I just finished posting my review on Amazon. Normally I wouldn't go through the trouble, but I found this book a good read.
Tuesday Sep 04, 2007
I just finished posting my review on Amazon. Normally I wouldn't go through the trouble, but I found this book a good read.
Thursday Aug 30, 2007
Looks like the HOWTOs are popular:
Here is this week's 103bees keyword report for each of your projects, including a selection of randomly picked search queries, the latest question search queries and your todo list. THE SECT OF RAMA (http://blogs.sun.com/rama) > cat and bow golf > mario fustration > omgmissiles > lcc connection utility mac > php 5 require include problem error > macbook two button mouse > launching pig > fortress maximus > terastation power consumption > "that will do pig, that will do" THE SECT OF RAMA QUESTIONS > how to make pruno > how to smoke chicken > how to make pruno > how to improve dsl speed > how to make pruno
Wednesday Aug 29, 2007
And rounding out my beverage hording last night, I bottled my 2006 Cabernet (tasting delicious), 2004 Cabernet (not so delicious), and picked up a couple cases from my favorite wine shop- including these three attractive bottles from Mollydooker. I hope I like them as much as Robert Parker did the 2005's...
Tuesday Aug 21, 2007
Its been on my todo list for a while, but I finally stocked up ingredients for my next several months of beer and coffee consumption. Grains and hops for a CACA (California Cream Ale) and an oatmeal stout, plus 10# of Sweet Maria's espresso Monkey Blend. Let the brewing begin!
This past weekend I took the espresso machine out of moth balls in anticipation of needing the caffeine for my pending new fatherhood (3 weeks to go), gave it a good cleaning, and roasted some regular and decaf beans. Its been in storage for roughly 6 months mostly because Mrs R couldn't drink caffeinated beverages and [briefly] no longer craved it. Plus the once/twice a week roasting session plus the longish morning ritual of griding/extracting/frothing for a couple of cappuccinos was wearing on me.
Well the break did me good, as I find the process enjoyable once again. Funny how you forget just how good a real cappuccino can be. I'm no expert, but even with my modest equipment (Gaggia 16002, a Zassenhaus knee grinder powered via a cordless drill, and a Poppery roaster), I made a better cap on my first day back as barista than the previous 6 months. (FWIW, I probably have only had 3-4 in that time frame, as I'm always disappointed in whats served.)
In an effort to push a few readers over to home espresso making, I took a one minute video of the machine at work. (warning, just over 100MB. Yes, streaming video via Mediacast is on the RFE list.) There's a little blonding towards the end, but nothing horrendous. Maybe its time to convert my portafilter to a bottomless. More photos/videos to come of some cappuccino action, once I stock whole milk again...
Monday Jul 30, 2007
A couple of weeks ago, while searching for something I no longer remember, I ran across some homegrown software for the Stoker called StokerLog. It looked pretty neat, and I planned on running it for my next BBQ session. Days became weeks, and although I didn't have the time for some slow cooking, I really wanted to give the software a spin. So I gave beer can chicken a go. It turned out fairly well- here's a screen grab just before pulling the chicken (click for full size):
Its showing the Stoker was set to maintain 350F and to alarm when the food reached 175F. The graph charts the fire temp (red), food temp (gray), and fan cycles (blue). Ignore the data before about 17:20, I was fooling around with things... I'll absolutely use StokerLog for most cook sessions going forward- thanks Amir!
I won't however be doing a beercan chicken in my smoker again, due to some limitations in my setup.
Cons:
- My small setup didn't allow for a vertical chicken and placing the drip tray far enough away from the coals. So the drippings essentially vaporized, giving the chicken a slightly burnt-fat taste on the skin.
- It also meant no pan drippings to make a sauce.
- Lastly, a 1 hour smoke session wasn't enough to penetrate the skin, so the flavor wasn't all that different from an oven roasted chicken.
- It kept the heat out of the kitchen! On the hot summer days, why add more heat to the house?
- It was a nice proof-of-concept. The terra cotta pot and Stoker held the temp within 0.6% at 350F. Impressive. I can't wait to see how stable things will be at a relatively cool 225F next time.
Wednesday Jul 25, 2007
Its being claimed Man vs Wild is a fake. I've been skeptical of the show ever since Bear carved a boomerang and supposedly used it to nail and kill a rabbit from 50 feet by hitting it in the head, making a loud Batman "Thock!!" sound. Conveniently off-camera. Ah well- I still look forward to watching the show. It is entertaining.
If you want to watch a real survivor however, check out Survivorman. The 2nd season starts in the US on August 10th.
Thursday May 24, 2007
I took the day off and finally made it to the City Beer Store too haul as much as I could manage back home. For some reason I was expecting more from the place- perhaps unrealistically. Between all the hyping of the online reviews, the fact that that I can already get a good selection from my local haunts, and that some of my top choices weren't stocked or just aren't available in California at all (Three Floyds, Rodenbach, although the owner confirmed Dogfish is making its way to California soon.) Even so, there were many more beers I wanted to try, but just wouldn't have been able to carry the 2-3 miles to/from the train stations. I do recommend the place and will return. From left to right:
Girardin Gueuze 1882 Black Label, Cantillon Broucsella (1900) Grand Cru, AleSmith Grand Cru Ale, AleSmith Wee Heavy (unfortunately he was all out of the other Alesmith's), Buffalo Belgian Stout (this was one of the beers available on tap he was kind enough to let me taste, so I thought I'd give it a spin), Arrogant Bastard Ale.
