Almost time to go curling

I bring it up every once in awhile, but I am a member of the Schenectady Curling Club. Yes, that game one ice with brooms and rocks that is strangely hypnotizing every 4 year at the Winter Olympics. Sure, it is kind of a silly game but games by definition are silly. Anyone can throw a dart or hit a golf ball. The hard part is making the dart or ball go where you want it to go more often than not.

Anyone can push a stone on ice. Getting it where you want to go is the challenge. To me, the best shot is one that requires everyone on the 4 person team. The skip (team captain) calls the shot, the shooter takes the shot, but the shot can't get there without help of the sweepers. In some cases, I think the ideal shot is not within the realm of physical possibility without sweeping.

And like in Bull Durham: sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes there's a blizzard. Think about that for awhile.

However, it doesn't matter if you win or lose. After the game you hang out with the team you just played, have a drink, talk about the game, life, tell jokes, stories (especially curling stories), whatever...win or lose it's still a good time. The club members really couldn't be nicer.

I'm bringing this up because if you have ever had an interest in curling, this is the time of the year to look into it. The Schenectady Curling Club is having open houses this weekend (October 2nd and 3rd). At the open houses you'll get a little instruction on how to play, get out on the ice and throw a few stones. Pick up a broom and give sweeping a shot. The open houses a free and you can pre-register with EventBrite. Then, if you like it (you're going to like it), you can register for Curling School. At Curling School, you'll get some more instruction and on ice practice so you'll be ready to play in a league. Curling school costs a few bucks, but if you join the club that cost goes towards your membership.

Here's a link to the club's Open House webpage with all the details.

Maybe I'll see you out on the ice.

A Shared Experience

There is something great about a shared experience. That may be why I like cooking so much. After all, the most common shared experience is a meal. In the local curling world, there is another shared experience and for a lot of people, it happened last weekend. The Sir Francis Dykes Bonspiel. This curling tournament is commonly referred to as The Dykes as in:

"You haven't been to The Dykes? You should definitely try to go."

The Dykes is a men's 5 and Under, meaning that all of the players have a maximum of 5 years curling experience making it a pretty level playing field. This year's tournament was the 76th so a lot of curlers in the Northeast have been. I believe the Schenectady curling club sent 5 teams. Albany sent teams too. In all, 20 Northeast curling clubs sent 56 teams. When I curled in the bonspiel, there were 30-something teams. The event just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

One of my favorite things about The Dykes is that it is a tournament of firsts. For many curlers this will be the first time curling in a tournament, first time traveling to curl, first time playing on ice that isn't their club (it is surprising how easily you get comfortable with your clubs surroundings), first time drinking with a team kitty (a kitty is when everyone chips in $20, drinks until the money is gone and then repeats as necessary) and the first time playing in front of a crowd. There were 56, four-man teams and only 8 played at a time. That leaves 192 people (plus other spectators) with nothing better to do than drink and watch the games.

A lot of clubs have added web cameras so they can stream some tournament games. It was fun checking in on the Schenectady teams over the weekend. One team made it the The D event finals, the Sinnett Cup. I have good memories of this event, because I once played in it. This particular match wasn't being streamed online, but the Schenectady Curling twitter account was sending out a shot-by-shot call of the game. I was cleaning some of the house and taking frequent breaks to see what was going on in the game. It came down to the last shot, and it didn't go Schenectady's way, but it was a great effort.

Every fall, curlers that have been to the tournament encourage newer curlers with their stories about The Dykes, encouraging them to check it out. This week, the participating curlers will return with stories of this years adventures. For some, this was their last trip to The Dykes as they aged out this year. Others still have trips left. I bet they are already making plans for next year. And the newest curlers, future curlers that will begin playing for the first time in the fall, well they haven't even heard of The Dykes....yet.

Curling Open Houses

Want to give curling a try? Maybe saw it in the Olympics and thought curling could be fun? 

As I type, the ice is being made. Next weekend, all the lines and houses get painted. Hard to believe that the curling season is coming. Especially since it was so hot and humid earlier this week.

