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Lan4Dawg

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Posts posted by Lan4Dawg

  1. Has anyone eaten at the Wild Boar?

    I do not think they are still open.

    There have been a lot of changes in the Nashville dining scene over the past year or so. A co-worker fr/ there recommended a place and I promptly forgot the name but will ask when I see him again next week.

    Matt suggests Flyte. Apparently some of the folks from Capitol Grille are in the kitchen. He said the food is excellent and the wine list is first rate. It is on my list for the next time we are in Nash-vegas.

  2. Has anyone eaten at the Wild Boar?

    I do not think they are still open.

    There have been a lot of changes in the Nashville dining scene over the past year or so. A co-worker fr/ there recommended a place and I promptly forgot the name but will ask when I see him again next week.

  3. You daughter sounds like a very smart young lady. I bet her report turns out great.

    Do try the pimento cheese melted.

    Years ago at small coffee shop where I worked, one of our most popular lunch items was a croissant, cut in half and spread with our pimento cheese, sprinked with garlic powder and run under the broiler until the cheese was melted and just browning. it was a twist on an old southern classic.

    That sounds really good!! I will try it with the leftovers.

    -Mike

    or take the pimento cheese sandwich and just run it through the sandwich press like you would a grilled cheese.

  4. Thanks!  Sounds like a plan!

    Dekab FM is such a hike from me we have cut back to once a month for hard to find veggies.  I tease my wife that if it wasn't for the kids school here in Alpharetta we would move to the city just to be closer to DFM. 

    I wonder if Harry's or a local butcher would carry quail in Alpharetta. 

    -Mike

    Kroger, Publix, & Ingle's usually have quail. Some of the Farmers' Markets near me carry them as well. They are usually frozen. Harry's--at least the one near me--used to carry both frozen and fresh quail so I would assume the one in Alfer-tater has them as well.

  5. Not all of these are two- or three-star food; Repast, MF Sushibar and maybe Shaun's (haven't been there, but his reputation is promising) being the best of the lot, but they're worth a visit, and stars aren't always what you're after anyway.

    I've been to Shaun's once so far, and we're looking forward to going back. Very appealing space (the old Deacon Burton's place), and though the food was a bit uneven on our visit last month I expect that to smooth out pretty quickly. It's actually located in Candler Park, very close to the Candler Park MARTA station, so you could easily use public transit to get there.

    Another option that I use when entertaining guests who are staying downtown is Pura Vida. It's not downtown, but because it's very close to Freedom Parkway it's a very quick ride via cab (but remember, look it up ahead of time). Pura Vida serves tapas, so it's great for a group, and the food is way cooler than the word "tapas" suggests (unless "tapas" calls to mind foie gras for you). It's very popular, so definitely reserve unless you're going very early.

    that being said (about Shaun's in Deacon Burton's old spot) is "Son's Place" still open? It was in that general area and I can not remember if SP was/is in the same store front or just near-by. I drove past there not too long ago and just did not even think to look.

  6. Possible options to call and speak to about your knives:

    Ksw/International Knife & Saw

    3077 McCall Dr

    Atlanta, GA 30340

    7704518182

    Southeast Cutlery

    450 S Cemetery St Ste 104

    Norcross, GA 30071

    7702638886

    Cook's Warehouse

    549 Amsterdam Ave NE Ste 1

    Atlanta, GA 30306-3472

    4048154993

    I use Southeast Cutlery over in Norcross and have been very pleased w/ their work. They are not the easiest place to find (Cemetery St is an extension of Holcombe Bridge Rd that runs fr/ Roswell to Norcross and changes names as it goes through d/t Norcross if that helps). Since they are not too far fr/ where I live they are also convenient (having said that call me when you are in the area and we will find lunch).

    Other suggestions:

    There are a few sharpeners that will come directly to your house but they can be expensive as some charge mileage or more per knife to make up for travel expenses.

    Ask at a local restaurant who sharpens their knives. Some times they are on a schedule and you can meet who ever sharpens their knives when they show up at the restaurant and have yours done.

