Welcome to 2013

I always get a little freaked out the first few times I have type out the name of the new year. It's a little weird to think that it's really 2013. The years are really starting to sound futuristic to me. That's when you know you are getting old.

One thing we all love about Christmas is getting gifts, and this year my wife bought me something I've always wanted: a dutch oven. For those who are not big into cooking, a dutch oven is a cast oven pot with (sometimes) an enameled interior surface. They're perfect for making stews and that sort of thing. Traditionally, good quality dutch ovens have been associated with fancy-ass companies like La Creuset. Their dutch ovens are very nice, but are just a wee bit on the pricey side. However, in recent years, other companies have been producing comparable quality dutch ovens at sub $100 prices. I ended up getting a blue Lodge, which is supposedly almost indistinguishable from a Creuset in terms of performance.

I took the Lodge out for test drive by making some beef ribs braised in Guinness. The recipe is simple. Brown the ribs, add veggies, add beer, and then braise until the ribs are tender.  Guinness was specifically called for in the recipe, but I couldn't help but wonder if using a better stout would have made the ribs even tastier.

The primary ingredients.

A word about Guinness for the beer-perplexed -- Guinness is one of those famous beers with a storied history, but that really isn't that great tasting.  At least it isn't nowadays; everyone seems to think it used to taste better years ago. In bottled form, it comes in three standard varieties. Guinness Draught is available in probably every liquor/grocery store across the land. It's thin, weak and doesn't taste like the Guinness you remember.  Guinness Extra Stout is a wee bit better. It's what I used to braise the ribs in. If you are in the US, you'll be disappointed to learn that the stuff on your local shelves is brewed in Canada. Far and away the best Guinness, if you can find it, is the beer labeled Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. This is a version of Guinness mostly made for sale outside of Ireland. For some reason, I haven't seen it on the shelves in a while. Supposedly the Foreign Extra Stout most closely resembles the classic Guinness of yesteryear.

Braise the ribs for a couple hours.

The Lodge cooks like a dream. It is literally the perfect thing to cook soups, stews, roasts, etc. I can easily see it becoming the most essential object in my kitchen. The more I look at it, the more I start feeling a little week in the knees. Is it possible to fall in love with a pot?


The recipe, if you want to try it yourself, or just learn about braising, is here.  As a side dish, I made roasted potatoes, rutabaga, parsnips, and celery root.

The results - beef that falls off the bone.

My next cooking projects: fruit cake (yes, fruit cake season is over, I know) and aged egg nog! I'll keep you updated.

In video game related news - I also received my new graphics card on Monday. I popped that baby in, and once I realized I had to use 8-pin connectors instead of 6-pin, I was good to go. But, in a developement that will kill even more of my time, AMD was having a special offer -- three free games came with the card. These are Far Cry 3, Sleeping Dogs and Hitman. Also, it came with a discount coupon for... Medal of Honor: Warfighter!  I won't be redeeming that one.

It's a stylish looking card, I'll give it that.

I also don't know if I'll be playing Hitman. The Hitman series always bothered the hell out of me. I am quite curious about Far Cry 3, however. I didn't dig the first Far Cry, but I understand in this one you get kidnapped, go crazy, take drugs and run around killing people? That sounds like my kind of game. Have any of you played it?