Food Thread: Cluck, Cluck. Cluck...Cluck...Cluck

I consider chicken to be almost fungible. Well, I might not buy the day-old stuff at the gas station (next to the sushi), but there are a few premium brands of chicken that are long on cost but short on flavor. I have had fresh chicken from a farm, and there is definitely a difference, but that is difficult to find with any consistency.

But there is a duck farm in upstate NY that has expanded their offerings from duck liver and ducks, to high end chicken. And judging by the quality of their duck, my guess is that their chicken will be pretty damned good.

But good enough to pay a hefty premium for it, or drive two hours? Maybe not, but I need to know! Besides, I can get ethanol-free gasoline at a large chain in NY, so there's that!

Trump administration unveils 5-part plan to reduce egg prices

• Bringing more hens in to repopulate flocks
  
• Removing red tape to help the industry grow
  
• Considering temporary egg imports
  
• Testing vaccines that protect chickens
  
• Helping farmers prevent the number one reason for flocks dying and prices rising: the bird flu.

How about just letting our poultry industry deal with it on their own? There is almost no transmission to humans, so it is a self-limiting disease. The government almost always screws up this sort of thing, so going out on a limb and allowing the real experts to manage their own problem isn't really a stretch at all!

Although... I might swap the prosciutto with bacon, and change the red peppers for something with a bit more zing. Because why the hell not? The chicken thighs will stand up to the smokiness of the bacon and the bit of spiciness from some hot peppers.

I love flavorful broths that have fun things floating in them. Like Pho and Ramen and all sorts of neat stuff like that.
Piccole Polpette in Brodo di Manzo
That's "Small Meatballs In Beef Broth" in American, and delicious-sounding in both languages. And it sounds pretty easy to make. Just ignore the crap about store-bought beef having fillers. And the silly claims about vitamins and minerals.

Just eat a varied diet and all of your vitamin and mineral needs will be taken care of.

Our wonderful neighbors served that with some tasty cheese (and large cocktails). I would never have given it much thought until I tried it, but damn...Jalapenos and Blackberries go together marvelously, and I assume that they go well with other berries too. Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? I had to rush out to the farm stand where they bought it and buy the last jar!

[Hat Tip: Weasel]

Who are those poor deluded souls We know who shake their Manhattans! These are the same people who drink fine bourbon with coke, and probably shake red wine with ice too.

$1,200 for a bottle of bourbon is just stupid, insulting, and a ghastly affront to most people's palates and wallets. I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.

The problem...or the solution...is to buy lots of bourbon, take tasting notes, and eventually arrive at your favorites! It should take forty of fifty years, but it is worth it!

posted by CBD at 04:00 PM

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