jsolomon

It's been a while since you've had Mad Dog, then. Right? I'm still recovering from my introduction to it 2 years ago. Those mental scars run deep.

Last night. I decided to go with a different red. I had a German red knocking around my apartment that I took over instead of the BN. She enjoyed the Riesling, and the red whose grape escapes me right now. The tawny port she wasn't hot on because of the strong raisin overtones. So, the score for the night? 10 for 10 on bravery in trying new wine. Slightly lacking on personal history, though. She'll get additional dates, but probably not a relationship. Now, I have a bottle of BN, and I'm going to be out of town for 3 weeks Shoulda brought it over last night. I'm not sure how that stuff will cellar in my crappy apartment, and I won't be in a place where it's appropriate to drink it, IMO.

What you may want to try is having a "ringer". Corner one of your family, and give them a sample. Then, tell them that if they like it and don't make sure other people try it, you're writing them out of the will. edit to make my emoticons work right

So, I am not familiar with the Saturday afternoon help at my Local Wine Shop (LWS). I was chatting with them about wines I should get to introduce a friend into wine a bit tonight. The issue is: I have no idea what her tastes are. But, he talked me into a Georges DuBoeuf Beaujolais Nouveau. Anybody have any taste notes from it this year? What I have for her to taste is the safe (a nice QMP German Riesling), the tasty (a decent tawny port), and the completely unknown (the beaujolais nouveau). Am I a retard, or just overworried?

A pot of hot water in the oven will also suffice instead of the light.

I'm with you, Jason. But, I use more than the leftover white meat on the sandwich. I mix the raw cranberry dressing with some good mustard and good olive oil, then I run the breast through our meat grinder. Mix that up, place on a good, long roll with some big cheese, sharp greens, and black pepper and broil til the cheese is good and browned. Wow. Makes me hibernate til Christmas.

I have seen several different research projects at the undergrad level that fairly reliably detect scoville levels, so you're right. It's the growing and the blending that is the key. But, being a gardener, I like the caprice of nature knowing some years my peppers will burn me out, and others they'll be gentle. Usually they're somewhere in between, so I just need to plant a variety.

Don't shoot those things! I like watching them come through my state when they migrate! Edit to remove invective

Extra points for bravery, my good eGer. For removing the meat, remember that there is a lot of anatomical similarity between the pig and a turkey of the same size. The bones will be longer and thicker in some places, but the meat will be in the same general areas. Smaller breast, larger back and more meat along the spine. So, I would say, treat the meat along the back of the spine as you would the breast of a bird, and then carve everything else as you would the legs of a bird. Remember that the grain of the meat will go parallel to the bones they run next to, so you're not carving chewy strips. Happy Suckling Pig Day!

For plucking the pheasant, you'll want to treat it like a chicken. Get a lot of boiling water, 15 liters or so, and put it in a CLEAN 5-gallon bucket. Then, grasp the bird by the feet and plunge it up and down in the water for about 30 seconds. Any feathers that you want off will need to be scalded by this water. Then, pull the pheasant out of the water and pull the feathers the opposite direction of normal movement, i.e. ass-to-head. Some of the primary feathers along the tail will be very difficult. The down usually comes off pretty easy. You'll always be left with a few pinfeathers, so have a blowtorch handy to lightly burn those off. This step will stink, so try to pluck as many feathers as possible. My recommendation is skin the bird. Cut off the feet below the drumstick and the last joint of the wings. Then, cut the skin alone all the way around the rib cage so you've got a "shirt" and "pants", then just de-shirt, and de-pants the bird using care and a sharp knife. Remove the entrails, but keep the gizzard and heart for good eating. I generally offer up the liver to a hunting dog in payment for wet sloppy kisses.

With regard to experimentation in bread-making. Yeast breads are generally of a more forgiving nature when you're not following the recipe exactly when compared to cakes. The chemistry is somewhat different between the two. Good luck, and remember, people have been doing it for thousands of years. It's an art anyone can pick up without fear. Edit to fix pre-caffeinated speling

That's certainly reasonable. I would tend to advise you to develop your white wine drinking palate and understanding before you spend a lot cooking with it. When you find some styles of white that you are generally agreeable with, you'll find them generally agreeable for cooking with, too.

