p e t e r ' s . b l o g - c r o b n a r . s o c k b a r

Guy's Breakfast - November 2009

2009-11-07T10:20:00.004-05:00

Bea is in Boston this weekend, so that means GUY'S BREAKFAST! Today's breakfast for this guy includes:
- bacon
- reheated/seared pot roast with Texas Pete
- 2 sunny-side-ups with cheddar
- toast, buttered

Point of interest. Guy's breakfast is best enjoyed while watching a Monty Python episode, in this instance, the episode was "Man's Crisis Of Identity In The Latter Half Of The 20th Century."

Fact. I uploaded this to yeahiatethat.com as well. Fact.

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T23:45:00.001-04:00

me as the flasher from Monty Python's "Full Frontal Nudity" episode
Bea and I went to Broadturn Farm for a Halloween Potluck / Birthday party. I didn't have the foresight to realize that there would many children at this party, and there I found myself, surrounded by children while looking like a sex-offender, yes! All in all it was okay because most of the children thought I was a detective.

Note to parents: warn your children to stay away from detectives.

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-30T23:12:00.002-04:00

behold my pumpkin carving skills
We went to Harv and Maryann's pumpkin carving party this year to take care of business. They are fond of putting several scenes/faces on a pumpkin, so I decided I've give it a try, and luckily, my pumpkin was appropriately shaped with a nice carving surface on the fore and aft.

I drafted up a couple stencils myself with some Google images that I stencilized in Photoshop, and although I haven't normally considered myself to be a stencil guy, I may convert after my success with these pumpkins. Mind you, I'm not interested in using those pre-fab stencils, but I do like creating my own.

Anyway, Tom Selleck and the E.T. scene came out just as good as I'd hoped they would. It took a long time since I had to scrape away the skin instead of cutting out shapes, but I really like the results that technique gives.

Previous Halloween Pumpkins:
2008 pumpkin entry
2007 pumpkin entry

Uncle Suprise v 1.5

2009-10-12T11:44:00.007-04:00

Hot Dog Turnovers!
pronounced su:-pri:z (su-preez)
This is the sixth in the series of Uncle Suprises for Anna Rosemary Dahlen. Anna, Eric & Ashley, Mom & Dad, Mike, D, Bea, and I were in attendance for this Pumpkin Festival Weekend suprise in Milford, NH.

Uncle Suprise v. 1.5:
- diced hot dog
- diced Courtland apple, picked from McCould's in Milford
- extremely sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
- homemade puff pastry (flour, salt, butter, water)

I think the most exciting part was making the puff pastry, which was spanned over a couple days. The last/only time I made puff pastry was as a junior in high school in my baking class, so I was a little concerned about how it would all turn out, but I was pleased with the end results. The turnovers received high marks and were well worth the effort.

Related Delights:
Uncle Suprise v. 1.4
Uncle Suprise v. 1.3
Uncle Suprise v. 1.2
Uncle Suprise v. 1.1
Uncle Suprise v. 1.0
Guy's Breakfast Hotdog Omelet

Little Martin Onion Tart

2009-10-02T17:46:00.003-04:00

Behold the Little Martin Inaugural Onion Tart
This is my first onion tart ever, and I baked it as a sort of ribbon cutting treat for all of us at the brewery today. Why? Because we have a new member of our team: Little Martin. Little Martin is a conveyor driven case taper. Although his given name is Little David, we rechristened him Little Martin because he'll be taking Marty's old gluing position on the bottling line, helping us become more efficient.

So, about this onion tart:
Pastry
* 1 1/2 c. flour
* 1/2 t. salt
* 1/2 c. unsalted butter
* 1/4 c. water

Filling
* 3 lbs. sweet onion, thinly sliced
* 4 T. unsalted butter

1) Make pastry
2) Melt butter and slowly cook onions over low-medium heat until soft & sweet, about 50 minutes
3) Allow onion to cool
4) Roll pastry into pan
5) Add onion to pan, bake at 375F for 50-60 minutes
6) Garnish with powdered sugar (using an awesome stencil of course)

Bea's First Day of School

2009-08-31T12:40:00.001-04:00

Bea in her 1st day of school outfit
Bea's first day of school was today. It's her first time with her very own classroom. She'll be teaching public pre-kindergarten in lovely Lewiston, ME. I realized last minute that her first day needed to be documented. She grumbled a little bit, but hammed it up for the photo, because after all, she was excited. Both Bea and my parents always photographed us on our first days, so I felt it was necessary to keep the tradition going.

