Tupper Cooks!

Gluten Free Pizza Dough...

2015-11-13T12:57:00.002-05:00

Doh!

Hey kids, the better half is trying a gluten free diet.

It's not a fad or anything like that. And that's a story best told by her.

Anyways, I'm kind of tagging along, not GF but when I cook for the two of us, it's GF.

Went to Watertown the other day, and I found Bob's Red Mill GF pizza crust mix.

Fairly easy to use.

It comes with a yeast packet, add that to warm water, let it work for a few mins.

Add a couple of eggs, some Evoo and mix, I used the Kitchen Aid.

Let it sit for a bit.

Then spread it out.

It's a bit different than a standard dough here.

It's more like a biscuit mix and since it lacks gluten it tends to separate.

But with wet hands I kept it smooshy and spread it out in my 18" pan to probably 16".

Looked like a pizza dough, well, sort of.

Threw that in the oven for 9 mins. at 450 , removed and let it cool.

Put homemade sauce on.

Topped it with parm/regg (out of the can) and shredded Mozz (out of a bag.)

For Nance, garlic, onion and beans (yup, white and black beans) .

Me, just cheese on my half.

Cooked that for another 15 minutes or so until the top was nice and brown.

You know what, it wasn't bad.

If I do it again, and I will, I'll make the crust thinner. This was a bit on the thick side.

Bottom line, better half liked it, and that's all that really matters, right?

Pizza, pizza!

Stay hungry my friends!

It's all about the box.........

2015-11-10T13:56:00.002-05:00

OK- Threatened a post about pizza... and that will come, but for now we'll just stray a bit.

Earlier in the day on FB, pizza master Adam Kuban posted a pic of a new box that Pizza Hut has put out, well actually a Triple Box.

Not sure if it's in the U.S. yet, but yes, a 3 pie box.

Adam's comment was about the assembly of such a monster, and I'd think it would be a pain in the ass. Imagine getting 50 or a 100 of those ready for the night.

Fortunately I don't have to!

So for some strange reason, I started thinking about pizza boxes.

(The pizza is another topic for another day, this is not about Pizza Hut pizza today. I can recall some pretty good discussions on Slice about The Hut and the quality or lack thereof of it's pie. We'll save that for another day.)

If you were a fan of Adam's pizza blog Slice on Serious Eats a few years ago, you may remember posts about Scott Wiener and his pizza box collection, which numbers in the 1000's.

Yes, there are some of us obsessed with the box.

Now, basically the box is a vessel for delivery of the pie itself. I mean did you ever buy a pizza because the box was cool? I think not.

On the other hand we can consider the box itself a blank canvas that begs for art and innovation.

I can see where Scott gets obsessed with boxes.

They're different, they're collectible, they're friggin' cool and they're probably a fire hazard!

Your basic box...

Old school, dressed up a bit.....

Love the Chef!

So being the inquisitive type I google Pizza Hut box, just because, and here's what I find, I suspect some are from points across the ocean.

Well if there's triple box, there's got to be a double, right?

And the Big Box....

The Big Variety Box.....

The Fun for All Box!

And the Flatbread Box.....

Marketing is a funny thing. Does it work?

Well; I must confess to buying a big box in Oswego last year.

Yeah, I got sucked in.

I saw it advertised somewhere and being a pizza head I went and bought one.

(I said I won't talk Pizza Hut pizza, and as much as I would like to say it kind of sucked, I'll reserve comment.)

So waddya think about the box?

Hey, stay hungry my friends!

It's time........

2015-11-10T11:04:00.001-05:00

Yes, it's time.

To resurrect the original Tupper Cooks!

I began the blog on January 15, 2010 pretty much for shits and giggles.

Any illusions I had of becoming a World Class Blogger quickly dissipated.

There are a bazillion blogs out there that are qualitatively and quantitatively way better than my little endeavor.

That said, I found it satisfying in that I could write about whatever I felt, take some pictures and post it.

