Food/Booze blog is back!

Hey kids,

Going to start posting over at the collaborative Simmer, Sip, Share blog once again at the request of a Twitter buddy. I'm planning on this year being the Summer of BBQ, so I start it out right with a review of a local Texas-syle BBQ joint nearby.

Dixie's Smokehouse Three Rib Combo

Go on and check it out, if you are so inclined. Expect to see the bulk of my blogging being done over there this summer. And maybe some posts from some familiar faces. Ya never know!

Cheers!

Slow and Low

On a recent jaunt, yes jaunt, to a local liquor store I happened upon this beauty:

That's Slow and Low from Hochstadter's Distillery out of Philadelphia, PA. It's the first "bottled cocktail" I've ever purchased, I believe. It's their version of an Old Fashioned. Straight Rye whiskey mixed with orange peel, honey, something called horehound and rock candy. The result is a sweet, extremely drinkable cocktail that you simply pour over ice. That's it. Open bottle, pour over ice and enjoy a nice cocktail. Much easier than, um, fashioning an Old Fashioned at home. See what I did there?

The roots in this product come ye olden days when barkeeps, and later pharmacists, would pour straight Rye over rock candy for a more palatable quaff. The pharmacists because of the supposedly medicinal properties of whiskey. Sure. I know it often heals what's ailing me. Maybe I'm just a throwback. Anyway, that was a Rock & Rye. And Hochstadter's apparently bottled that for the past century or so. Now they've moved into the Old Fashioned game. And it plays well.

So if you happen to run across it in your travels, pick up a bottle and enjoy a simple, tasty cocktail at home that requires little more than pouring it.

Happy Weekend!

Happy Weekend!

"We get older every day! And so....we drink"

A classic from Larry Miller. The Five Levels of Drinking.

Cheers!

The Sandy Effect

UPDATE: There was no false hype. This was a killer storm. We had around 2 and 1/2 feet of snow, at least where I was shoveling. We need the plows to come by before we can even think of getting the cars out. Holy shit!

_________________________________________________ 

And, honestly, it's been going on for a lot longer than Superstorm Sandy* back around Halloween. But the hype and (over)reactions to the predictions for this nor'easter, Nemo** to be specific, is a bit out of control. Earlier in the week I heard talk of a coastal storm that we would need to watch, but the meteorologists weren't too worried about it. Then a few days ago, it was upgraded to a major snow event, and Snowpacalypse was nigh. Predictions of over 3 feet of snow in New England with up to 2 feet of snow or more here on Long Island. With blizzard conditions resulting from hurricane-force winds to boot.

It's the end of the world as we know it.

As I write this at 1PM on Friday, it is snowing here on the north shore. Something I wasn't expecting. The latest forecast called for rain all day turning to snow sometime after sundown, which is when it is supposed to get crazy. So maybe we are in for some significant accumulation. Or not. Because we are right on the line of the storm where it is snow to the north and rain in the south. I have no doubt that we are going to wake up to a bunch of snow tomorrow, but how much is anyone's guess. And that's all it seems to be. A guess.

Back to the Sandy Effect, however, and it seems like perception and dire predictions are all that matters for a portion of the population. I had to go out for supplies.  For us, that meant a trip to the liquor store. We are stocked with plenty of food, but we were running low on happy juice. And while I was out, I saw something I couldn't believe.

Gas lines.

That's right. Some people, at least in my neighborhood, are waiting on long lines to fill up their SUVs just in case we get a repeat of the gas shortage associated with the power outages that came with Sandy.  And the gas stations are feeding into it. They have closed off entrances and have their workers directing traffic and it looks exactly like what happened back in early November.

People, it's a snowstorm. Yes, we may get some significant snowfall. Yes, some people may lose some power. Yes, it's gonna be cold over the weekend. But an all-day rainstorm and 48 degree temperatures on Monday virtually guarantees that it will be all gone by Tuesday. And while the potential for extended power outages does exist, I believe that it just isn't going to be the case here on Long Island. I'm sure things are going to be bad for our neighbors across the Sound, and I wish them the best. But I'm still of the opinion that it's a winter storm. Something we have gone through a hundred times in my lifetime.

But we have been spoiled by the past two years. This is shaping up to be our first significant snow storm in around 3 years. But we all grew up with it. We should be tougher than this.

Ah...I probably just jinxed myself into 5 feet of snow and 3 weeks without power. I'm an ass.

And I don't even drink vodka. Seriously.

