Sporting Road

Truffe – Black and White Truffles, the Diamonds of the Kitchen

La Truffe Noir - Black Truffles together with White Truffles the Diamonds of the Kitchen Truffles cost more per ounce than gold, or at least white truffles still do. The perceived value of the truffe is far removed from its real gastronmic value that it has become caught up in snobbery and hype. But the high prices are better understood when you consider that truffle production is 500 times lower than 100 years ago and demand is 50 times higher than supplies available. Our friend in Paris once had an English girlfriend who invited him home to London to visit her parents. He planned to make an impression and brought Burgundean truffles along with him and woke up early the next morning to make French omelets for the family, with a few slivers of truffles sprinkled on top. The girl's father went to the ice box to grab a bottle of catsup to the Frenchman's dismay and he attempted to explain the value and culinary uniqueness of the truffle which would be hidden by the ketchup. The father replied, "I always take my eggs with ketchup." On the next visit with the girl, he arrived with her at Charles de Gaulle airport to "discover" he had left his passport behind and there was not enough time to go back home and retrieve it. Voila, the French way of avoiding the problem without a conflict! Scientists say that there is a volatile alcohol in truffles that has a strong musky character related to testosterone, so perhaps this is the real reason we are attracted to them. The truffle is the fruiting body of an underground mushroom. Seeds, call spores, are dispersed through fungivores, animals that eat fungi. Since the 18th Century, truffles

By Sporting Road|October 1st, 2011|Categories: Cuisine, Recipes|Comments Off

French Press Coffee

The French press, also known as a press pot, is a 19th century French invention that brews an above-average cup of coffee, if you use the right beans. It is more flavorful than the speedy and convenient drip American coffee maker and is just shy of the robust flavors of espresso. Its French name is cafetière à piston, but is more commonly known by its brand names, such as Bodum or melior, or simply a cafetière. The personalization of a morning cup of coffee is part of the fun of using a French press and can be anywhere between 2-5 minutes of steeping, before the plunger is slowly pushed while not allowing any of the grains to pass. A very coarse grind is recommended, which is a 1/10 on our grinder. We like Zabar's French-Italian roast for use in our French pressed coffee. We find it has the right balance for this sort of use. Making coffee in a French press coffee press is not complicated, and is more flavorful and aromatic than those having gone through an American paper filter and drip machine. You can also use it to make tea, in a pinch. A conical burr grinder is recommended over a blade grinder because it gives a more consistent grind. I believe you cannot have it too course, so crank the grinder to the coarsest setting. Heat the water just short of boiling, either on the stove or (heaven forbid, in the microwave if you are that pressed for time). Use the best filtered water available (to eliminate chlorine and hard water tastes), but bottled is unnecessary in most places. Place the coffee grounds into the coffee press. I like it strong, the French way, so we use 4 heaping tablespoons of coarsely ground coffee per 8

By Sporting Road|September 24th, 2011|Categories: Café, Cuisine|Comments Off

La Pavoni Espresso Machine

When traveling in Fiorenzi, Italy, I decide to embark on a journey to make café, espresso, and cappuccino at home, having seen the Italians do it with success both at home and in restaurants. I wanted to give up my French press and stove-top espresso "machines" in favor of a real machine. I stumbled into a cooking store which features over 100 varieties of real espresso machines and the clerk spoke perfect English after hearing my crude Italian. He asked, "How may at your house that drink coffee? I replied, "most of the time just me." He said, "Do you have a few minutes in the morning to read the paper or are you rushed for work?" I said, "I have a few minutes." He added, "How many would be the most, say for a dinner party?" To which I replied, "Eight." He said, "Then, this machine" and pointed to a La Pavoni Professional. I quickly added, "But wait, this is a huge store, there are hundreds of options here to look at, how can you so quickly dismiss them all in favor of this one?" He said, "Look, I can sell you a Fiat, or a Ford truck, if you wish, but you look like you can afford this Ferrari and, if so, I can teach you how to drive it and you will never look back at the others after having fallen in love with this Ferrari. La Pavoni is Ferrari." So, he picked a box with a La Pavoni modelo Professional 0,42 gallons espresso machine and made his way to the counter. By the way, I don't recommend hand-carrying back one of these machines from Italy, especially after 9-11, as it was interesting enough before 9-11 at the airport x-ray machines, not so much

