Monday, September 14, 2009

Local Food (and Drink)

The following was published in the Atchison Daily Globe on September 2, 2009. I'll be doing a monthly column for the Globe on issues related to localized food. Keep an eye out for it.

Over the past several years, I have read more and more about “local” eating. That is, consuming foods grown/produced within a set perimeter of where you live. For example, Eden Alley, a vegetarian restaurant in Kansas City, strives to prepare all means with local, organic ingredients. Don’t worry, this movement is not just for vegetarians. In the last year, I have purchased a quarter of beef, half a hog, and the better part of a lamb, all raised within 40 miles of my home.

The idea of eating locally, which has been alive and well at the Atchison Farmers Market for years, has been on my mind lately due to our current economic concerns. If the food we buy from grocery stores must be transported from great distances, it is only logical that prices will increase if and when fuel prices increase. Considering costs involved when we drive to another city to purchase our family’s food, perhaps the idea of eating locally makes even more sense.

With these realizations I’ve started reading a bit about urban farming, gardening, animal husbandry and home processing. I’ve starting hearing stories of local folks who make their own goat cheese, collect eggs daily, as well as garden. I’ve even been invited to dinner by friends and eaten a wonderful meal comprised only with foods that hung on a vine hours before consumption.

I imagine there is a wealth of locally produced food and drink within a 40-mile radius of Atchison. I like to eat and I like to drink, so I have made it my mission to discover this food and drink and report back to you with my findings. Hopefully, doing so on a monthly basis, thanks to the fine folks at the Atchison Globe.

To kick things off, I thought I’d share a recipe I tried a few mornings ago. It isn’t entirely local, but the main ingredients are and I’m new at this.

Eggs and Greens

2 farm fresh eggs

2 handfuls of fresh spinach

2 teaspoons olive oil, divided

A bit of salt

Some pepper

A pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

Heat a skillet on your stove. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil, salt, pepper and cayenne when the skillet gets warm. Wilt the spinach in the oil and cover for a few minutes. When the spinach looks good, move it to a plate and return the pan to the stove. Add the second teaspoon of olive oil and fry the eggs to your taste. When the eggs are happy, slide them on top of your spinach and return the pan to the stove for the third time. Add the vinegar to the pan and let it reduce by half. When the vinegar is reduced, drizzle over the eggs and enjoy!

If you are a local food producer, I’d love to hear from you. If you have time to let me check out your operation, I’d love to come for a visit. If you want to share a recipe, I’ll pass it along. Hopefully this little adventure in newspaper column writing will be fun and educational for all of us.

———————

Matthew Ramsey is an avid foodie. When he is not eating he serves as an Assistant Professor and the Director of the Special Education teacher preparation program at Benedictine College.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Three slabs of spare ribs and a Faculty Annual Review

The Tuesday after Memorial Day, no kids tonight and my FAR is due on the 1st. I’m leaving town on Thursday so I have to get the shit done. If you smell what I’m shoveling… I’m heading to the farm for the first leg of my journey and then off to my favorite mountaintop in Arkansas for some live music, good friends and fun. I wanted to take some ribs with me to Arkansas so they had to be smoked too. Shit. Thank gosh I’ve got a fresh keg in the beer fridge.

I’m not a bit fan of spare ribs. That fat just kills me. Dad told me if I get them hotter the fat will render and life will be better.

Stage One: Same ole, same ole. Lots of magic dust, 200 degrees, three hours.

Stage Two: I’ve done this before. Foil wrapped in the oven at 300 for an hour. This time I sprinkled some brown sugar as I was wrapping the ribs.

Stage Two: Out of the oven and painted with a bit of sauce (see The Sauce posted below), rewrapped and back in at 300 for another hour.

The results were pretty good. I’ve had a sample and will need a bit more time to analyze…I think they will get eaten. I’m freezing these to take with me on the camping trip.

That is all. I appreciate all three of you for reading this drivel. Oh ya, the FAR is complete as well. A once over the morning and then submission. A presentation proposal and an article to edit and I'll return to my normally scheduled summer.