    Some Krogers will sharpen knives for free--as will some butcher shops. I can not vouch for their sharpening skills but it is worth a call to get the information.

    Good luck!

  7. what about a beef tenderloin w/ red eye gravy? I like to rub tenderloins (or pork for that matter) w/ ground coffee and sear then make a red eye gravy fr/ the pan drippings (a tad more coffee if necessary, some beef stock and hot sauce w/ a hint of onion, garlic, and thyme or rosemary--then strain). It would definitely work w/ the biscuit and might be interesting.

  8. I'm going to carve tomorrow morning, add a tidge of smoked turkey stock, and reheat gently in the oven (covered dish) until warmed.  It was either that or get up at 4:00 am, which is a time that does not exist for me unless a kid is sick.

    got up at 6.00 and started the smoker. It was ready to go by 7.00 as planned and I smoked two small birds (10/11 lbs) over some hickory/oak mix as it was what I had available. I did throw some rosemary on the wood to add that flavor to the birds. The heat kept at a pretty constant 250* and both birds were ready to go at shortly after noon which was a bit earlier than I expected. I wrapped both well in foil and just kept the heat at about 200* until we were ready to eat shortly after 2.00pm. We ate most of one yesterday and it was very good. On Sunday when I have time I will pull meat, freeze some and then make stock fr/ both of the carcasses. I saved the livers (every thing else went in the giblet gravy) and thought about throwing them on the smoker just to see what happened but forgot about them so any ideas about what to do w/ left over turkey livers?

  9. well NYCMike let's try this:

    You know you are in the South when.....

    you order tea in a restaurant and it comes sweet. If you want un-sweetened you must specify and you will probably get the wrong one poured in to your glass at least one time during dinner.

    you automatically get grits w/ breakfast.

    the waitress does not even lift an eye brow when you order "a mess o' greens" or "cat head biscuits", "pork brains", "chitlins"....

    the best food is at funerals and every one knows it. Every home has a special plate or platter that gets used only at major holidays and at funerals.

    on a drive through the country side you will see small white board or red brick churches w/ a cemetery either next door or directly across the street. Some where w/in a few yards of the church is a poured concrete table that is there for one purpose and that is "all day preachin' and dinner on the grounds". It might be used for other purposes but that is the reason it was put there.

    no one at the local restaurant has a name b/c "sweetie", "hon" or "honey", "sUGAr", "baby", &c work quite well thank you.

    there is a pecking order for Sunday lunch--Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists. That is not a ranking but the order they will arrive at the restaurant after church. The Presbyterians welcome the Baptists to the restaurant as they leave.

    food is named after a person. "I hope to get some of Miss Edna's chocolate cake" or "Are these Miss Lois' chicken and dumplings?". Miss Edna and Miss Lois might have been gone for a dozen years but their receipts are still in the church cook book and people take a bite and identify the food by those names no matter who made it.

    along the same lines we name food after famous people. There is a Jeff Davis pie and a Robert E. Lee cake. I have yet to find an Abraham Lincoln or "Useless" Grant any type of food and have never even looked for any thing named after Sherman (a very dear friend of mine who is a retired school teacher says she did not realize until she was in her teens that his full name was not "thatsumbitchSherman".)

    there is a Waffle House at every interstate intersection...and some times two.

    you walk in to a barbecue joint and order beef and half the staff comes out to stare at you and the rest are too busy laughing at the "ferner" to make it to the dining room.

    you find tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, okra, and other fresh garden vegetables at your door at least once a week fr/ some time in mid-June until shortly before the first frost.

    there is a boiled peanut stand along side most high ways

    HDHD

  10. not fair! I want to play but, unfortunately, Fuss is some what picky.

    Even if I could join in the fun I have this fear that I would blindly pull out one of the off the wall South Georgia cook books in my collection and with eyes closed flip to the page starting, "take one armadillo and clean well....."