An on-line journal so to speak. And I owned it, good, bad or otherwise.

I'm glad I did simply for the reason that I would have forgot 99% of what I did over the past 5 years!

My last post, fittingly, was about a day trip Nance and I took with my late friend DM Cavanagh up[ to Heuvelton, NY to visit Picken's General Store.
DM loved the place and insisted I visit it with him.

I sure am glad I did, it was the last time we would meet face to face. We had all sorts of future plans on meeting up at the St. Lawrence where we'd fish, make pizza and drink beer. at our camps. The best laid plans.....

A little more than a year ago DM succumbed to pancreatic cancer and all our plans got flushed down the toilet of life. Needless to say, Cancer sucks, but more importantly, had I not done the post on DM and Picken's or our pizza party at Kate's I'd have had no record of it other than my memory, which quite honestly, ain't what it used to be!
I now look back from time to time, shed a tear, smile and drink a beer.

I made a couple of half-assed attempts at blogging on Word Press and Blogger, but none felt like this, this is my blogging home.

So welcome back to Tupper Cooks!

I'd think a post about pizza is forthcoming!

Waddya think DM? Is it time?

2015-11-09T10:48:00.003-05:00

Considering firing up Tupper Cooks! again..... Stay tuned and hungry my friends!

Picken's General Store. Heuvelton, NY.

2012-11-18T13:39:00.001-05:00

Did you ever wish you could go back in time?
Being a history buff, I do all the time.
A time where life was slower, without all the technology that directs our lives today.
A time where you didn't have to go elbow to elbow with a zillion crazed shoppers at Wal Mart trying to cash in on the latest sale of who knows what.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on Wal Mart, I went there yesterday in Ogdensburg, NY, with the better half to pick up some household goods. Why Wal Mart? Well, they sell what we needed, and the price was right.
That said, once I'm in a Wal Mart, I can't wait to get out. Too many people, too many choices, too many impulse buys, and the lines at checkout are similar to those on the Long Island Expressway during rush hour.
So what in the hell was I doing in Ogdensburg in the first place?

Well, my good friend David M. Cavanagh (DM) was heading up this way from the Albany area in which he resides. He'd messaged me a week or so ago, and asked if I'd like to check out Pickens General Store in Heuvelton, NY. A stones throw from the 'Burg.

DM has a camp just outside Ogdensburg, and had discovered this little gem of a store a while back.
He said they sell some great cheese, and he had me at cheese.
He'd been talking it up for a while, so I bit, and said, "Yeah!"

So Nance and I left early on a Saturday morning, hit Wal Mart for those items we needed, then headed to Heuvelton, to meet up with DM.
Can't say I've ever been to Heuvelton. If so, it was so long ago I can't remember.
It looks like so many other small villages in Northern, NY.
It's tired. Lots of run down houses and storefronts.
If you stop and rest and look around, you can almost see and feel how vibrant a little village it was 50, 60, or 75 years ago.
The place has history on it's side.

And part of that is the diamond in the rough that is Pickens General Store.

It's the General store that every that every little town had in the last couple of centuries.
Simply put, it was where you went when you needed anything.
It was the center of town and the community.
It was the heartbeat around which all things social revolved.

What's really cool about this area in general is that over the past few decades there's been an influx of Amish from Pennsylvania and Ohio drawn to the area by the rich soil and reasonable land prices.
We saw multiple horse and buggies yesterday.
I've always been fascinated by the Amish and their "screw the modern world" lifestyle.
Not sure if I could do it, but they're self-reliant in an age, where more of us need to be.
I saw an Amish farmer tilling a big field yesterday behind a team of horses on his plow.
Very cool, and I wished I had taken a pic, but the memory is vivid.

Who needs a time machine?

So, back to Pickens, they sell many Amish goods. If you're in the area, it's definitely a good place to spend an hour or two.
This store has a new life, thankfully, for those of us who appreciate small town life.

This is from their Website:

A Good Old-Fashioned General Store!

