I really need to try out some of the various flavored Triscuits out there. I think I would really like the rye ones. Though I think I will avoid the reduced fat varieties.

This is the only real alternative. A local (Dallas) movie critic does just that. He's on TV, it's not a "written" reivew, but he doesn't use stars or movie reels or points or anything like this. Just commentary on the film. Of course, a system like this has real challenges in the modern "Google" world. People will want to search for restaurants with some minimum "score". A review without that makes that impossible.

I don't have the book, but maybe he means "VitaMix" as a generic term for "blender". I mean, that's what it is. It's a really souped up blender. I'm sure a good blender that isn't a VitaMix will be fine. The results may not be quite as super smooth as a VitaMix, but I would certainly use my regular blender and then maybe strain if needed.

Yup. Cooking School Stories was the show I was referring to on FoodTV Cooking Under Fire was a reality TV competition show that was on PBS. Had Michael Ruhlman, Ming Tsai, and Todd English as judges

I'm another person that has cleanup issues. It can be pretty bad, with drity pots and pans and knives and what not piling up. Yes, I have a diswasher, but there are still plenty of things that don't go in it. And even with the diswasher, I can "forget" to run it, thinking "I can cram in one more thing tomorrow morning ot later today". And then "forget" to empty it prompty. When I DO wash stuff by hand, I can "forget" to remove it from the drying rack and put it away. Seriously, I probably fetch half the things I need to cook and bake from the drying rack or the dishwasher.

FoodTV (in the USA) did this too. I recall it running two seasons. One season was done at Johnson and Wales. The other was done at some place in the Los Angeles area (some school in Santa Monica, I believe). I thought it was pretty good. But the "fornula" these days seems to be about COMPETITION. I.e., you have to have a show where people get kicked out.

I saw that over at EatingLV Blog. I was sorry to hear that news. I had a good meal there back in 2007.

I've been to Bouchon to dinner once, and breakfast/brunch 5 or 6 times. I enjoyed my dinner there, but also think Bouchon is a really great spot for breakfast on the Strip. It's FAR removed from the noise and action of the casino. Where are you staying? All of my trips to Bouchon were when I was staying across the street at The Mirage or TI. It's convenient. If I were staying further away, I probably wouldn't go as often.

what's in the fried chicken kit?

At Wynncore, it would be tough to go wrong with Alex. It's high end and seems to always generate much praise. I've had good meals at Wing Lei and Daniel Boulud. Also, a good meal at Stratta. If you want steak, there are no shortages of places there. Switch and Botero at Encore and SW and the Country Club over on the Wynn side. I'll be in Las Vegas in December. Some friends of mine that are going with me are going to see Garth Brooks, so we'll all have dinner over there that night. Probably Sinatra or Botero. I'll certainly report back.

If I want chilaquiles for breakfast, I need sauce. So, I'll make up some enchilada sauce so I can make enchiladas. And to make the enchiladas, I need some chicken. So, I roast a chicken. dinner one day.. Dinner another.. then breakfast. Works out.

I made some french toast this morning, too. Also used challah. topped with butter and maple syrup. I have some buttermilk to use up, so I'll make pancakes tomorrow.

When I made my Lockhart and Luling BBQ run a few weeks ago, my friends and I went to Lola Nubian Queen for dinner, based on the recommendation of Kent Wang. This place was really great. It's VERY small. And seating is indeed communal. My friends and I were squeezed into another table with another party of 3. Very cozy, for sure. For food, I ordered the friend chicken wings. Really excellent. I managed to eat half my order after all the BBQ I had earlier in the day. But I took the rest on them back to the hotel and had them for breakfast! Lola was as nice as can be. Making really everything to order, all by herself. One of the most unique dining experiences I have had. If you are in Austin, go there.

I need to write down these suggestions and take them to the liquor store next time I go. Previously, I had looked at some of the cheaper ones, but had trouble finding ones labled 100& agave. So, I always stuck with Herrudura Silver in the squat, square bottle. Makes a fine margartia, but 'tis a bit pricey. Infact, I stopped buyin tequila and focused more on drinks I could make with less expensive spirits.

Mixed up some ground beef, pork, veal, bread, butter milk, parsley, garlic, etc. etc. earlier tonight. Just shaped them into balls. I have 24 of them ready to cook. In the past, I have done them in a skillet on the stove. But this time, I am going to give baking them a whirl. Thinking about 400 degrees until I see them brown. If they don't get good color, I'll crank up the heat. I intend to keep some in the fridge for a day or two to make dinner tomorrow and monday or tuesday. The rest will get frozen. Intent it to be able to make a fairly quick meal on a weekday. Either spaghetti and meatball or maybe a meatball sandwich. I'll let you know how it goes.