  11. Part of the controversy (if I can call it that) of including some of these areas is that what many people think of as a "Southern Tradition" are really the same survival tools that other parts of the country used. Smoking, canning, and salting are done across the country, the difference being the ingredients used. Everyone braises big tough hunks of meat, everyone stretches the garden as far as it can possibly go, and everyone expects good behavior at the dinner (or supper) table. This can actually be expanded to a worldwide issue. Some things, like food, are universal. The traditions are similar wherever you go. What they do with fish in one part of the world is the same thing they do to pork in others.

    I really do think (having lived in Dallas and Austin) that Texas, at least parts of it, should be included. The climate of east Texas is far different than west Texas. The only thing universal in Texas is a Mexican influence and the two letters before the zip code in thier address.

    Edited to add: Alternatively,  you can simply take the areas that think that the SEC is the toughest football conference in the country.

    Now, if you want to define the "Deep South", then you only include states which had plantations and grits. You must have both, and no more than 50% of your border can be coastline. That's Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas.

    What do you mean areas that "think the SEC is the toughest football conference in the country"?

    We don't think it, we know it!!!!

    and the crowd said, "AMEN!"

    or Hunker Down or Go Dawgs!, Sic 'em, woof woof woof! or Roll Tide or what ever....

    HDHD

  12. Mike if we can answer that question we will put about a thousand sociologists out of jobs. And since I apparently started this argument I thought I should add to it.

    Just to be argumentative (edited to add as Scott said): Why is there a "South"? Is there a "north"? What does food in Appalachia have in common w/ food fr/ New Orleans? yet both are considered Southern. Can you get a great Philly Cheese Steak sandwich in NYC? yet both Philly and NYC are considered northern but are completely separate. Feuds greater than your standard fist fight have been started over whether or not barbecue in western North Carolina is any more "barbecue" than that of eastern North Carolina and we are talking about a single state. Add to that the fact that the very term "barbecue" means a half-dozen distinct types of meats depending on where you are and that does not even include the myriad variations of barbecue sauce. Brunswick Stew in Brunswick, Georgia is some what different fr/ Brunswick Stew in Brunswick, Virginia yet both lay claim to having originated the dish and both bear a marked resemblance to the Burgoo of Kentucky. Is a low-country boil the same as a "Frogmore Stew"? Despite their similarities many will claim they are vastly different yet their roots are very similar.

    All of that being said I would suggest that "the South" and b/c this is on e-Gullet I am going to assume we are talking Southern food as opposed to other "Southernisms"--and this is fr/ a Southern boys' perspective--is any area that employed slaves (not necessarily for cotton but also rice, indigo, &c) and therefore found much of its food influenced by not only what was available but also fr/ an African (read slave) style of cooking and such influence lasts to this day in its regional dishes is "Southern". That area would include parts of Maryland, some of Deleware, most of the Carolinas, much of Georgia, the northern part of Florida, a great part of 'bama, almost all of Mississippi and Louisiana, parts of Arkansas, the western area of Tennessee and Kentucky (btw a little history lesson for Pam as both of those states also had two gov'ts during the WBTS), and the eastern area of Texas as well as lower Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana and much of Missouri. Parts that should not be included would be the lower portion of Florida (not even settled yet), most of Appalachia (a region unto its own), western Texas and the Ozarks (see Appalachia); geographically they are in the "South" but are separate entities.

    Does that confuse things even more?

    As for my original post---"rat trap cheese" can be found any where in the US and is more than likely fr/ Wisconsin (at least now). Any type of strong hoop cheddar was called "rat trap" b/c it was smelly enough to attract rats to the traps. I have no idea if this is specifically Southern but that was how we referred to any strong hoop cheese when I was young as that is what the Rev called it. Now that begs the question: is the food "Southern" or is it the terminology?

    HDHD

  13. Giblet Gravy--w/ hard-boiled eggs of course

    Inclination of head, with gentle lowering of Jessica Rabbit eyelashes :cool:

    I know you are not bad.....you are just drawn that way. ":^)

    If memory serves you & I were taken to task at some point a while back for actually putting hard-boiled eggs in our giblet gravy.

