| Beer vs. Wine Part 4– so far it is two to one |
[Sep. 21st, 2010|10:26 pm] |
It is time. Time to start making plans and reservations. I’m talking about Beer vs. Wine IV! OK, no it isn’t an actual competition to see which is better intravenously (beer or wine), but it is 5 gourmet courses each paired with a wine by a sommelier and a beer by someone pulling cicerone duty. It was epic last year. For those of you who haven’t bothered to do the math, that is 5 glasses of wine + 5 glasses of beer + 5 courses of amazing food = 1 awesome night (and there might be a couple more glasses).
We did it last year, and we have been eagerly awaiting details so we could plan on being there this year. The one thing we learned… get a room. You won’t want to go far afterwards. The hotel staff has been amazingly pleasant to deal with, and the restaurant has said we can increase our reservation so we could all be at one table (if you want to dine with us). Space is limited for this event and historically, this has been the restaurant’s most popular event every year.
Want to know more. OK, here is a little bit more.
The premise is simple: A multi-course fine-dining dinner served with a specially selected wine to go with each course, as well as a specially selected beer. Everyone gets a score card to mark their votes for each course – either the beer or the wine. At the end of the dinner, the results are tallied and the one winner is announced based on the total number of votes for the evening. It has historically been VERY close (recounted twice last year), so you can be assured that they are bringing the good stuff.
“Wine” has been represented by Sommelier and Certified Wine Educator Barry Wiss of Napa’s Trinchero Family Estates. Barry has flown down from Napa each year to participate in the challenge. Beer has been represented by Stone Brewing of nearby San Diego. Neither Greg (nor Dr. Bill) nor Barry had any say in the creation of the menu. Each year the menu has been presented to them with a “Gentlemen, here you go…do your best!” Did I mention that chef Ryan Grant was named best new chef 2010? True this is a new chef from last year, but El Bizcocho was recently named the Critic's Choice for "Best of the Best" by San Diego Magazine and voted the city's "Highest-Rated Restaurant" by the Zagat Survey, so this is likely to not suck. |
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| The humor around me |
[Sep. 21st, 2010|06:56 pm] |
Just some odd things that made me laugh. And if you don't stop and laugh at stuff around you, well you are missing out.
1. FedEx delivered a package to me (normal so far) and left it on my doorstep (still normal) and then left a sticky note on my door to tell me they delivered a package (odd). It wasn't an attempted delivery notice, no, it was a note saying that the package I almost tripped over had been delivered. Were they thinking if someone swiped the package they wouldn't take the note too?
2. The package was sealed with "Pilfer proof tape". OK, it sounded silly to me.
3. That tape was pretty serious. So there was finally some truth in advertising.
4. Someone thought a brake line bleeder was worthy of such impressive protection.
5. I bought a brake line bleeder to use when making homemade wine (it apparently needs to be degassed and a vacuum is a good way to do that).
And I feel like I'm forgetting something . . . oh yeah . . .
6. ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2) sdmdm8 announced he was fluffy. Yes it is out of context, but like so many things it is funnier that way. |
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| I'm not dead yet |
[Sep. 14th, 2010|12:02 pm] |
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| I noticed two billboards on the drive home today... |
[Aug. 18th, 2010|07:31 pm] |
I noticed two billboards on the drive home today... two conventions that are apparently happening at the same time at the LA Convention Center. Insert your own Smoking Hot or similar joke (not work safe links unless you have a very cool employer). |
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| A new laptop and digital camera... well, not quite yet |
[Aug. 2nd, 2010|06:52 pm] |
It is one of those things that stuff seems to happen all at once. So I find myself in the market for a new laptop (not a first person shooter gamer) and a new digital camera. And I am at square one for now. Anybody have a suggestion to help get me going on my search.
UPDATE: To clarify, a pocket-able point and shoot for the camera. And for the laptop, I mean a laptop and not a netbook, palmtop, or tablet (which includes an iPad). |
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| Brew Reuse Recipe |
[Jul. 5th, 2010|09:23 pm] |
So brewers that step beyond extract brewing (prepackaged malt syrup or malt powder) often find themselves with a lot of left over grain. In the past folks have posted instructions for composting it, turning it into dog treats, and nothing really that I could do. Then I started thinking about the spent grain (grain that was effectively wrung out to make beer) crackers Stone's bistro used to make. So I dug some more, and I found a recipe that I'm willing to use as a starting point and play with it.
Tonight was batches 1, 2, and 3; normal (it pained me, but I did it), honey-blueberry, and cinnamon. I'll let you know how they turn out. In the mean time, in case you want it, the recipe is below. Enjoy.
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup spent grain
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp sugar or honey
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
1) Pulse the wet spent grain in a food processor for 30 seconds or until finely chopped.
2) Mix together all ingredients.
3) Turn out onto floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and shiny, not sticky. Add water or flour as needed.
4) Let rest at room temperature for at least 20m and as long as overnight.
5) Roll out dough to desired thickness (I go around 1/8 inch) and cut into crackers
6) Bake for 20-25m at 300 degrees until golden brown and crisp. Leave on cookie sheet to cool- crackers will continue to crisp up there.
Makes ~3dozen |
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| So where are the big skyward explosions best? |
[Jul. 2nd, 2010|04:12 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | tbd | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | want to watch the exploadey | ] |
OK, So I'm torn on where to go for the 4th. Where in southern California is the best show? Difficulty level: Disneyland doesn't count.
The challenge is on! |
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| Ambition 1 Reality 4 and the day is still going |
[Jun. 27th, 2010|04:39 pm] |
OK, so again in getting out from under the rock and doing things I was trying to make today a brew day. And not just any brew day, but an epic brew day: 1 batch of California Common (think Anchor Steam), 1 batch of Malbec (yes I am going to try my hand at wine), and 3 batches of mead (different yeasts and recipe additions - some simple experimentation in three small batches).
Well I just got back from running errands and buying the required water so the wine is probably still happening, the beer is a maybe, but I apparently forgot to order the 1 gallon fermenters for the mead. So I'm going to try to get into high gear and get some stuff done. |
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| OK, crawling out from under that rock |
[Jun. 27th, 2010|10:26 am] |
It has been a while. I have no idea how long. I haven't posted, and heck I haven't even read.
But I am starting to make some changes for the better. Nothing bad is happening, but I am trying to make things better.
Apparently a lot has happened and I only know what was in the past 100 or so posts. So, sorry for missing out on things, but (I think) I am back now. And I hope to talk with you soon. |
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