I've just returned from Lockhart and Luling where I sampled top tier Central Texas BBQ. Kruez Market, Smitty's, Blacks, and City Market, so I wanted to talk about do it yourself BBQ. This topic has talked a lot about equipment. Most of it has been around automated electic smoker. I've seen the true in-direct, 100% wood burning brick pits up close and in person. They are certainly a site to behold. But to do that for my own personal use? No way. Just won't ever happen. I still think something far more modern would be best for me. Anyway, what about method and technique? What are people using for rubs for brisket and ribs? And maybe most imporantly, what kind of wood (actual hard wood logs, chunks, chips, or "pucks"). Down in Central Texas, I think oak was the main thing. (correct me if I am wrong). Are you using different woods for different meats? That would be hard to do with a single smoker.

You are probably thinking about Gerik's Ole Czech Smokehouse and Bakery. I stopped there last Saturday on my way down to Lockhart and Luling for some BBQ. Here is a pic of the cherry kolache I bought I thought this was better than the cherry kolache I got at Czech Stop on the way back home on Sunday. Most notably, the filling was better.

If you are staying on the strip and looking for a place on the strip, I would say not to bother with driving. I can't really suggest any off-strip Italian places since I don't have any experiences with any. But if you want Asian, I can make some suggestions.

How long does the fresh masa last? What do you with the leftover protion that doesn't get made into tortillas or whatever or into tamale dough right away?

Wow. It's more or less a thinned out ganache! I'll have to give this method a try, along with the Pierre Herme method mentioned above.

To make at home? I make pancakes more often than waffles or French Toast. I would guess waffles would be second most made (though it's not super common) I too like a yeast raised batter. Make it at night. Go to bed. Wake up, batter is ready to go. French Toast gets made the least. I don't tend to have much bread on hand, and when I do, it's probably not a type that lends itself well to French toast.

The brisket we got from Kruez was mostly fatty. My friend was watching them slice it and thought maybe it was TOO fatty, so asked for some leaner stuff. The close up picture I took was one of the slices of leaner brisket. I really enjoyed all of it. Remember, my previous experience with BBQ is from places that are FAR from the top tier places. So, even if not all the brisket was "ON" that weekend, it was all better than what I had ever had before. Also, I will say there is more toe Central Texas BBQ than *just* brisket. Sure, it's the king of meats in Texas, but great sausage and great pork ribs certainly satisfy. And that prime rib from Kreuz? Devine. That was actually the very first thing I put in my mouth. Lots of good eating that weekend. The kolache from Gerik's. All the BBQ. My fried chicken wings from Nubian Queen Lola. Really good stuff. Next time I do this, I want to go through Taylor.

