Old wine

leah elisheva · Mar 2, 2015

leah elisheva · Mar 2, 2015

And scallops, swordfish, wild salmon tartare, coffee dusted Aussie grass fed NY strip steak, & I thik that covers it. Enjoy! Cheers! - Leah

leah elisheva · Mar 2, 2015

Some of my simple albeit sensational snowstorm food lately. Hope everyone is eating and drinking wonderfully! Cheers to all!!! Share your eats and drinks and oh, Knuckle47, I loved your machine!!! Cheers! - Leah

knuckle47 · Mar 2, 2015

That is some collection of grub! Sorry to say I could probably only eat the nuts, lentils and asparagus. I just love asparagus. This time of year when the new shoots are in the markets, they are super tender, thin pieces. And yours look like the ones we had here a few days ago. My wife makes them with a heavy dusting of panko bread crumb under the broiler.

That raw fish paste just cannot stand up visually in my gastronomic deck of cards. You must spend a bunch of time in preparation... Those dishes are quite artistic looking. It's just that as a very visually stimulated individual, my taste buds are immediately overruled and that image kicks in....instant gag

Thanks for the kind comment. I'm working on another smoker as the weather gives me an opportunity. That indoor garage where my grandmother is hovering over the grape boxes is where I work on this stuff but it , as you know, has been way too cold and the snow blocks the doors still. I can't get over my inability to cope with the cold lately. When we lived in Vermont, I worked outside in -40 F .

That big red gravity feed I built in the fall can use a bag of lump charcoal with a few chunk scraps of oak tossed in and burn for 16-18 hours at 250. It is the most fuel efficient cooker I have built. The biggest issue with it is that it weighs over 700lbs and I continually lack the strength to roll it out of the garage. I'm trying to build a blower controller that will keep temperature in the cook chamber within a very narrow range. However, I don't see how I need to extend the burn times as the temp stability is better then our oven. This smoker will be along those same lines but much smaller.

Stuff like that amazes me... Maybe I'm just easily entertained or just the nutty professor ...

moikel · Mar 2, 2015

I would eat everything you plated.
Love that fish & ouzo idea. The locals collect the dry sticks of the wild fennel for fish grilling.Its such a great plant so many uses.They wind a braid of wild fennel & use it to keep olives under the brine.
The snowstorms amaze me. We see them on the news.
First week of autumn here shorts & T shirts ,the beach for a while yet.
Grape harvest then olives last of the stone fruit.
I am trying to work out how to at least participate in some home winemaking this season. There are lots of people making it .How well they make it is another matter.
Linda & I are planning a road trip to Tassie for the 2nd half. Of the year.
You can drive to Melbourne then put your car on the overnight ferry but we are more likely to fly & hire a car.
Hope you catch a break with the snow.

knuckle47 · Mar 2, 2015

Ok...forgot to add fennel...as a kid my grandmother, who by now you can tell raised us, would take small saucers of olive oil with salt and pepper. We would take slices of the fennel buld raw, and dunk it in the oil mixture. This was either appetizer or after dinner snack. 59 yrs later, I eat that instead of a Nutella sandwich with pizzelle waffle cookies for the health conscious part of me. My wife makes them. 30 seconds in the press and they're ready to eat

moikel · Mar 3, 2015

I love fennel.Season will start in about May.

I go & pick the tops of the wild one along with other edible weeds & make stir fried greens. A couple of old ladies gave me some pointers on whats edible.

There is a classic Sicilian pasta sauce with sardines,wild fennel tops,sultanas,pine nuts.

leah elisheva · Mar 3, 2015

Thanks to you both! So glad you enjoyed my snow food! (Even if some of it makes you gag Knuckle47)! too funny!
But at least we all love fennel!!!
And Mick, both your Tassie trip & winemaking ideas sound fantastic!!
As for shorts & the beach, May that come here soon as well!!!
Now what to eat today...

moikel · Mar 3, 2015

knuckle47 said:
That is an interesting site. I'd imagine the shipping would destroy me...haha. I am a guitar collector in my spare time. Sold a jazz type guitar to a man in Perth Western Australia . FedEx wanted $525.00 US to ship. DHL wanted 375.00. Had it not been a bit of a prized instrument, we'd have cancelled our agreement. Not because of insurance, super heavy or wierd stuff....only because of size and distance.

Looks like those NY grapes are reasonable. The farm markets up north from where I live have warehouses filled with tractor trailer loads usually in early SEptember...most buyers seemed to have been family wine makers..again in the late 1980's. I know one guy who has a small restaurant uses a hydraulic wine press for he and his friends. They have a certificate for 3rd place on the wall. Must be tasty?

When I try this again in the fall, we'll use 2 barrels. One for fermentation and one for storage. Here's something I've never gotten an answer for. When we'd acquired these barrels 30+ years ago, they were used whiskey barrels. The inside was charred like it was used as a fireplace. I've seen the barrel makers in Napa show pictures of a fire inside the barrels BUT...what does that do?

I read up & there is a method of charring/toasting oak barrels depending on what impact you want from the oak. I don't know anything first hand.
Barrels get traded by the big wineries after 3 to 5 vintages or there is some process where they shave them to pare them back to fresh wood.I know barrels get reused but I don't know what the criteria is.Does a whisky barrell become a wine barrel or the other way round.?
Wine makers talk about new & old oak French & American oak. I know new barrels aren't cheap !

knuckle47 · Mar 3, 2015

Good question....I think either can start from new. When on the Del Dotto winery tour in Napa their was a nice dissertation on the barrels so I know that little tidbit. My whiskey barrels were purchased because grandma said so. 'Nuff said.

New barrels now I've seen for upwards of $325.00 US. I paid $40.00 each back in 1988-89. Bought three. Made one into a cold smoker last fall. It was the one showing the most abuse and weather related exposure issues. Made a new bottom and replaced a few staves.

The slight lack of seal in the smoker for cold smoke does not affect the performance, in fact a few of those lines leaking may help contribute to the draw through the stack. I also have 7 - 3/4" holes bored around the base to provide intake. It's got a great flow.

leah elisheva · Mar 12, 2015

I just love this group! Cheers!!!!!!! - Leah

moikel · Mar 14, 2015

image.jpg

moikel
Mar 14, 2015

Sirloin hit hard on the cast iron griddle then finished in the oven.
Drank a bottle of Mak V 2005 ,cab Sav,cab franc,merlot,Malbec,petit Verdot . High end out of Clare Valley . Cancelled export order to USA in the GFC .
Safe journey ST.

leah elisheva · Mar 14, 2015

Oh that looks beautiful Mick! And such a balanced meal! Gorgeous stuff! The wine sounded luscious too! Off to Greek fare/food/wine "krasi" as they say; and some fun!

Thanks tons on my pup! Here is to life and to making ever second count wonderfully! Cheers!!!! - Leah

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