Nick

Eric - Your recipes sound good. Maybe post them to the recipe section here. Goat is good!

I've been pretty happy with my 10" Wusthof chefs (classic) and 3 1/2" paring. But I notice I'm using the 4 1/2" utility knife more and more. It's a handy knife.

I was just over at Fulton's shop and we were talking about all this and talk turned to ox tails. David, Fulton's nephew who has killed and butchered a lot of cattle, thinks that ox tails can carry mad cow. He said there's a hole that runs down the spine and into the tail.

Yannii, Thanks for the info. I went to the eSake site and just read and read. Fascinating! Especially the article on rice milling. Three to six days just to mill the right rice to the right degree. Then looking at the different premium sakes in the U.S. was interesting. I like the names and think I'd like to try some - Wandering Poet "Characterized by a well-rounded flavor with a solidness to the flavor and fragrance, and clean finish." I doubt I'll find any in Maine. I wonder if there's any in Boston? A five hour trip for me. Another site I came across from esake is Sake-World which is run by the same person as eSake - John Gauntner. I liked his Sake Picks and his descriptions. Maybe if enough people tried some sake, and there was enough interest, Jason could start a Sake forum under "Beverages and Libations" - and you could run it. Sake is in a world of its own. Even though it's called rice wine, it's neither wine nor beer. It's its own thing. Thanks again.

I got admit after reading that, I'm still wondering.

This is even more minor, but back when I was a kid I loved Grape Nuts - and Cheerios. How do they make those?

Yannii, tell us some more about sake. Here in Maine we only have Gekkeikan and even that isn't in most stores. But, it still gives a nice, clear buzz and tastes okay. If you can, maybe mention some sake's that with a little seaching one might find in the hinterlands and what they're like. The same could go for recommendations for plum wine. Thanks Same goes for anyone else that might know this stuff.

Oh shit! Another customer, this one from Montana, does a lot (I mean A LOT) of hunting and he's going to send me some elk... and buffalo and whatever. Should I worry? Probably not, because I'm 62 and, as John Whilting brought up, there's a long incubation period.

Mabelline, I'm a little on the slow side. Could you translate that for me?

Just checked back in and the down arrow that's supposed to get to the first unread post doesn't seem to be working. It took me to the end - and I haven't read all the posts since yesterday - in case someone's already gotten into this. Anyhow, a customer from PA called me today to add to an order and we got to talking and talking turned at one point to mad cow. Turns out he was working in labs in the 60's and knew something about this, including a little gossip. At first "Creutzfeldt-Jacob" was known as "Jacob-Creutzfeldt", but it emeged that Creuzfeldt had done most of the work so his name came to be placed ahead of Jacob's. But, the most interesting thing is that quite a few people had died from this disease in the '60's, it was being analyzed, and it was found that most of the people that came down with it had been into eating cattle brains and sweetbreads.

I just came across this interesting bit of info from UPI - Full article here.

If any of us have a better plan, we should put it forward.

Did he figure out what might have gone wrong?

I'd be surprised if there wasn't a plan of action. The USDA reacted too swiftly, too decisively, and in too organized a fashion for it to be improvised. FG, you're absolutely right on there. It's really astonishing how quickly the USDA has moved on this. The cow was slaughtered on 12/9 and within two weeks it was reported and the beginning steps taken to ascertain how it came about. Quite remarkable considering the usual pace of the federal government. And we shouldn't forget that within hours (or maybe minutes) of this hitting the newswires, alacarte got this thread started on gullet. Dynamics at work.

"A recall of more than 10,000 pounds of meat was begun at 1:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve. The recall, which officials said was being ordered out of an abundance of caution, involved 20 carcasses, including that of the infected Holstein, that moved through a Moses Lake, Wash., slaughterhouse on Dec 9. The carcasses were shipped to a deboning facility called Midway Meats in Centralia, Wash., on Dec. 11, said Kenneth Petersen, an official at the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service." Wasnington Post Quote on page 3.

