BlackDogHair

I was looking for a bit of distraction and found this by “OK Go” … just keeps getting better.

Spent most of Saturday cooking. The January birthday dinner was at Wilcox and our charge was scallop potatoes.

January birthday dinner?  It should be noted that JQ and my younger sister manage to celebrate their January birthdays for at least a month and that accounts for this February dinner in their honor. It is basically a potluck affair, with the main course being ham so I figured scallop potatoes were called for.

Broke out the mandoline … before there was the Cuisinart or even the Robot-coupe the way you mass produced consistant slices was with a Mandoline (which is still the tool of choice). Nothing works better at production slicing especially potatos. It should be noted it is also considered by most chefs as a very dangerous tool.

There was also some left over chicken stock from a delicious fresh soup Gisela made thursday and pie crust discs in the freezer from holiday baking.  JQ suggested we mass produce chicken pot pies. Thus the day in the kitchen.   This was a hand chopping project, wanted lots of vegies. Started with a Saute of diced onion to the point of browning, add garlic with a crush of fresh tyme, oregano and of course chicken breast cubed. After the chicken had seared I deglazed the pan with some sherry added the vegies and stock just about to cover.  Simmered until the vegies were almost done, and then strained off the stock. To that now empty pan I added some butter and flour, cooked long enough to get that flour taste off the roux, hit it with a little more sherry and then the stock and whisked it to a gravy.

These tiny loaf pans held about 8oz (by weight) of the veg mixture and a 3 oz ladle of gravy. Topped with pie curst and then frozen and all but three packaged … had those three for Sunday dinner.

Our main garden plot is 60 feet by 33 feet and I know this because today I encircled it with fence posts. About a dozen 10 foot T-posts set on 16 foot centers.  Once the fencing is in place and a single bare strand of wire around the top this will be our deer proof enclosure for vegetables and berries. I guess there was a football game of some note but this is how I spent my weekend …. js

For the first time in years I went skiing … it was great. My friend David had suggested that I try skiing, again and his persistence brought us both to Timberline this morning.

Long ago I sold off my ski equipment, which is just as well because there have been a few innovations in that area … did you know that ski boots aren’t made with leather any more?
David waited patiently while I rented a pair of skis, boots, poles and a helmet, yes helmet. Besides being safe it’s a great way to keep your head toasty warm … and it seems everyone else is wearing them.

The wind got progressively stronger but for the first couple of hours we had sunshine and packed powder. When the clouds dropped onto the top of Hood we moved down the slope a bit.

Didn’t count the number of runs but we spent half a day on the slopes … for an old guy that is a pretty good first day. Strongly thinking about more of these trips up a mountain. js

I’ve been reading up on lager recipes and with the ESB bottled and fermentation space open seemed like a good idea for the ‘next’ batch, that and the season. The German, well more precisely the Bavarian, brewers started making light lagers using a bottom fermenting yeast at the end of the 18th century. Originally cellared in caves to accommodate a cold fermentation process the Czech brewers added hops, lots of hops, Saaz was a common variety and the resulting brew became pilsner or just pils.

By cold fermentation typically they mean 45 to 50 degrees which is just about average for an Oregon winter. The other option is to convert a frig … don’t think that hasn’t been considered … however our garage has been consistently 50 degrees so it has become my cellar but a 6 gallon glass carboy instead of an open barrel.

Pilsner Urquell was fermented in open barrels in Urquells cellar until 1993. Traditions change slowly in brewing … js

Has been a quite week on Red Alder Hill guess we are resting from the holidays. There was a brief snow storm, in this pix you see the start of the snow fall but not much more than a light dusting ever stuck to the ground.

I finally got that batch of ‘ESD -extra special doogal’ out of secondary and into bottles.

It was hopped with Tattnanger for bittering and flavor then some Willamette at the end for aroma. The cold weather stalled the primary so it took an extra week to complete. Should be drinkable in a week so I’ll report back. Have a ingredients for a a dark ale / porter that is getting cooked next, maybe even this weekend.

Went to Avatar, again, New Years eve and this time in 3D … actually IMAX 3D. Was even better than the first time we saw it. Went again too see what a difference 3D could make. The image was quite a bit sharper with the attention to detail in that film this made a difference in the viewing experience. I wouldn’t have believed it without seeing.

Seems that the original movie was shot in an aspect ration of 1.78:1 (16:9) and on HDCAM video … this is significant on a couple of points. The first, most ‘features’ are shot in 2.35:1 (21:9) and your local theater’s screen is scaled to that aspect ratio. Cameron shot and posted Avatar electronically and then moved it to film for distribution. Because he had all these wide screens to fill the non-imax prints were blown-up and cropped at the top and bottom to fit the 2.35 aspect ratio. The IMAX version we saw was 70mm, 1.78 (16:9) and full frame. The second point is that 16:9 has becoming the aspect ratio of our television sets. HD video is sized to this 16:9 frame so one has to wonder why, given 300 million dollars, Cameron would choose to work in an aspect ration and on a formate that isn’t common to current theater screens … we really are seeing a new cinema in a new year …

It got cold, very cold, this week but that didn’t stop me from cooking a batch of ESB … though maybe I should have.

The kettle was slow to the boil and I had break through a crust of ice on the water bucket I put out yesterday. Cooking an ESB with lots of fresh hops and did manage to get a five gallon batch to the carboy. Hoping the machanical room is warm enough for fermentation.

This morning we bundled up and went xmas tree hunting. Not, old school forest service trek with axe but nursery tree U-cut with their chainsaw. I like the idea of a U-cut because what doesn’t get cut is still growing. We found a small lot about 5 minutes west of Sandy on Hauglum Road, Noble fir $20 bucks each.

These two do look like braced for the blast of winter. No snow but it was a cold day in… Sandy … js