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I've just been working my regular job and finetuning the house. We did get some rain the other day and I used it as an excuse to work under the house. There's about 6' of headroom down there so I built a small workbench a couple weeks ago which is functional but, there's a post and footing in the way. The post and footing was really bothering me and it was a tripping hazard. I have lots of scrap lumber so I built a storage bin around it. I've got PVC parts in it now. I'm thinking once all the yard irrigation is done it can hold screws, nails, and such.

I am loving my 16TT. Yesterday: Scallops for lunch. They could have been prettier but, for some stupid reason, I took advice from the internet and oiled my food and not my grates. Duh! I throttled back the heat and slow cooked some skinny ribs through the afternoon For dinner I cranked up the heat, rested my smoke pot (with apple pellets and loose leaf tea) on the coals in the firebox and smoke-grilled a duck breast for dinner. The cast iron pan meant no flare ups. The 16 did all this with less than a full basket of fuel. It was so easy to commit to barbecuing given the easy clean up and a sensible scale for cooking for two. I am a believer.

Final Day #5 of the Butcher Box challenge Slow roasted sweet potato rubbed in olive oil, salt, pepper and fennel seed. Served with Labneh & chives roasted rainbow carrots cook in pork juice/residue bone in pork chop with olive oil, salt, pepper, butter and brown sugar crust @jonj paired with a Russian River Siduri Pinot Noir

I guess I never really responded besides saying how jealous I was about playing Torrey Pines. like many here I love to golf. I was not able to get out as much during covid but enough to keep me sane. I also love to woodwork. I have fallen In Love with the lathe. Since then I have not done much flat work. cooking is what has kept me the most sane duty this time especially on my new Komodo kamado. Here are a few of my woodturnings.

If you think 2020 was bad wait till it turns 21 and starts drinking!!

So sanity for us this year has of course been cooking and we have really gotten to know our neighbors. We moved into this house in 2019 and once things warmed up here in St. Louis we had social distanced happy hours in our cul de sac. We were also able to go to Lake Michigan this year which is a family tradition that has been going for about 100 years now. While we were there I brought my golf clubs and played Arcadia Bluffs which is a top 100 golf course. It has some of the same features as Torrey Pines. [mention]Troble [/mention] some of these pictures are similar but this is a lake instead of the ocean but from this height you can’t tell the difference. Wonderful course and my wife got to ride along and she really enjoyed it. We also bought a new Harley last year which has been a great diversion since it’s just the two of us and we can see what we want and stop when we want to. Arcadia Bluffs 2020 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Work has been full on all year. So much so that I was kinda jealous of those people who had been furloughed. That said, it was great to have something meaningful to do while the world around us further and further out of our individual control. Visits to our allotment (veg plot) were allowed under our lockdown rules. Looking at these photos make me hopeful for the new year.

No....she only has 2 grills 🤣

We switched from summer fun to winter fun yesterday. I have three daughters, two are normal, the middle child has a screw loose! She is a total free spirit. We went snow skiing yesterday. Not the best conditions but still a lot of fun.

We sorta feed an army. We usually have two big parties a year, catering for 100 people each time. We also cook and feed friends a lot. None of that has happened this year and so I end up delivering ice cream to friends' houses in an effort to turn over our "stock". The big bonus of having this freezer was that we never had any reason to raid the stores when lockdown hit. As the husband said: without knowing it we had been practising for a pandemic for the last ten years. You've outed me Brian. Someone is going to be at my door soon, wanting to investigate an un-British addiction to excess refrigeration.

I was reading through some of all your profiles this morning and I stumbled across @tony b who apparently has in interest in golf. Which is something I quite enjoy. Being in San Diego and a resident of the City of San Diego we get to play the City owned golf course and home of the 2008 & 2021 US Open Torrey Pines. ive been making a point to schedule one day a month to go to this beautiful spot, which as all of my friends know, I’d like my ashes spread around hole 3 on the South Course. It’s a very special and beautiful place. It’s been incredibly therapeutic to do that. I love about 15-20 minutes away so I’ve also done a couple of brisket smoked while golfing. Here a few photos of the scenery. cooking on my KK and golfing at Torrey Pines has been great for me, what have you been doing in 2020 to bring you enjoyment? btw @tony bin case you were wondering last week it was a bit chilly 66 degrees when we teed off at noon

Thank you to @Sir Bill for recommending the Netherton Foundry. Their website said they would not deliver any new orders before the new year but they must have been working overtime. These arrived today. They are achingly beautiful and robust and functional. I can't wait to use them. Paella pan with lid on Paella pan Tortilla press The Husband was going to surprise me with the Rapicca gloves but I had already ordered a medium sized pair direct from the company in the US. Just as well. He hadn't paid attention to sizing and had bought an XL pair! We have sold them on to the friend who bought my old 21. I am very happy with the gloves and I have found them very handy(!) in the IDK and ODK.

Does the middle daughter take after her father?

Where my company hauls for gives me a Christmas ham from The Honey Baked Ham Company every year. It's a 1/4 ham and there's only three of us so it's a lot of food. Usually I do a huge Christmas spread. This year the day after Christmas me and Mrs skreef are going down to St. Augustine so I'll keep dinner simple with just the ham and a few sides leaving the leftovers for my son to eat while we are gone.

