Training Day

So as I said, after our dainty lunch at Slap’s BBQ, we had another light dinner of….. rib eye steaks!  Arteries closing as we speak.  But, damn, they’re good.    FOJTY did them Sous Vide for us.  Prepared the bath

Bagged the beef

Got the Big Green Egg ready

Smoke and Stanley “helped” by doing doggie things..

......A quick aside about Sous Vide.   I have to admit I’m not sold on the process.  If you’re doing something like steak or ribs or chops, after N hours in the bath, the product is indeed uniformly at whatever temperature you selected, but it is far from “plate ready”.   Usually (at least in the case of the above) a rather unappetizing shade of gray (not fifty…) so you have to do something to make it presentable.   In the case of TE, he uses his BGE for a quick sear since he can get the thing up to 800 degrees or so.

However, even though I still have that “loaner” SV device, I don’t have any method of searing and marking to “finish” the dish.  Weber just isn’t hot enough, ditto my ridged Le Creuset grill pan (both result in further cooking).  So if I’m going to continue to experiment with the Sous Vide technique, I’ll have to either:  a) get an egg ($$$$$);  b) maybe a cast iron pan heated red hot;  or c) get a torch.  At any rate the complete process is not fast.  Time spent in the water bath (Controlled by your smart phone if you wish), then whatever second step you prefer. Maybe practice makes perfect.

Anyway as previewed last posting TE’s was quite tasty. And perfectly cooked throughout, which is what you lose with plain grilling..

So next morning after a breakfast of bacon and sweets, we drove to over to a local park to help (watch) further training of Smoke and Stanley.  The curriculum of the day was refining their retrieving skills.  A competition was coming up so more practice was in order.

Turns out it is a pretty formal ritual.   They have a “fake” duck they use for training purposes.  Starts out with the dog next to its master (TY) who then launches the “duck”

The dog must stay until the command “Go Fetch!” is given, and then he is free to launch

Then swim to the duck

              
                Carefully mouth it and return to the “hunter”.

   

This try wasn’t so good as the duck is off to the side.  Points off!  And there is a procedure to surrender the trophy to the handler.  You don’t just drop it, you hold on till you’re told “Give” and only then can it leave your mouth…

Not just your fun “duck huntin’” day. It was fun watching them do it over and over… to a point. 

All that hard work built up an appetite so we headed back for Overland Park and br/l/unch.  Overland Park is one of those places that used to be a “suburb” of Kansas City, but of course the city has grown to engulf and then pass it by, with there are a bunch of store fronts, some of which has been re-purposed with more modern occupants

“Peanut” is a sports bar which is one of a several branches of the self-proclaimed “Oldest Bar and Grill in Kansas City” dating from prohibition times.  The location we visited was in an old building in Overland Park, and is pretty much a standard sports bar with lots of flat screens broadcasting various sporting events and a menu of bar typical bar food: burgers, wings, and (7!) varieties of Nachos.  It being Sunday, they had a special brunch insert in their usual menu.  For some reason, a Huevos Rancheros entry caught my eye.   Why one would order such a dish in mid-west beef territory escapes me, and I would have to candidly admit I was punished for it.   It wasn’t the best version I’ve encountered.

The tortillas were kind of on the rubbery side, and I've never seen hash browns with that dish, but the beer was cold and conversation good.  What the heck, we were with FOJTY and wife (and granddogs)… anything is good.

An afternoon rest was welcomed, and as it was our last day with them, it was “life goes on” time for the “Y’s”.   TY was going to load up the dogs early (4am!) and head for Nebraska for a “training camp” for the pups, and his wife (the nurse) had to be up and out early the next morning.  So we dined on Pizza from “Minsky’s”, a local chain that produces pizza they liked (despite the odd combination of name and product). 

So when we arose the next morning we awoke to an empty house and made our lonely departure for Michigan and the “museum” phase of our odyssey. 

It was sad to leave “kid country” and both the “J’s”.  Each time we leave it gets tougher and the tug grows stronger.  We even did drive by a couple of retirement communities for “fun”.   Yikes..

Anyway with sights on “Indiana-no-place” for an overnight pause, and then Michigan, the memorabilia laden MOMSTER departed, and also lugging stuff to

DFD