A friend and I have been talking about it for a long time. I've read the posts about it here. Even posted about making a trip. But I never pulled the trigger. Until this past weekend. I finally made my first pilgrimage to the BBQ meccas of central Texas. Four different places in two cities in two days. Not an extreme amount of eating, but enough to give me a good representation of what is out there The journey started out early Saturday morning. But before we were to hit the first BBQ joint, we knew we needed some sort of breakfast. West, TX is directly in the path between Dallas and the BBQ country, so we knew we wanted some kolaches. No, we didn't stop at Czech Stop. Rather, we headed a block or two down a side street to Gerik's Ole Czech Smokehouse and Bakery. I got a cherry kolache. I'm not super familiar with this pastry, but it was very good. There was a little bit of salt sprinkled on top, in addition to the sugary topping. The contrast was nice Kruez Market After the quick stop in West, it was off to Lockhart for our first stop, the massively huge Kreuz Market Before you get to the food, there are a few "rules" to get out of the way As mentioned above, this was my first experience with a BBQ joint like this. I'm used to the places that are setup cafeteria style. Get a tray. Tell the meat guy if you want a sandwich, a platter, etc. They give you some meat on the plate. You slide down the line, put on some side, grab a drink, pay, and carry your own personal meal to a table. It's not like that at these places. I knew about how the system worked, but now I got to see experience it myself. Line up to go into the room where they cook the meat. At Kreuz, this room is enormous. Ceiling. Brightly lit. Many large pits. The live wood fire is right there, burning away in a trench underneath the pit. No rails. No barrier. It's right there. We first arrived at Kreuez a bit after 11:00 AM. We placed our order and were told "Brisket isn't ready yet. It will be another hour". We weren't expecting that, but thankfully, they have plenty of other things on the menu. We ordered up some pork ribs, regular sausage, jalapeno sausage and prime rib at that point. Later in the day, after visiting another place, we came back to get some brisket. It gets sliced up right there. Everything gets piled on top of sheets of butcher paper. They give you some slices of white bread and saltine crackers. It's all sold by the pound (or in the case of the sausage, by the "ring"). Pay for the meat here. Walk through a door into another room with tables. This is where you get drinks, and if you must, sides. The first thing I had a taste of was the prime rib. When it was sliced off, the guy doing the cutting told us it was going to be rare. He then proceeded to slide some off from the end. Not sure how the end was going to be "rare", but whatever. You can see a chunk of it in one of the pictures above. Some might not be sure if using a expensive cut of meat and then applying a cooking method generally reserved for "lesser" cuts would be good idea. They are right. It's not a good idea. It's a freaking FANTASTIC idea! This meat was out of this world good. Just packed with flavor. The smoke complimented the beef really well here. I thought the sausage was OK. Not quite what I was expecting. Ribs were pretty good. Lots of smoke flavor there. On the return visit later in the day to get brisket, the place was much less crowded. It was mid afternoon. No line. We walked right up to the pit room and ordered what you see above. Below is a close up shot of a slice of the brisket. I thought this was pretty good. This piece isn't really fatty, but my friends that took me on this run thought most of our cut was TOO fatty. You can look back at the picture of it on the scale and the paper to see if that was the case. Anyway, it was still very good. City Market After the first stop at Kreuz, we headed further south on 183 to Luling to City Market Walked in and there was a good amount of people lined up for the pit room. Lots of people sitting and eating, too. Seems as if we hit the place at a peak time. Finally got up to the closed pit room door. Waited until there was room to fit in there. Open door. Close door. This place is small. Walls just totally covered in smoke patina. Just awesome. Ordered up brisket, pork ribs, and sausage The star hear was the sausage. Really, really good. Better than Kruez. Ribs good. Brisket good. Washed it all down with a Shiner Bock. This place is much more of a locals joint than Kruez. You could really tell. Black. Brown. White. Locals mostly, but a few "outsiders" Good mix of people here. This place DID have sauce. Mustardy. Worked well with the pork ribs. This was the second of the two places we visited on Saturday. After this, we headed back to Austin, with a stop back at Kreuez to get a taste of brisket. Black's After a some rest a hotel near the Austin airport, a good dinner, some Sixth Street experience, and a good night's sleep, it was a rainy Sunday. We hopped into the car a bit after 11:30 AM and drove back to Lockhart. Unfortunately, my camera battery was almost dead. I didn't pack the charger. So, there will be but a single photo from Sunday. First stop was Black's. This is the place that has a bunch of signs on 183 close to town, then some more in town. It wasn't very crowded. Short line. Their setup is a bit different from the other places we had been to. Sorta cafeteria style like the places I am used to in Dallas. Sides are self serve and you get them along with the meats. And you don't have to order by the pound, either. They have plates. But we did it by the pound. Brisket, pork ribs, and three kinds of sausage. Brisket and ribs very tender. But not mushy or anything like that. My friends said "No flavor" , but I thought there was some. It wasn't as smoky as what I had Saturday, but I still thought it was pretty good. Sausage was good. But not quite to the level of City Market. Overall, I thought it was pretty good. For people who are used to a more conventional BBQ restaurant, they would like this place. Smitty's It was raining. The back lot was muddy. We contemplated parking on the street out front. But my friends insisted I experience it the right way. So, we parked in the back gravel lot and made dash to the building and walked in. Umm Hello. FIRE right there, just steps away from where you enter!! Pits and slicing table and order counter a lot like Kruez. There was no line. We placed our order. Brisket, sausage, ribs, and prime rib. But they were out of prime rib! Darn.. I was looking forward to trying it. Through the doors into the large dining room with the big communal tables. Found a seat and sat down. Someone went to fetch my drink. A bottle of RC. Pretty tasty ribs. Brisket was good. Sausage was really greasy. IMHO, too greasy. Still, a good experience. I just wish I had juice in the camera to take at least ONE picture. Overall Wow.. This was a true revelation. Really, the 'que I had was on another plane of existence from what I had known before. When I walk into a Spring Creek or Dickey's or Sonny Bryan's in Dallas, I don't see fire. I don't see smoke. I don't smell smoke. None of that stuff comes close to what I had this past weekend. Each place had something to like about it. For Kreuez, the prime rib was killer. City Market had great sausage. Black's had tasty tender meat and just a warm, friendly feel to the place. Smitty's was good too and had an older feel to it all. I can't wait to get back down there. Next time, I will work Taylor, TX into the mix.

Coca-Cola NOT made with HFCS. Available as the STANDARD (and only, really) Coca-Cola. No importing from Mexico. No waiting for Passover.

I was in Cleveland last Friday night and after a nice dinner at Lola, my friends and I headed over to the VTR for a drink. This is the third time I've been there. It's always great. This time, just one cocktail. I had a Bourbon Daisy. very tasty. I am a bit curious about what method they use to make their house made grenadine. Does anyone know?