I
need some feedback, please!

First, I don’t know if it’s gauche to say it or not, but I really do appreciate those of you that read my blog.  I don’t do it just for myself; I try to have some decent information now and then.  Sometimes I just pass on stuff, sometimes I try to give others ideas, etc.

But now I’m thinking of doing podcasts, too.  These would be some audio-only, some video, podcasts talking about cooking related topics, maybe doing some interviews, stuff like that.  What I’d like to hear back from readers is what they’d be interested in hearing/seeing in podcasts.  The ideas I’ve come up with so far include:

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A few weeks ago, someone approached me to help vend at an event called "Woodsticks and Strings".  It’s an event that brings together bands from the Dayton/Cincy area and bands from Nashville for 2 days of music.  The event was last weekend, and the intent was to raise money for PanCan, which does pancreatic cancer research.

The event took place at a neighbor’s house.  They have a great pond and a Boathouse that really is great.  Lots of room, and good access. 

Unfortunately, we went under misconceptions.  The guy that contacted me about going was told that 300 ore more people would be there, and we cooked to accommodate that many.  As it turned out, there might have been 100 people there if they were lucky.  We didn’t make a dime, but we still had a great time.   

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Everyone seems to have their lists of advice, so I figured, now that we’re well into the peak of grilling season, to add mine!

So, with no further adieu, here is Bucky McOinkum’s 9 Tips For Cooking Outdoors:

1.  Have a fire extinguisher handy.

Ok, first one is boring, but, really, have a fire extinguisher on hand.  You never know when you need it, and even seasoned cooks have issues.  When you’re cooking outside, you’re likely working with flame of some sort, and things do happen!

2.  Take the time to determine what tools you like to use.

This is somewhat different than I hear most people say; most want to tell you what tools to use.  However, I think people do things differently.  I’ll give advice now and then on something I happen to like, but if you choose something differently, that’s fine with me, too.

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With this new MacBook Pro, I got some software that takes photos and lets me put them into a sort of photo movie. Here’s my first attempt, from the 2006 Blues-B-Q competition in Carmel, IN…

Last weekend was our 7th competition, if I’m counting right… Carmel 2005, Madison 2005, Carmel 2006, Grand Rapids 2006, Nelsonville 2006, Fairbanks 2007, Dayton 2007… Yep, 7th! I’ll post results later, but we did just fine. It was a non-sanctioned competition, and the judges were all new, non-certified judges. I didn’t expect the scores to be very consistent, but the competition was really well done for a first year comp, and we can’t wait until next year when it’s sanctioned!

We had several people stop by during the weekend, since we were local. We made some chicken and some pitbeef for visitors, and both turned out really good. Part of the fun of the competitions is figuring out what to have on Friday night!

I wanted to thank everyone that stopped by for doing so, and I also want to say how nice it was to see teams we knew and to meet new teams.

So what is pitbeef? I know I’ve talked about it before, but it’s one of the simplest yet tastiest quick smokes I’ve made. I take a cheap cut, eye of round, and season it with a variety of things from blackberry-pepper jelly to, in Friday night’s case, brisket rub.

The idea is to use a cheap cut of beef, then slice it thin so that it isn’t tough. I cook it to 120 degree, then foil it andlet it rest. Then I slice it as thin as I can, and top it with homemade sour cream horseradish sauce. Great sandwiches made very easily!

I’ve not been keeping up on my blogging lately.  The main reason has been my computer.  We had a Dell laptop that was over 4 years old that has finally decided to not work for us.

However, we got a new laptop… A shiny new MacBook Pro!!!

So, with the new computer, I will be catching up on my blogging, and hopefully getting some new stuff going.

I’m thinking of podcasting… And I’d love some feedback.  Would you rather see audio or video podcasts?  I’ll be adding some to the blog as well as, maybe, posting to iTunes, too.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think!