The Schenectady Curling Club is inviting anyone that want to try the sport to attend an open house. At the open you'll learn a few rules, got over how to make a shot and then head out onto the ice to give it a whirl. All you'll need to bring is clean sneakers and maybe a few layers of comfortable clothes. Even if it is warm outside, the air temperature is below 40 out on the ice.

Did I mention it's free?

Stop by the Schenectady Curling Club on Balltown Road (not too far off of Union Street) on:

Friday, October 4 between 6:30 and 9:30 PM   or
Saturday, October 5 between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM

You can check out the details at curling club website.

New Arrivals at Price Chopper

Every so often, I get an email from Price Chopper letting me know about some new products or an event. The first thing I would have been interested in knowing about and not a word from whoever send the emails....I was hurrying through the Latham Price Chopper and this new display in the meat section caught my eye. Several small shelves filled with D'Artagnan products. I had wanted to try some of their stuff during the Charcutapalooza challenge, especially since they were nice enough to offer participants a discount each month. I never got around to it. Couldn't believe I was looking at their stuff in a Price Chopper. First shelf, Jambon de Boyonne ($7.49 for 4 oz.), small container of duck fat ($5.99 for 7 oz.) and a duck leg confit ($7.99 for a 5 oz. leg). I bought a package of the ham.

But wait, there's more....smoked duck bacon ($10.99 for 8 oz.) and more duck legs confit.

And still more... lamb merguez, saucisson de canard and wild boar sausage (each $5.99 for an 8.5 oz package).

A bit on the pricey side but my hope is that the products are of very high quality. Wow, duck fat and duck confit at Price Chopper. Color me impressed.

Completely off topic side note: All Over Albany did a nice little write up on the Schenectady Curling Club.

And last but certainly not least... Happy Birthday Ma!

Eating Modernist Bacon

This post is long overdue. The bacon has been done awhile and this was the third time we've eaten it. I can say without doubt, this is the best bacon I have ever made. The only problem, I'm not sure if this deliciousness was derived from a combination of the recipe/technique or because this batch was made from the highest quality pork belly I have ever purchased. If only all of our problems were this bad....

The next mission is to try the Ruhlman bacon cure with the Modernist technique on an Adventures In Food pork belly. Challenge accepted!

Almost a post

I sat down at the computer all ready to write a post that I've been meaning to write but haven't gotten to yet. A little over a month ago, I won some soda over at Albany Eats and I had a tasting with the kids, my wife, her parents and her grandmother. It was fun. Everyone voiced their opinions and I took notes. The girls made sure their comments were written down. Here I sit, ready to tell you all about it. And I have no idea where the piece of paper with the notes is hiding. Dammit.

So, you are stuck with a curling story. I am playing in a Bonspiel (aka curling tournament) this weekend. The group of guys on the team all started curling around the same time. There is a pretty big bonspiel on the East Coast for newer curlers with 5 or less years experience and we played in it as a team about 6 years ago. I think almost 30 teams played in it that year. This bonspiel moves from club to club and that year it was held outside Boston. Road Trip.

For me, bonspiels make me nervous. I guess it is like a runner getting pumped up for a race. The easiest way to get rid of a case of curling nerves is to have a drink. We did. Many. In fact, the Friday night of that tournament probably rivals the drunkest I have ever been. But I digress...Sunday morning at 8 am we had a play down game. The winner of that game went on to one of the finals at 11. Win the finals, you get your name on a trophy plus all the fortune and glory that comes with winning obscure events. The nerves were getting to me. My first shot was so bad, and light, and crappy it didn't even count and ended up getting removed from play. One of the guys on the team recognized the nerves and jumped into action. He bolted to the bar to get a pitcher of beer. The following conversation took place at 8:05 AM in Massachusetts.

My buddy: I need a pitcher of Sam Adams.
Bartender: I can't sell beer before noon on a Sunday. It is a state law.
My buddy (without missing a beat): I need to borrow a pitcher of beer until noon.
Bartender: Okay.

With the team nursing their hangovers with a pitcher of beer, we went on to win our game. And the 11:00 game too. And somewhere out there is a trophy with my name on the side. This team reunites tomorrow afternoon. Maybe the magic can happen again and I'll get my name on another obscure trophy. I'm not getting that drunk though.

Good Curling!