By Sporting Road|September 24th, 2011|Categories: Café, Cuisine|Comments Off

Epanuel Breton

I was worried that in recent years America's friendship the people of France had waned in light of U.S.'s war with Iraq. This caused the boycott of French fries in France or the re-naming of them as "Freedom Fries," among other headlines. But, my experiences in France, and even recent ones, have been evidence to the contrary. My French friends are lasting allies and even the passing stranger remains happy to help an American tourist, especially in the countryside where we like to spend most of our time. In addition to the French fries, which aren't really French, the French also gave us the Statue of Liberty and the French Brittany, the Epagnuel Breton, or Epanuel Breton. My friend, Andy Wayment writes, "Before the French Revolution, France was an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges in the aristocracy. Under this regime, land in France was owned mainly by a privileged few. This meant that hunting and fishing could only be enjoyed by the noblemen and their fortunate guests. Generally, the common man was not allowed to enjoy these sports. Legend has it that the Brittany was developed by the French peasants as the ideal poaching dog. As so aptly described by Michael McIntosh in A Feisty Little Pointing Dog, the Brittany was bred to be 'compact andbidable, close-working and quiet, the perfect accomplice for clandestine sport and the companion of choice among those whose favorite game was someone else's.' The landed nobles, with their big running pointers and setters, did not recognize these shaggy, tailless mongrels for what they were, bona fide hunting machines. Of course, this was all part of the ruse. Brittanys are pointers with the natural instinct to retrieve. Because of its noble history, the French Brittany was destined to arrive

By Sporting Road|September 24th, 2011|Categories: Dog Training, Wingshooting|Comments Off

Devoucoux

In our opinion, Devoucoux is the manufacturer of the finest jumping saddles in the world, which we use for show jumping and ocassionally for hunting, though for hunting the Stubben Seigfried has a deeper seat and holds up better to the abuse. The company produces just a few thousand saddles, using the finest leathers and saddle making techniques. The company was started in 1985 by Jean-Michel Devoucoux in his workshop in the Basque village of Sare, in the Biaritz region of Spain.

By Sporting Road|September 24th, 2011|Categories: Foxhunting|Comments Off

Garbi Shotguns
Gallery

Garbi Shotguns

For our method of instinctive shooting, we'll use a side-by-side shotgun, straight stocked with splinter forend. While a boxlock is surely the simplest of the side-by-side Best Guns of London, an Anson & Deeley Action (boxlock), a sidelock Best Gun is surely the prettiest. As my father-in-law used to say, "Get the best guy you can afford my boy and learn how to use it." I went for the Garbi, once I had sufficient income in which to upgrade from Ugartecheas and Parkers. Armas Garbi guns are manufactured in Eibar, in the Basque gun making region in the north of Spain. Garbi is a Basque word, which means, “clean” and is an acronym formed from the initials of the names of the firm’s founders. “G” is for Guerrena Barrena, in charge of scale adjustments. “A” is for Alday, head of the engravers. “R” is for R. Churruca, who is in charge of assembly and final finish. “B” is for Barrenechea, the general manager of the company. “I” is for Irondo, an expert in adjustments and finishing of stocks. William Larkin Moore & Co. has been importing the fine line of Garbi shotguns since 1975 and we have had excellent success with them. Garbi guilds a traditional English style gun based on the Holland & Holland type sidelock action. These guns feature chopper lump barrels, automatic ejectors, hand detachable locks and articulated front triggers. Most instinctive shooters will be sporting about ¼ inch of cast-off, 1 ½ inch of drop at the comb and about 4 degrees of pitch. These become the magic wands with which Buz Fawcett creates Master Gunners. Confidence is the key to Master Gunning. You are a 100% shooter. You should be hitting 24/25 skeet shots within a year. You can hit