The Many Faces of Abrar

2009-08-23T22:57:00.003-04:00

Abrar is a little 3rd grade girl who lives across the street from us. She enjoys coming over and gardening, cooking, and goofing off with us. She was helping me cook today, and after she left I found these self portraits on the camera. She's a nut.

Uncle Suprise v 1.4

2009-08-01T10:15:00.002-04:00

Hot Dog Pancakes!
pronounced su:-pri:z (su-preez)
This is the fifth in the series of Uncle Suprises for Anna Rosemary Dahlen. All the uncles were in attendance for this suprise - James, Mike D, and myself made our first visit to Greenbelt, MD to visit Anna in person for the first time.

the Uncle Suprise v. 1.4 contains:
- sliced hot dog
- pancake batter (egg, flour, butter, etc.)
- pure maple syrup

Related Delights:
Uncle Suprise v. 1.3
Uncle Suprise v. 1.2
Uncle Suprise v. 1.1
Uncle Suprise v. 1.0
Guy's Breakfast Hotdog Omelet

Homeowner's First Oil Payment

2009-06-30T09:15:00.002-04:00

$212.90 for 100 gallons of home heating fuel oil. Let the fun begin!

Note: Our home does not have an electric water heater; all hot water comes through the oil furnace.

Uncle Suprise v 1.3

2009-06-24T10:26:00.006-04:00

"The Early Worm Catches the Bird"
pronounced su:-pri:z (su-preez)
This is the fourth in the series of Uncle Suprises for Anna Rosemary Dahlen. A month since the last suprise, Mike D found himself in Portland for another installment.

The contents of the Uncle Suprise v. 1.3 are as follows:
- julienned hot dog
- cilantro
- beaten eggs

I think this is the most creative suprise to date. We carefully cracked a small circle off the shell to remove the business while keeping most of the shell intact. Once the eggs were beaten with the cilantro, the shells were refilled with the hot dog worms, carefully placed in open-top tea infusers, and steamed for a few minutes. Fantastic!

Related Delights:
Uncle Suprise v. 1.2
Uncle Suprise v. 1.1
Uncle Suprise v. 1.0
Guy's Breakfast Hotdog Omelet

Trek Across Maine

2009-06-22T17:10:00.001-04:00

Amanda, Marc, Jon, and I after the American Lung Association's 25th Annual Trek Across Maine
Thanks to everyone who supported me on the ride. Between the pint glasses we sold at the Sebago pubs and personal donations Jon and I raised around $1500. The ride itself was 6o miles a day, 3 days, all rain. Amanda fell and busted her helmet and was mildly concussed, Jon's knee was bothering him, I got angry when they only had crappy beer available, but other than that it was great! We're all hoping to do the ride again next year.

the logo Jon and I made for the pint glasses and t-shirts

Uncle Suprise v 1.2

2009-05-30T10:00:00.006-04:00

Hot Dog Quiche
pronounced su:-pri:z (su-preez)
This is the third in the series of Uncle Suprises for Anna Rosemary Dahlen, Mike D helped me cook this bad boy up in Portland with some grilled leftovers from the brewery.

Here's the breakdown of the Uncle Suprise v. 1.2:
- grilled hot dog
- grilled chicken
- grilled peppers & onions
- bar-b-q sauce
- homemade pie crust (butter, flour, water, salt)
- beaten eggs
- milk

Related Delights:
Uncle Suprise v. 1.1
Uncle Suprise v. 1.0
Guy's Breakfast Hotdog Omelet

For Insulin Only

2009-05-06T18:41:00.003-04:00

Don't tell my mom, but I found this in our yard today. Welcome to my neighborhood. Really though, I don't think there's any cause for alarm, I'm fairly certain this sharp is for insulin only.

Key West

2009-04-26T12:28:00.003-04:00

my feet, poolside, amidst tropical trees and the like

Alli and Michael chose Key West for a wedding local, brilliant. An excellent opportunity for all the people to have an excuse to visit this very out of the way place.