I wasted a lot of wood learning how to hand chase threads. It is so fun and addicting though. I have basically just made a ton of small ring boxes the last little while to practice. My problem is it is super hard to find hand chasers outside of 16 tpi. You have to run the lathe super slow and use super dense wood. It is a blast though.

I know what you mean. It's a bit of a chore but when you go to use them again after you've done a good job of getting them sharp, you forget about how long it took and berate yourself for not having done it sooner. Well, I do.

As I said, I love high end carbon steel Japanese knives..I won’t say what I’ve spent on them. In doing this, I’ve learned about sharpening, and the benefits of really sharp knives, to the point that I can’t use someone else’s. Everyone has their tastes, but to me, the kitchen knife is the most important tool in the kitchen. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

OK, back on topic. Last night I did some chicken thighs, rubbed with Yardbird (fav for chicken). Direct, 325F, cherry wood chunks, main grate. Kept it simple. Risotto in mushroom stock, finished with Parm and truffle salt. Side salad.

Well, after 2+ years of lurking and trying to find a used KK, I’d had enough of waiting and pulled the trigger on a 32”, deep blue pebble. I’m moving to a new home and this will hopefully arrive shortly after move in. I’m planning on getting the side tables, cover, pizza stone, rotis cradle and motor. Actually found a KK cold smoke RIG on EBay. Is there any place to buy and sell used KK accessories, online swap meet? Any advice welcomed!

Good, but the black truffle salt that I just scored is even better on fries, so I'm guessing it would be on chips, too!

Returning to the topic of this thread... Yes, @Tyrus the best fries are those salty ones stuck at the bottom of the bag. It's its own special thing in a time and a place. I wouldn't ever try to replicate that in a home fried chip.

I clean my gaskets with a plastic bristle brush before every cook to keep the bits and pieces out of the crease. Just a light sweeping will do if done on a regular basis. I'll also wipe it down from time to time. Like @tony b said older KK's have the top latch plate welded so only the bottom is adjustable. The welds are micro welds along the two sides of the upper latch plate. You have to look pretty hard to see them.

Mrs skreef is the chip chef. Sliced extra thin and deep fried. In the end don't forget the most important part - sprinkled with Australian chicken salt. We have an air fryer but deep fried is the only way to go for these.

Very neat Paul. Aggie that is a talent. Very impressive..... I’ll stick to cooking with fire and sharpening knives. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I haven’t finalized the accessories yet, but was thinking teak to save some $$. This is a pricey habit.

Nice looking dinner, gotta love chicken thighs, Tony.

@Basher my golf rounds have gone down significantly with small kids. I used to play 1-2/week for about 10 years but I can’t justify spending an entire weekend day away from my kids now. So I strictly moved to weekday/business golf. This yielded about 5 rounds a year the past few years big since COVID my wife and I have tried to schedule time for each other to do something solo away from the family and kids. I chose golf and once a month I go to Torrey pines on a weekday when my kids are at preschool and j can “work remotely” from work. It’s been a nice break and in November I was able to do a work meeting on the golf course so I played 2x in November

I shuddered when I read that. Good knives don't go near the dishwasher, don't get thrown together, even when being washed and put in the sink and never use a scotch pad (even if they say 'non scratch'). We once had a house guest get a knife out of the knife drawer and use it to prise a tin lid where the pull had snapped off. My wife only told me after they'd gone. Managed to snap the tip on a very expensive knife. There is now a lock on the drawer. For the kids. Which we don't have. 😁

Congratulations @BOC - bet you can't wait. Which tables did you go for - stainless tops or teak? Come on @MacKenzie and @tekobo, it's your chance to upsell him on at least two more KKs! 😆

This was yesterday. Dolphins off Peel Island. This is mates boat so I don’t do this often. I’m a member at royal Queensland Golf Course, however, haven’t played much over the last few years as I’d rather attend my kids sporting event at the moment. Jonj what’s the best book you have read recently? I discovered audiobooks a few years ago and became obsessed. Now I listen to 30- 50 books a year. Mindf##ked was interesting- it’s the Cambridge Analytica story written by their head tech guy. That’s a pretty course Troble. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Tekobo my wife has Scanpan knives- I’d call them mid range. However, her favoured 3 knives are $3 knives made in Taiwan with plastic handles. I’d call them junk, she won’t let me toss them. I once gifted her a beautiful high carbon Japanese knife. It ended up in the dishwasher multiple times. Then didn’t want to cut food with a rusty knife. Every knife she has is now stainless. Some people don’t care much for knives and that’s ok. I just want to maintain the edge so she remains practiced at cutting with sharp knives. We have lots of friends who have a block full of $100+ knives and have never thought about sharpening them. They don’t realise how much they have dulled over the years and think all tomato’s need to be sliced with the knife tip first!!!!! I gather them up occasionally, sharpen them on a whetstone and return them- this can be dangerous. They think it’s a miracle...... Then the cycle starts again. I hate dull knives, many people don’t care. [emoji2369] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

OMG! And I thought I had a problem! The kitchen fridge has the pullout drawer freezer on the bottom, with a big sliding tray in the top. There's a medium sized chest freezer in the basement for the bulkier things (racks of ribs, pork butts, briskets, whole chickens, etc.) And, if needed, I can always use the top freezer section on my beer fridge for the overflow (typically after a CostCo and Trade Joes run!)

