Foody fun Test

[Tubetec]

The oysters are often served here with a pint of your favourite stout along side ,
calms the fires of hell down below  and the live shell fish in your belly goes to heaven happy  ,
Its also a well regarded myth that one should never take oysters with whiskey  ,
I like eating them but care and attention in the preparation is required to prevent shards of shell and grit entering the mouth and causing a bad experience ,
squeez of lemon dash of tabasco is the normal serving here .

I only had fresh wild lobster once in my life ,cooked very simply ,the chef in the resturaunt took the time to explain in detail his methodology for cooking it, first the live beast is dispatched in a large pot of fast boiling water ,a matter of seconds is all it takes,
Then the shell of the lobster is spilt open right down its back with a chefs knife and pulled apart ,the creatures digestive tract is removed and its cleaned at this stage , now its liberally coated in melted butter all over the exposed flesh as well as the shell ,then on a stainless dish  in under a hot gas grill , in just a matter of 5 or so minutes your food is cooked and all the juices are preserved ,nothing is 'lost to the pan ' ,the toasting of buttered shell smells like a hot day at the beach  8)

 

[Gold]

Aww thats a real shame ,
Just looking at photos ,man the scenery there is awesome .

It’s a beautiful part of the world.  The Adirondak Park is six million acres. It’s the largest state park in the nation. Sixty percent private land and forty percent public land. There are huge swaths of unbroken wilderness. A lot of the private land is forest too.

NZ is incredibly beautiful from what I’ve seen. The Adirondack mountains are geologicaly old. They are low and rounded. It feels closed in. Sometimes it feels like you are in an indoor space outside.

 

[Squeaky]

I like the sound of "huge swathes of unbroken wilderness". The closest I ever got to the Adirondacks is the top of one of my guitars.

NZ mountains are jagged and ascents are steep. The mountains are young and people get in trouble or perish through not being prepared for the conditions (and falling - always falling).

I really like the native species diversity of trout available in the States. I went fishing in Wyoming a few years back and caught cut throat, brook char and rainbows all beautiful fish. In NZ we have a couple of pockets of brook char but it is largely rainbows and browns. They get big though.

Wild lobster is something of a personal favourite of mine. Too expensive here to eat very often and I don't have a boat or pots. Moreton Bay bugs are pretty great as well. Take a green (un-steamed) bug and cut it longitudinally all the way through. You need a saute pan with a lid. Place the bug with the exposed flesh part down into the hot saute pan (with oil). Basically you just sear the flesh for a while in the hot pan and then throw in some liquid (e.g. white wine) to create a steam cloud (quickly put the lid back on so you don't lose the hot steam). Steam for a minute or so. Maybe less depending on the size... You can remove the bugs and then add coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, coriander leaves, tamarind paste to make a sauce from the remaining deglaze liquid. Or just add cream and dill, or maybe star anise, cinnamon. mild soy, sesame oil, some sweetness... pour over bugs.

That Chinese clay pot sounds very tasty. I can visualise the glass noodles. In fact, I think I need to get some glass noodles next time I go to the Asian grocery, they have a really interesting texture.

I remember eating fresh water crab in China. They were about the size and shape of a lemon. Basically there was no meat to speak of. You just kind of got in there and sucked and gnawed on it. Some of the crab cakes I have had in the US were really delicious. Funnily enough, the best sushi restaurant I have been to anywhere in the world was in Salt Lake City (they flew fresh fish in daily - don't mention the carbon footprint). Best fish and chips I had (when in the northern hemisphere) was cod and chips in Galway. Sometimes I worry that I remember places more for the food and wine than for anything else. My main memory of a trip to Frieberg was the goose and dumplings in gravy I had for lunch. There were some cobblestones as well I think...

 

[JohnRoberts]

The oysters are often served here with a pint of your favourite stout along side ,

Something besides Guinness or is that just everybody's favorite?

calms the fires of hell down below  and the live shell fish in your belly goes to heaven happy  ,
Its also a well regarded myth that one should never take oysters with whiskey  ,
I like eating them but care and attention in the preparation is required to prevent shards of shell and grit entering the mouth and causing a bad experience ,
squeez of lemon dash of tabasco is the normal serving here .

I only had fresh wild lobster once in my life ,cooked very simply ,the chef in the resturaunt took the time to explain in detail his methodology for cooking it, first the live beast is dispatched in a large pot of fast boiling water ,a matter of seconds is all it takes,
Then the shell of the lobster is spilt open right down its back with a chefs knife and pulled apart ,the creatures digestive tract is removed and its cleaned at this stage , now its liberally coated in melted butter all over the exposed flesh as well as the shell ,then on a stainless dish  in under a hot gas grill , in just a matter of 5 or so minutes your food is cooked and all the juices are preserved ,nothing is 'lost to the pan ' ,the toasting of buttered shell smells like a hot day at the beach  8)

here's some smoked salmon but temperature got a little away from me (thus the visible albumin). It's hard to keep temps down when the wood chips you are smoking give off their own heat that ignores electronic temp regulation.  :

JR

PS: I ate the salmon with some home brew porter...(not quite stout but satisfactory for the task).

 

[boji]

Sometimes I worry that I remember places more for the food and wine than for anything else.

No mistake, as the olfactory bulb was the biggest game in town for much of our evolutionary timeline.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olfactory_memory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_olfaction

 

[boji]

NZ is incredibly beautiful from what I’ve seen. The Adirondack mountains are geologicaly old. They are low and rounded. It feels closed in. Sometimes it feels like you are in an indoor space outside.

Those well worn geologic peaks getting you down? Visit the Great Craggy Mountains of NC!  (Never been there, I keed.)

NZ is on the list. That is god's country, to be sure.

Before I broke up with a girlfriend, I planned to take her to

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu

and ask for her hand.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu

Edit: for the clicky click averse, the name of that town roughly translates to:
"The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the slider, climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one".

I never got around to buying that nose flute.  :-\

 

[Squeaky]

Not far down the road from me that place Boji. I went to the beach at Porangahau with the kids a while back and there was a seal lying there on the beach, perhaps not feeling well. Kept the kids away. I've been told you try not to get between the ocean and a seal.

I served smoked salmon last night as well. First brined overnight in salt/brown sugar solution, then hot smoked. Served it with Bernaise and wilted (I think that is what it is called) spinach. It was a Hawke's Bay chardonnay for us.

I love Bernaise. Bernaise with steak, or salmon, or oven baked potatoes with rosemary and garlic, or with eggs for breakfast. A bit fussy to prepare but worth the effort. You need a double boiler or some sort of compromise (bowl over a pot of water will do). Bernaise is one of tarragon's moments of glory as a herb. Although, personally, in general,  I think that tarragon is greatly underrated as a herb.

I enjoy doing a bit of home brewing. I made cider the last couple of years as well as wine and beer previously. The apples I used last time were incredibly sweet and I ended up with a 9% rocket fuel. Crushing the apples is a bit of a pain.

I bought some glass noodles and made a soup tonight. Day off today after finishing a big job and the dog is acting like I nearly killed him after our trip up the river. Legs are still smarting from the blackberry (shorts in the middle of winter wasn't a great idea but there were too many river crossing for any other option). I've used the thin vermicelli a lot in the past (Vietnamese stye soups or spring rolls), I didn't realise the thicker noodles were made with sweet potato. Daughter loved it, wife said they reminded her of worms and wasn't so enamored.