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Saturday, December 20, 2003

Why “DVD authoring” isn’t a misnomer NYT: A DVD Face-Off Between the Official and the Homemade Movie geeks have already begun producing such tracks, ever since the film critic Roger Ebert's rabble-rousing column on the subject for the online magazine YahooLife.com in February 2002. "I'd love to hear a commentary track by someone who hates a movie, ripping it to shreds," Mr. Ebert wrote. "Or a track by an expert who disagrees with the facts in a film. Or a track by someone with a moral or philosophical argument to make. Or even a Wayne's World-style track from dudes down in the basement who think `The Mummy Returns' is way cool." Mr. Ebert suggested that interested fans simply record their own tracks on MP3's and post them on the Internet — legally providing alternate soundtracks for existing DVD's. Online fans jumped to the task. On DVDTracks.com, contributors post links to MP3's on films from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" to "Mulholland Drive." Software like MovieMask (a controversial program best known for allowing censors to camouflage movies' naughty bits) allows viewers to add their own tracks by breaking the DVD code. 10:43:41 PM    comment []

By the way, I found the link to the Saddam/Rumsfeld picture on a blog called The Future of Real Estate which, despite the misleading title, has some of the best links in the universe, including: Alternative Nativity Story, Cables in Beirut, and Understanding 200 Motels.  Linked from the same parent site, which really is a real estate team (“The Great Team”) is GROW A BRAIN which has oodles more fun web links. 10:29:31 PM    comment []

20 years ago today…   Shaking Hands: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein greets Donald Rumsfeld, then special envoy of President Ronald Reagan, in Baghdad on December 20, 1983.       (that’s me in the background there, eh?)   10:10:57 PM    comment []

Here is some interesting reading material. Thanks to Rayne for locating this well-documented play-by-play. 5:39:45 PM    comment []

In case anyone was wondering what the heck Schnitz and Knepp is, here’s a recipe:   Schnitz and Knepp 1 quart dried apples (schnitz) ¼ tsp. pepper 3 pounds ham 4 tsp. baking powder 2 tbsp. Brown sugar 1 egg well-beaten 2 c. flour Milk 3 tbsp. Melted butter 1 tsp. salt   Wash the dried apples then cover them with water to soak overnight. Cover the ham with boiling water and boil it for 3 hours. Add the apples and the water in which they were soaked, and boil it for 1 hour or longer. Add the sugar. Make the dumplings (knepp) by sifting together the flour, salt, pepper, and baking powder. Stir in the beaten egg, milk (enough to make a fairly moist, stiff batter) and butter. Drop the batter be the tablespoon in to the hot ham and apples. Cover it and cook it for 15 minutes. Serve it hot. Amish Cooking. 1:27:33 PM    comment []

Another bockwurst recipe, from Bruce Aidells.   This mild-flavored white sausage is very popular in German neighborhoods throughout the Midwest. It is great tavern food, eaten with some tangy German‑style mustard, crusty bread, and a stein of cold lager beer. Bockwurst's rich but delicate flavor is perfect for dishes like our Deep‑Dish Chicken and Sausage Pie with Biscuit Crust (see page 234) or Pennsylvania Dutch Schnitz and Knepp (see page 235).   1 tablespoon butter ½ cup finely chopped leeks or onions 1 pound pork butt 1 pound stewing veal or veal shoulder 1 pound chicken breast or thigh with skin left on ½ pound pork back fat 4 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon ground mace ½  teaspoon finely ground white or black pepper Pinch of ground ginger 1 cup milk 1 egg, beaten ½ cup finely chopped green onions, scallions or chives ¼ cup chopped parsley Medium hog casings   Heat the butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the leeks or onions, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are quite soft and translucent. Set aside and reserve.   In a large bowl, mix the pork, veal, chicken, and fat with the salt, mace, pepper, and ginger. Grind through a 1/8‑inch plate into the bowl. Add the cooked leeks or onions along with the milk, egg, green onions, and the parsley. Using a wooden spoon, beat the mixture until everything is well blended.   Chill the sausage meat in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Staff it into medium hog casings and tie into 6‑ to 7‑inch links. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the sausages and reduce the heat to maintain the poaching water at a temperature of 160º to 180º for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the sausage is firm. Drain in a colander and cool to room temperature. Do not cool with running water (it causes the sausages to burst). The poached sausage will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days, or in the freezer for 2 months. 12:36:09 PM    comment []

