USMB Coffee Shop IV

[Foxfyre]

Sweet corn season has arrived! The absolute best thing about summer behind a Pirates pennant drive is the local sweet corn. A baker's dozen costs a mere $4.00 That's enough to tamp down the biggest corn appetite. My brother put a 6 pound pork shoulder in his smoker Saturday morning and now I not only have the ambrosia of sweet corn, but a Tupperware container of pulled pork along with his home made Carolina style sauce. I'm mad with desire to leave this office and go back to Pimplebutt for diner.

Daisy the Mutt had a hot spot develop in mid June. I'm now somewhat of an expert treating that canine malady. Happy Jack skin balm and wash it daily. Clean and soothed and the hot spot dissipates in 72 hours. But, there's a patch on her fur about the size of a credit card that is basically devoid of fur. Her groomer appointment isn't until the 27th, so there's 10 days for her follicles to get their act together and fill in the spot.

Meanwhile, the big Pig Roast is set for Saturday August 6. My brother and I will show up on Friday the 5th to prep the whole hog. We grill up 15 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts so they have some nice grill marks on them. We put a few whole cloves of garlic and kosher salt in the food processor and grind that up to the consistency of toothpaste. Then we rub the inside of the pig with the garlic/salt mixture. We make a few slices in the hams and shoulders and pack in more of that seasoning. Then we slide the stainless steel spit up through the pig's butt and through the mouth. And in goes all that grilled chicken.

Like skilled surgeons, we lace the belly of the pig closed, using individual stitches. Lacing it up like a shoe has proven disastrous in the past. Once a stitch comes loose, the whole belly can split open.

There is a technique to securing the pig to the spit to prevent flopping and spinning. Cross laces are put around the torso in three places, shoulders, ribs and hams. The pig's front legs are secured up under its chin and laced tightly. The back legs are then pulled as far back on the spit as allowable and tied down tight. These ties are usually loose by the time the pig has cooked, but by then, they are of little consequence. The thoroughness of our lacing along with the esthetic beauty of them prevent yahoos from trying any of their own techniques even as the pig is cooking.

We put four or five 20 pound bags of ice around and atop the pig, cover it with old packing quilts and then retire to the campfire to tell lies and fart. At 7:00 the next morning, we fire up the cooker, which is a 750 gallon fuel oil tank we have cut horizontally, fitted with hinges and wire baskets along each side which hold 50 pounds of charcoal each. Once the coals are red hot and ashed over, we carry the pig, spit, chicken up to the cooker, attach the spit to the motor we got from an old wringer washing machine, close the lid and start the clock.

If you're lucky enough to be in the Youngstown Ohio area that weekend, do drop by! Bring a coverdish!

Well one thing that I never expected to learn in he Coffee Shop was how to lace a pig. And do you know how difficult it is to type with a 15-pound mini dachshund draped over you arm?

 

[Foxfyre]

Being a historian one thing I enjoy doing is researching the actual history after watching a historically "inspired" movie, if I'm not already familiar with the history.
Believe it or not Hollywood has actually done a couple that were very close to the actual event(s) but most are only somewhat close to almost complete fabrications. About the only thing they got correct in Young Guns were the names, Gladiator was somewhat close but it's saving grace is the depiction of Roman culture at the time. The Buccaneer (1958) with Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner (directed by Anthony Quinn) was very close to the historical events.

We do the same thing. Fact checking the history in Michener's "Texas" and Cecile B DeMille's "The Ten Commandments." Both followed the history pretty well. Almost none of those featuring Wild Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp, Bill the Kid, Jesse James etc. do.

 

[Montrovant]

It's funny what pops into my head from time to time. I was thinking about making a trip to Tombstone sometime this year and the movie Tombstone came to mind. What I was seeing in my mind's eye was the scene where Wyatt and Josephine met up in the mountains while on a casual ride, trees, green grass, a natural lake....... The closest area resembling that would be the Pinos Altos Mountains about 170 miles away, if they rode hard to get there it would take them 4.5 to 5 days just to get to the foothills another 2 to 3 days to get into the mountains where a scene like that might be found. Kinda far to go for a casual ride........
Don'tcha just love Hollywood.......

Could some of it be explained by changes in terrain in the intervening time?

