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gknl

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Posts posted by gknl

  1. The fact that Andalu keeps popping up on "best of" lists drives me nuts.  The place is filled with giggly 20 year olds for a reason.

    Yeah, they're depressingly cute, aren't they?

  2. What a great story, NeroW! If you have the photo scanned, you can set up an imagestation account and store it there, all for free. I want a bite of that sandwich too. I'm glad you hit your milestone here! :smile:

    And here's an article from today's SF Chronicle about picnic food. Enjoy!

    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...05/FD194160.DTL

    Picnic in the field

    Early spring strawberries, tender asparagus and more inspire a posh alfresco meal

    Georgeanne Brennan, Special to The Chronicle Ê Wednesday, March 5, 2003

    The grass was green, the little lake was ice-cold, the first wildflowers were blooming, and sizzling on an improvised mesh grill balanced on rocks above hot coals were fresh spring lamb chops from the ranch.

    The weather, with a bit of morning chill, promised to be fair and mild by midday. The coals were the remains of the big oak fire we had built earlier in the morning to warm our hands and boil our coffee before we set out on a meandering hike up the canyons.

    It's the time in Northern California when spring is just begging to be let in the door. No matter that it's still officially winter - with the grass at its brightest green and a mellowing bite in the air, I'm heading outside to recreate outings of years past, when we picnicked on the grounds of a friend's sheep ranch in Solano County.

  3. The only time I've ever enjoyed lamb was backpacking in Big Sur. A boned and cubed leg of lamb marinated for a couple of days in yogurt mixed with tandoori spices. I would have thought that would be unsafe, but the people I was tagging along (affectionately known as the girl who ruined my life, not that I'm bitter or anything :rolleyes:) with didn't seem to worry (they didn't have a Pathologist father though!). It was amazing, the only good thing I remember about the trip. She really can cook, that's for sure.

    Paddling on that lake sounds wonderful! I wish it were closer to me. Moose and bears are on the list of wildlife I want to see too.

    There should be a PBS show "The Trail Gourmet" about eating well in nature.

    But if you were going on a day trip, what would your ideal meal be? Two possibilities, one eating out in the field during the hike, and the second eating at the car at the end of the hike. Or heck, why not do both?

  4. While nosing around, I found this site which was useful propaganda :laugh:

    http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/index.shtml

    Thanks for all the comments, Col.! I appreciate the caveats. I do have space for the chargriller and wood and both immediate neighbors use their fireplaces so they shouldn't complain too much about smoke. Not sure about a wood supply, but it shouldn't be too difficult (SF Bay Area). I do have a bunch of oak lying around too. Anything special I should be concerned about?

    Are you saying the Chargriller won't work with charcoal though? Or just that you're not using it to its full advantage by using charcoal instead of wood? And the bullet won't work with all wood? I hadn't even thought about that until you mentioned it.

    The two rigs are virtually the same price, so that's not a factor. The Bullet seems easier and requires less maintenance, but the Chargriller is more versatile, holds more, and is better if you know what you're doing (not that I'll necessarily ever get to that level). Sheesh, this is a pain. Or am I just making it more difficult than it needs to be? :wacko:

  5. My father bought a bottle at Safeway because he thought it was interesting and funny. It's really good. I had a swig and was transported back to Germany like no other domestic beer has ever done. They describe it as a light brown ale; it tasted a lot like I remember alt bier tasting (my favorite when I was there which is brewed like an ale if I remember correctly).

    The back label says, among other things, "a microbrew to complement the Jewish American experience." It's kosher certified and Rabbi approved too. Brewed in Boonville, Anderson Valley, Northern California.

    http://www.shmaltz.com

    Ediot: No C in Shmaltz!

  6. Lifting the top off is pretty easy.  Although I would have thought the same about sticking some more wood in the fire box.  The big difference to me (having only used the bullet), is size.  The bullet doesn't take up much space, but then again, it doesn't fit as much food.  The fire box will also take larger wood chunks -- this may require more attention to keep the wood burning?  I'm guessing.  If I smoke again in the near future, I'll let you know.  You can bring the budweiser.

