Thursday, May 26, 2005
soccer and snausage
Reen and I invested some serious time for the home team last Saturday, spending an 18 hour day to take a bus trip to see the Revolution play the Metro down in New Jersey. We were both pretty leery of the whole thing, but we had decided that we should try it and get to know some of the folks who we see at tailgates during home games. We did have a good time singing and cheering for the whole game. It’s certainly a different experience than just sitting and watching and something I had been wanting to try. It was a good game, 2-2 final.
Sunday was set aside for sausage making with Jay stopping by for his first lesson. It was great working with him and having someone helping. We made andouille which came out alright. I screwed up the fire so it was too hot and I almost overcooked everything. I avoided that but the quick cooking meant that the sausage didn’t quite take as much smoke as I would have liked.
Pete and Susanne stopped by on Sunday also which was nice. You may recall that Pete is my friend who is a professional writer and designs virtual testing environments for integrated circuit chips on the side. We talked sausage while the ladies retired to the sitting room. Sadly we didn’t get a chance to see Pete in my waders, which was originally part of the plan.
We’re looking forward to being back in the DC area over the holiday weekend. Yeah, there’ll be a wedding and seeing family and friends. But the food is the real issue here. Thanks in equal measure to the fine restaurants available throughout the greater DC area and our time living with Jayne and John, our 3 years in Alexandria taught us how to eat. The list of food firsts during those years is seemingly endless: thai, sushi, port, blue crabs, po’ boys, gumbo, etc. etc. Jayne also introduced me to the notion of home sausage making. Most importantly however was having Jayne demonstrate every night that it is possible to make food right in your own home which is better than you would eat in most restaurants. It will be fun to visit some of our old haunts, who knows which we’ll choose. One thing is certain however: Tuesday will see us visiting Ben’s Chili Bowl. You can put my order in now: one chili half-smoke, chili-cheese fries and a large root-beer.
And speaking of our visit down south (not The South, but certainly south of where we live), I’ve been busy making more meaty gifts to bring with us. The andouille was finished on Sunday and last night I made 4 pounds of fresh bratwurst. This was my first try at brats since I’ve actually figured out what I’m doing with the sausage making. The first effort was back in Delaware and was an unmitigated disaster, second only to my effort in making hotdogs at just about the same time. I was so discouraged from having produced two wholly inedible products that I took a great long break in my hobby. I’m much happier with the ones I made last night. I also ground, mixed and stuffed about 25 linear feet of venison snack sticks which were a hit the last time I made them back in the fall. I know 25 feet sounds like a lot, but it’s only 5 pounds worth. They are waiting in the fridge as I type and I’ll smoke them tonight.
Can you believe that I haven't been back out fishing since I caught that tiny bass a few weeks back?
Revs host Colorado this Saturday night, no Dempsey or Ralston but the home team should still put the smack down on the second worst team in the league. Where are Clint and Steve? Well they are with the US National Team who will be playing England on Saturday. That's right, USA vs. England. Ambition vs. Tradition baby, right there on ESPN at 3pm. We all know that this game doesn't really count for anything and is just a warm up for the US's World Cup Qualifiers in June, but it would still be pretty sweet to beat England. I'll call it 3-0 US, hat-trick to Dempsey all off Ralston crosses.
Reen and I invested some serious time for the home team last Saturday, spending an 18 hour day to take a bus trip to see the Revolution play the Metro down in New Jersey. We were both pretty leery of the whole thing, but we had decided that we should try it and get to know some of the folks who we see at tailgates during home games. We did have a good time singing and cheering for the whole game. It’s certainly a different experience than just sitting and watching and something I had been wanting to try. It was a good game, 2-2 final.
Sunday was set aside for sausage making with Jay stopping by for his first lesson. It was great working with him and having someone helping. We made andouille which came out alright. I screwed up the fire so it was too hot and I almost overcooked everything. I avoided that but the quick cooking meant that the sausage didn’t quite take as much smoke as I would have liked.
Pete and Susanne stopped by on Sunday also which was nice. You may recall that Pete is my friend who is a professional writer and designs virtual testing environments for integrated circuit chips on the side. We talked sausage while the ladies retired to the sitting room. Sadly we didn’t get a chance to see Pete in my waders, which was originally part of the plan.
We’re looking forward to being back in the DC area over the holiday weekend. Yeah, there’ll be a wedding and seeing family and friends. But the food is the real issue here. Thanks in equal measure to the fine restaurants available throughout the greater DC area and our time living with Jayne and John, our 3 years in Alexandria taught us how to eat. The list of food firsts during those years is seemingly endless: thai, sushi, port, blue crabs, po’ boys, gumbo, etc. etc. Jayne also introduced me to the notion of home sausage making. Most importantly however was having Jayne demonstrate every night that it is possible to make food right in your own home which is better than you would eat in most restaurants. It will be fun to visit some of our old haunts, who knows which we’ll choose. One thing is certain however: Tuesday will see us visiting Ben’s Chili Bowl. You can put my order in now: one chili half-smoke, chili-cheese fries and a large root-beer.
And speaking of our visit down south (not The South, but certainly south of where we live), I’ve been busy making more meaty gifts to bring with us. The andouille was finished on Sunday and last night I made 4 pounds of fresh bratwurst. This was my first try at brats since I’ve actually figured out what I’m doing with the sausage making. The first effort was back in Delaware and was an unmitigated disaster, second only to my effort in making hotdogs at just about the same time. I was so discouraged from having produced two wholly inedible products that I took a great long break in my hobby. I’m much happier with the ones I made last night. I also ground, mixed and stuffed about 25 linear feet of venison snack sticks which were a hit the last time I made them back in the fall. I know 25 feet sounds like a lot, but it’s only 5 pounds worth. They are waiting in the fridge as I type and I’ll smoke them tonight.
Can you believe that I haven't been back out fishing since I caught that tiny bass a few weeks back?
Revs host Colorado this Saturday night, no Dempsey or Ralston but the home team should still put the smack down on the second worst team in the league. Where are Clint and Steve? Well they are with the US National Team who will be playing England on Saturday. That's right, USA vs. England. Ambition vs. Tradition baby, right there on ESPN at 3pm. We all know that this game doesn't really count for anything and is just a warm up for the US's World Cup Qualifiers in June, but it would still be pretty sweet to beat England. I'll call it 3-0 US, hat-trick to Dempsey all off Ralston crosses.
