Food and Drink

So a couple of you have purchased whiskey rocks, which got me to thinking about better things to use with more thermal mass. I came up with the idea of 1 gram pure .9999 silver bars. Or gold plated pure copper balls. What you think?

Two of the igniters on our stove don't work (they haven't for 6 years) and we either need to replace the stove or get it fixed (before my mom or someone else burns down the house). [Right now, we just light the stove by hand but if you try to do a low simmer on the front burners sometimes they go out and don't relight on their own.] I think the one we have is a Dacor Classic 30" (natural gas). I have no clue how old it is. Does anyone know some brands that are known to be the most reliable (I don't like to fuck around with gas and electricity). We were looking at the Dacor Renaissance 30" but I am wondering if Dacor is so reliable. Some people seem to mention W…

What barware do you use? I'm looking for a good set.

I’m going to abuse my powers as admin and sell some coffee: I have 40 lbs of coffee available to purchase. It’s a medium roast rwandan coffee that I taste blueberries in. It’s the first coffee I thought was worth selling under my brand. From the bean wholesaler: Rwanda Natural - Huye Mountain Sweet, black grape, blueberry, boysenberry, chocolate Huye Mountain Coffee is a private washing station established in 2011 to provide farmers in the region with access to international markets and buyers of specialty coffees. Around 1,330 producers deliver their freshly picked coffee cherries to 26 collecting stations around the Huyecommunity,…

I'm thinking some of you good ole boys might just like this here thing here! I know I do. http://dropandcatch.com/ I'm thinking about ordering the Amber Ale with 60 pounds of pull force. Don't know if I'm manly enough (wallet-wise) to swing the 100 pounds of pull force model.

A friend of mine in denver was telling me about his neighborhood tradition, and I thought it was a good one. Candy for the kids, shots for the parents. Just have a few shot glasses and a bottle of your favorite libation available for the parents who are walking around in the cold. It'll make their night!

this post will be quite slurrred, just a warning: May the record forever show, that I have beat a marine and a dude with full on Turret's, at a drinking game. It started with a night of rock band, drinking whenever breakes in the music dictated. Then it moved to an episode of top gear, requiring that whenever a blatant britishism came up or a total insult from one cast member to another were to occur, that we had to drink.... I have beat a Marine. Yes, I rule. He is asleep and I am completley fucked. This post has required some kind of record backspace usage to not end up looking like an edwood post. You all should be proud. Seriously. At least one backspace per actua…

Since Karen will be running The Chicago Marthon on Sunday, I will be chilling HERE on Saturday evening. I invite anyone who has the evening free to join me.

Let this be my way of encouraging some of you to attend next July...I'll try to post pics/vids Sunday if I've recovered:o... Every brewery in Indiana has committed to being there this go 'round...the beer list* is as follows... *Please note that this list is incomplete(!) & that Founders (Grand Rapids, Michigan) is typically there but does not always announce what they're bringing... Begin: Abita: Purple Haze (bottle), Turbodog (bottle) Alcatraz: Bock, Replicale, Alt. Anchor: Steam (bottle), Summer Beer (bottle) Atwater: Dirty Blonde Wheat (bottle), Pale Ale (bottle) Avery: 16

A huge thanks again to Al and Claire for making such a great afternoon possible. What a double-whammy of cooking skills to boot! And thanks to everyone for coming and making it a night to remember. Claire's lovely blueberry pie cools near an open window Strip after strip of uncured applewood smoked bacon adorns the tenderloin Even more bacon hits the pan...destined for desert Grahame tucks the chocolatey bacon goodness into the deep freeze... ...and proceeds to reap the benefits of being the chocolatier Mikey's high-proof stash isn't taking prisoners Conversation heats up as the bacon cooks (…

I had a cooking show turned on the TV while I was working on the computer. On one of its segments, the hosts test new cooking tools. The man loved this one: It seems like a good idea for us beer drinkers.

I'm thinking of getting an Excalibur 4-tray dehydrator. I want something that is smallish and not that expensive. Before buying, I thought I would ask if anyone else has a small dehydrator that they would recommend? I will mostly be using this for dehydrating soaked nuts. http://www.amazon.com/Excalibur-2400-4-Tray-Economy-Dehydrator/dp/B0047WOWHE/ref=sr_1_8?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1377484067&sr=1-8

Not a gin connoisseur by any means, but I have recently been drinking it some with dinners. Usually with tonic and lime. Just went out to a nice place last night, and ordered Bombay Sapphire. Waitress, a gin lover herself (and dang cute!), recommended one I had only heard of but never learned about or tried: Hendricks of Scotland Distilled with flowers and cucumbers! I took her recommendation, though, and glad I did! Was a very smooth yet flavorful gin, with none of the pseudo-paint-thinner scent I've smelled before, even a bit on some of the best gins. Highly recommended....will likely get a bottle for myself, first hard alcohol I've bought since Absenth…

From Iceland, a light, citrusy and ... IPA.