Our store began as a series of fundraising sales during the holidays for the purpose of saving our historic building. Eventually we opened for business the summer of 2007 featuring mainly non-electric goods for and from our local Amish, craftsmen, and Artists. Through the years we have expanded to truly become a general store. We carry a little of this and a little of that and with the introduction of our website we hope to share our simple living and local flavor with the world.

We pride ourselves in our ability to serve our customers the old-fashioned way with personal service from a small friendly staff. Feel free to call the store with any questions, our staff is listed on the "Meet our Staff" page so you will know exactly who you are talking to!

We also always encourage visits to our store because our location and our building was and is our inspiration. As we continue to restore our building we hold many events to share this great place and our history with our guests like Bluegrass nights, workshops, and holiday concerts. So Welcome everyone to Pickens General Store we hope to see you soon!

So Dave showed up at about a quarter to Noon, and in we went.
And giving credit where credit is due, Nance took all the pics, since DM and I had so much cheese in our hands we couldn't hold a camera!

Here's a side shot of the store.

On the inside, lots of homemade Amish furniture.

Hi honey!

And cheese! With samples!

And more cheese!

Popcorn.

Lots of Amish quilts and knitted goods.

Stuff for the kids.

And the cat, which every store should have!

Nice pottery.

The furniture is beautiful.

Love those straw hats!

Baskets!

Homemade soaps.

Popcorn!

DM and I checking out with our cheese haul. The cheese is very reasonably priced and locally produced!

Ah, cheese curds! Yeah baby!

Nance liked this selection.

Plenty of reading material.

The coolest stools you'll ever see.

Front shot of the store.

After hitting Pickens, DM brought us to the Losurdo Cheese factory, which produces some of the fine cheeses at Pickens.
We might not be the most handsome dudes, but with the cheese haul we made, we're the happiest!

That's it! GP

Just because............

2012-11-06T09:05:00.002-05:00

Cinnamon Rolls Mon......

2012-11-04T11:08:00.003-05:00

No problem!

Late yesterday afternoon the better half announced a craving for cinnamon rolls.

Would I, she asked, make some dough?

Does a bear shit in the woods?

Yes I did, and she took over, and the results were outstanding.
Nancie managed a bakery a while back, and she can really get her bake on!
All from scratch.

Rising up.

Risen.

Fresh out of the oven.

Add a little glaze.

Viola'!

My kind of cross-section!

Love buns, simply love 'em.....

Dhorst- Bagels, Bread, and Pizza.....

2012-11-03T16:14:00.001-04:00

Our friend Diana, who hails from the suburbs of Syracuse has got her bake on.

Daily, she bakes bread, pizza or in today's case bagels, that are simply awesome.

She buys flour by the 50 lb. sack and blows through it like Hurricane Sandy.

Master baker extraordinaire!

Here's some of her artwork.

Enjoy!

Seriously, cheddar cheese and jalopena's!

Yes.

Then there's the bread, Fred!

Love me some baguettes!

We're talking crumb structure here kids. If you know not about crumb structure, look it up!

Bam!

Thanks Di for the pics!

October 31st.......

2012-10-31T19:20:00.002-04:00

Seriously, tomorrow is November 1st? How the hell did that happen?

Like, 2 weeks ago it was July 4th.

I dunno about you but the older I get, the faster time flies by, and I'm not really happy about it, but it is what it is.

Next comes Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then New Years and BOOM! It's Halloween 2013.

Somebody's got to hit the brakes on this time thing, really.

That said, here's the pics of the week- I ain't no chef, but every now and then dumb luck prevails and I make something palatable (Hey Pav, I said palatable!)

Amish White Bread-Looks good, but really wasn't.

I rushed it, no patience equals bread that doesn't reach its potential.

Lesson learned!

Well, it wasn't that bad....

Then I made a Stromzoli-Kind of a cross between calzone and stromboli.

Now that, was wicked good!

Finally , there was the Apple Pie.

