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Food Thread: The Unbearable Heaviness Of A Bad Yorkshire Pudding

Nothing special about that pint, except for its deliciousness and its novelty. I had never seen their cask ale before!

Well, the little Christmas tree in the background is nice, which is why I chose the photo. And I used to drink "Samuel Smith's Pale Ale" in bottles when I was a callow youth. It was expensive, so I could only have one, but as I recall it was quite good!

This one is called "Old Brewery Bitter," which amuses me, because it isn't bitter at all. I guess it's true, we are two people, separated by a common language!

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This a bit of an abbreviated Food Thread. I have a Birthday/Hanukah celebration this afternoon, and apparently I am the only person on earth who knows how to cook!

I'll be in and out, so try to keep the conversation civil, or bawdy, or silly, or....

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"Garden & Gun" is a fun Southern food and society (but in a good way) magazine that isn't too full of itself. Here is their Christmas cookie extravaganza, complete with some weird ones, but enough good, solid choices to be worth a read. "Brown Butter Sandwich Cookies with Chai Spice Buttercream" is not on my baking list, but "Ginger Molasses Cookies" and "Butter Pecan Cookies" certainly are!
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That is pork belly, and it was absolutely delicious! Unfortunately the Yorkshire Pudding was a mediocrity, and perhaps the single best example of the fall of a once great country. I think the restaurant, which has always been solid, made them too early, and they dried out. I get that it can be a challenge for the home cook to make Yorkshire Pudding, but a restaurant kitchen that touts its roasts? Sorry, that's a resounding fail.

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Lamb shoulder chops for the win! Sure, they are a bit sinewy, and can be chewy, but they are delicious and "lamby" and easy to cook. All I did was marinate them in garlic, olive oil, Rosemary, S&P, then grill them on high heat for less than 10 minutes! Delicious!

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[Hat Tip: Weasel]

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A friend graciously gave me some genuine grown-in-the-USA garlic, and I am going to taste one clove and plant the rest, because my pathetic failure last year is an anomaly...right? I hope so, because It's in the ground (actually, a large pot), and it had better work this time!

Send all of your extra antelope to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.

Rumor has it that the Bourbon Bubble is bursting. I have seen no evidence of decreasing prices, but maybe the bursting started somewhere else! 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 or fifty years, but it is worth it!