  14. may I just chime in to say how much I appreciate what Mike is doing w/ "our" food. Too often we have those who move South fr/ "fern" places and spend their entire time here decrying our culture (w/ a capital "K")--especially our food. I hear how terrible grits are and how superior cream of wheat is and have to answer the questions, "why would any one eat okra?" or "what in the name of ______ are collards?" not to mention explaining that we in the South do not fry every thing.

    The fact that Mike--& I am certain there are others but he is noticeable in his posts--moved down here and instead of fighting us he quite simply and enthusiastically embraced our food and is, apparently, having one helluva time experimenting is wonderful to me. It makes me want to rush to Alpher-tater (as fast as one can rush in ATL traffic), kiss him on both cheeks (well, may be I will let Fuss do that), and then climb Stone Mountain and proclaim w/ a hearty Rebel Yell how much I appreciate what he is doing. Keep it up; keep us informed as to your progress; and enjoy.

    In the words of Flannery O'Conner, "I live by a simple rule: when in Rome do as we do in Milledgeville"

    HDHD

  15. Chris will smoke a turkey, completely carve it (breast lobes removed intact, then sliced ACROSS the grain), garnishing the platter with the removed, polished wishbone.

    Cornbread dressing, two kinds of gravy---with and without giblets, but both with chopped softboiled eggs, for extra richness, and because every cook in our family has, for about five generations.

    A big black skillet of oven-baked corn, tail-gate cut at our back door a couple of months ago, and waiting in the freezer.  Sweet potatoes in some form. 

    Green bean salad with roasted peppers, Vidalias and water chestnuts.  Bread shaped like a turkey---shiny and beautiful.

    Lots of desserts, mostly Southen in origin---chess pie, blackberry pie, chocolate pie by my Mom's recipe, lemon pie filling served in a pretty dish with whipped cream and leaf-shaped shortbreads.

    Much more, I'm sure.  Don't know yet how many will be here.  Having mashed potatoes depends on if we have company that's actually FROM here.  We never had them for Thanksgiving down South.  But Northern folks expect them.

    I am smoking a turkey as well. My mother called a couple of weeks ago and strongly hinted that since we would not be at any other relative's house and the only ones in town would be the Rev, Mrs. Rev, Fuss & Me then we should invite them to our house. Some how it has grown fr/ us four to about twelve.

    So far the menu looks like this:

    Before Dinner:

    Sea food Salad w/ toast points

    Antipasto on a stick

    Prosecco

    Dinner:

    Smoked Turkey

    Traditional Southern Dressing--the kind w/ corn bread and crushed saltine crackers

    I use Paula Dean's receipt as Fuss says it is the closest to her grand mother's

    Green Bean and Shiitake Mushroom Casserole

    Mashed Potatoes laced w/ Butternut Squash

    Giblet Gravy--w/ hard-boiled eggs of course

    "Golden Coin" Carrots

    Succotash

    Baked Apples w/ Walnuts

    Assorted Breads

    still playing w/ wine but I keep returning to a Chateauneuf du Pape or may be a

    Syrah

    Desserts:

    Aunt Dell's Caramel Cake

    Fuss' Pecan Pie

    Coffee & Cigars and some of that Black Maple Hill Bourbon I have been saving.

    HDHD

  16. The Rev puts a heavy duty aluminum tray under the grate to catch ash and gets most of it (he had to learn the hard way to leave enough space for air to circulate). I have an old garden trowel that I use to remove the ash when I am finished (it co-incidentally curves just enough to scrape out the bottom of the ash box). I put it in to an old bucket and then dump it in w/ the composting.

