« First World Problems... | Main

Food Thread: What A Lame Post!

I am not a fan of specialized kitchen tools.

Okay...to be precise...I am not a fan of specialized kitchen tools that I have bought and then discover that they are not nearly as useful as I thought, throw them into the specialized-kitchen-tool drawer where they sit for four years until I reach into the back of the drawer and cut my finger on them.

But this one might be an exception to the rule! It's called a "lame," and it is used to score bread dough before baking so that the loaf can rise as much as possible. It's secondary use is as a decorating knife...putting small slices into the dough so that after baking they are revealed as some sort of weird design that always irritates because I can't do it worth a damn.

Anyway, my old and very cheap one gave up the ghost, because even soft dough will eventually dull an edge! Who knew.

This one is better than the last because the top of the razor blade is exposed, and can be used to cut, and it is a bit longer as well. So I have a very sharp, single-use tool that I actually like!

******
In news that surprise no one with a brain, apparently Afghanistan is a sh*hole.

Researchers Describe Significant Food Safety Risks, Regulatory Gaps in Afghanistan

***
And here's more news about our enlightened foreign friends and their interesting ways of producing food for American markets!

FDA Finds Evidence of Limited Food Fraud in Imported Lemon Juice

***
I am trying more and more to avoid all foreign-produced food, for the obvious sanitary reasons, but also to support American agriculture and food industries.

It's easy to criticize American food manufacturing, with its commodity products and its fanatical attention to the bottom line. But it is, by and large, quite safe, and there are only a few countries that rival American food safety.

No, we aren't perfect, but I'll take our food any day over Afghanistan's!

******
Commenter "frammish" is showing off. That's pancetta, which is salt-cured but not smoked. It is used in lots of Italian cookery, including one of the great culinary achievements of Man: Spaghetti Carbonara!

Anyway, "frammish" got bored with making bacon so he moved on to pancetta.

Of course I didn't get any, so I am suspicious of this "frammish" fellow. He's probably a crypto-communist.

******
Coblogger "Weasel," of two-minute meals fame, waxes rhapsodic about Virginia peanuts, specifically boiled peanuts, "or "Goober Peas."

And these are even simpler! But damn...they were tasty. There is very little in the snack world that can compare to a well-roasted peanut that has been perfectly salted.

******
Buc-ee's is an interesting place. They charge full retail for everything, but people flock there anyway, because there is something about a well-run store that has pretty much everything that appeals to the American consumer.

I really like their beef jerky, and their breakfast sandwiches are reasonably good too. But this was a surprise! It is actually a very impressive chocolate candy...really a peanut butter cup on steroids. Good chocolate, just enough peanut butter, and a substantial size that is bucking the trend of offensive shrinkage in that industry.

******
That's a chicken drummette, Texas style.

Actually, that is one of the legs of the pig that Ben Had procured for the Texas MoMe. The rest of the pig was smoked to perfection by a friend of Ben Had's Rancher Bob's and Cowhorse Queen. It was delicious, and a good enough reason to fly 1,200 miles to Texas!

******

******
The great garlic experiment of 2025-2026 was a resounding...meh. Send all of your excellent home-grown garlic to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.

About the Bourbon Bubble...I think it has burst, but the category is also suffering from the inflation that affected everything else (Thanks Biden!). I think the sweet spot is still $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!