uncommonly feeble and random thoughts

On the heels of an epic fail in paradise... we elected to embrace the technology. Our anniversary gift to each other. Meathead had planned for a Joule Sous Vide experience for the guests on Green Turtle Cay. It was to be one of four stations on "Steak Night". Unfortunately, due to WiFi failure, 30 steaks never got to temp and had to be thrown out. Even that, though, was done island-style. The disposal was enacted on the high seas, and sharks were the lucky recipients. In any event, our curiosity piqued, we placed the order when we got home, and here's the result: Yes, two please... Here's the first attempt And, the reveal... the near needs more sear, but the back hunk is perfect.  As you can see, the reverse sear on the GrillGrates is great. I used 127 as my initial cook temp, and bumped it to 130. The Joule will hold your food at whatever temp you choose.  Neighbor Bruce now has our Joule - as an accomplished cook, he can...

Goodbye, good boy. He was nine years of joy, companionship, barks, walks, and love. He wagged us in the door, and wouldn't let us kiss without interposing himself between us, and if we were too quick for that, he'd bark until we'd stop. His muzzle or body pressed to your thigh or legs was his hug. He'd 'set a spell' at the top of the stairs every morning with me before bounding down for the early morning walk, followed by the late morning walk, which was followed by the 4:00 pm walk. He slept on the green chair in the living room, and for a time on the couch there too. Under the piano, under the box we call a coffee table, and on our bed. In the leather chair upstairs. Under Linda's desk. In the laundry room when there was thunder. Under the dining room table, from which he could supervise the front door. He was the best nap partner ever. Our miles together everywhere, his patience in the Suburban for James' hockey games, his joy when James ...

Last fall, the Pitmaster Club on amazingribs.com  announced a "Meat Up", aka Meathead in Paradise. The Bahamas. They billed it as four days of events with food, and specifically grilling, central to it all. Man, did they deliver. I sent Linda the email in a joking way (from our dining room which we pretend is "not my office" to her iPad in the family room). It's how all the cool couples communicate, right? So she walked into the dining room (she's so early-2000s) and said, "We should do this." I was incredulous. But as we thought about it, it morphed from "You're kidding me," to, "Why not?" We took the leap and booked a week. Drove to Chicago, took James and Danielle out for dinner, then to a park-and-fly Holiday Inn by O'Hare. Not before we gave each other the exact same card for Valentine's Day: So like all good travelers, we checked the weather at our destination: And we were off... OR...