 

[Nosmo King]

Sweet corn season has arrived! The absolute best thing about summer behind a Pirates pennant drive is the local sweet corn. A baker's dozen costs a mere $4.00 That's enough to tamp down the biggest corn appetite. My brother put a 6 pound pork shoulder in his smoker Saturday morning and now I not only have the ambrosia of sweet corn, but a Tupperware container of pulled pork along with his home made Carolina style sauce. I'm mad with desire to leave this office and go back to Pimplebutt for diner.

Daisy the Mutt had a hot spot develop in mid June. I'm now somewhat of an expert treating that canine malady. Happy Jack skin balm and wash it daily. Clean and soothed and the hot spot dissipates in 72 hours. But, there's a patch on her fur about the size of a credit card that is basically devoid of fur. Her groomer appointment isn't until the 27th, so there's 10 days for her follicles to get their act together and fill in the spot.

Meanwhile, the big Pig Roast is set for Saturday August 6. My brother and I will show up on Friday the 5th to prep the whole hog. We grill up 15 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts so they have some nice grill marks on them. We put a few whole cloves of garlic and kosher salt in the food processor and grind that up to the consistency of toothpaste. Then we rub the inside of the pig with the garlic/salt mixture. We make a few slices in the hams and shoulders and pack in more of that seasoning. Then we slide the stainless steel spit up through the pig's butt and through the mouth. And in goes all that grilled chicken.

Like skilled surgeons, we lace the belly of the pig closed, using individual stitches. Lacing it up like a shoe has proven disastrous in the past. Once a stitch comes loose, the whole belly can split open.

There is a technique to securing the pig to the spit to prevent flopping and spinning. Cross laces are put around the torso in three places, shoulders, ribs and hams. The pig's front legs are secured up under its chin and laced tightly. The back legs are then pulled as far back on the spit as allowable and tied down tight. These ties are usually loose by the time the pig has cooked, but by then, they are of little consequence. The thoroughness of our lacing along with the esthetic beauty of them prevent yahoos from trying any of their own techniques even as the pig is cooking.

We put four or five 20 pound bags of ice around and atop the pig, cover it with old packing quilts and then retire to the campfire to tell lies and fart. At 7:00 the next morning, we fire up the cooker, which is a 750 gallon fuel oil tank we have cut horizontally, fitted with hinges and wire baskets along each side which hold 50 pounds of charcoal each. Once the coals are red hot and ashed over, we carry the pig, spit, chicken up to the cooker, attach the spit to the motor we got from an old wringer washing machine, close the lid and start the clock.

If you're lucky enough to be in the Youngstown Ohio area that weekend, do drop by! Bring a coverdish!

Well one thing that I never expected to learn in he Coffee Shop was how to lace a pig. And do you know how difficult it is to type with a 15-pound mini dachshund draped over you arm?

At home, my act always includes a 13 pound miniature poodle attached to me somewhere!

 

[Ringel05]

Sweet corn season has arrived! The absolute best thing about summer behind a Pirates pennant drive is the local sweet corn. A baker's dozen costs a mere $4.00 That's enough to tamp down the biggest corn appetite. My brother put a 6 pound pork shoulder in his smoker Saturday morning and now I not only have the ambrosia of sweet corn, but a Tupperware container of pulled pork along with his home made Carolina style sauce. I'm mad with desire to leave this office and go back to Pimplebutt for diner.

Daisy the Mutt had a hot spot develop in mid June. I'm now somewhat of an expert treating that canine malady. Happy Jack skin balm and wash it daily. Clean and soothed and the hot spot dissipates in 72 hours. But, there's a patch on her fur about the size of a credit card that is basically devoid of fur. Her groomer appointment isn't until the 27th, so there's 10 days for her follicles to get their act together and fill in the spot.

Meanwhile, the big Pig Roast is set for Saturday August 6. My brother and I will show up on Friday the 5th to prep the whole hog. We grill up 15 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts so they have some nice grill marks on them. We put a few whole cloves of garlic and kosher salt in the food processor and grind that up to the consistency of toothpaste. Then we rub the inside of the pig with the garlic/salt mixture. We make a few slices in the hams and shoulders and pack in more of that seasoning. Then we slide the stainless steel spit up through the pig's butt and through the mouth. And in goes all that grilled chicken.

Like skilled surgeons, we lace the belly of the pig closed, using individual stitches. Lacing it up like a shoe has proven disastrous in the past. Once a stitch comes loose, the whole belly can split open.