Which is your preference? I noticed most people fall one way or the other. I personally HATE beer. It's disgusting and flavorless IMO. I can tolerate DARK DARK beer, like Mackeson XXX and Gulden Draak, mainly because they're so damn dark...but otherwise, I pass on Bud, Miller and Heiny..blah. I personally prefer liqour... 4 Horsemen, Svedka on the rocks and mixed girly drinks hit the spot...

Don't see a huge selection at the local liquor store, what is good? http://www.bcliquorstores.com/product-catalogue?search=Bourbon

Today I decided to buy a slightly better Balsamic Vinegar than my usual: Leonardi "gold seal" It is fantastic. I know this isn't the super great fancy expensive stuff but it is still good. My read into balsamic is that the very expensive stuff is very sweet and only to be used for desserts. This seems to be pretty thick and sweetish with enough bite that it can still be used for salads with good olive oil. What is your favorite balsamic and what you use it for? I am now very curious about buying some "tradizionale" balsamic vinegar but don't know where to start. I guess I should find a place that has tastings.

I'm headed to Chicago next week and I'm looking for a few places to eat. I won't be driving so they'll have to be accessible by train/cab. I'm looking for somewhere for a nice Saturday lunch date. Around $100 for 2 without alcohol should be fine. I was thinking the RL restaurant (which I heard was good from a friend) and The Purple Pig. I'd have loved to gone to the Girl and the Goat but it's not open for lunch. Any suggestions? I'm also looking for a few places for casual dinner with friends. Under $30 per person. Cafe Iberico sounded intriguing. Sushi Wabi or Coast Sushi Bar. Longman and Eagle but I doubt we could find a seat. de Cero sounds interesting.

I'm not sure how many people here have tried this ice cream by dreyers but it's really fucking good. It's vanilla ice cream with caramel swirls, chocolate covered peanuts and tiny little tiney peanut butter cups. Other brands carry it too under different names. It usually has and animal followed the word "tracks". It'll probably blow your ass to high heaven.

Found two threads, one on the other on interestingly enough. Why should I go one way or the other? I understand the value of a decanter -- lets the wine breathe, albeit in a controlled fashion, while cat hair and asbestos doesn't settle into it. I seem to remember someone (tyrion?) getting something and having a positive opinion of it, but it's not coming up while searching for "aerator'. Something like a hand-held or bottletop device like this one. So...any new opinions on this? I don't have room for that whole let it drip thing, but I could probably find room for a proper decanter/carafe thingy. But I'll probably go with the decanting pourer if no-one pipes…

Sure, I'd love to be both, but given a choice, I'd rather eat good food and drink good beer in moderation than add even 20 years to the end of my life. The trick is finding the right level of gluttony...

mostly for my own usage/amusement, I'm posting this a) on the off chance that any of you are near enough to The Fickle Peach in N.E. Indiana to attend any of these five days... because i'm going to be there the evening of the 8th reporting my findings w/a friend or two & a drinking group...taking cruddy, lowlight pics etc.... c) just to get the word out about these two bars (see below for The Heorot) in case you ever find yourself passing through... some details of note: the Bell's Jazz Series has never been poured outside of the brewery & select festivals... this is happening the weekend of homecoming & there's also some football goin…

drove by in-n-out and from nearly 100 yards i get this big whiff, i wanted a double-double, but resisted the urge.

Q: Is there any non-dessert food that isn't made better by onion? A: No. Q: Is it ever possible to add too much onion? A: No! specifically I'm a red/purple onion fan, but I thought we'd leave the thread open to the entire onion universe.

I was at my mother's some time ago, and remembered that my stepfather (long since passed away) had some old liquor bottles in an armoir in her basement. I found several botttles of scotch and one cognac there. Was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on them. Worth bringing to a H-C meet? Literally, the only one I had ever heard of was Pinch....and the Ambassador is labelled the "lightest scotch in the world." The others are VAGUELY familiar, but most likely because I had seen them previously in the armoir. Please take a look, and any thoughts/opinions appreciated. Going to do some innernet searches as well...... Thanks! Todd.