Chad

See the burgeoning thread here. Chad

Strouds is just weak. And if you want proper goat, hie thee to the Dixie Barbeque outside of Athens, GA. Goat barbeque, two sides (and macaroni & cheese is a vegetable -- God said so) and sweet tea for $3.99 last time I was there. Which, of course, was more than 15 years ago. I'm sure nothing has changed. Chad

Ray Charles has the "Raylettes," so why the hell shouldn't you have the cutlettes? It's only fair, really. Would they wear skimpy outfits? Be outcast cheerleaders who couldn't adhere to the moral code necessary to represent the Bucanneers appropriately? Retired porn stars who enjoy a good steak? Getting faint. Must take medicine. Chad

An excellent point, one missed in all the chortling about how hipper-than-thou we are (myself included). I assume that most of us have had some high school/college French or have dined with those more knowledgeable than we are, filing away those pronunciations for later use. I know that there have been many words I'd seen written but never heard pronounced. I'd been hesitant to use them until I heard someone whose judgement I trusted use them. Oddly enough, "sommelier" falls into that category. Other commonly mispronounced words: Forte -- it ain't fort-ay unless you want someone to play more loudly. It's "fort." Check. I'll wait. Behemoth -- Bee-em-oth, not bu-heee-muth. Chad Edited to add a comment in regard to English words being mispronounced in a French accent. I recall a hysterically funny Carol Leiffer bit a while back -- "Why is it that when european women don't shave it's sexy, when I don't it's birth control?" CW

That is so neat! Does he have them for other animals? It is pretty neat, isn't it? That's the only one I know of online. He does have a less detailed pig map in his book I'm Just Here for the Food. Chad

Hmm, shouldn't take more than 30-45 minutes. Oh, wait, are you doing a 15/20 double bevel? That will take a lot longer. Remember, your knife from the factory has edge bevels of 25 degrees or more per side. Grinding that down to 15 degrees involves removing a lot of metal. I wouldn't worry about trying the double bevel just yet. Simply use the grey stones, beginning with the corners, and grind a plain 20 degree bevel. Use the corners until you get a burr on one side, then grind the other side until you get a burr on side 1. Then switch to the flats of the grey stones, the corners of the white stones and the flats of the white stones, alternating strokes and getting progressively lighter with your touch. Let me know how that works. Chad

Seriously thick (3") pork chops stuffed with andouille sausage and cornbread. Served with ciabatta, green beans & carrots and the rest of the andouille cornbread. Pork chops were browned in butter/olive oil on the stovetop & finished in the oven. Lesson learned -- don't wet the cornbread too much. I was afraid that the stuffing would dry out in the oven, so I used about 2T of chicken stock to wet it down before stuffing. Way too much. I didn't take into account how much the chops themselves would drip into the stuffing. It tasted great, but the texture was off. Next time no wetting (or a teaspoon at most). Chad

Holy crap! You're getting the Guigal Cotes du Rhone for $6.99? Damn. I pay $12 here in Kansas. If you're into Sauvignon Blanc, we've found a pretty good one in the Morande Chilean SB. We get it for ~$6.00 a bottle, $64 for a case (including tax). Chad

I believe the accepted way to order this dish is to say, "Bring me that froy grass, you know, the expensive shit." You then turn to your date and say, "Stick with me, baby, and you'll be fartin' through silk." Always eager to help. Chad

Melkor, this might help: Alton Brown's Critter Map. It shows where all the primals are located and which cuts come from them. Chad

I wouldn't worry about it unless your bevels are significantly uneven. What you can do, however, is kill two birds with one stone. If you haven't sharpened this knife on the Sharpmaker before you'll be removing some metal to get the edge to match the preset angles. Just start on the short-beveled side and stay there until you feel a burr on the opposite side. It might take a while. Be patient. Then pop a burr on side one (this will happen fairly quickly) and alternate lightly. Follow the tutorial or the Sharpmaker manual/video from there. Chad

Our local Bed, Bath & Beyond has started carrying a small selection of Nalgene bottles. Didn't notice the price, sorry. Chad

I have a confession to make. I've never used my meat grinder. It just lurks in my cabinet, glaring at me from behind the box of coffee filters. Am I a bad person? And if I wanted, say, to make sausage, what kind is good to start with? Do you have a favorite recipe? Chad (snacking on last night's andouille cornbread, mmmm)