*I'm not making light of Sandy here. It was truly a horrific storm that affected millions and is still affecting thousands.

**A part of this hype is the current trend of naming winter storms. This one is Nemo. Really? We are naming snowstorms now? This has to end.

We are talking booze

Well, when aren't I talking booze, amirite?

But this time I mean we are hi-jacking our weekly baseball program, Just Talking to the Cornfield, to specifically discuss (and imbibe) booze. And, since it's a "very special episode" we decided to move it to a very special day and time. We will be going live at 9PM EDT this Thursday night. So you've got a few days to prepare your liver. Especially for those of you who consider Thursday night to be the beginning of the weekend. And for those of you on the left coast, the start of the show should coincide with Happy Hour. So join us and drink up! And we'll probably go on for a couple of hours, so join us mid-show if you can't handle the start time.

What, specifically, are we going to discuss? Um...wine, beer, liquor.  Maybe some interesting and/or embarrassing stories that involve wine, beer and liquor. I'm hoping this one will bring some of the chat-room attendees out of their shells for one evening and join us on the call.

So pop open that bottle of expensive booze that you've been saving for a special evening and join us for a night of libations in the Cornfield.  Because what's more special than that?

(Don't answer that last question)

New Episode of JTTTC: Tonight 9PM EST

Today is the semi-official start of the baseball season as pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training. And the Colonel and I couldn't be more excited.  We are also nearing the one-year anniversary of Just Talking to the Cornfield. My, how time flies.

So in honor of the beginning of the season and the 1st anniversary of our show, we are having a special episode (in our normal time-slot) of Just Talking to the Cornfield tonight at 9PM EST.  Why is it special? Well, for many reasons.  But mostly because it is our second annual "Top 20 Things We Are Excited About for the Upcoming Season" episode.  Yay!

Join the Colonel and I, and find out what we are jazzed about for the 2012 MLB season.  We will also discuss the Linsanity that is taking over New York and the NBA.  And we may have our drink on.  It's a little after 5PM right now, and I just poured myself a big cocktail.  So I may or may not be coherent by the time the show begins.

You probably wanna check that out either way.

Cheers!

Fantasy Baseball Update: - So far, I've only had one person respond positively to my inquiry about starting a fantasy baseball league for this here blogging crowd.  I'll post several reminders during the next two weeks and we'll see where we are on March 1st. I'll keep you posted.

Guilty Pleasures Redux

After a long fight against a pre-Winter cold, I'm back. And meaner than ever.

Okay...maybe not.

But I am back, after missing most of the last week or so in the Blogosphere. Sure, a little Twitter here, a little commenting there. But it's not the same. I even had to miss the last episode of Just Talking to the Cornfield on Sunday night because I lost my voice after an ill-advised bout of drinking over the weekend. Well, it was probably the cold night air that did me in, but I think the booze may have had something to do with it as well.

Oh, I'll be reviewing the booze over here shortly.  You are gonna dig it.

The Colonel and I were supposed to discuss some of our guilty pleasure films/books/tv/whatever on that episode.  And we probably still will whenever we find time to record another show. We even share one in common that we were going to use as a discussion point. Notting Hill. Yeah, both of us are hopeless romantics at heart. Especially when the romance involves the world's most famous actress (as played by Julia Roberts...hehe), and an idyllic setting like the one in the film. Cry us a river.

But the ultimate guilty pleasure movie for most men I know is Road House. Patrick Swayze, Sam Elliot, Ben Gazzara. An American rip-off of the classic kung fu films I grew up. Lone warrior wanders into a town that is persecuted by a powerful warlord. Distancing himself, at first, the warrior eventually falls for the town and its people and takes measures to bring down the evil warlord.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it.  Happens with me.

Anyway.

So what are some of your guilty pleasures? Movies, books, magazines, trashy talk-shows, soap operas? What?

Hit me.

It's been too long...

Since I've been down drinking at the bar.

Gia was sick all last week. Passed it on to me this week. But I'm thinking we are going to need to celebrate the end of this seemingly un-ending cold with a sad and wonderful night spent down drinking at the bar.

Yeah.

Down Drinking at the Bar

Loudon Wainwright III

Well, I call you up on the phone: nobody's at home.
Then I do my usual thing: I let the telephone ring and ring and ring.
I'm standing at a phone booth, coping with the ugly truth.

You see, I know where you are... I know where you are.
You're down drinking at the bar.