  17. a couple of suggestions....

    check the BTU's on the stoves to make certain they are strong enough/not more than you will need. Many times I wind up using my smaller camp stoves instead of the bigger one b/c they are almost as effective for much of the work and lighter/easier to carry/manage (esp on the road). Also make certain you can handle the coolers. The wheels help but you still have to get it fr/ the bed of a truck/trunk of a car on to the ground. Often times two smaller ones work better than one big one---esp. if you need to divide raw foods fr/ ice, &c.

    I was laughing at some folks near us on Saturday. They had a rig that was the size of a small car. It had a smoker and a grill and a huge two burner propane stove w/ two propane tanks and a prep area. They pulled that thing up and dumped about twenty pounds of charcoal and a gallon of lighter fluid (which I despise--use chimneys!) in to the grill area and then proceeded to cook hot dogs and hamburgers for a dozen people. Talk about your over kill!

  18. (I did a couple of articles for a web site on this very same subject called tailgating 101 and tailgating 102 but that was about 8 years ago and I could not find them on Google. If I do find them I will link or if interested I still have copies in my computer and will be more than happy to e-mail to you. Just let me know at lan4dawg@peoplepc.com)

    Back to your question....much depends on whether the game is home or away and what time we play. I try to gear things as much as possible to those factors but every once in a while I get a surprise as to time which can wreak havoc on preparing.

    If it is a night game I do most of the work at the tail gate site and if an early game (1.00pm or so) I will try to do things at home on Thursday and Friday and then just re-heat as necessary. For example this w/e game v. UAB (spicy dragon and mixed pepper stir fry over rice pilau) we will eat after the game and knowing it would probably be an early game I specifically set things that would be easy to prep and relatively fast to cook. I will prep the dragon (pork loin) at home on Fr night and allow it to marinate then start the rice and chop/slice/dice vegetables as soon as we can after the game. The salad stuff will be ready before but I will just put it together on site. It should not take more than an hour to get every thing together and there are some good games being played at 3.30 to keep most folks occupied. Fuss makes sausage biscuits for before the game (usually made the night before and we re-heat before we leave at 6.00am and carry in an insulated container) and lots of folks bring general snack foods for pre-game. I have done breakfasts before but it gets to be way too much trouble not knowing when people will arrive and working w/ game times, &c.

    I have propane stoves (1 large and a couple of camp stoves) and an over-sized grill for most of the work and a camp "prep" table that is ideal for what I need to do. Luckily I can get ice at the store (but I also save drink bottles and re-fill then freeze them for back up also for water at the site) and we carry two or three of the large Igloo brand coolers that will keep things cold for days (seriously, they are wonderful. I have had ice keep for over 48 hours in the summer before). If I know we will be traveling and on the road for a while I freeze as much as possible or pack straight fr/ the freezer as that keeps it cold and acts as a cooling source for other items as well. (Always keep drinking ice and finished products away fr/ raw foods! I use separate coolers for just such a reason)

    Luckily one of our tail gate group carries most of our general supplies in a trailer and every thing Fuss & I need to carry goes in the back of "Rowdy"--the Fuss' bright red w/ "silver britches" & black accents Chevy p/u.

    For the Colorado game--Buffalo stew w/ root veg (we just found out it will be an early game) and since stews are actually better if given time to blend I will probably prepare every thing on Fr (I like to shop on Th--look out Costco!--b/c that gives time if I forgot any thing) and re-heat after the game while I prep salad. I have an over-sized cast iron Dutch oven w/o which I could not live that I use for most of my re-heating and lots of my cooking. Propane stoves do not burn real evenly so I either use diffusers or heavy pots (cast iron or similar) to prevent scorching. If I have to smoke some thing it depends on the game time. If it is a night game I will often have time to actually smoke the food at the site (I have a small water smoker that works well) and if not then I will smoke on Th all day and then re-heat over the grill on game day.

    I hope that answers most of your questions w/o being too boring.

  19. Lan4Dawg -

    If you or anyone else knows how I can finagle a couple of game tickets at an affordable price, I'll contribute to your tailgate feast.  I'm actually going to be staying on St. Simons then.

