ROLLER DERBY

There has been a lot of controversy in sports these days. Steroids, illegal recruiting,crooked referees and plain old cheating. It is a good thing that their is still a good honest and true sport around. I am talking about Roller Derby.
Roller Derby has been around for a long time. I have been a fan ever since I could turn on the T.V. I used to look forward to Saturday afternoons. It would come on right after another, true sport, wrestling.("And Now Miss Wrestling Will Pin A Gold Star On the Winner!"). There were heroes like Charlie O'Connell and Joan Weston(The Blond Bomber). There were also villains like the purple haired Ann Cavello. She was the Queen of Mean! This was and is true entertainment.
We were at the Alameda County Fair this weekend. They had an exhibition match. It was just like I remembered. You have to cheer for the Bombers. Whoever plays against the Bombers rightfully needs to be booed and jeered. It can be a rough sport. These are true athletes. I have never understood why this sport has not been included in the Olympics. I am planning to attend one of the upcoming Bomber games. I know that I will not have to worry about any shenanigans that present professional sports have been producing.

COUNTY FAIR

The Alameda County Fair is an old time, good time. There is something for everyone. There is the Midway to ride the carnival rides. You can win a stuffed bear for your Loved One. There is Cotton Candy and Corn Dogs. There was a booth barbecuing a monster cut of beef.What more do you need? The horse races are their to try your luck.There are pavilions to buy everything you always never needed. This is Old fashioned fun.

Ms. Goofy and I packed up her new car. She received this as a stipend for reviewing some bacon a little while back. We drove to Pleasanton Ca. to check out the Alameda County Fair. The fair dates are from June 20-July 6. They have all the usual suspects. The livestock exhibits, 4-H, quilting, pie making, gardening, and horse racing. We found some events that really caught our eye. They had a tamale cooking contest today. We had to try some of course. They had a Roller Derby Match that was too much fun. (More, Later). We tried our luck by wagering at the horse race. Our horse came in second. The weather was perfect. The smoke has died down a little. I would guess the temperature was in the middle 80's. It was a good old fashioned day!!!!

Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs!!!

Chilebrown going after the big Teddy Bear

Desserts

FIRST HARVEST

Break out the band. The first ripe produce has been harvested from the Chilebrown farm. It has been a long slow wait. I have a ton of tomatoes that have been teasing me. They are hiding in the green mode just waiting to burst out into a cornucopia of ripe color. These beauty's will make their way into a salad.

You would not believe how many peppers I will have. I may have to set up a roadside pepper stand. I just have to be patient.

STOCKING STUFFERS?

Have you ever left a Barbeque catalog on the Coffee table or the Ice chest?. Have you ever told your wife that you are an "Iron Chef", and you need a new grill?. You leave the catalog on the table. The gift (barbeque) is circled and arrowed. You want to drop a hint. How do you do it? Well , I think the best hint to bring your" Beautiful Special Someone" Ms. Goofy, and show her the gift that will make her Man Happy! It is the George Jetson , Lost in Space, and 2008 barbeque. It is a custom barbeque that we happened upon at a festival in Martinez, Ca. I do not think I will get it for Christmas. I can only dream!!!

BACON FRIDAY

It was a beautiful day. The thermometer was rising and I needed an excuse to fire up 4 cast iron pans in the kitchen. It was Bacon Friday. Today is the day that 3 expert bacon tasters are going to sample 4 different and unique bacons. These bacons represent different parts of the country. We have Scotts bacon from Kentucky, Nueske from Wisconsin, Butlers from Nevada, and Chilebrownacon from the homestead. Chilbrownacon makes this tasting special. It pits my creation against some heavy hitters. Let's meet the tasters.

There is the Reverend Biggles in the House. His expertise on everything about meat can be viewed at his tome Meathenge. The Reverend is a multi talented, gifted, and extremely rugged individual. He can come to your house and build a barbeque in the middle of your lawn with just his bare hands. He can smoke anything. His opinion is respected and trusted, besides, he owns a nice camera.