Good stuff!

This pic will never make Foodgawker, but that's my 2nd slice, with Edy's Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream.

Damn!

That's all kids-see ya!

Bagelssssss...

2012-10-24T19:43:00.001-04:00

Had the urge to make bagels yesterday.

So I came home and started the process.

Here's the recipe I used, it's simple, well, it's simple for me, and I'm a simple man (love Lynyrd Skynyrd.)

Got the recipe off of King Arthur Flour.

Didn't use KA flour, any APF will do.

Mixed all of the dry ingredients and wetstuff and let it do a first rise,

Then I realized I didn't want to mess with it anymore, so I covered it with plastic and threw it in the fridge.

We'll call that the ferment!

So today, I finished it off.

Threw the dough, rolled it, made little bagel balls, poked a hole, let 'em rise again, boil 'em and bake!

The better half rolled 'em in onion flakes, poppy seeds and garlic flakes.

Everything Bagels!

After the boil, before the bake!

The finished product. Seriously, if I can do this so can you!

I just slathered a little Land 'o Lakes butter on one-it's almost criminal!

The Easiest Chicken You'll Ever Make....

2012-10-21T14:49:00.003-04:00

While mulling dinner options the other night, I decided to make chicken.

Now I'd been down with a cold for a week and the better half had been doing all the cooking, so I wanted to give her a break, I mean, I wanted to cook, but I didn't want to get locked in the kitchen on a week night.

So I ran across this, I can't even call it a recipe, it's too friggin' simple.

Dutch Oven Chicken.

Ingredients:

I fryer, mine was 5 lbs.

EVOO

Salt, Pepper, and whatever else you want to season with.

Butter

Splash some olive oil in the bottom of the dutch oven, cover the botttom.

Brown the bird on both sides, seasoning as you do.

When she's browned up, put the lid on and bake @ 350 until the internal temp. is 160. I'd say 70 -90 minutes for a room temp bird.

I served it with brown rice with a half cup of renderings, and carrots from the garden.

No fuss, no muss!

Browned, seasoned, and with a little butter on top. Just a little...

Lid on, and into the oven

There she is, ain't she a beauty?

And the other plus is, you get to make wicked good chicken soup the next day, which will last at least two more days.

Carrots form our garden.

And rice.

I was going to name this post Cooking Chicken for Dummies!

But I thought better of it, some people are just intimidated by the kitchen.

If they realized how easy it is to make decent meals, they might rethink it!

You often hear people say, "I can't cook!"

Well if you can't pull this off, you're probably right!

Popcorn.........

2012-10-21T14:02:00.002-04:00

Just a little more than a year ago, I was the lucky guy who won a pack of heirloom popcorn seeds from Paula at The Dishing Divine.

Pretty cool I thought, here's my post from last year.

The seeds were tucked away with our other seeds and needless to say, I almost forgot about them until mid-June.

Our growing season in the Adirondacks is 90 days give or take, so I was worried they wouldn't produce, but what's to lose, right?

So in the garden they went, they germinated, the cornstalks grew and grew, but my mid-August, no tassles.

Oh well, maybe next year, but then, at the end of August, the tassles came, and sure as shit, we had some itsy bitsy popcorn growing.

Well, to make a long story short, it kept coming, and we had a nice little harvest. We've got it drying now, and I might even try popping some at some point.

I love the colors.

Cool stuff!

Stalkers.

Quite a variety of color in those seeds, we'll definitely do it again next year, because it's fun!

Keep Your Friends Close...

2012-10-16T21:09:00.003-04:00

And keep your friends that love food closer!

I've been blessed in this life to have many friends.

They come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and religions.

Some are gay and some are straight.

And some of them love food.

I love 'em all.

I've been down with a nasty cold for about a week, pretty much glued to the couch and watching a lot of bad TV
(Note to Self: Never, ever watch Honey Boo Boo again. ).