I can picture you there on that stool, drinking like a drunken fool.
Yeah, you're sitting there on your ass, muttering into your glass.
Paying for your lowlife thrills with wet quarters and soggy one dollar bills.

I know where you are, baby.
You're down drinking at the bar.

Dean Martin's on the jukebox, I bet.
Or maybe it's Tammy Wynette.
The tearjerkers are jerking your tears.
Salt water in your whiskey and your beers.
You've got the Miller High Life bouncing balls.
You've got the Utica Club waterfalls.

I know where you are, oh ho.
You're down at the bar.
You're down at the bar.

Go ahead get drunk, it's alright.
Lost weekend on a Tuesday night.
But I'm going to have to give you the score:
I'm not going to call you up on the telephone no more.
I'm sick and tired of listening to that phone ring 15 times.
I'm sick and tired of getting back my dimes!

Because I know what you are.
You're at sot, that's what you are.
I know what you are.
You're a lush.
You got a big red nose!

I know where you are, baby.
I know where you are...
You're down drinking at the bar.

Two quick reminders

Besides this here joint, I've got two other places you can sometimes find me on the internets.  Well, three if you count Twitter...but I don't really use that all that much other than to bother people.

1. Just Talking to the Cornfield - The Colonel and I are still doing our mostly-weekly show.  We've strayed from our regular Sunday night time-slot at 9PM EST here and there, and it looks like it's going to be on more of a mid-week schedule going forward.  So if you can't find us live, you can always listen to the replay on Talkshoe or iTunes.  Just try not to fall in love with me when you finally hear my dulcet tones.  I don't even know what that means.

2. Simmer, Sip, Share - The collaborative food/booze/whatever blog I set up several months ago hasn't quite taken off like I hoped.  I'm hoping this post will nudge those who agreed to participate into, ya know, participating.  While we wait for that, ahem, check out my latest post for a vegetarian treat with a Mediterranean twist.  A recipe I kinda followed from a wonderful site called Smitten Kitchen.  Turned out great, I understand.  I wouldn't know about that since I had a burger instead. :)

Don't leave me out there in the cold, kids!  It's brutal out there.

Hurricane Provisions

Gia went out today for some emergency provisions in anticipation of the doom that may be Irene this weekend.

Notice the empty water bottle

Let's see what we have:

• Midnight Moon Apple Pie Moonshine.
• Jim Beam Bourbon.
• Huge jug of cheap white wine.
• Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine.
• Mostly empty bottle of water.

So we're good.

Crap! I hope we don't lose power. We are gonna need a lot of ice!

Contest from the Cornfield

As you probably already know listening to our latest episode of Just Talking to the Cornfield, ahem, we are having another contest/giveaway.  What are we giving away?  Why it's another jar of Midnight Moon Apple Pie Moonshine from Piedmont Distillers.  Huzzah!

All you have to do is come up with some nicknames for several current MLB stars who really need one.  Those MLB stars are:

• Andrew McCutchen - Pittsburgh Pirates
• Prince Fielder - Milwaukee Braves
• Joe Mauer - Minnesota Twins
• Jose Reyes - New York Mets
• Joey Votto - Cincinnati Reds

Sure, some of these cats already have nicknames.  But they suck. So we want to come up with some fresh ones.  And we think a jar of booze is just the right amount of impetus to get your creative glands secreting.  Ewww.

So send your submissions for all 5 players to the Colonel at zantall at aol dot com.  Don't leave them here in the comments because he is going to run them all by my blindly before the next show.  The deadline for submissions is this coming Sunday at Noon EST. 

Do it to it, kids!

Something New

UPDATE - Yeah, so I screwed up. Apparently Blogger is a little clunky (go figure) when starting a new blog. They automatically set it to invite only.  Who knew?  It is now fixed.  And I am humbled. - Earl

So, several months ago I announced that I would be starting a food and drink blog and I was looking for contributors.  Well, laziness happens folks.   But now it's here!

Simmer, Sip, Share



What's the content going to be about?  Well, just about anything and everything that has to do with food and drink.  Recipes of the food and drink variety, restaurant and bar reviews, product reviews, great food and drink experiences...whatever.  I'm leaving it up to the discretion of the contributors. 

Contributors? Yeah, it's gonna be a collaborative effort too, if you will. I sent out the invites to those of you who requested it, even if you've forgotten by now.  But we want to invite anyone (cool enough) to join.  So shoot me an email or leave a comment if you want to be part of the fun, and I'll send you an invite.