Ms. Goofy's claim to fame is she has never met a Chicken Fried Steak that she has not liked. She is a beautiful women that just happens to be my wife. She is an expert at Meat Adventures and Bacon tastings. She is an expert at Italian cooking. I trust she will be fair and honest about the Chilebrownacon.

Chilebrown is a self appointed ambassador of promotion to find the best bacon possible. I have been on a quest to find this Holy Grail of Bacon. We found it briefly at the A&B market in Bend Oregon. Sadly this butcher has retired. I have been searching all over the country for a new Gold Standard of bacon. I am looking forward to this tasting.

The Bacons

1. Scotts Country Bacon is from Kentucky. It is a salt bomb. All the tasters agreed it was hard to choke down. It had a country ham taste that we were not used to. It recieved a low rating of 2 1/2 stars
2. Chilebrownacon is from my smoker in the backyard. Meaty was the consensus of the tasters. There was a good balance of smoke and sweet. Could this be the new Gold Standard of Bacon? It received high marks of 4.6 stars.
3. Butler Gourmet Meats from Carson City Nevada was an unspectacular piece of bacon. It looked delicious but did not deliver. It received mediocre marks of 3 1/4 stars.
4. Nueske from Wisconsin was the Smoke Bomb Deluxe. This is a quality bacon in all departments. Nueske may be the winner with a score of 4.5 stars.

The results are in. The votes have been tallied. Chilebrownacon is victorious! It was a close race and Nueske and Chilebrownacon were tied for first. The tie was broken by a swing vote by Ms. Goofy. She loved the Meaty taste of the Chilebrownacon. Did I tell you about Ms. Goofy's new car. It is unfortunate that Chilebrownacon is in limited quantities. Nueske will be around for a while. This means that Nueske will be be the new Gold Standard of Bacon. The quest will continue and there will be future Bacon Fridays. Amen.

Photo by Biggles

BACON REVUE (CHILEBROWNACON)

Here comes the cream of the crop, banner, ace, first class, quality, tip top, superior, splendid, prime, divine, fabulous, out of this world bacon. It is my own creation. I have chronicled its birth in two previous articles. (Makin Bacon I, Making Bacon II). It is time to review my baby. I had an initial taste the first day it had been smoked. My first reaction was it was a little salty. It rested for a couple of days til Bacon Friday. I brought it to scrutiny by some true professional bacon tasters. I have included myself in this clan of three. I promise to be partial!

The meat to fat ratio leans on the meaty side. I would like to say it is Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy. The salt was pronounced but not overpowering. It had a sweetness that was subtle. Ms. Goofy claims it has a Meaty Ham taste!. It had just the right texture. It had a little chew, but not enough to tax your dentures. Overall it was almost a perfect bacon. Chilebrownacon will be awarded 4.6 stars out of 5.

Rating: 4.6 stars out of 5

Price: Free till it runs out

Where: Chilebrown's House

BACON REVUE (BUTLER GOURMET MEATS)

Butler Gourmet Meats is located in Carson City, Nevada. It is a clean and perky market located in a small strip mall. The slab has been cured with a maple sugar and hickory smoke. It is nitrate free.This bacon has a beautiful dark sheen surrounding the meat. I am not sure if it is from the cure or the smoke. If you could judge bacon just by its looks, this bacon would rate a 5. The meat to fat ratio is very good.
This was the third bacon that we tried on Bacon Friday. Bacon Friday was a tasting party that was attended by Reverend Biggles, Ms. Goofy and Myself. The first thing we noticed was the lack of smoke flavor. It was not very sweet. We did not notice any maple flavor. We did not detect a lot of salt. It is possible we had built up a tolerance from Scotts Country Bacon. The texture was chewy. Overall this was a very pleasant bacon. It did not have any standout qualities that we are searching for. Butler Gourmet Meats will recieve a 3 and 1/4 star rating.

Rating: 3 1/4 stars out of 5
Cost: 4.99/pound
Where: Butler Custom Meats
1909 North Carson St.
Carson City, Nevada 89701
775-883-0211

Photo by Biggles