Disclaimer

I found the chicken and sauce recipe listed below years ago on Foodtv.com. I'm sure I'm not supposed to be posting it but since I'm not making any money off this damn blog, I imagine I'm safe. If somebody at Food TV wants to sue me I will remind them about blood and turnips.

Anyway the recipe is awesome and I highly suggest trying it out with cheap lager.

The Chicken

3 whole chickens, halved (I found 8 hind quarters for $6, so I used those)
1 cup poultry seasoning
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
1 can beer
1 stick butter
2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Add all items to a very large pot of boiling water. Reduce heat, cover with a plate and simmer for 1 hour. Remove from the pot and let cool to room temperature, covered.

Your grill should be very hot. We use a smoke box with wet wood chips in the gas grill to add a nice wood flavor (optional). Lightly spray the grill with non stick spray. Add the chicken and get nice grill marks on both sides. The bbq sauce should be in a large pot that has just been removed from the heat.

Very important: Just paint the chicken lightly with the sauce and let it stay on the grill for 1 minute on each side, just to burn the sauce. Remove from the grill and submerge in the hot bbq sauce for a just a second. Put on platter and serve with very sour dough bread and vinegar and oil based cole slaw, cold beer and look out.

The Sauce

The Sauce

5 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (#10 size) can catsup
1 large Vidala onion fine chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
2 tablespoons Worchestshire sauce
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 (5-ounce) bottle pickapeppa sauce (This contains: mangos, raisins, tamarinds, salt and pepper, tomatoes)
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
2 large juice oranges
1 large lime
2 lemons
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons grated horseradish
1 can cola, (recommended Dr. Pepper
Few dried chiles, to taste
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper, to taste

Place the garlic in cup of boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove and chop fine. Saute the onions in the olive oil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, until just starting to brown. Remove from the heat and wait 1 minute for the pan to start to cool. Add the chopped garlic, stir, and place mixture in a bowl to cool - never let the garlic hit the hot oil over the fire - this way the garlic will infuse the remaining moisture and not burn and get bitter.

In a large stock pot over medium-low heat add the catsup and bring to a slow simmer, always stirring. After 10 minutes add the onions, garlic, soy sauce, liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard, pickapeppa sauce, and wine vinegar, and let simmer for another 10 minutes, covered.

Cut all the fruit into quarters and squeeze the juice into the pot. Then, add the fruit to the pot, with the brown sugar, horseradish, and Dr. Pepper. Continue to simmer for at least 40 minutes, covered.

Add the dried chili peppers and cayenne, turn off heat and let the chilis go to work for about another 20 minutes.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Chorizo Stuffed Dates--non-BGE experiment

Lawrence, Kansas, is home to a wonderful Italian restaurant, Tellers. The name is inspired by the building on the corner of 8th and Mass., a convert bank of the old-school variety. Lots of marble, wonderful architecture; the designers were very careful to blend the new and old purpose for maximum visual impact. The old teller counter is the bar and one must go through the vault door to visit the powder room. It relieves one of the many typical personal hygiene anxieties.

I’ve dined at Tellers many times over the years. I remember a wonderful dinner with the Veazey sisters many years ago. Teresa was appalled that Laura and I were enjoying mushrooms. She thought fungi and toe jam seemed to parallel mushrooms in order of things she’d not like to eat.
This fall, my academic adviser and I met at Tellers a few times after class for drinks and such. Without fail, a drink turned into two and food was ordered. Tom turned me on to the Chorizo Stuffed Dates. They are awesome.

Described on the menu as:

“Chorizo Stuffed Dates: Organic California Medjool dates wrapped in pancetta, stuffed with house-made chorizo, baked in roasted peppadew peppers and tomato sauce.”

Check Tellers our here:

http://www.746mass.com/index.php

I’ve been searching for recipes and thinking about this dish for a long time. Today I bit the bullet. We started with a box of dates, two links of chorizo, and a half-pound of really good smoked bacon. Henry and I pitted, stuffed and wrapped a dozen of these glorious little fruits.