In the meantime, check out the site and add it to your feed reader or follow it the way you follow other blogs.  Or not. I'm not the boss of you.

Yet.  Hehehe.

So...how have ya been?

Yeah, I know...it's been some time now.  Did you miss me? I missed you.

Maybe that's a good thing every once in a while.  It's been several weeks since I was posting regularly here on the ole Verdant Dude.  Lots of reasons for that.  Vacation was the reason for at the beginning, but then life intervened in ways that I don't really want to talk about here. Because that's not what I use this space for.  I did, once upon a time.  But I've since decided to keep this site mostly free of my personal life.

But I'm still kicking, don't you worry about me.

So what can I talk about here?  Let's see...BULLET STYLE!!!

• We've done three new episodes of Just Talking to the Cornfield since the last time I've regularly blogged.  The Colonel and I have discussed all kinds of fascinating baseball-related topics.  OK, fascinating to some people.  Pure Hell for others.  Different strokes and all.  Oh, we are on iTunes as well, so look for us there.
  
• There was that vacation I mentioned above. Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island (which isn't really an island at all). That was some fun shit right there. Mostly.  I heartily recommend that place to anyone who enjoys the island life...without having to go all the way to the Caribbean.  
• I've seen a bunch of new stuff on Netflix Instant. Namely French zombie movies.  That's right...French zombie movies.  That would be "zombi" en francais. The Horde was excellent.  Mutants a little less so, but still entertaining.  Oh, those French...
• Saw the new Captain America flick. Man, oh man that was a shitload of fun.  If you like well-done war movies or well-done superhero flicks, then you should check it out.  If you like both...well, run to the theater.  It's that good.  Seriously.
• I've discovered that the best possible use for Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine is to mix it with a splash of OJ and some seltzer.  A Catdaddy Orangina, if you will. It...is...sublime.
• I've read three more Jack Reacher books from Lee Childs.  I'm still having a hard time believing that Tom Cruise might wind up playing him in a feature film.  ::shivers::
• Speaking of Tom Cruise, before the Cap film we saw a trailer for the next Mission Impossible movie. I certainly have issues with Cruise (can he fly yet?), but I did love the first and third entries in the series.  And since JJ Abrams is involved again in this one, along with Jeremy Renner, I'm all in.  Entertainment!

Ugh...that's all I got. Seems I haven't been doing much of anything at all.  Well, anything I want to share with y'all here anyways.  A girl's gotta keep some secrets.  Shhhhhh.

JTTTC Contest

So I'm sure you all listened to last night's riveting episode of Just Talking to the Cornfield with Earl and The Colonel.  Right?  Well, for those who didn't, we announced a contest for one lucky listener to win some free booze!

You want details? Here you go.

Last week, my partner in crime on the show got in touch with the makers of Midnight Moon Apple Pie Moonshine to see if it was okay if we used them as an un-official sponsor of the show.  Since we are such fans, ya see.  Well, they loved the idea and they sent The Colonel a swag package that included a few jars of the very sweet nectar of life that we love so much.

Then we had the idea to share the love with you guys.  Because we're cool like that.  And a contest was born.

Think of a good topic for the show and if we pick your topic, then you win a jar of Apple Pie Moonshine from Midnight Moon and Piedmont Distillers.  Send your submissions to The Colonel at Zantall at AOL dot com or shoot us a direct message on Twitter @VerdantDude or @JTTTCColonel.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

The contest is open until Sunday, June 19th at noon EST.  Well announce the big winner that night on the show.

So do it to it people.  Send in those topic ideas and maybe win some free booze.

PS - Um, I guess I should state here that the contest is open to those of legal drinking age.  Yeah.

An invitation

So I've been thinking about opening a new cooking/recipe/food/drinking blog lately.  Something I think I've mentioned before.  Well, I'm ready to do it as I've got another person, a current non-blogger, who has shown interest as well.

But I'm looking for anyone else out there who might like to join in on the fun.  Posts can cover anything and everything to do with food.  I envision recipes, restaurant reviews, food and beverage stories, that time you got it on with a hot apple pie, whatever.  I'd love to get a half dozen regular contributors or more, and it's not something you HAVE to do each day or week.  Just whenever you feel like posting.  I probably will only post once a week or so on it. 

No schedule, no commitments, no hassles.

So let me know either in comments below or via e-mail (babyburke at aol dot com) if you are interested, and I'll set everything up either on Blogger or Wordpress.  Then I'll send out the official invites so you can register.