List of some thoughts and things from the Key West visit:
- chickens are rampant, and it's awesome
- it's hard to find good beer
- I enjoyed 4 or so varieties of Key Lime pie
- I enjoyed tons of margaritas, most of which were weak/watery
- witnessed Alli riding the mechanical bull in her wedding dress
- I was very excited to stay on the military base and visit the commissary
- the view from the plane on the final leg of the flight is fun
- best houseboats ever
- I was given a moustache belt buckle
- the nightlife is silly, wonderfully silly

A Seriers of Unfortunate Events

2009-04-19T18:54:00.003-04:00

So, the lowlights of this past week:
1) Running over Tom's bike at the brewery with the forklift
2) The bank calls me on Bea's birthday saying we can't close on the house
3) Even though we can still move in, the beer truck that we were going to use breaks down at the end of the today

All in all, things could have been worse.
1) Even though I hit Tom's bike with the lift truck, the bike mechanic was able to true the wheel for $20 or so, and nothing else was damaged.
2) Even though the closing was neigh-sayed by underwriters, we drew up an agreement so we could still move in our stuff since we had help planned for the weekend (but we can't live there yet).
3) Even though the beer truck is broken, Gary paid for a U-Haul for us to do the 4 block move.

Advantages of moving 4 blocks as opposed to 2000 miles:
- making several trips is possible and easy
- as long as you have enough space at your destination, you can take everything you want
- less travel time
- all the people that help you pack are there to help you unpack

Note: Although there are advantages of a close move, it should be remembered that moving is still moving, and moving sucks.

Abusing to do Lists

2009-04-04T14:03:00.006-04:00

I had to take the "Things To Do" papers away from Bea this morning because she was abusing them - she didn't want to do her chores and started to misbehave. Please note that none of the tasks were completed.

Egg Face

2009-03-28T09:49:00.001-04:00

Hard-boiled egg + Sriracha eyes = fun and tasty breakfast treat.
Fact. Playing with food is still fun at 26 years of age. Fact.

Free Street Parking

2009-03-08T09:34:00.004-04:00

Last night Bea, her parents, and I went to Dogfish after taking a look at a couple houses to potentially purchase. Gary wanted me to take a photo of this sign on account of its oxymoronic qualities.

Note: The name of the street that this lot is on is Free Street. Get it? Get it.

Uncle Suprise v 1.1

2009-03-07T11:26:00.001-05:00

Another Uncle Suprise!
pronounced su:-pri:z (su-preez)
This is the second in the series of Uncle Suprises for Anna Rosemary Dahlen, and it was a delight.

Here's the breakdown of the Uncle Suprise v. 1.1:
- steamed hot dog
- 2 hard boiled (steamed) egg
- flour tortilla
- extremely sharp cheddar cheese
- Sriracha hot sauce

Related Delights:
Uncle Suprise v. 1.0
Guy's Breakfast Hotdog Omelet

Foreign Kick Me Sign?

2009-02-16T20:51:00.003-05:00

I was waiting in line at the service desk to buy Beatrice a bus pass at the local Hannafords when I spied the gentleman in front of me with a rather lengthy note deliberately taped to his back. I'm no Eastern linguist, but I would guess that it's written in more than one language (in addition to the broken English words). The man was fairly well dressed, of Asian descent, spoke not a word to the teller, and was there to redeem a bottle refund credit. I would have taken a better picture with my real camera (instead of my phone camera) but I didn't want to attract to much attention to myself. As a result of my inability to slyly take an adequit photo and reluctance to actually speak to the man, the mystery of what the note may actually mean may very well last until my final days.

"ENHANCE"

Uncle Suprise v 1.0

2009-02-07T10:00:00.002-05:00

The very first Uncle Suprise!
pronounced su:-pri:z (su-preez)
I wish I could take credit for this term, but it came from Bea, something like this:

Bea: Oh my god, are you putting hotdogs in that?
me: Uhm, maybe, what's it to you?
Bea: Wait, is that an Uncle Suprise? su:-pri:z ((su-preez))
me: YES!
Bea: Gross, are you putting bacon in that too?
me: No, I was going to, but I don't have any bacon left.
Bea: You're really weird.
me: Actually, I'm an uncle.

