tony b

Two thumbs up to Lord Byron! Way to step up, mates!

You're welcome!

A very nice piece of wood!

Gorgeous birds! You're coming up to speed quickly with your new KK!

Nice looking soup, MacKenzie. Checked out the recipe - wholeheartedly endorse the dried porcini mushrooms (I have the powdered version in my pantry for an extra boost of umami), but they left out one of my secret ingredients - finely chopped celery. It adds a bit of texture to all the soft and creaminess of the rest of the ingredients - that je ne sais quoi!

Our restaurants are only allowed to do take-out now, no seating of any kind. Bars are closed, along with any place where 10 or more congregate - movie theatres, bowling alleys, concerts.

Don't be a meathead! Thankfully there's still some good folks out there, doing the right thing! Not only trying to fill a needed gap, but they are GIVING IT AWAY!!! I know the owners and they are great people! Love giving them my business. https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/swisher-distillery-cedar-ridge-turns-alcohol-into-hand-sanitizer-in-wake-of-covid-19-strains-supplies-20200317

Thank goodness there's still some folks out there that really care about their communities. https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/swisher-distillery-cedar-ridge-turns-alcohol-into-hand-sanitizer-in-wake-of-covid-19-strains-supplies-20200317 I've known the owners for many years and go out of my way to support their business. Trying to support the local restaurants and breweries, too, but it's like triage, picking/choosing winners/losers - it's frustrating! Oh, btw - Happy First Day of Spring, everyone! In all the craziness, almost forgot what day it was!

I hate to sound cruel, but those folks deserve to have a 24 hour power outage!

Sometimes during a cold smoke, I'll lightly tap on the side of the smoker with tongs to make sure that things are settling and staying lit.

Rainy today, so probably no grilling out tonight, but I did get to last evening. Chicken Shawarma on the menu. Chicken was pre-marinated from Trader Joes. On a 325F grill, direct, with cherry wood chunk. Plated up with a cuke & red pepper relish and tahini sauce, Bibb lettuce for the wrap, and a side of curry rice.

My deck is made out of Trex. I specifically made the contractor use the under decking system so that there were no holes on the deck planking. Added to the job, as they had to work on ladder underneath, but I think it was worth it to not have unsightly holes and screws showing. You can use shavings from cutting the planks as filler in the screw holes, but I dispensed with that need with the under deck system. As far as I remember (it's been over 10 years ago), but I don't recall the contractor using any special blades or drill bits.

Happy St. Pat's Day, ya'll! Having to celebrate at home though, as the local government asked the bars to stay closed today. A nice corned beef sandwich (not homemade) with a good Irish Ale! Sláinte!

Second on the Lumber Jack pellets.

Did OK at the local supermarket today, but they'd been hit hard yesterday, according to the folks working there. Many employees were out in the store re-stocking some items. Meat counter was a little thin, but most things were to be had. Unfortunately, in parallel, they'd run a sale on the thicker cut pork chops that I like, so naturally they were out! I had to settle for the regular cut ones - I'll survive! Soup and pasta shelves were hit hard, but the good imported Italian pasta was plentiful, which is all that I buy anymore. No paper products, but I didn't need any. Liquid hand soap was sparse, but there was plenty of bar soap - what's with folks? Liquor/beer/wine department hardly looked fazed - woo, hoo! The real adventure will be tomorrow when I hit up CostCo and Trader Joes. Will be interesting to see how hard they've been hit.

As well as nuts, salmon - you get the general picture.

I plan to go shopping tomorrow. Will be curious to see what the shelves look like, as it's been a week since my last shopping trip?

Indeed!

Another reason that I like you, MacKenzie! I, on the other hand, did not grind up my chuck roast. It went on at 275F indirect, with the smoker pot of mesquite, post oak and coffee wood chunks, rubbed with a mix of Oakridge Secret Weapon and Cimarron Docs, with an extra hit of fresh ground black pepper. Took it off at an IT of 200F, just like a brisket, except no pink butcher paper. Plated with another round of the French mashed potatoes (sous vide in butter & 1/2n1/2, seasonings - 192F for 90 minutes, then run through the food mill with the smallest disc, then added sour cream and boursin cheese (garlic & herb), S&P), with a Bourbon mushroom gravy. The potatoes came out almost as good as the ricer/screen version, but with half the work. Next time, I'll up the butter even more!

Shows how stupid folks get in times like this - you can feed a lot more folks on a pork butt or full packer brisket than on a whole chicken!

I miss The Pig. So far, our local market (HyVee) has plenty of meat on hand. My freezer is pretty stocked right now, so I'm not terribly worried about running out.

I've got 2 batches of beer in process right now, plus a couple more that I still have a couple of gallons of left, so I'm good for at least a month! LOL! I'm pretty good on TP for a while, but thanks anyway, Aussie!