There is a technique to securing the pig to the spit to prevent flopping and spinning. Cross laces are put around the torso in three places, shoulders, ribs and hams. The pig's front legs are secured up under its chin and laced tightly. The back legs are then pulled as far back on the spit as allowable and tied down tight. These ties are usually loose by the time the pig has cooked, but by then, they are of little consequence. The thoroughness of our lacing along with the esthetic beauty of them prevent yahoos from trying any of their own techniques even as the pig is cooking.

We put four or five 20 pound bags of ice around and atop the pig, cover it with old packing quilts and then retire to the campfire to tell lies and fart. At 7:00 the next morning, we fire up the cooker, which is a 750 gallon fuel oil tank we have cut horizontally, fitted with hinges and wire baskets along each side which hold 50 pounds of charcoal each. Once the coals are red hot and ashed over, we carry the pig, spit, chicken up to the cooker, attach the spit to the motor we got from an old wringer washing machine, close the lid and start the clock.

If you're lucky enough to be in the Youngstown Ohio area that weekend, do drop by! Bring a coverdish!

Sounds great! I've been to lots of pig roasts as a child but they were all Luau style which is still my favorite though I haven't had it in decades.

 

[Montrovant]

Being a historian one thing I enjoy doing is researching the actual history after watching a historically "inspired" movie, if I'm not already familiar with the history.
Believe it or not Hollywood has actually done a couple that were very close to the actual event(s) but most are only somewhat close to almost complete fabrications. About the only thing they got correct in Young Guns were the names, Gladiator was somewhat close but it's saving grace is the depiction of Roman culture at the time. The Buccaneer (1958) with Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner (directed by Anthony Quinn) was very close to the historical events.

What about Amistad, or Chariots of Fire? Are either of those particularly accurate? Those are the first based on historical events movies that popped into my head.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sounds great! I've been to lots of pig roasts as a child but they were all Luau style which is still my favorite though I haven't had it in decades.

Hot Rocks, ROCK

 

[Ringel05]

It's funny what pops into my head from time to time. I was thinking about making a trip to Tombstone sometime this year and the movie Tombstone came to mind. What I was seeing in my mind's eye was the scene where Wyatt and Josephine met up in the mountains while on a casual ride, trees, green grass, a natural lake....... The closest area resembling that would be the Pinos Altos Mountains about 170 miles away, if they rode hard to get there it would take them 4.5 to 5 days just to get to the foothills another 2 to 3 days to get into the mountains where a scene like that might be found. Kinda far to go for a casual ride........
Don'tcha just love Hollywood.......

Could some of it be explained by changes in terrain in the intervening time?

Nope, Tombstone is high desert, dry as can be, the closest mountains are 30 miles away and consist of bare rock, scrub and cacti, always have. The closest body of "water" is the Rio Sand (otherwise known as the Rio Grande..........)

 

[Ringel05]

Being a historian one thing I enjoy doing is researching the actual history after watching a historically "inspired" movie, if I'm not already familiar with the history.
Believe it or not Hollywood has actually done a couple that were very close to the actual event(s) but most are only somewhat close to almost complete fabrications. About the only thing they got correct in Young Guns were the names, Gladiator was somewhat close but it's saving grace is the depiction of Roman culture at the time. The Buccaneer (1958) with Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner (directed by Anthony Quinn) was very close to the historical events.

What about Amistad, or Chariots of Fire? Are either of those particularly accurate? Those are the first based on historical events movies that popped into my head.

Don't know, never researched those. Besides, I don't remember even watching Chariots of Fire, don't even know what it's about.

 

[Nosmo King]

Sweet corn season has arrived! The absolute best thing about summer behind a Pirates pennant drive is the local sweet corn. A baker's dozen costs a mere $4.00 That's enough to tamp down the biggest corn appetite. My brother put a 6 pound pork shoulder in his smoker Saturday morning and now I not only have the ambrosia of sweet corn, but a Tupperware container of pulled pork along with his home made Carolina style sauce. I'm mad with desire to leave this office and go back to Pimplebutt for diner.

Daisy the Mutt had a hot spot develop in mid June. I'm now somewhat of an expert treating that canine malady. Happy Jack skin balm and wash it daily. Clean and soothed and the hot spot dissipates in 72 hours. But, there's a patch on her fur about the size of a credit card that is basically devoid of fur. Her groomer appointment isn't until the 27th, so there's 10 days for her follicles to get their act together and fill in the spot.