I'll try to post a pic of my new sink and faucet in a couple of days. Busy right now trying to get accounting set up for the new year. The new sink is an Elkay stainless with a bowl that measures 16" from front to back, 28" side to side, and 7" deep. It's great! There isn't a rack or pan that won't fit in it. The faucet is a Moen single lever with the sprayer in the faucet head - that you can also pull out. It's great as well. Push down on the sprayer button and it stays down until you shut off the water. Great for leaving in place in the faucet head with the sprayer on and rinsing. PLUS, the faucet is high enough to get a bucket or a tall stock pot under. All in all, I'm more than happy with my new sink and faucet. I wouldn't even think about getting one of those double bowl things that you can't even get a decent sized platter into.

Pan, That's a good idea, but every farmer's got his own idea about how things should be done. The trick would be to find one that's got at least a few decades of experience, with an open mind, no axe to grind, and really doesn't give a shit whether people agree with him/her or not.... and is still in the business. Howard Lyman of Oprah Winfrey fame is not one that I'd suggest.

You must have had Vibram (lug) soles on your boots. They are a bitch to get clean. Get some plain old rubber boots the next time you're out in the field. Wash'em off with a hose or stamp around in a mud puddle.

FG - One of these days you ought to get off the internet and out into the field to get some shit on your boots. I'll see that you get a tour of a small slaughterhouse. Didn't I already say what you just did?

J - My friends that have a small slaughterhouse, retail, wholesale meat operation have a USDA inspector on the premises, with his own office, five days a week. He is not there to grade meat. He is there to inspect the slaughtered animals for health and disease. He takes samples of glands, brains, etc. A few years ago he found three pigs with TB that had spread beyond the brain. All three went into the rendering barrels. My friends do not take downers. If an animal can not walk unassisted off the trailer, it doesn't get in. Similarly, you can not bring in an animal that has been killed (in the field, for instance.) As far as the packer in question being a "volume packer", I read somewhere that they slaughtered about twenty head a day. I wouldn't call that volume packing. As far as this being a dry cow, it's my understanding that this cow had a problem calving and things went downhill from there. As far as you not eating sick animals, unless you kill your own or have friends that do, you can't be sure. While I'm at this, I'll say something about feed. Besides having a slaughterhouse my friends raise beef - mostly Angus. Fulton's brother does too. They mix their own feed. It's barley, oats, and corn. While the USDA may have banned animal products in commercial feed that is not to say that growers cannot mix their own feed and some may still be choosing to mix animal by-products into it.

I'd like to try the - Four smashed steamed pinto beans topped with tiny onion dice, red pepper flakes, with garlic sorbet dollop Crispy fried manchego cheese round garnished with avocado and lemon mousse Eat like chips and dip Tiny flour tortilla rolls(2) with piped in beef tartare blended with ripe olives, lime and sea salt

How about , Burrito progression: On a large round plate, eat clockwise: Burrito water in cylinder glass(warm chicken consomme with smoky paprika dust) Four smashed steamed pinto beans topped with tiny onion dice, red pepper flakes, with garlic sorbet dollop Crispy fried manchego cheese round garnished with avocado and lemon mousse Eat like chips and dip Tiny flour tortilla rolls(2) with piped in beef tartare blended with ripe olives, lime and sea salt Texas Pete's Hot Saucee Sorbet on a spoon. Eat while viewing a picture of a Taco Bell USA Ice Chips When are you opening El Bulli West?

Hey Sam, it seems like things are drifting toward the French Laundry. Maybe it should be moved to France.

Roasted duck, gravy, and good bread. I had too much for lunch (homemade pea soup and a homemade fishcake) so I just pigged out out on the duck, gravy, and bread for supper. People can say all they want about foie gras - just give me some crispy duck skin and fat.

Too bad it came out dry. A friend gave me a hindquarter a few years back and I put it on the table and pretty much steaked the whole thing out. There's a lot of good meat in a hindquarter if you look at it right and have a sharp knife.