sshorter

Since I had seen a take out order filled at the bar last week, I was unaware of the rule (indeed, I believed the converse). In their defense the other transaction took place at 10:25pm rather than 6:30pm when I went in yesterday.

You were seeing things. "Dr. Don Rockville, MD" might be my chiropractor. Then again, he might not.

Heather will be "Live Online" tomorrow at 1pm at the Washington Post's Free Range chat spot. I think it will be here.

We did not. Good idea, will try it next time. With our giant new pressure cooker/canner (my birthday present, aw), it was a good use of time - maybe an hour of labor and a couple hours of time for 6 quarts of veal stock.

We ate there on Sunday. I love the ambience ("no bullsh*t, just burgers"), the burgers were great, the draft root beer was yummy. I do look forward to having a growed-up beer with my burger. My one complaint is that the burgers that we ordered medium-rare and medium all arrived rare (as in red and cool in the middle and falling apart). Yes, there's a sign on the wall reminding us that grilling burgers is an art not a science, so perhaps the artist that cooked our burgers needs a little more training. Overall, I loved it, and look forward to going back. I'm looking forward also to Son of Hell-Burger opening in Silver Spring.

Yum. If it's not actually illegal, I don't have to eat a plate of foie in front of city hall in protest.

6 sickened by poison soup in Gaithersburg

From a science blog called The Frontal Cortext: Last Friday, in front of 4 million television viewers and a studio audience, the chef Jamie Oliver killed a chicken. Having recently obtained a United Kingdom slaughterman's license, Mr. Oliver staged a "gala dinner," in fact a kind of avian snuff film, to awaken British consumers to the high costs of cheap chicken. "A chicken is a living thing, an animal with a life cycle, and we shouldn't expect it will cost less than a pint of beer in a pub," he said Monday in an interview. "It only costs a bit more to give a chicken a natural life and a reasonably pleasant death," he told the champagne-sipping audience before he stunned the chicken, cut an artery inside its throat, and let it bleed to death, all in accordance with British standards for humane slaughter. Mr. Oliver said that he wanted people to confront the reality that eating any kind of meat involves killing an animal, even if it is done with a minimum of pain. Discuss.

Okay, so the fact that ads don't look like the real thing is old news. Here's a nice blog tracking the food that wants to be eaten. My favorite is right on top.

Very interesting set of pics, comparing the advertisement to the real thing.

Just goes to show how limited the dining options are in SS, particularly at lunchtime.

Some pictures from class (note these are all thumbnails to larger shots): MDT has completed the first major incision Meat porn "Too cool for school" Waitman is assisted by Mrs. B Production line (edit to add) Michael offering instruction

As Heather mentioned, "Okay, we're entering the late Roman empire stage at this point." $1000 Brownie

Article on pork in today's WP. If I'd known I could get pork cheeks at Cashion's, I might've saved myself some trouble. When Belly Meets Plate

Okay, that was pretty good. The trotters wound up about 1.5" in diameter and 3/4" thick, and for some reason they needed some time on the stove top after four minutes in the oven per the recipe, but they were fine. They were so unctuous and rich that they served well as an appetizer that enabled folks not to get restless while I fussed with the main course. The cheeks were delicious and tender, and the braise gave it a good flavor, topped by a tasty prune vinegar. I was worried once I saw them that one cheek per person would be too little, but they turned out okay.

As Heather says, hang in there. After all, you don't necessarily want to be the guinea pig (though I hear there's good eatin' on those) - wait until I might know what I'm doing.

Not bumping the thread just for it's own sake, but I keep fortuitously coming across piggie pictures today.

Took the bag to the dump this morning. I'm glad it was cold out last night.

Speaking of pork (click image for original story): Stamps released in China to celebrate the Year of the Pig taste of sweet and sour pork. The stamps on sale in China to celebrate the country's New Year. The stamps taste of sweet and sour pork. When you scratch the front of the stamps, it smells of the popular chinese dish and when the back of the stamp is licked it tastes of the dish too. The stamps are on sale in China ahead of their New Year on February 18, reports Metro.

Well the heads thawed in three hours or so with a trickle in the sink. One little ear peeking out of the sink: Let's roll! Heather wouldn't come document the butchering process, so let's skip to the results: Well, if it's just the cheeks alone, I wound up paying $21 per pound. As Heather muttered, "This had better be worth it." Of course if I include the tongue, it's $11 per pound. The tongues and cheeks came to very nearly the same weight. Remind me again why I did this operation on trash day? I don't want these in the garbage for another week. Lessons learned: 1. To remove the cheeks, first cut away the fatty membrane on the outside, then working with a small carving knife work under the muscle along the jawbone. The jawbone is flat for about 1.5" and then it takes a dive in towards the center of the head, so don't just cut straight across or you'll lose some meat. 2. There's a little nugget of similar meat on the inside of the jawbone as well. It's only about an ounce per side though. 3. When the head is split, the brains tend to fall out when it thaws. 4. The ear makes a reasonably good handle, and a thumb in the eye socket will help stabilize the head while you cut.

I said meat, not offal. Plus, we're out of capers.

Well there doesn't seem to be enough jowl left to make guanciale, sadly. Since I don't intend to make head cheese, the only other significant piece of meat I think I can get off these babies is the tongue. Does anyone have a favorite pork tongue recipe they want to share?

Rather appropriate for working with piggies, no? They would not have been my first choice, but they'll do for now.

And for those waiting eagerly for head shots: Here's where they spent the night: The bags: One of the more grisly sights ever in my sink (Heather just walked up to the sink for first time and said, "Oh, for Christ's sake!"):