Meanwhile, the big Pig Roast is set for Saturday August 6. My brother and I will show up on Friday the 5th to prep the whole hog. We grill up 15 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts so they have some nice grill marks on them. We put a few whole cloves of garlic and kosher salt in the food processor and grind that up to the consistency of toothpaste. Then we rub the inside of the pig with the garlic/salt mixture. We make a few slices in the hams and shoulders and pack in more of that seasoning. Then we slide the stainless steel spit up through the pig's butt and through the mouth. And in goes all that grilled chicken.

Like skilled surgeons, we lace the belly of the pig closed, using individual stitches. Lacing it up like a shoe has proven disastrous in the past. Once a stitch comes loose, the whole belly can split open.

There is a technique to securing the pig to the spit to prevent flopping and spinning. Cross laces are put around the torso in three places, shoulders, ribs and hams. The pig's front legs are secured up under its chin and laced tightly. The back legs are then pulled as far back on the spit as allowable and tied down tight. These ties are usually loose by the time the pig has cooked, but by then, they are of little consequence. The thoroughness of our lacing along with the esthetic beauty of them prevent yahoos from trying any of their own techniques even as the pig is cooking.

We put four or five 20 pound bags of ice around and atop the pig, cover it with old packing quilts and then retire to the campfire to tell lies and fart. At 7:00 the next morning, we fire up the cooker, which is a 750 gallon fuel oil tank we have cut horizontally, fitted with hinges and wire baskets along each side which hold 50 pounds of charcoal each. Once the coals are red hot and ashed over, we carry the pig, spit, chicken up to the cooker, attach the spit to the motor we got from an old wringer washing machine, close the lid and start the clock.

If you're lucky enough to be in the Youngstown Ohio area that weekend, do drop by! Bring a coverdish!

Sounds great! I've been to lots of pig roasts as a child but they were all Luau style which is still my favorite though I haven't had it in decades.

There is no room nor need to put an apple in the pig's maw. However, after we cut the meat from the carcass, we put a Marlboro in the pig's mouth and consign it to the campfire.

 

[Nosmo King]

Sounds great! I've been to lots of pig roasts as a child but they were all Luau style which is still my favorite though I haven't had it in decades.

Hot Rocks, ROCK

As our local geology provides us with sandstone, hot rocks equals exploding rocks!

 

[Foxfyre]

It's funny what pops into my head from time to time. I was thinking about making a trip to Tombstone sometime this year and the movie Tombstone came to mind. What I was seeing in my mind's eye was the scene where Wyatt and Josephine met up in the mountains while on a casual ride, trees, green grass, a natural lake....... The closest area resembling that would be the Pinos Altos Mountains about 170 miles away, if they rode hard to get there it would take them 4.5 to 5 days just to get to the foothills another 2 to 3 days to get into the mountains where a scene like that might be found. Kinda far to go for a casual ride........
Don'tcha just love Hollywood.......

Could some of it be explained by changes in terrain in the intervening time?

Populations and cities change and you have buildings where there was once open country. But I think it unlikely that forests and mountains appear or go away in less than 200 years time.

 

[Ridgerunner]

we put a Marlboro in the pig's mouth and consign it to the campfire.

How thoughtful... Everyone knows how good a cigarette is after getting...










COOKED...

 

[Montrovant]

It's funny what pops into my head from time to time. I was thinking about making a trip to Tombstone sometime this year and the movie Tombstone came to mind. What I was seeing in my mind's eye was the scene where Wyatt and Josephine met up in the mountains while on a casual ride, trees, green grass, a natural lake....... The closest area resembling that would be the Pinos Altos Mountains about 170 miles away, if they rode hard to get there it would take them 4.5 to 5 days just to get to the foothills another 2 to 3 days to get into the mountains where a scene like that might be found. Kinda far to go for a casual ride........
Don'tcha just love Hollywood.......

Could some of it be explained by changes in terrain in the intervening time?

Populations and cities change and you have buildings where there was once open country. But I think it unlikely that forests and mountains appear or go away in less than 200 years time.

Mountains certainly not. Forest, though....I imagine there have been some forests which were destroyed by the incursion of humans.

 

[Montrovant]

Being a historian one thing I enjoy doing is researching the actual history after watching a historically "inspired" movie, if I'm not already familiar with the history.
Believe it or not Hollywood has actually done a couple that were very close to the actual event(s) but most are only somewhat close to almost complete fabrications. About the only thing they got correct in Young Guns were the names, Gladiator was somewhat close but it's saving grace is the depiction of Roman culture at the time. The Buccaneer (1958) with Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner (directed by Anthony Quinn) was very close to the historical events.