Well I did watch The Unforgiven and Pale Rider back to back last night. Got to love Clint Eastwood, even if he's taken to talking to empty chairs lately.

So what better to help me recover from my weakened state?

Well, a couple of gifts I received over the past couple of days from a couple of dear friends.

Both were surprises and made my day each time.

First came the bread from Diana who lives just outside Syracuse in Liverpool.

She and her better half Jeff were coming North on Saturday.

Well, Jeff was riding his bicycle to Canton from Liverpool, Diana being a bit more prudent drove.

On Sunday, they came to Tupper on their way home stop at Jack and Anne Marie's for brunch.

I was under the weather so I couldn't make it, but.....

Diana baked bread for the occasion and I got a loaf which Anne Marie delivered!

Here's the bread and Diana's description. The pic is Diana's.

Crusty Garlic and Three Cheese Bread

"I used some Grande provolone, asiago fresca and some parm reg. The crust was good and it did not taste burnt--they were burnished."

I love bread and I love cheese, so to say I was a happy, happy boy would be an understatement.

The crust was nice and crusty, the inside was soft and the crumb structure was a sight to behold.

I can't say I've ever had better bread.

( It was awesome with the baked ziti Nancie made last night!)

Here's some pics I shot.

When I say crumb, I mean the holes in the bread. The better the the crumb, the better the the bread.
This is just wicked, and if you were closer you could see the melted asiago.
There's lots of bread out there but this is killer!

My next surprise came this afternoon, when there was a knock on the door and what to my wondering eyes should appear but my buddy Dan.

Dan hails from Hazleton, PA.

Hazleton is right off Interstate 81 south of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

When he makes a pilgrimage to the old home town he stops at a bakery before he returns, and if I'm lucky, he brings a box of Pitza, yup I said Pitza.

The bakery is Senapes Bakery.

According to Dan it's been in business for a long time, I'm guessing 60 years plus.

Hazleton is a classic American town, originally full of immigrants from all over Europe. Poland, the Ukraine, Ireland, Italy and on and on from the beginning of the last century.

Senape's is what the ethnic mixing bowl is all about. In this case the Italian bowl.

So what is Pitza?

Closest thing I can compare it to is Utica Tomato Pie.

Simple in construction, dough,sauce, and grated cheese.

Dan tells me when he was a kid they sold it in bars and stores for a nickel a slice (hope I'm not giving your age away buddy!)

At any rate Pitza is Pitza,not pizza in the classic sense, but a cousin, a very good cousin.

It's the kind of thing that is sort of unremarkable on the first bite, then you say, OK, not bad, then 3 slices later you say whoa, better stop and save some for the wife and kids!

It comes in a box, wrapped in string. Old school.

Then you open up the box and ......

Well, there were 7 more slices there. Not sure what happened...

Eat me!

Like I said, before it's like Tomato Pie, and highly addicting.

I just ate 2 pieces in 5 minutes, when I finish this post I'm going back for more.

(It's best eaten cold, or reheated in a frying pan with a little bit of oil and the lid on.)

So, I'm on the mend, back to work tomorrow and a happy, happy boy thanks to my friends, all of 'em!

Too funny.......

2012-10-04T13:01:00.000-04:00

The Leafs, they are a changin'.....

2012-10-03T18:38:00.001-04:00

Yes, to paraphrase Bob Dylan, the leafs are changing.

The colors are spectacular.

The only problem is since the leafs went peak last week, you gotta be retired to get out there and get the pics!

I can't! No camera and work interferes!

Me, not retired, but friend Jeff Boucher is.

He's given me permission to hijack his pics and post them here, and for that I am grateful.

Here's a sample of what he shot today.

These pics were taken off the Raquette River and over looking Simond Pond.

Seriously, the colors this year are ridiculous. Might have something to do with the lack of rain this summer, maybe not.

The reds and oranges are fabulous.

If you can, hit the Adirondacks this weekend, one good wind and they're all gone.

Right now they're here!

Thanks Bush!