@Troble we play classic and garage rock, Americana, and oddball music which makes us smile. My main instrument is electric bass guitar, mostly Alembics although I do use Hofners when we do a Beatles set. I also play electric 6-string guitar, mostly G&Ls or Fender. I occasionally use a Theremin but am not at all proficient at it. Mostly just strange noises. TMI. In a kind of weird moment of insight, I realized I bought one of my Alembics about a decade ago from Kevin Robell, who lived on Coronado Island at the time. Our wine cellar has a L-O-N-G way to go before we run into any difficulty, so we have that going for us...

I was just about to respond to Troble's question when I realised that I have no idea what type of freezer we have. The Husband is in charge of procuring equipment. I just ran back up the stairs, feeling a little ashamed about quite how large my freezer is, when I saw bgrant's message. Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound... The freezer is commercial, that much I know. No branding on the outside but a label on the inside says it is a Gemfrost. It looks like this. Those trays are two deep. And full.

What has not been mentioned is the 8 mates on the balcony drinking Guiness and standing around the BB admiring it's good looks. Now we have doubled the weight. Reminds me of years ago and a friend's back porch that collapsed when his parents were out of town. Yea bad idea putting the keg out there and everyone trying to get a refill.

A mix of Raspberries and Blackberries, that's it. An American secret, so don't let any Canadians know.

Stir fry, a new wok and some fluffy rice.

Love my Rappica gloves.

Good one!

You've only scratched the surface! 😄

Those are beautiful!

Tekobo, you have taken to the 16 in. like a duck to water.

Gorgeous shots of the allotement, inspiring me for the 2021 garden season.

@USUAggie those are really amazing. Thanks for sharing. Beautiful work! @Paul you keep the lights on! I’d say it’s essential. 😀

There's enough food in that freezer I could eat for a year! Are you trying to feed an army?

I've been playing golf once a week with a bubble buddy, although not on as nice a course as you have available. We try for tee times when we can play as a deuce, as there are a lot of mask/Covid conspiracy folks in this part of the country. And, oddly enough, high infection rates in the community (/s). We used to (now retired) work at the same hospital, which is now full of Covid patients, so we and our families are very careful in our behavior. I would consider it poor form to be admitted to my former hospital right now. We play unless the temperature gets below 40°F (we would probably be in shorts and polos if it reached 66°). We play music together once a week as well (we are in the same band when not grounded by Covid) to keep our skills up. Finally, I do a lot of reading. I'm in a long standing (although now Zoom-based) book club but also go through several other books in addition to the selected book of the month. I typically do a fair bit of woodworking, but am finding it is really on the back burner since the pandemic. Not sure why. And oh yes, cooking and working down the wine cellar. The latter will take some diligence.

I was half joking. I bought a 'gadget' not that long ago. It was a Thyme stripper. Basically, it looks like a ladle with a number of holes of varying size in the handle and you pull the thyme through, it strips all the leaves so you're not fishing woody stalks out of your food. It's 85% effective but so much better than picking the leaves off with your fingers. Mrs BQ made derisive comments about it when she discovered it. I played the 'oh, that, been in the drawer for ages' strategy. Anyway, about a week ago, she comes asking for it and where did I put it. It was in the dishwasher which was running but I said I'd thrown it out at her request. WHY? It's really good at getting the leaves off woody he....then she realised that she had just opened the door. Apparently I had a smug look on my face for the rest of the day. I didn't help matters by singing a rendition of MC Hammer's 'Hammertime' although my version was 'Hammer thyme'... I did stop when she tested the heft of a meat mallet in her throwing hand. I find the deep fryer is easier to clean and if you're doing anything in any quantity, having the basket to drain makes it pretty effective for draining off excess oil otherwise there is a lot of kitchen towel involved. I see that you have a recessive self preservation gene. To help you with that problem, the outcome is likely to go something like this:

Peruvian pollo a la brasa roasted on the spit at 350 degrees. marinated in garlic, cumin, aji amarillo paste, aji amarilo chunks & aji panca powder with Peruvian salt, and a dash of soy and pisco roasted purple Peruvian potatoes with cilantro, garlic, Peruvian salt, black pepper, thyme and a dash of aji pamca. Finished with a bit of pane Sean cheese once pulled and rested served with spicy Peruvian green sauce over chicken & potatoes servrd with crispy kale chips tossed with olive oil & sea salt

I bought a spit rotisserie for my new 32 and 23 and a cradle rotisserie for the 32. I was dreading fiddling about to get them to work but when I read Dennis' message above this morning I thought I would give it a go. I fitted the spit rotisserie to the 32 in just under 6.5 minutes. I did it all on my own and was super pleased. The cradle rotisserie took longer but works beautifully. I will post videos on a new topic when I figure out how to do so.