Happy Thanksgiving

This pic was from Thanksgiving '93. I'm plucking 2 turkeys that I had just shot 3 days prior. There to help is the Gastropup - all of 6 months old and chompin' down on a savory binky. Savory too was the bird. The flavor was much more akin to pheasant - much more of a game bird quality to it. The birds themselves had been gorging on over ripe sauvignon blanc grapes. An incredible meal made possible by a century old cookbook that belonged to MamaRoux's grandmother. It took me step by step from field dressing, hanging the birds for 2 days, plucking and then prepping for roasting. Best. Bird. Ever.

Hope yours is too.

Own it!

...and when it comes to the BBQ Sauce competition at the Sonoma County Harvest Festival - I do. For the 2nd year in a row, my Char-B-Q Sauce took 1st prize. After winning last year, I had something of a disappointing showing during the summer after having tinkered with t he recipe slightly. I was still placing, but 4th Place just doesn't cut it. After some soul searching and a few swift kicks to the rear from Mrs. Gastrohound, I went back to the original recipe but I still wanted to shake things up. As contestants are allowed a maximum of 2 entries, I decided to put up another entry and go with something very different. I recalled some writings by Chris Lilly talking about the popularity of peaches and pork in Alabama. I quickly came up with a recipe for a bourbon-peach BBQ Sauce. A couple of test runs were quite successful with many tasters enjoying the fact it was not as spicy as the Char-B-Q Sauce. The results speak for themselves, with my Char-B-Q Sauce taking the overall honors, and my Peach-Bourbon BBQ Sauce taking 3rd! Not a bad showing at all. A great way to close out the BBQ competition season.

Harvest time is well passed, officially coming to an end a couple weeks back as our wine making group picked over the mouldering remains of 2nd crop pinot noir at Devaux and Truchard vineyards in the Southern Corneros region. It was grim work, and we are somewhat dubious about the eventual product. On a good note, I received my allotment of our 2008 Obsidian Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged for 21 months in a Hungarian Kadar barrel, it is an 88%/12% blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Made entirely from Lake County grapes, it clocks in with an alcohol content of 15.5 percent. We also updated our label and used a taller than usual Bordeaux bottle making for a very impressive package. No doubt this will be featured at many local tables during the holidays season.

It has been about 5 weeks since my last post, but I've not been shirking my duties. In fact, I've been quite busy and have amassed a metric crapload of material that I shall begin offload in quick order, so stay tuned in. What's in store? Brains, intestines, celebrity chef cavorting, more meat butchery, possible TV appearances, and 2010 may still hold some surprises.

Gastrohounds would like to throw out some savory birthday wishes to Lucullus, the Delicacy Ape. Call it an informed hunch, but something tells me that Lucullus does not dine alone tonight.

When you live where I do, it's good to be hungry.