Dear Protect the Adirondacks and Sierra Club,

2012-10-02T18:00:00.001-04:00

For those of you not in the Adirondacks or nearby to the Adirondack Park I would like to share a little of what's going on in Tupper Lake, my hometown (hence Tupper Cooks!)

Without going on and on here's a little history.

Tupper Lake was settled in the mid to late 1800's. Lumber was king by the turn of the century,and Tupper Lake was a major producer in the industry.

Many people moved here from all points in the Northeast, including my paternal grandfather Theophile Poirier, who came down from Quebec to work in the logging camps, where logs were moved by river and horse to the Big Mill on Raquette Pond.

Thousands of jobs were created and along with many mills and the Oval Wood Dish (which manufactured wooden bowls, spoons, and bowling pins among other products) the economy and job market was solid well through the 1960's.

Times change, and so does the economy. While lumber is still a vital part of our local economy, it's not king anymore.

The railroad shut down in the 1960's, making transportation from the Park a bit more expensive, the Oval Wood Dish closed. It did have a very successful 2nd life thanks to a man named Roger Sullivan who reopened it in the 70's and retooled it into a very successful plastic product corporation.

Well, times change, and with overseas manufacturing, the OWD was sold and subsequently closed in the past decade, costing a town with about 6000 residents 200 full time jobs.

To say Tupper Lake is economically depressed might be an understatement.

We still have one asset, the beauty of the mountains. Nearly 10 years ago a man named Mike Foxman proposed a development for housing and resurrection of our favorite place to ski, Big Tupper, which had been closed since the late 90's.

The project was named The Adirondack Club and Resort (ACR).

Things looked promising. This was just what Tupper Lake needed. Jobs would be created by the construction of "camps" , basically vacation homes, second homes for folks that could come and enjoy our area and call it home for the time they were here.

It would take up a small part of the Town of Tupper Lake and to any reasonable person have no environmental impact on the environment.

Many secondary jobs would be created. The tax base would increase.

There was light at the end of the tunnel.

The project would have to undergo a permitting process second to none in the U.S. by the Adirondack Park Agency (APA). The history of the APA is another story entirely, suffice it to say the restrictions we face in the Park are stringent, like ridiculously stringent.

Then, times changed again, the meltdown on Wall Street, which slowed economic development nationwide, but worse was the interference of environmental group, namely Protect the Adirondacks and recently the Sierra Club.

For the past three years Big Tupper has been run on a volunteer basis by ARISE, a local group promoting positive economic growth in Tupper. This year they can't afford to do it. Part of the reason is the lawsuit by the aforementioned twits. As a teacher I can say, there a lot of disappointed kids.

What has transpired over the past year has been mind-boggling and disappointing.

The ACR after almost a decade long permitting process won the right to proceed last spring.

A bigger light at the end of the tunnel we thought.

And then, Protect the Adirondacks, the Sierra Club and a couple of local residents filed suit saying the permitting process by the APA were flawed.

Evidently someone didn't get an accurate count of toads and blackflys on the property.

Needless to say, my take is that the locals and groups opposed have two separate agendas. For the locals it's a matter of, I have mine and go screw yourself. They own lakefront and simply don't want to share public water. We affectionately call them NIMBY's.

The environmental groups fall into a couple of categories. Some are like the locals, and some have a hidden agenda to make the Park part of the Bob Marshall Wilderness (another story indeed).

That said, my buddy Mark Moeller wrote a letter which was published in The Adirondack Daily Enterprise, which pretty much reiterates what I've said (or vice-versa). Here's the link.

Click here for Mark's Letter!

And the twits at Protect the Adirondacks responded with this on their website.

Protects Response to Mark's letter.

The fact that they question Mark's credibility is sufficient to say these folks have none of their own. Come spend some time with us and the real working folks Protect and Sierra,instead of collecting your donations and sitting behind a desk. If you don't, you're chicken. And I know you're chicken. When is the last time any of you have spoken in Tupper? C'mon tell us what you're going to do for us and our kids.

