Cows Need Grass, and USDA Agrees

Sanity prevails over vested interests. See the link below for the latest on USDA guidelines for organic raising of cows. Now if we can only get the same logic applied to "pasture access provided" chicken eggs...

Cows Need Grass, and USDA Agrees: "How consumers, farmers, and advocates teamed up to convince the government to change the rules...."

Canadian Whiskies

Canadian whiskeys used to be the number one consumed whiskies in the US, particularly during Prohibition, but in the latest whisky boom, they have fallen a bit behind their US, Scottish, and even Japanese counterparts. I am not a seven and seven guy, so I have had little exposure to the tender liquid of the north. I tried two Canadians recently -- the Canadian Club six year old and the much heralded 40 Creek Premium Barrel Select. The Canadian Club was not my favorite, to say the least. Both whiskies have similar copper coloring, but Canadian Club's nose is almost pure rubbing alcohol. When I smell it, I think cotton swabs and doctors' offices. Not a good thing. The 40 Creek also has an slight alcoholic smell like rubbing alcohol, but much subtler and rounded. On the tongue it is oily, viscous and has some malty sweetness. Not a robust whisky, but a decent dram. The Canadian Club, on the other hand, is sharper, with a little spice, but not pleasant. All in all, I didn't find either one especially to my liking, but I can see the attraction that the 40 Creek holds for fans of lighter Canadian whiskeys.

Brisket

Made brisket last night. I find that BBQ brisket is usually dry and uninteresting. Dull, listless, and lacking in flavor. So I go with a braising technique that includes equal weight of brisket and onions that turns out sweet and savory at the same time (hat tip: Cooks Illustrated). Over a bed of rice and with some nice broccoli on the side? Heaven, pure heaven (helps to uncork a good bottle of wine or some hoppy beer).

Turkey Day 2009

Yeah, so I am a little behind on my blogging about various things, including showing you how my heritage bird turned out on Thanksgiving. Quite well, thank you very much. A ten pound bird from Groff's Content Farm in Maryland with a citrus-herb rub turned out moist, delicious and (most importantly) evenly cooked between white and dark meat, which is not a simple thing on a turkey.

Bread Success

I finally had some success recently with making a ciabatta with real holes. Most of my bread has turned out very well in terms of flavor, but ciabatta is known for its large holes created in the retarding process. The holes come from the folding technique with a very wet dough that gives space for carbon dioxide to build up as the yeast processes the sugars in the dough. My doughs have for some reason ended up with a much tighter crumb (i.e., no holes), but Peter Reinhart's new book, Artisan Breads Every Day, seemed to do the trick. When I find where that photo went, I will post it.