The sauce was a different beast. I started with a 28 oz can of organic tomato chunks, ½ a jar of roasted red peppers, some smoky paprika, chili powder, and cayenne. Mixed it all together in a small pot on the stovetop. Once everything was hot, I poured half the mixture into the Vita Mix and let is whirl and repeated. I returned the sauce to the stove on low for a couple of hours to reduce. The flavors pulled out so nicely. It is an angry bit of tomato sauce. The kids and I sampled it on breadsticks and Critic #1 couldn’t handle the heat, Critic #2 continued eating until I made her stop. This is only funny if you know Critic #2 is the 5 year-old sister of Critic #1. She will be beating him severely in less than two years.

I was not comfortable cooking the dates in the sauce, I didn’t want all the grease from the bacon and the chorizo in the final dish. I preheated my over to 350 and put the dates on a rack in broiler pan. The sauce went in a baking stone dish. I put the dates in the oven for 10 minutes and then put the sauce in. After another 10 minutes I moved the dates into the dish with the sauce for five minutes and finished under the broiler on high for 3 minutes.

Nailed it! I would only do two things differently next time. First I would figure out how to get more chorizo into the sauce. Secondly I would have headed the sauce longer. Other than those suggestions, this a one up one down recipe. It was a hit with my guest, who jumped at the opportunity to take a few home for lunch the next day.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Chicken Wings, Steaks and Ribs, oh my!

Critic #1, came down with a case of the stomach flu on Thursday night. The thought of putting a flu bound 8 year old in a car for 4 hours was much more than I cared to handle, thus no trip home to the farm. Dis-Interested Critic #2 was pissed. She suggested leaving Critic #1 behind. Little sisters know best.

The upside, I did all the laundry and cleaning on Thursday night. I will enjoy an entire weekend at home with no household chores and since my kiddo is not feeling well, it will be a weekend at home. What to do? Smoke meat. On the agenda: a three pound bag of chicken wings I have in the freezer, two K.C. strips that are begging for smoke, and the usual, two slabs of baby backs.

The chicken wings:

Three pounds of wings, sold in a bag at the grocery store. They had been in the freezer for about a month. I pulled them out and let them thaw. This morning, I washed them and let them dry off, before applying a liberal dose of the magic dust. I fired up the BGE and added a layer of the pecan wood chips when things got nice and heated. The smoke was spectacular. The wings went on at 200 degrees for a couple of hours. They were very nice when I pulled them off. I ate one and my taste buds danced for some time. I decided to go ahead and deep-fry half the wings, to see what that treatment gave me. I was very happy with the layer of flavor provided by El’ Magic Dust-o, but thought I would attempt to “sauce” at least a few of the deep fried wings.

After the first batch was fried and sauced, it was overly apparent that this was going to be the way to go, so I continued deep frying four at a time until I was through all three pounds. If I were cooking for a crowd, three pounds would not do it. I committed the Mueller’s wing sauce to memory during my days as a bartender and occasional cook. I’d hate to share it here, but it was pretty basic, a mustard base with some semi-solid dairy fat and hot sauce with a few other “secret” ingredients to round things out and keep people guessing. I’ve never been a fan of this style sauce so I opt for a honey bbq wing. One half cup of KC Masterpiece did the trick. These were great wings. I worried that the bbq sauce would cover my Magic Dust, but was happy to find a nice wave of flavor at the finish that lingered on the palate until it was washed away by a swill from my pint. Ha…I should have learned to evaluate fermented grape juice. Back to point, these were good wings. I’d like to take about 30 pounds to my dad’s smoke house and smoke the whole lot, then freeze and deep fry as necessary. That would be the only efficient way to serve them beyond myself, Critic #1 and Dis-Interested Critic #2.

The KC Strips:

I trimmed two KC Strips of their fat and gave them a nice coating with the Dust. The fat made Maggie, Critic #0, very happy. Fired the Egg, added pecan chips, and brought temperature to 200 degrees. I had a hard time keeping the temp down. After an hour and a half, the steaks registered 140 degrees. I pulled them off and cut into one. There was no pink in the middle, which made me sad. I wonder if there is a way to slow cook and still keep the pink. There was a pronounced ¼ inch smoke ring and the rub added a nice flavor. It was over done for my liking, but not bad. The kids and I split one steak and I’ll save the other to slice for sandwiches. I think it will make a nice lunch on a toasted bun with either a little blue cheese sauce or some horseradish.