    You got it, thanks!

    Bud though? :unsure:

  7. I've smoked with both the bullet and of course my smokin' pro and I love the ease of use of the bullet but I prefer the taste of the smokin' pro. When you use real wood there's a noticable improvement, something you just can't get with coals and chips. This does come at a HUGE increase in work and attention though.

    The bullet's easier to use than the smokin' pro? I would have thought having the firebox on the side would be easier than having to lift 2/3 of the unit off the base. . . . . Maybe I'll just flip a coin. :blink:

  8. I went back and looked at your first thread to see what the bullet looks like, but all the photos are temporarily unavailable. :angry::wink:

    I take it the Bullet's a smoker only, right? And may I ask where you purchased it and for how much?

    The ease of the Chargriller's side box is a huge attraction to me as is the versatility. But if the Bullet is cheaper and I still have the two regular Webers. . . .

    Decisions, decisions. . . . . :wacko:

  9. What do you like to eat when you're hiking or picnicking? What things do you make that travel well? Obviously, stuff you'll eat on the trail is different from stuff you'll have waiting for you in the car when you're done walking around.

    When I was in college, I took a class that involved a Friday 8 am-noon forced march :wink: where we had to take field notes on everything we saw. My group figured out the more food we brought, the longer our breaks would be, so we always had coffee, donuts, bagels, some kind of juice, and later in the year fresh fruit like strawberries. We even brought champagne and orange juice once. The TAs loved us. :laugh:

    Is anyone up for doing an egullet nature hike excursion pot luck picnic? Combining food and the outdoors seems like a natural (no pun intended) fit here in the Bay Area.

  10. The spate of recent smoking meat threads made me remember this one. I haven't bought a new grill/smoker yet, but am going to soon. I'm still leaning towards the Chargriller Smokin' Pro with side fire box ( http://www.chargriller.com/smokinpro.html ) mentioned above.

    How does it compare the Weber Bullet and the Brinkman mentioned in some of the other threads?

    Also, I noticed on the order form there were a lot of accessories and replacement parts. Which are worth getting? I'd rather just buy everything at once and be done with it. The cover I'm getting for sure.

    Accessories

    Large Grill Cover (#4848) for Char-Griller w/ Side Fire Box ____ $24.00

    Deluxe Rotisserie Kit (#5022) ____ $35.00 _________

    Side Fire Box (#2424) ____ $59.00 _________

    Side Shelf (#3333) ____ $19.00 _________

    Warming Rack (#1010) ____ $19.00 _________

    Charcoal Rail (#2020) ____ $9.00 pr. _________

    Replacement Parts

    Cast Iron Cooking Grates w/ Lifter (#9090) ____

    $29.00 _________

    Side Fire Box Fire Grate / Ash Pan ____ $16.00 _________

    Grate Lifter ____ $8.00 _________

    Heat Guage ____ $8.00 _________

    Fire Grate / Ash Pan ____ $24.00 _________

    Owners' Manual ____ $5.00 _________

    Side Fire Box Cook Grate ____ $15.00 _________

    As always, thanks for your advice and encouragement!

    ediot: I hope that fixed the link

  11. Yeah, I've always wanted one of those big dutch ovens, with the feet for resting in the campfire and the sunken lid for coals.  Then I realized that I live in a city, drive a German car, push a button to turn on my stove, and buy meat in foam trays and plastic wrap.

    I thought you said SF wasn't a real city. And since you have a car, you're not far from places where you can have campfires. The weather's starting to get good too. :wink:

  12. I've never understood this stainless steel thing.  Isn't the whole point of stainless is that it's non reactive?  Does this mean there's no point in cooking with garlic if I'm going to use stainless cookware or utensils?

    Sounds Urban Mythy to me...

    It works, but better if you rub your hands on the steel under running water. I kinda, sorta, vaguely remember reading that it had something to do with how oils stick to different surfaces, ie human skin v the stainless steel. I have a stainless steel sink which makes it easy, but sometimes just use the knife blade. Cool water works better than hot and I usually use a little dish soap too. I've found it works on garlic, onions, fish, and even jalepeno peppers. It doesn't get it all, but it does knock it down considerably, to where it's only faintly detectable.