No, you won't, because you're chicken.

Read them both, make up your own mind.

I'll ask this, why the hell is the Sierra Club involved?

Read Protect the Adirondacks mission statement,seems they value chipmunks over people, not that there's anything wrong with chipmunks.

Oh, and to finish my post title I'll say this:

Dear Protect the Adirondacks, Sierra Club and Phyliss Thompson-Nimby,

Please kiss my ass.

Please go away,

Don't make it last,

Another friggin' day!

Just sayin' ...

Sincerely,

Glenn Poirier

New Posts Arriving.....

2012-10-01T20:54:00.001-04:00

And yes kids, Christmas is coming too....

I left the camera at camp in Cape Vincent, therefore, no posts, but, I've decided to forge ahead sans pics, just because my followers, all 3 of you have demanded it.

Well, maybe not demanded, but you ragged my ass enough to make me almost feel guilty, almost.

That said, I'm getting back into a blogging state of mind.

So Pav, DM and Doc, I'm ready to begin my comeback tour.

I will retrieve the camera and display some phenomenal pics, (well, they'll be pics.)

That said, here's some views of the color change in the Adirondacks.

There may be a more beautiful place on Earth, but this is my little corner.

I'm lucky enough to have a couple of friends who take lots of pics daily to document the changing of colors.

Jeff Boushie pic from the top of Coney Mountain.
That'd be Rt. 30 between Long Lake and Tupper Lake.

Jeff Boushie #2.

Jeff Boushie @ the Bog River.

Jeff Boushie # 5.

Jeff Boushie #6.

And now some pics from Jim Lanthier.

It's where we live, it's where we work, it's where we play.

Jim #2.

Jim # 3.

Wicked cool pic of a nest. Jim # 4.

Jim # 5.

OWD Smokestack on the Blvd. Great pic!

Underwood Bridge. Beautiful.

Thanks for the pics guys, I was short on material, but this is so much better than anything I could have done!

GP

Time to........

2012-06-18T15:58:00.000-04:00

Shut 'er down for the summer!

Yes, faithful readers (well both of you), it's that time.

Let's call it siesta.

Blogging is my hobby and as such I am the Boss, the CEO, and knucklehead who dictates when posts occur on this delightful speck of the internet.

I take summers off from posting, well, because I can. And seriously, will you miss me? Ha!

I've got 2 months off and it's summer in the Adirondacks and on the St.Lawrence River where I live and play.

The better half has a 2-DO list a couple of feet long and along with the fact that I like writing more in the winter dictate I shut 'er down.

That said, it's been another great year. Met some way cool people, made some very good pizza, and learned a few tricks along the way.

Before I go, here's a couple of shout-outs.

1- My buddy Dr. Fugawe. He's a constant source of knowledge and inspiration, and as soon as I get plane fare I'm going to the left coast and visit.

2-My other buddy Pavlov, sick bastard that he is. He's funny and knows a lot of shit.

3- DM Cavanaugh from Albany (sort of) another guy that's not afraid to tell me I'm full of shit, and how to cook pizza properly!

4-Finally to my Watercooler friends, and there's a lot, what a freaking blast it is reading, responding and generally just shooting the shit.

Seriously, there's Katie in Italy, and Donna in Colorado, and Di in Syracuse (or Liverpool or Cicero, somewhere around there.)

Oh yeah, some guy named Adam, down in the Big Apple.

Wild, simply wild, keeps me sane, well a bit.

So here we go, summer will go by at lightspeed

Finally some pics that pretty much sums it all up for this year.

Some guy from NYC doing what he does best!

Pizza @ Kate's Vol. 2.

From the Pizza Sessions.

Ms. Pac Man.

And we had pizza night and Jack and Annmarie's, time to play, and Jack's homemade IPA!

(That's Ted, not Jack!)

Where it all starts.

Hey Kids, enjoy the summer, see you in the fall!

