I like this time at night on HBT

Orange cookies... I'm not a big sweet freak, but that sounds good. Do you have a recipe?

 

My boys putting the hurt down on the bad guys in Afghanistan.



They're still fighting, never forget.

 

I love the John Wayne reference. Best fight ever on TV was in that show

 

It's pretty simple. 2 cups sugar cookie dough. 2 tsp orange flavoring. 5 drops yellow food coloring. 2 drops red food coloring.

I'm not really happy with it right now. They aren't bad, but not enough orange flavor. Using the store bought sugar cookie dough is a nice time saver, but it needs more orange flavor. Maybe orange zest, or if you are making them from scratch orange juice in the dough?

I've made similar cookies before from scratch. I used sunkist orange dessert topping instead of corn syrup in the dough. Those were a little better.

For some reason, the dough reminded me a little bit of bubble gum before it was baked. Thankfully, that disappeared after it was cooked.

 

Add white chocolate. DO IIIIT

 

I make sandies, then add pecans and zest from kumquats (they grow in my yard). Do you all know what kumquats are? They are little thin-skinned tangerines. Delicious... you can eat the skin.

Here's a pic of them just as they are going into the oven. I make a dough, roll it up in wax paper, refrigerate, then cut into slices for cookies. I'll probably do this again in a week ( I just harvested kumquats from my tree... have a bunch).

 

That looks yummy.

 

Have you brewed with them? I'm waiting for my local Asian market to get me a box so I can make more Anchorage Galaxy white IPA clone. I'll probably use in a saison and Berliner as well.

 

I've got a Kumquat Wheat fermenting at this very moment. I thought about a Kumquat Cream Ale, but then decided that just didn't sound right

 

I put lime wedges in a Berliner weisse once. I thought it came out great.

 

hello! I forgot to say a couple days ago to v-man, missed you and great to hear updates on what's going on there!!!

I've been just growing things. Hubby hired a helper to take over his shop and said helper came by unexpected this morning. Later today, when I talked to the helper he said, jovially, "Wasn't it a little chilly to be out here without a shirt on?" Hubby thought it was funny. Told him to meet him at the shop or call first next time.

 

Topless gardening, eh?

 

Shop??

 

The shop, the big barn, his barn, his shop, people used to take their stuff there to get fixed. He used to also invent things and fabricate things. He hasn't really worked in 2 years, since he first got sick but now he's been off chemo for months and his brain is coming back. I am starting to recognize bits of the old him, things are hopeful but trying not to get my hopes up too much. His old customers were still calling, after years, he decided to open the shop back up and hire someone to run it/help him. I think the whole scrap metal fiasco made him realize how broke we really are and that he had to do something. Otherwise, who knows what I might do for a little extra cash.

That's how I replied to the guy after the shirt comment, as nonchalantly as I could, yep, just doing a little topless gardening. Make it sound like it's something normal.

 

Good thing you didn't go scrapping in there then...

 

That's how I replied to the guy after the shirt comment, as nonchalantly as I could, yep, just doing a little topless gardening. Make it sound like it's something normal.[/QUOTE]

Pics, can get you a lifetime membership to save you money

 

Howdy everyone!

I hope you're all having a good weekend!

We're having a very dark, cloudy day. It's only about 40F and they are calling for possible snow tonight. I decided to get some Christmas lights up outside. We do a lot of decorating, so I tend to get started early.

I had a couple IIPA's while hanging lights this morning. That made me tired, so I took a nap. Now I feel like a zombie, and I'm drinking coffee and smoking my pipe. I love how good strong coffee goes with pipe tobacco.

Yesterday I checked gravity on my peach wine. That batch is a beast! The gravity is at .988, which is the lowest reading I've ever seen on my hydrometer. That clocks it in at 14.8%.. I'll be shocked if it drops anymore. It tastes super hot right now, so I'm guessing I'll be aging that one for a long time!

Cheers friends! Have a good Saturday evening!

 

Its about 22 F tonight and waiting to get the kids to bed then im gonna have some Theobroma.

 

I check back into the "I Like this Time at Night" HBT thread and we're talking about topless gardening. Here's hoping no moobs were involved and it was an attractive and pleasant scene.

 

if your yeasties were happy during fermentation, then 6 months should be sufficient. If they weren't then a year is probably about right.

Tonight it's bachelor nachos for me. AKA, a can of chili on chips with some extra seasoning and cheese melted on top. Not to bad actually.