    It's easy enough to test. Chop some garlic and get it on two fingers. Wash one normally with soap and water, rub the other one against something stainles steel and smell what difference, if any, it makes.

  13. Welcome to California, at least the next time you're here.

    Try Mollie Stone's in the Bon Air shopping center on Sir Francis Drake just off of Highway 101 in Larkspur proper. It's bigger than Woodland's, but similar in scope. I think it's a small local chain.

    As for good take out in Larkspur, I'm not sure, but I'll ask around. I work in Kentfield, but commute from Oakland, so I'd be interested in expanding my dining experiences too. What kind of food do you like?

    My two favorite things to eat at Woodland's (it's right next to work, so I go there at least once a week) are the local blues sandwich (Nieman Ranch roast beef, Pt Reyes blue cheese, spinach, red onion, and tomato on cibatta or sour roll) and the roasted chicken club sandwich (roast chicken, pancetta, spring mix, tomato, and basil aioli).

    If you're in town and have the time and inclination, we can probably wrangle a few egulleters to have dinner with you too. :smile:

  14. Asparagus soup. I cut the trimmings into pieces, simmered them until tender, blended them with the cooking liquid, strained it, added a splash of half and half and a pat of butter. I did it on a lark because I remembered reading about some French chef doing that, but it was good and something I'll definitely do again.

    Broiled asparagus.

    Penne with preserved tuna and pine nuts from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. The tuna was slowly poached in evoo with red pepper flakes, garlic, lemon zest (the recipe called for fennel seeds, but I left them out). For the pasta sauce, toasted pine nuts in a splash of evoo, added the preserved tuna, coarsely chopped capers, and finely minced preserved lemon.

    After eating out the past 10 days in a row, I needed this!

  15. Evabug, I was wondering about being able to freeze the smoked salmon. Does it taste good after defrosting for bagel, lox, and cream cheese, or just for cooking? (Lox, purple onions, and eggs, oh my!) The Costco near us makes a yummy smoked salmon cream cheese.

    Back when I was fishing a lot, I'd find myself with a huge surplus of smoked salmon, lox and kippered. I found that I could tell the difference if I ate them side by side, but on its own, the frozen stuff wasn't bad at all. Not really a lot of difference. The kippered suffered less than the lox, mostly in texture rather than flavor. I was dealing with hunks of fish though that were vacuum sealed. I don't know how slices would be affected.

    It still kills me to have pay that much for smoked fish, even though Costco is reasonable. :wink:

    I was bummed yesterday. Last week, they had a nikon 5 megapixel digital camera on display and when I went back yesterday, it was gone. So much for not making an impulse grab. :angry:

  16. 867-5309 is in my head now.

    Nice work! I got a good sense of the book's shortcomings, especially for someone trying to learn at home with no outside guidance, but also it's probable utility in the right circumstances. I have his book The Chef's Art which I flip through every once in a while, mostly to look something up, but thought was well-written. This book seems to be a more detailed version of that, is that close?

    Shouldn't you have added "any resemblance is purely coincidental" to your disclaimer though? :wink:

    I do think a look at books aimed at beginners would be interesting, especially since I went through that with my sister trying to get her to learn on her own instead of my trying to talk her through it on the phone. :laugh: I'll have to ask her which ones she tried and which ones I gave her.

  17. Tonight making 2 Hummingbird Cakes (Saveur): one for boss, one for S.O.  Expect to have frosting for dinner.  :raz:

    Hey, how'd it come out? I made one of those yesterday for my sister. I kept one of the three layers for myself though. Hummingbird cakes are good. :smile:

  18. I made Stephanie Zonis' Double chocolate pumpkin cake for my parents to take to a Super Bowl party. It's baked in a tube pan, but is very rich and moist, more like a layer cake in texture. It calls for 6 oz unsweetened chocolate, 1/4 cup cocoa, and a cup of pumpkin puree which you can't taste at all. PM me for the recipe.

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