    Head on over! I can not guarantee tix---mof my source for socar tix this w/e fell through--actually he died ":^( . We tail gate at a ware house just the other side of the official parking lots but I can not remember the name of the place.

  20. 2nd September:  Athens--Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

       in keeping w/ the location of the school and the big red blob they use as a mascot…

    Bloody Marys / Argentina Malbec

    Barbecued Mutton w/ “red blob” (Kentucky Heirloom) sauce, Kentucky spoon bread and succotash

    I was just wondering how the mutton went over?

    We actually didn't do much tailgating for this game (due to some work travel which caused us to get to Athens too close to kick-off), but we did have an amazing meal at Farm.

    It's on Washington, and if you haven't been I highly suggest it. The wine list is exceptional, and a great compliment to the fresh flavors on the menu. We shared a Sweetgrass Dairy cheese plate with fresh fig jam; a fried oyster appetizer with a charred corn relish that I would have been happy to eat all night long, and shrimp and grits: Georgia caught shrimp, local ground grits, seasoned just right with "just picked this afternoon" okra. The restaurant itself is comfortable with an open kitchen, and the "real" farm is part of a CSA, so I'm thinking of making a call or two to see if it's too late to get in on the fall crops.

    Hope the Dawgs can score like that against Spurrier next week!

    Farm? over on Washington. I am not familiar but will plan to try it next time we are in Athens for an extended period. We are so set on Wilson's Soul Food, Five & Ten, and Weaver D's that we seldomly venture any where else.

    I could not find "real" mutton so went w/ lamb but it was popular (I did cheat and had pork for the non lamb lovers). The biggest hit was the succotash. I thought I had more than enough but returned home w/ enough for just a couple more servings. The spoon bread did not travel well (I was afraid it would not but hope springs eternal.....)

    I will start the chicken fricassee and white bean puree on Thursday before we leave on Fr so all I have to do is re-heat and saute the zucchini when we get there. Naturally the game is late so I have all day when all I will need to do is re-heat but fricassee is so much better when it has time to meld flavors. Hopefully we will "fricassee" those game cocks as well!

    Hunker Down Hairy Dawgs!

  21. The New Amsterdam was not bad but some what too "citrusy" for my tastes. It reminded me some of Tanqueray 10 but not quite as "refined" if you will. It would probably work better in a gin/tonic than a martini--at least for my tastes.

    Fuss said she liked it better than Beefeater but not nearly as well as Broker's or our usual Bombay.

  22. was given a cook book that will make all of you drool w/ envy, "The New Dixie Receipt Book" by Annie R. Gregory assisted by one thousand homekeepers (that is exactly how it reads). The publisher was Phillips-Boyd Publishing Co. of Atlanta and the copy right is 1907. It belonged to the aunt of the dear friend who gave it to me. Unfortunately it is not in the best of shape so I am treading lightly but found it interesting (& topical--yes I am getting there) that pasted in side the front cover of the book is a news paper clipping of a receipt for "pork cake". The pork cake receipt is included w/ one for sponge cake and pound cake. The receipt (& the news paper name is not included but I imagine it is either the Atl Journal or Constitution--they were competing back then) is as follows:

    "Chop one pound of fat pork. There must be no lean! One pint of boiling water. One even tablespoon of baking soda. One cup of brown sugar. Two cups of molasses. One tablespoonful of cinnamon. One tablespoonful each of cloves and allspice. One pound each of seeded raisins and currants. One half pound of shredded citron. Flour for a rather stiff batter. Make into a cake and bake about three hours.

    If desired this may be added to the above: One pound of Sultana raisins. One-half pound each of chopped figs and raisins. One quarter pound each of shredded orange and lemon peel."

  23. we just had a delivery of New Amsterdam Gin fr/ the Gallo folks (supposedly the first "non-grape" product they have ever produced). I found a couple of single serving bottles for a taste test when I get home but was hoping to hear some thing about it fr/ any one who has tried it. I did notice that it was significantly lower proof--80--than most other gins.

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