To my friends who read this, feel free to call dibs on any of the bottles you want to try and I'll set it aside to crack in your presence (better act fast, I'm getting thirsty!)
Saturday May 19, 2007
This ad for a sponsor of the Maker Faire caught my eye. Google, Microsoft, Sun, Yahoo, ... Carlo Rossi?? Gotta love how the maker of Night Train & Thunderbird is attempting to put a positive spin on the swill they push.
Maybe they'll have an exhibit on how to make pruno.
Saturday Apr 14, 2007
I took yesterday off to recharge my batteries by doing a couple of my favorite things: riding bikes (motorcycle this time) and brewing beer. The ride consisted of about 100 miles through the Santa Cruz mountains, including Stage Rd, pictured above. Thats it cutting every which way through the hills- fun stuff. Every time I ride through this area on a weekday, I always vow to give it up on weekends- there was almost zero traffic. And there weren't any lame weekend tourists that can't manage driving the speed limit on twisty roads or use a turn out lane- it was wonderful without them.
When I got home, I got cracking on brewing a cascade IPA. Just like most beers, you haven't had an IPA until you've tried a fresh one. All of the delicate and subtle flavors fade with time, and all thats left is the bitterness. Blech.
I've brewed this simple recipe once before as a dry hopped beer, but thought I'd try a slight variant this time: pitching the last ounce of hops into the kettle once about 1/2 way into the cooling cycle, and leaving them there overnight before racking. The fermentation might "scrub" away and flavors it contributed, but if nothing else, the loose hops helped filter the trub. I'll know how it turned out in about a month or so.
Friday Apr 06, 2007
Being a brewer and beer lover, I've long known about Toronado (and its convenient proximity to delicious meat products). Lately however, I've been asleep at the wheel. Jed just turned me on to The City Beer Store & Tasting Bar. Its been open for nearly a year! And its only 0.5 miles from BART.
I'll be killing off my liver with wine this Easter weekend, but will have to give this place a shot the following weekend.
UPDATE: As Jed will likely beat me to this place, and has kindly offered to scout any beers of interest I may have- I culled together a few top contenders that are hard to find in the bay area (in bottle). Here it is, for those interested:
- anything from Three Floyds: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26/?sort=avgD
- anything by Dogfish- especially the 60, 90, or 120 minute IPAs http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/64/?sort=avgD
- Rodenbach, La Folie, or any other Flanders Red ale except Duchesse (which you can get at bevmo) http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/53
- something from Cantillion that doesn't sound to ghey http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/388/?sort=avgD
- his top choice for an Altbier
- his top choice for the *absolute freshest* phenolic wheat beer- lots of banana, cloves, etc. none of this "american wheat" swill.
Friday Mar 23, 2007
Pinotblogger has great write up on how/when you can expect to come out of the red financially if you start your own winery.
Summary:
1. Start winery.
2. Dump tons of money into it.
3. Wait 8 years.
4. Profit!
I think I'll be sticking to my garage productions for the near future...
Saturday Mar 03, 2007
The founder of Rogue Ales has started a distillery in 2003, not too far behind Anchor, and it sounds like there will be more to come:
A number of brewers would like to follow in his path. Robert Cassell, who worked at Victory Brewing Company and Harpoon Brewery before landing at Philadelphia Distilling, a craft distillery in Philadelphia, said he has been approached by at least four breweries looking to branch into spirits.
A Tennessee hazelnut orchard is sprouting truffles which appear to the be first domestically grown truffles that excite the likes of Chef Thomas Keller:
Although unexpected, the Tennessee truffles were not unplanned. Tom Michaels, a 59-year-old plant pathologist, pianist and Scrabble tournament competitor, sprouted the hazelnut trees from seeds. He inoculated their roots with Tuber melanosporum, the Périgord truffle, before setting them in his backyard seven years ago.
Wednesday Feb 14, 2007
Further along the lines of the bourbon in a plastic bag entry, is an interesting post on Dr Vino about the "threat" of nanotechnology. I'm not a regular reader enough to tell if this is sarcasm, or if the author truly perceives manufactured food a threat.
The more I learn about the process of wine making, the more I realize how primitive it really is. Even the rudimentary steps are nearly impossible for winemakers to agree on, but when you introduce controversial, and relatively recent changes, like micro-ox (made infamous by the Mondovino villan Michel Rolland), its clear our collective knowledge of whats really happening from grape to bottle is in its infant stages, probably doubling every decade or so these past 50 years.
Who's to say its not "right" to manufacture wine, let alone whats best? Without out a doubt, wine will become more manufactured, leaving less up to the whims of nature. And I welcome our new nanotech overlords.