Here’s the Rytek Kutas recipe for bockwurst. The forcemeat can be emulsified in a Cuisinart, just don’t try too much at a time (it will go into thermal shutdown).   BOCKWURST   INGREDIENTS FOR 10 LBS.   1 pint whole milk 6 tbsp. salt 2 tbsp. powdered dextrose 1 tbsp. mace 1 tbsp. ground celery 4 tbsp. onion powder 1 tbsp. ground white pepper 6 pcs. chives or green onions, chopped 6 pcs. chopped parsley 1 piece grated lemon peel 3 fresh whole eggs 3 lbs. boneless veal 5 lbs. lean pork shoulder 2 lbs. pork trimmings   GRINDING   Grind all the meat through a 3/8” grinder plate, adding all the ingredients, and mixing well until all ingredients are evenly distributed.   STUFFING AND COOKING   Bockwurst is to be stuffed into a lamb casing 24‑26mm in size and made in links 4‑6 inches long; then hung on clean smoke sticks. (Do not use a smoke stick that can stain the casings, as bockwurst is a white sausage.) Sausage should be placed into the cooker or water and cooked until the internal temperature reaches 152 degrees F. (Be sure the water temperature is not above 165 degrees F.) Place cooked sausage under shower for about 10 minutes to reduce internal temperature to 110 degrees F. and remove to cooler overnight. This sausage also can be frozen and cooked as it is needed.   Bockwurst also is made as a very fine‑textured sausage (emulsified) in the Western New York area. It is very popular at Easter time and also goes under the name of "white hot dogs." 12:06:57 PM    comment []

Bobby Darin      May14, 1936 – December 20, 1973   In February of 71' Bobby underwent heart surgery to repair a valve in his heart..his recovery went well and he continued doing shows up until August of 1973..Bobby had always had a weak heart and it was standard for him to receive oxygen after his shows...On December 19th 1973  Bobby was admitted to UCLA for a second open heart surgery..Bobby had contracted blood poisoning after missing a dose of medication that was required before dental work...he would never leave the hospital again..he made it through the surgery but his heart was too weak to sustain him...his organs began failing and the decision was made by family to take him off of life support...he passed away just after midnight December 20th 1973..   11:41:18 AM    comment []

Vacation!   On the agenda:   Learn how to author a DVD from VHS tape source. I’ve been capturing video for a while, but converting to video CD (actually SVCD, better quality than a VCD, but who cares?). Related: Figure out how to get video from the TWC DVR onto my laptop so I can dub them down to DVD. Tops on the list: the BBC Parkinson show with Robin Williams, Stephen Fry, and James Taylor. One of the funniest things I’ve ever seen!   Organize the kitchen. The spices are creeping in on me. The mace and nutmeg conspire behind my back. Opened flour bags await infestation by those creepy mothlike things that mean you have to throw everything out. Why do I have 5 opened bags of popcorn?   Make the 6-legged chicken. Ever since I made the turducken about this time last year, I’ve been honing my boning and sewing skills. The idea of the 6-legged chicken came to me after seeing this picture of a cockentrice. With a needle and thread, and a little patience, you can roast almost any imaginary beast. The 8-legged chicken will be an ordinary roast chicken, except that two more pairs of legs and thighs will be sewed on each side. If this is a success, I’ll post a picture. If not, forget you read this.   Make some Christmas sausage. Right now, I have some bangers in mind, but bockwurst would also be a good thing, if I can afford the beef. The plan is to scale down the following recipe (from stuffers.com) to 10 pounds:   Bockwurst   19 lb. lean meat (that’s what it says…) 3 eggs 6 lb. pork or beef fat 2 tablespoons sugar ¾ cup nonfat dry milk 5 tablespoons onion powder ¾ cup salt 4 tablespoons ground white pepper 2 qt. cold water 1 tablespoon ground mace 1 tablespoon ground ginger   Cut lean meat and fat into 1-inch squares or grind through a coarse (½ -1-inch) plate. Season by sprinkling the ingredients over the meat and hand mix. Grind through a 1/8-inch plate. Mix 6 minutes and stuff into hog casings. Cook in water at 170F or at 185F in the smokehouse until the internal temperature of the sausage reaches 152ºF. Immediately place the sausage in cold water until the internal temperature is 100ºF. Rinse briefly with hot water to remove grease. Allow to dry about 1 hour at room temperature. Store in the refrigerator.   Why bockwurst? Well, first of all, a friend at work told me he had ordered some Schaller & Weber bockwurst from A Southern Season, but had been too busy to pick it up. He said if I wanted it to go over and get it. Ha! This close to Christmas that place will be unbearably crowded. Easier to make it myself and more fun too.   The second reason is this article by Mark Hoback which features a Christmas dinner of bockwurst cooked in garlic and white wine. Doesn’t sound very appetizing the way he describes it, but a good presentation might save it. I can’t help but wonder. If Mr. Meiwes had larded his first bockwurst with some back fat, I bet it wouldn’t have been so disappointing. The first thing you learn if you’re truly a serious sausage maker is that there is no such thing as a low fat sausage. Fat should compromise 20% minimally of the green weight and 30% is even better. As sausages age (or are smoked), the water present in the fat time releases into the meat and develops the flavor. They are also better if the meat is aged. The flavor becomes concentrated and it grinds easier. 9:54:28 AM    comment []

We Want Pictures! Dec. 19, 2003    BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) -- A 140-pound rapist met his match in an angry, 275-pound prostitute, police said. Adrian Castillo Ramirez allegedly tried to sexually assault a 24-year-old Bakersfield prostitute who was nearly twice his weight. But she took his knife, stripped him naked and paraded him in front of other prostitutes, after asking how many of them had ever been forced into sex at knifepoint. Then she tried to take him -- still naked -- to the police station, reports said. 2:33:11 AM    comment []