Fun, fun, fun!!!

The Rules

Somebody, somewheres on the Internets pointed my attention over to the Modern Drunkard Magazine website earlier this week.  And, of course, I loved it.  Finally a magazine for me!  Ahem...

It's actually a site/magazine that has recently been revived after a hiatus.  And one of the classic "bits" from several years ago was their 86 Rules of Boozing.  Go to that and check it out, but I'll share with you a couple of my favorites here:

6. Buying a strange woman a drink is still cool. Buying all her drinks is dumb.

12. Never, ever tell a bartender he made your drink too strong.

13. If he makes it too weak, order a double next time. He'll get the message.

28. If you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to drink in a bar. Go to the liquor store.

35. Learn to appreciate hangovers. If it was all good times every jackass would be doing it.

50. Never brood in a dance bar. Never dance in a dive bar.

74. If you hesitate more than three seconds after the bartender looks at you, you do not deserve a drink.

The other ones are almost as good.  Check, check, check...check it out!  Cheers!

________________________________________________________

In other news...Osama bin Laden.  Yeah...

Oh Hell Yeah!

Mags with her "apple pie"

I got a little hillbilly in my genes.  Must have.

Because ever week when I'm watching Justified and Mags brings out her "apple pie"...that's moonshine whiskey distilled with apple and spices served in a big ole' mason jar...I start to salivate.  Man, I want that "apple pie" more than anything.  And drinking booze out of a mason jar?  Like the title of the post says, oh hell yeah!  That's what I'm talkin' 'bout.

Unfortunately, you can't get that 'round here.

Or can you?

That's Midnight Moon "Apple Pie" whiskey right up front.  The other two are strawberry and cherry, but frankly...the thought of those two makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit.  But the "apple pie"...yeah, I want that.  NOW!

I found it at a local liquor store earlier this week and I sat my faux hillbilly ass down last night to watch this week's episode of Justified with it.  Gia was cracking up.  She wouldn't try it, but she said it smelled like alcoholic apple pie.  Which it did.

I can't even begin to tell you how happy I was when Mags brought out the mason jar, and she and Arlo shared a drink of "apple pie" while I joined them from my living room.

It's the little moments in life that bring me some wonderful joy.  This was definitely one of those moments.

And a big "fuck you" if you don't understand that.

Daddy wants...

image courtesy of bourbonblog.com

Devil's Cut from Jim Beam is the first whiskey to use advanced extraction processes to get to the liquid that gets absorbed into the oak cask during the aging process after the barrel is emptied.  Then they blend that with some aged 6-year bourbon for the final product.  The name is a play on the phrase "Angel's Share"*, which is the portion of the barrel of either wine or distilled spirit that evaporates during the aging process.  Perhaps a sip or two for the angel who is watching over the barrel, eh?


Well, the Devil takes his cut too.  And now I want it back!


Check the review by Tom Fischer over at BourbonBlog.com for some of the cool detes.

*Angel's Share also happens to be one of my favorite bars in NYC.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I plan on getting legless in a pub somewhere in Charleston later today.  It's in my blood.

We've all got to have ambitions in life, right?

Sláinte mhaith

Coffee Cup

It's no secret here that I love whiskey, right?  Bourbon, Scotch, Irish Whiskey, Tennessee Whiskey, Rye...I love it all.  Not a fan of Canadian Whisky, but I've never really dabbled.  That might be next.

And I've got a great collection of terrific whiskey glasses.  Sturdy, heavy-bottom whiskey glasses or curved, somewhat fluted snifter kind of whiskey glasses.  I always use those when we have company. They present well and they show of the wonderful color of the liquid.  And whiskey snobs seem to use those types of glasses exclusively.  So I do...when there are guests involved.

But when it's just me and Gia at home, or if I'm home by myself...I drink my whiskey out of a coffee cup.  And yes, sometimes I like to have a glass of whiskey when I'm home alone.  Don't fucking judge me, you, um, judgers.

I really don't know why I grab the coffee cup when it's whiskey time.  I just do.  It's not like the old movie trope of hiding your drinking.  I make a point of letting people know that I'm having whiskey when I'm having whiskey.  It's just that it feels...right, I guess.  The ceramic and the handle and everything.  The whiskey just seems to taste better in my coffee cup.  If I had some mini-Mason jars I might use those, because that seems right as well.  But I don't, so I use my coffee cup. 

Some things just can't be explained.  Some things shouldn't be.