Okay, Steven has a valid point, but so does glenn. He doesn't want to be held liable for that. However, Ma Bell isn't liable for people who use her to harass other people. For ~400 or less, you can get a pc, a wireless adapter, and all of the software you need to filter out various ports, throttle connection speeds into, out of, and based on port, IP, whatever, and do any authentication you want. The array of choices you have is mind-boggling. That's why I suggested you get in touch with a linux users group or some other group along that line. I'm going to come out and suggest that you buy a soekris net4501, demarctech wireless adapter, 256mb SANDISK compact flash, and check out m0n0wall. That will do most of everything you want and will be a minimum of a headache. A good geek can get it all running in 45 minutes or so and oughtn't charge you an arm and a leg. Find a poor comp sci college student who loves linux and pay him cash. Edit to add, pay him/her cash to set it up, that is.

always use between a 14 and 10 gauge needle. Everything will flow right through...

How/who/what is securing your connection? I don't understand where the expence is coming in... granted I've been a sysadmin for several years before changing jobs. If there is a reasonable university in your town, or a Linux Users Group, I would suggest making contact with them and soliciting their help for 2 reasons: they will be a group that will like to use your access, and they have the technical expertise to help you set it up on the cheap and reliably. If you want some advice for contacting or questions to ask, pm me. -j

Oooh! Oooh! I know! Hansel and Gretel!

Am I the only one who's eaten them dipped into a chocolate shake? Wendy's are the best to dip one's frites into. Aside from that, Del Monte ketchup is better than Heinz (not for political reasons) Malt vinegar is pretty good. Honey mustard is amazing Mayonnaise? Never tried it on frites. Chinese hot mustard is good if there is pepper on the frites. Sriracha is amazing.

Some aluminum foil over the top of the LC would suffice.

Wow, that's a long time at 15 pounds! A lot of the recipes I've found with a quick Google Search recommend between 10 and 20 minutes at 10 pounds. If you want to use wine, after browning the meat, deglaze the pan with the wine, and continue with the rest of the recipe. Best of luck!

At the risk of sounding silly, why are you specifically interested in using a pressure cooker? The best stews I've had were made in the oven, actually. 250 F for several hours melds everything spectacularly. But for measures? 3 large potatoes, 2 medium onions, 3 medium carrots, 1-2 pounds cubed meat (anything, really). Seasonings are definitely to personal taste, though...

Honestly, I think the stuff is perfectly safe. I was just giving you an option if you want to be Captain Insano safe. Reducing the stock that much effectively slows bacterial growth to not have to worry about them blooming for the 4 or 5 hours it will take for the stock to chill. Also, there is virtually no chance of botulism (the kill you instantly bacteria) because 1: there isn't enough time for it to make enough toxin, and 2: the stuff is anaerobic, and there is free oxygen with the way you stored it. Don't worry.

You could always make bullets out of plastic soda bottles to chill things faster. Fill cleaned (on the outside) bottles with water leaving ~2 inches of headspace. Freeze. Place in stock that you want to chill quickly. But, if you kept the stock covered in the same container when you took it off of the stove and placed it in the fridge, there is frightfully small chance of bacterial contamination/action.

2 words: Pseudomonas culture. 2 more words: very BAD A pseudomonas outbreak will shut down a food or pharmaceutical processing plant faster than you can say "Holy rotting root vegetables, Batman!"

I should also add when I'm deep in calorie deficit, chili dogs are one of my gutbombs of choice. Lots of calories, lots of salt, and a good amount of belly-wadding ability makes them a passable choice on the "I'm eating over the sink" menu. Ahh, the simple, crazed, dysfunctional life of a bachelor amateur athlete.

I was always a fan of the Mg burning in the O=C=O box...