A nation turns its loney eyes to you . . . Chad

Dear Mr. Cutlets, how does one con a publisher into producing something as bizarre and wonderful as Meat Me in Manhattan? Is there a movie deal in the works? If so, who would play you on the big screen? Yer pal, Chad

Absolutely. I have my 34oz QuikTrip cup that stays with me at all times, even during meetings. My primary sign that I'm talking too much is that my cup is dry. My kids always want to drink from my sippy cup, but I make them get their own. On the range (I'm a competitive shooter) I have a 3L CamelBack system that I keep filled with ice water. On a long afternoon that's often not enough. But at least I know that the bite valve hasn't been in anyone's mouth but mine. Good system, by the way, for anyone who needs liquids far from an approved source. Chad

Um, not likely. Very likely. There was also a Utah court case last year (earlier this year?) in which parents of a young girl were charged in her death because they forced her to drink water as a punishment. The amount of water caused "water intoxication". You might want to check how much water this poor soul was forced to ingest. As I said, don't rely on me as the definitive source of information. I'll post again tomorrow when I have a chance to check my background information. But it takes a lot of water to reach the point where your salt/electrolyte imbalance starts to impair your brain functions. Chad

Um, not likely. In the ordinary course of a day (from what I've read and experienced) the average person is going to lose 1-2 liters of water through respiration, sweat and whatnot. More if you're exerting yourself or in a desert climate, less if you're sitting at a computer in climate controlled environment. It takes nearly 20 liters intake (again, from what I've read) of water to throw your electrolyte balance off to the point where your synapses are salt starved and start misfiring to the point of medical emergency. On a personal level, I know the more water I drink the more I crave. I keep at 34oz QuikTrip (a local convenience store) cup at my side at all times. I refill it 3 or 4 times a day. If I forget it or am at a meeting where I can't sip away I'm less likely to crave water. If I'm writing I'll keep refilling all throughout the day. As an aside, I generally order iced tea with lunch. I'll grab the pitcher when it comes by and convince the waitron that it would be in his/her best interest to leave it on the table. I sometimes go through 2 or 3 before the end of the meal. Dinner is a whole 'nother story. Bottle of wine -- a glass or two while cooking, another during the meal and one after. No water, oddly enough, until I take my QuikTrip mug to bed. Chad Edited to note that the 20-L intake figure could be a figment of my imagination (brought on by too much/too little water?). I'll check my desert survival tomes for further information and get back to you. Don't go doing anything rash based on my possibly misremembered info. CW

Jeez, if I could get a smoke I'd be a lot less weirded out by bathroom attendants. Imagine what a wonderful world it would be if your attendant could produce a pack of Kool Milds and let you toke up (or at least today's equivalent) while you're in the john of an ostensibly non-smoking place. Their tip jars would be full unto overflowing! Screw a line of blow or other 80s big hair paraphenalia, I'd settle for a fucking cigarette. Chad

One of the strangest bathroom attendant incidents happend to me at a symphony concert rather than a restaurant. The restroom (mens) was pretty full during the intermission so the drill sergeant-like attendent was shouting "Each man stand behind the gentleman you'll be replacing." We all dutifully lined up three deep in front of the urinals. When it was my turn to step up, the crowd had died down a little so the attendant went back to his "duties," which apparently included dusting each man's jacket with an aged whisk broom. I'm standing there just starting to urinate when what feels like a deranged crow attacks my back. I whipped my head around and there's the attendant whisking my shoulders. I was so startled by the whole thing that I got "stage fright" and couldn't go. I had to pretend to pee, zip up, wash my hands, tip the guy and exit before I could sneak back in and use the bathroom while he was occupied with another whisk victim. And it wasn't even a very good concert. Chad

I believe I may have found a new signature line. Chad

New Academy Award nominating category: Best movie scene involving meat. Your pick?

Dennis, before you send your knives out, read the eGCI Knife Sharpening Tutorial. You might save a little money. You'll also be a much better informed consumer if you do decide to use a professional sharpener. Chad

Raisins, dates, nutmeg, cinnamon, etc. -- they've all been combined with meat at one point or another. Taste treat or abomination and an affront to all that is good and holy? Chad

God bless you, Mr. Cutlets. Oh, you forgot hush puppies in the pantheon of approved sides. Yours in meat, Chad