I’ll do the ribs tomorrow it is time for the Critics and I to find something to do.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Bacon Explosion--make one for the fun of it

I made a min-Bacon Explosion tonight for shits and giggles. Wow. You should make one. Here are the directions:

http://www.bbqaddicts.com/blog/recipes/bacon-explosion/

The Best Ribs EVER

I've already written about the preparation of these ribs, but they deserve another post. My basic process with two slabs of baby backs. I did use the Magic Dust, which I am very pleased with. I smoked the ribs with pecan chips. I was very happy with this mellow flavor. I also dropped the temperature down to 200 degrees. So three hours in-direct and then an hour at the same temp wrapped in industrial aluminum foil. This was a heaver sheet of foil. It was midnight when I pulled them off, so I put them in the fridge to finish another time. Two evenings later it was really windy and I didn't feel like firing up the BGE so I put them in the oven for an hour at 350 degrees. Man these were good ribs. Lots of variables changes, so I'll have to keep playing and see how the results continue. Henry had a couple ribs and declared them better than Hap's which is saying something big. He is the only critic that matters. If Henry likes them, I'm happy. We are traveling this weekend, so no big cooks.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Magic Dust rocks

I mixed the rub recipe listed in the last post. I swapped turbinado sugar, for regular sugar, as I’ve read it reacts better to heat. I have no idea if this is true or not, but I had a big bag of turbinado sugar staring at me in the spice cabinet.

I rubbed four pork tenderloins with the magic dust and put them in the fridge for about eight hours. I pulled them out and let them return to room temperature before putting them on the egg, indirect heat at 300 degrees. This time I flipped them at 20 minutes and took them off at 40 minutes. They rested under a tent of aluminum foil for 20 minutes before slicing. The crowd seemed very pleased.

At 8:15 p.m., I threw on a couple slabs of baby backs, rubbed with my magic dust, and smoked over a mixed fruit wood bed of chips. After three hours, I removed, wrapped in industrial aluminum foil and returned for an hour. These four hours were at 200 degrees. I wanted to try things a bit cooler, just for kicks. I’ll stick them back on for an hour, half direct/half indirect, this evening.

That is all for this week…

Friday, February 6, 2009

2nd ribs using the new method

The kids wanted ribs again and the local grocery store was having a sale on spare ribs. We bought the last packet, so we also picked up a packet of baby backs. I did four slabs, two of each, in the method listed below. I was quite happy. I gave the spare ribs away. My department chair gave me a nice bottle of whiskey barrel aged porter and another colleague helped me score a side of pork. I received rave review from both consumers.

Will this week bring another round of rib smoking? The grocery has baby backs on sale, so...

I'm also interested in trying some country ribs on the smoker. I'm just about out of my rub #1, which I REALLY enjoy (see way below). I'm contemplating mixing up this recipe, called magic dust. It has been a few years since I have experimented with anything called "magic dust," so we shall see...

"There's a big shaker of Magic Dust next to the salt and pepper in my own kitchen and at all my restaurants. I wish I could figure out a way to attach the bottle to the restaurant tables because, at my restaurants, it's the most frequently stolen item! To make it a little more hot and spicy, increase the mustard powder and black pepper to 1/4 cup each.


1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup kosher salt, finely ground
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons mustard powder
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1/4 cup granulated garlic
2 tablespoons cayenne

Mix all ingredients and store in a tightly covered container. "

recipe borrowed from:
http://www.foodreference.com/html/magic-dust.html

This morning I received an email indicating that it is/would have been Bob Marley's birthday today. In that realization, it might be important to smoke something tonight. I wonder if I should invent some smoked meat product and name it the "spliff?" I guess we could do this and just call it a fattie:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/dining/28bacon.html?_r=2

Happy birthday Bob.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

New rib method for the poker gang

January 24, 2009:

Woke up at 3:00 a.m. Got the BGE going and prepared some spare ribs. Used my Rub #1, see below. Rubbed the ribs. Put them on the egg at 250, indirect heat in a rack for three hours. Removed and wrapped in foil, back on the egg for 1 hour. Took off and put in the fridge, because I had to go to Kansas City. At 4:00 p.m., I fired up the egg again. I removed the ribs from the foil and put back on the grill (indirect) for ½ hour, removed my plate setter and cooked direct for another ½ hour. Very good. I did not use baby back because I was cooking for 8. Sixteen lbs of the spare ribs were half the price the baby backs at the same weight. They had more fat and more meat. Next time I will trim as much fat as I can from the ribs. They passed the poker buddy test. A couple days later they graced Henry’s palette and he seemed impressed. His final analysis was they were as good as Hap’s, as good as, but not better. Henry knows where is bread is buttered. Politics may be in his future.

homemade pizza dough--dissappointing

January ??, 2009;
Pizza. I threw a bunch of stuff in the bread machine the other night to make a whole-wheat pizza dough. Cut the dough in half, threw one in the freezer and kept the other out for pizza. I was not happy with my dough recipe. Here it is:

3 1/2 cups flour (2 cups whole wheat and one cup regular all purpose)
1-cup warm water (between 95° and 115° F.)
2 T yeast (2 tablespoons, I like my dough a little yeasty. You can use less)
2 T honey
1/4-cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt

I did not like the consistency of the dough. It didn’t really rise while cooking. The crust was heavy. Not what I was looking for. The rest of the pizza was fine. I mean I ate it. I want to keep experimenting with whole-wheat dough. There is a shop in Kansas City that does a honey wheat pizza crust and it is great.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Pork and Biscuits

While doing research towards the purchase of the BGE, I spent some time surfing the manufacturer’s website. There are several video/cooking demonstrations on the site. One that struck me was pork and biscuits. I’ve never had pork and biscuits and the grocery store had a sale on pork tenderloin. The kids are at their mother’s, why not?

I’ve learned with the BGE, as with most things, patience is a virtue. To heat it up, leaving it alone is the key. Light the charcoal and walk away. Come back later when the coals are glowing. Set up for cooking drop the lid and walk away. Come back later. In my initial firings I was trying to catch the temperature on the way up. Now I let the grill heat up beyond the desired temp and reduce the flow of air to bring the temp back down. This was a good lesson.

I took the BGE up to 600 and brought it back to 375, put the tenderloin on the grill, closed the lid and readjusted to 350. Forty minutes later I pulled the nicely cooked hunk of meat. I did peek half way though. I should have flipped it at that point. The meat rested for five minutes before slicing. Very juicy, very tasty. I bought a tenderloin that was pre-marinated. I won’t do that again. I’m happier with my rub.

While the BGE was doing its thing, I make some honey wheat pizza dough for tomorrow night. I don’t have the kids until Tuesday, so I’m going to try for an adult pizza. Spicy Italian sausage with whatever cheese I have left over from last week. I picked up some gorgeous little sausages that I’m going to grill and then crumble for the pizza.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Pizza, Pizza

Olivia really wanted to make pizza on the grill. She asked twice. What father can tell his little girl no? I only had the kids for the evening, so I didn’t want to mess with making homemade dough. We’ll do that next time. I picked up two tubes of prepared dough at the store along with cheese, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, and sauce. Oh and black olives, because the kids are my kids and we must have black olives.

We heated up the BGE and it came to temp very easily. I must have fixed my problem from the last firing. I did not purchase the cooking stone from BGE. I had my own, probably pampered chef. Olivia’s pizza was first. I don’t have a pizza peel, but will fix that before the next pizza bake.

One the grill, indirect, for 8 minutes. AWESOME. We did the same for Henry’s pizza, but the grill must have been hotter because 8 minutes was too long, it got a bit burnt on the bottom. I’ll have to keep an eye out next time.

Make pizza on your BGE. It is great. This is actually what tipped the scale on the BGE for me. I’ve wanted to build a backyard brick oven for years.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Base Line Turkey

I purchased an appliance, or five, this fall. At some point, Sears gave me a coupon for $20 off a whole turkey. The kids and I picked up a 19 pounder on Wednesday and I let it thaw out in the keg fridge. Today was the day.