By Sporting Road|September 24th, 2011|Categories: Wingshooting|Comments Off

Ugartechea

For our method of instinctive shooting, we'll use a side-by-side shotgun, straight stocked with splinter forend. While a boxlock is surely the prettiest of the side-by-side Best Guns of London, an Anson & Deeley Action (boxlock) will not shoot any different than a sidelock Best Gun. Most instinctive shooters in our instinctive shooting tradition will be sporting about ¼ inch of cast-off, 1 ½ inch of drop at the comb and about 4 degrees of pitch. These become the magic wands with which he creates Master Gunners. Confidence is the key to Master Gunning. You are a 100% shooter. You should be hitting 24/25 skeet shots within a year. You can hit at 65-80 yards, which we practice at the Tower in the school, although it would not be fair to a bird. I hit 95% during the school. . While it may vary, I am 5’10” and 175 pounds and have a 13 5/8” or 13 3/4” length of pull, with 2 1/8” or 2 1/4” drop at heel, with 3/8” cast off and 1 ½” at 16” down pitch without a pad or 0-1/2” at 26” with a pad. Forcing cones are reduced to 2 ½”, with everything polished to final dimensions. Pattern any gun by taking 10 shots, averaging the results by overlapping the shot spray) at 16 yards on a single sheet of paper. For each 1” correction on paper, move the stock 1/16 inch in each direction. 12 gauges fits most men’s hands best and with the light loads, it’s effectively a 20 gauge being shot. 20 gauges fits most women best and with the light loads it’s a .28 gauge. Gun weight in a 20 gauge is ideal at 5 pounds 4 ounces, and a 6

By Sporting Road|September 24th, 2011|Categories: Wingshooting|Comments Off

New Posts

Please check out all my new posts...which are hidden under separate pages and therefore don't show up here. Kohlrabi Mardi Gras La Buche de Noel Noel House Wine Hungarian Partridge with Gin & Juniper Berries Pheasant Confit Four-legged Friends Gary Ruppel Rim Chung Friends from the Sporting Road Jim Fergus

By Sporting Road|September 22nd, 2011|Categories: Cuisine, Dog Training, Fishing, Fly Tying, Recipes, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Colorado Trout Flies

2008, Streamside Press, Lyons, Colorado. These are the stories of 34 fly tyers in over 300 pages, perhaps the greatest in the world, including legendary anglers, professional tyers, fly-fishing guides, and writers. The book focuses on the featured tyers, but it also details, with recipes and color photos, 68 of their favorite fly patterns. Colorado Trout Flies presents a unique and invaluable reference from veteran fly-fishing guide, Todd Hosman who lives near Longmont, Colorado. He is also the author of Fly Fishing Rocky Mountain National Park and Fly Fishing Colorado's Front Range. A.K. Best comments on the Colorado Trout Flies by saying, "Todd Hosman has written a fly tying book like no other. I know some of you may find that hard to believe, but it's true. Colorado Trout Flies reads like a who's who of noted Colorado fly tyers and some of the patterns they are known for. But more important, the book contains a short biographical sketch of each tyer that gives the reader some insight on what drove them to create flies that have become local and national standards. Colorado Trout Flies is destined to become a classic not only because of the reasons mentioned above, but also because the fly patterns will fool trout anyplace.” John Gierach says, “One of my favorite things about this book is that I'm in it, even though I don't tie professionally and never invented a fly pattern. All I've ever done is tinker with flies as I tied them for my own use, now and then coming up with minor changes that either made an existing pattern slightly better or at least didn't do any real harm. At least at the amateur level, fly tying is like folk music: The songs may be the

By Sporting Road|September 21st, 2011|Categories: Colorado, Fishing, Fly Tying|Comments Off

Made in Italy

'"Made in Italy " is my cookbook of the year. If I had to choose one place to live my entire life, Italy would be hard to beat, as the food is unsurpassable and it varies from town to town. The countryside is beautiful and the food stuffs are abundant. This book covers all of those beauties of Italy. So many books are take-offs on television celebrities, featuring dumbed-down restaurant favorites simply catering to the home cook. If you only buy one Italian cookbook, buy this one. Locatelli's recipes are the real deal, many from his restaurant, and the reminiscences from his life. It is large and covers everything from risotto to panettone. While many of the recipes are complex and will require adventures to the market for ingredients, most are simple and easily tackled for the home chef looking to present the finest dishes that Italy has to offer.

By Sporting Road|September 17th, 2011|Categories: Book Reviews, Cuisine|Comments Off

About Sporting Road