That was somewhat dramatized, but it's really not even that dramatic after all. Anyway, the Uncle Suprise v. I is the first in a series of special breakfasts dedicated to all my nieces and nephews. So far, I have one niece, Anna Rosemary Dahlen born to my eldest brother last night.

Here's the breakdown of the Uncle Suprise v. I:
- flour tortilla
- egg over hard
- extremely sharp cheddar cheese
- filleted pan seared hot dog
- Cholula hot sauce

You consistent readers my have noticed that the Uncle Suprise v. I is very similar to the Hotdog Omelet I created for the first Guy's Breakfast a couple months ago.

Welcome to the Uncles Club me.

Peter Peter Pumpkin Ale - vol. IV

2009-02-06T16:51:00.001-05:00

fAiLEure
Well, it was a failure, but not a surprise. After getting that smell when it was racked it was pretty apparent that the results were not going to be favorable.

The taste was pretty disgusting, possibly attributed to:
* infection because pumpkin was not sanitized before wort was added
* infection because no airlock was employed during fermentation
* infection from because top of pumpkin (although not in direct contact with beer) began to mold towards end of fermentation
* overpowering vegetable flavor from high contact with raw pumpkin

Thoughts for next fall's pumpkin experimentations:
* sanitize pumpkin for primary fermentation with iodine, and/or
* thoroughly char inside of pumpkin for primary fermentation using propane torch, a la bourbon barrel
* mash in the pumpkin and ferment in a carboy
* do primary fermentation in a carboy and prime the pumpkin to use as a cask serving vessel

It was suggested to me to put chunks of roasted pumpkin in a carboy with the wort during fermentation to add pumpkin flavor, but my goal isn't really about adding pumpkin flavor. My goal is to use a pumpkin as a naturally grown container capable of sustaining a decent fermentation. Why the pumpkin? Well, I like pumpkins:
* the seeds
* the carving of
* the pies made from
* the festivals regarding
* the catapulting, trebucheting, flinging of
* the bombing with
* etc. etc. etc.

That being said, I have come to realize that I actually enjoy pumpkin ales less and less, and not just because of this debacle. Most of the pumpkin ales out there don't taste like pumpkin, they taste like spices associated with pumpkin pies (nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, and the like). I want a pumpkin ale that gives homage to the actual vegetable. So there. And don't drink Shipyard Punpkinhead - fact: it's the same as half of the other fruit beers they produce and distribute with different labels, except instead of adding fruit syrup flavoring, they throw in pumpkin pie spices; fact.

What? Well, that was a bit of a rant. Anyways. That concludes this first season's experiment of Peter Peter Pumpkin Ale. I plan on doing more extensive brewing experiments with pumpkins in the Fall of 2009.

Peter Peter Pumpkin Ale - vol. III

2009-01-26T16:21:00.003-05:00

Jon helping me rack the beer
The beer looked like it had finished fermenting by Friday afternoon, 5 days after it was brewed, so I threw it in the cold room over the weekend and today we racked it. The specs:
OG: 1.063
FG: 1.012
ABV: 6.7%

The pumpkin in mid-rack
I took a big ol' whiff (waft) of the hydrometer sample and it smelled somewhat rancid - not outright foul (eg. compost), but like an fairly infected beer. Had it smelled somewhat decent I would have primed it with some DME to let it carbonate naturally, but I was pretty sure after smelling it this afternoon that it was going to be a failure, so we just racked it to a keg and put some CO2 on it to force carbonate it. I'm going to give it two weeks or so to absorb some CO2 and then we'll give it a proper tasting.

Bea and Barak

2009-01-24T20:58:00.000-05:00

Bea was appointed as
Dancing Damsel of State today

Peter Peter Pumpkin Ale - vol. II

2009-01-22T16:40:00.003-05:00

Fermentation!
So, four days in and the beer seams to be fermenting fine and the pumpkin appears to be holding up, but some funny business has started to set it in...

Notice around the rim of the lid some slight mold coloration is noticeable. This may not be really mold coloration, some might postulate that it is actual mold. I guess time will tell.