What about Amistad, or Chariots of Fire? Are either of those particularly accurate? Those are the first based on historical events movies that popped into my head.

Don't know, never researched those. Besides, I don't remember even watching Chariots of Fire, don't even know what it's about.

Chariots of Fire was about a couple of British runners in the 1924 Olympics. I haven't seen it since I was a kid.

 

[Ringel05]

While movies are entertaining and often fun I find the reality of the history much more interesting. Take the movie Gladiator (Russell Crowe), great movie with lot's of insight into the culture of the times.
Marcus Aurelius was actually co-Consul (emperor) with his adoptive brother Lucius Verus, Lucilla's husband. Unknown what happened to Versus but at age 17 Commodus was named co-Consul with his father. It is suspected he killed his father Marcus but the official cause of death was listed as the plague.

Commodus and his sister Lucilla hated one another, she tried to have him assassinated and was exiled then finally murdered by her brother's orders. Commodus was also a megalomaniac, Joaquin Phoenix seriously underplayed Commodus' megalomania. He did fight in the arena but it was always staged for him to win, he did not die in the arena he was killed by a wrestler named Narcissus (of all names.......) when it is believed Commodus planned to kill the consuls-elect and name himself as consul (again). Commodus reigned for 12 years. Dio Cassius who wasn't even a senator wrote that Commodus was "a greater curse to the Romans than any pestilence or any crime."

Oh and Rome was never truly a republic, it always had some form of monarchy ruling it.

 

[Ringel05]

Being a historian one thing I enjoy doing is researching the actual history after watching a historically "inspired" movie, if I'm not already familiar with the history.
Believe it or not Hollywood has actually done a couple that were very close to the actual event(s) but most are only somewhat close to almost complete fabrications. About the only thing they got correct in Young Guns were the names, Gladiator was somewhat close but it's saving grace is the depiction of Roman culture at the time. The Buccaneer (1958) with Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner (directed by Anthony Quinn) was very close to the historical events.

What about Amistad, or Chariots of Fire? Are either of those particularly accurate? Those are the first based on historical events movies that popped into my head.

Don't know, never researched those. Besides, I don't remember even watching Chariots of Fire, don't even know what it's about.

Chariots of Fire was about a couple of British runners in the 1924 Olympics. I haven't seen it since I was a kid.

Sports...... No wonder I've never seen it.

 

[Ringel05]

It's funny what pops into my head from time to time. I was thinking about making a trip to Tombstone sometime this year and the movie Tombstone came to mind. What I was seeing in my mind's eye was the scene where Wyatt and Josephine met up in the mountains while on a casual ride, trees, green grass, a natural lake....... The closest area resembling that would be the Pinos Altos Mountains about 170 miles away, if they rode hard to get there it would take them 4.5 to 5 days just to get to the foothills another 2 to 3 days to get into the mountains where a scene like that might be found. Kinda far to go for a casual ride........
Don'tcha just love Hollywood.......

Could some of it be explained by changes in terrain in the intervening time?

Populations and cities change and you have buildings where there was once open country. But I think it unlikely that forests and mountains appear or go away in less than 200 years time.

Mountains certainly not. Forest, though....I imagine there have been some forests which were destroyed by the incursion of humans.

Not in that area, if you lived down here you'd know what I mean. We have to travel for at least an hour just to see mountains with trees let alone water in a large natural lake.

 

[Montrovant]

Being a historian one thing I enjoy doing is researching the actual history after watching a historically "inspired" movie, if I'm not already familiar with the history.
Believe it or not Hollywood has actually done a couple that were very close to the actual event(s) but most are only somewhat close to almost complete fabrications. About the only thing they got correct in Young Guns were the names, Gladiator was somewhat close but it's saving grace is the depiction of Roman culture at the time. The Buccaneer (1958) with Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner (directed by Anthony Quinn) was very close to the historical events.

What about Amistad, or Chariots of Fire? Are either of those particularly accurate? Those are the first based on historical events movies that popped into my head.

Don't know, never researched those. Besides, I don't remember even watching Chariots of Fire, don't even know what it's about.

Chariots of Fire was about a couple of British runners in the 1924 Olympics. I haven't seen it since I was a kid.

Sports...... No wonder I've never seen it.

There have been some excellent sports-based movies! You probably just need to watch the ones in which the sports are really a secondary thing, more a background than the point of the film.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If I may suggest a classic...