I wanted to get a baseline with just the bird…no brine or anything special, so I fired up the BGE with a bit of my mixed-fruit wood chips. Had a hard time getting over 350 degrees. I either had blockage in the firebox or there is an issue with the thermometer. Rubbed the bird with olive oil, salt and pepper. Put the bird on for indirect cooking at 6:15 p.m. I checked the temp every 45 minutes or so. When I went out at 9:00 p.m., I noticed the temp was dropped and that I had run through my first load of lump charcoal. I pulled the turkey and reloaded. The turkey looked like it was done, so I did some temping and everything registered at 172 or higher, I pulled it off and brought it into the kitchen. Totally done. Nice smoke ring on the dark meat and the thigh…not so much on the breast. I did cook breast side up without flipping. Next time I’m going to get one of those upright stands. I could not imagine it would be done in less than three hours and hadn’t even planned to put my remote thermometer on until after the four hour, using the old 12-15 minutes per pound rule. The meat was not bad at all. Just as good as from the oven if not better. This was with no brine or rub, or anything. I need to read a bit more to see if the BGE cooks faster than an over and do some more experimenting. Not bad for a free turkey…well a $5.70 turkey.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

First Fire

January 1, 2009:
The morning was spent cleaning the house, so we didn’t fire up the egg until dinner. Followed the recipe on the BFE website for the steaks. Season with salt and pepper only, wish I had used a bit of oil. Firing up the BGE is as simple as they claim. Had it to 650 in very little time. Slapped on the meat, let it go for two minutes, flipped, two more minutes, flipped again, closed the vents and finished for three minutes. Wow. One of the best steaks I’ve ever eaten and I grew up on a steak farm. Seriously, when mom was out of town dad made steak for breakfast. A bit rare, but I like my meat bloody and the kids don’t mind. Henry ate a huge portion; Olivia doesn’t eat much anyway so we had some leftovers.
Henry was bound to get the ribs on, so after cleaning up from dinner, I did make a salad, we removed the membrane, added salt/pepper, and rubbed with my Rub #1, see below. Added a bit more charcoal and the wood chips, I had soaking. The chips were a combination of fruitwoods. Got the BGE up to 250 and put the ribs on in an inverted roast rack from my aluminum roaster pan. Three hours later they came off. I nibbled a bit, but at 10 p.m. didn’t care to gorge on ribs. I was pretty happy with the results. Not the best I’ve eaten, but pretty darned good for the ease. Nice crispy outer layer and tender meat. Better than most bbq places in Kansas City. Not as good as my dad’s, but he sets the gold standard on most things related to meat.

Rub #1
4 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. chipotle powder
1 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp fresh black pepper
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Mixes with healthy dose of Morton salt.

The Saga Begins

December 31, 2008:

(After a great deal of research, the Big Green Egg separated itself as the best choice for a combined use of grilling and smoking. )

The kids and I drove to KC to pick up a Big Green Egg. I spent the morning on the phone price shopping and finally found a pool/spa shop that sold the grills as a sideline. Their prices were super competitive, enough to warrant upgrading from the medium to the large. After the first use I am super happy to have gone with the larger size. Next stop Costco. We picked up three huge ribeye steaks, two monster pork tenderloins, and three slabs of baby back ribs. I also had a coupon for a free 20 lb. turkey so we picked it up as well.

எ நியூ ஹோப்...இ மேஅன் ஹோப்பி

Smoked meat plays a major role in the social fabric of my family life. Growing up on a farm, the son of a well trained, and practiced, meats expert sets this stage. My father began smoking meat about the time I entered high school. By the time I graduate, I knew this 'hobby' had become an issue. Instead of the typical family meal featuring a central meat dish and several side dishes, this meal consisted of a single salad and a variety of smoked meats.

Fast forward 15 years and I find myself teaching in the education department at a small, liberal arts college; my alma mater. Living over an hour away from two cities rich in culture, culinary experience, and entertainment has advantages, but all of them require a long drive. As winter establishes itself, I find myself less willing to engage in this commute. In short, it is time to find a new hobby. This year will begin my own experience with smoked meat.