Doggie Treats!

2012-05-22T20:28:00.001-04:00

So I've got a dog.

And my friend Dhorst has a dog.

And they're both named Ellie.

They're beginning to bond , even though they've never met.

Di's Ellie sent our Ellie a chew toy.

Actually Di has a friend making doggie chew toys.

She's testing them for durability.

The toy got a test tonight.

Here's the pics.

There' the Doggy Chew Toy!

Shit I chewed on it!

Ellie was happy, very happy.

Strike a pose.

And there goes the chewy!

Hmmmm, my advice, no stuffing, and use Kevlar!

Thanks Di and Miss Ellie!

Another Grilled Cheese Post?

2012-05-10T18:07:00.001-04:00

Why the hell not?

It's my blog and I'll cry if I want to......

Seriously, when you do your own blog and aren't trying to make millions of dollars off side Ads, it takes a lot of pressure off.

But, I digress, here's last nights Grilled Cheese Adventure.

Italian Bread, sliced pepperjack and bacon.

And then.....

Didn't have regular tomatoes, but did have a bunch of grapes.

Sliced 'em up.

So where were we?

Right, sliced onions.

What next?

Obviously, a slice of American cheese.

Time to cap it, cook it!

Yes.

Oh, and I served it with tomato soup. Out of a can!

Get after it my friends!

Love your Pets........

2012-05-06T14:44:00.001-04:00

A rare sunny, warm day here in Tupper.

I got the lawn mowed, and after completing that task, I decided to hang out on the deck with Bunny.

Well, what's a poor boy to do but take pics of the kids!

Here's the Kid Key: Red is the Red one, Ellie is the German Shep puppy, and Lucy is the cat who doesn't give a shit.

Wait! That's not a pet! Oh well.....

That's my girl!

And there's Ellie chewing on a Plastic Pot Planter-Say that fast 5 times, I dare ya!

Seriously, my foot it's the planter and you take a pic of me?

Lucy's laughing at the puppy with it's leg in the planter.

Ellie went to see Lucy.

Lucy said, "Screw this, I'm gonna sit on a 4 x 4!"

Seriously, I like the puppy, but she's a pain in the ass!

That's all kids!

Super Moon.....

2012-05-05T21:42:00.001-04:00

The moon tonight is as close to Earth as it will ever get.

We went out and took pics along with our buddy Ted.

We took good pics, Ted took some great pics.

I took this pic, can ya tell?

The Great Divide......

2012-05-04T19:07:00.001-04:00

I got lucky tonight, I asked the better half what she wanted for supper.

She said she didn't care.

You know what that means my friends.

Pizza.

Now, I like pizza plain, like dough, sauce, and cheese.

The better half likes all sorts of stuff.

Fortunately I have an 18" pan, which will make all the parties involved happy.
So I chopped and diced peppers, onions and tomatoes..
The dough, which I purchased at Shaheen's IGA, had a 2 hr. ferment while it thawed on the stovetop.
Not sure about hydration levels.

Let's call this pie, The Great Divide!

Her side is the one with all the colorful stuff.

Mine is the Lily White side.

This is pre-bake.

475 for 15 minutes or so.

Then there's the post-bake.

Used Shredded Mozz, grated sharp cheddar and grated pepperjack for the cheese.

It worked.
It was really good.

My Pie Friday?

It comes but once a year........

2012-05-04T12:09:00.001-04:00

Happy Star Wars Day Kids!

Tupper Lake Tinman......

2012-05-02T16:14:00.001-04:00

The Tupper Lake Tinman is half of an Ironman triathlon.

That's a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run.

It's celebrating it's 30th year this year.

My buddy Ted is the race director for the umpteenth time.

It's a very successful and well run race and serves as a tune-up to the Lake Placid Ironman for many.

If you'd like to race or volunteer check out these sites!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tupper-Lake-Tinman/119160624806695

http://tupper-lake.com/5042/2012-tupper-lake-tinman-triathlon