 

Nice. I've been following the Chili thread and am thinking about firing up a batch. I've seen Frito Pie mentioned and that sounds like a wonderfully trashy decadence. I steer away from processed foods these days. But some day, if I fall off the wagon, this is what I'll be having.

I just had a nice smoked liverwurst sandwich on pumpernickel with sliced onion and horseradish mustard for dinner. Brings-tears-of-joy-to-my-eyes-and-curls-my-toes good.

Me and liver have a thing. I'm not sure what it is, but it is a special thing that most other people don't have with liver products. Forget crack; my drug of choice is liverwurst or chopped liver or just plain liver and bacon. There is something in it that makes me feel like Superman.

 

Anyone have a good recipe for Egg Nog? I love it, but get the feeling I'm being short changes by the commercial stuff.

 

I've got a great recipe. I'll try to find it later today and post it..

 

The Joy of Cooking recipe is good and available online. I'd suggest doing a half batch as it makes a ton. I tend to go on the lower end of the alcohol range, if you go on the higher end it is definitely 1950s strength. I wouldn't use store bought eggs as they are raw.

 

If you are worried about salmonella, you can get pasteurized eggs.

 

Any idea where to find pasteurized eggs? I'd like to make the recipe but don't want salmonella for Christmas.

 

That's disgusting.

Read up on the subject. I recall some sciencey folks innoculating a batch of eggnog with salmonella and leaving it in the fridge for several months and the bacteria never reached a point where it would be a health concern. People have been eating raw eggs as long or longer than we've had domesticated fowl. Surely you can find some fresh eggs from someone who raises chickens where you are.

 

Just make sure everything is chilled and make the batch fresh, just before you serve it. Keep it in the fridge and it won't be a problem. It's tasty.

 

Thanks TNGabe, I'll do a little reading up. To bad BobbiLynn lives on the other side of the country. haha

You know I have a Navy background. It used to be when a First Class Petty Officer(PO1) advanced to Chief, there was an intiation involved.

The "initiaion season" lasted 6-7 weeks. On the day before a PO1 could be pinned and accepted as a fellow Chief, a final rite of passage had to be completed. It's all taboo now. The initiation is gone because it was considered politically in-correct.

The final day, "Initiation" (that used to not be a four letter word) various props were used, each one was scary and dangerous. That's how it looked to the person being initiated, but in reality there was no danger. A Chief would not let another Chief fall. That was the point of the initiation. I'm probably not explaining this very well and what the heck does it have to do with Eggnog?

I'm not going to give away all the secrets of the, Penguin Court from the old days but will say one of the first things to go were the Egg Bombings. Let it be noted raw eggs were ingested. Gravity works!

Anybody ever eat Balut? I have. It's boiled first. I never knew that until recently. I always thought I was challenging salmonella and I'd won.

Can I get an "A" on Drunken Rambling today? And I'm not even drunk! I'm at work.

 

The recipe I use is Alton Brown's, and it is truly delicious. It shows two versions. Uncooked or cooked. I use the cooked version, and for the egg whites I use Egg Beaters instead of the raw egg whites. I scramble the raw whites for myself and my dog, so they don't go to waste. I also use more bourbon than the recipe calls for, because I love strong nog. Here's the link to the recipe; http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/eggnog-recipe2/index.html

 

Bourbon is delish.

 

Thanks Stauff! I'm going to check out AB's method. Really like that guy. Mr Science in food making.

 

Hi Melana!

 

They are usually available right along side the regular eggs in the super market. Most companies that make products similar to egg beaters pasteurize those as well.

 

aack, my chili is so spicy that I'm tearing up just tasting it. Going to get in the 30's this week so making a big pot of venison(and ground mystery meat) chili. I can dilute it with beef broth, would be impossible to add more beans at this point. Maybe throw a couple potatoes, peeled and chopped in half to soak up some of the spiciness? Any other suggestions? It's so hot because of all the homegrown hot peppers I added. Ooops, didn't realize how spicy they were.

 

Add something acidic. A little lime juice, fresh tomatoes might help too.

EDIT: When you eat it, make sure you have lots of sour cream on hand.

 

Just added lime juice! Thanks for the suggestion. I thought about more tomato but hubby likes his chili beefy, not tomato-y. Even after watering it down it's still "burn your face off" chili. And still pretty thick. Tasted right after adding the lime juice and mixing it in, seems to have already helped. Mmmm... yeah, sour cream and crackers!

Edit: And sharp grated cheddar!

 

Goo...beans in chili. Not for this kid. I do like tomatoes, but they should be cooked down so they are not recognizable in the end.