I got my hands on a 4.5 lb choice grade cross rib roast.
My plan was to make smoked roast beef, which gets cooked to
around 125 - 135 F internal, depending.

Now, cross rib is actually a chuck cut and chuck normally
doesn't lend itself to anything other than 180+ temperatures.
However, if done properly and with a little luck I've had cross
rib come out just as good as any roast beef made from round.
Various other chuck cuts, too.

Nope. Not this time. This particular cut from this particular
animal did not want to cooperate. Too tough, no matter how thin
I cut it with the hobart slicer.

So, in the pot it went. After cooling I cubed it, made a dark
roux, added some vegetables and spices and made a quasi cajun
smoked beef stew that came out great.

In the long run, Meat will always bend to one's will.

On Aug 9, 11:56*am, RegForte > wrote:


> So, in the pot it went. After cooling I cubed it, made a dark
> roux, added some vegetables and spices and made a quasi cajun
> smoked beef stew that came out great.

Now I'll bet that was tasty with the addition of the smoke flavor!

> In the long run, Meat will always bend to one's will.

I agree. Resistance if futile. I had a piece of chuck last year that
I cooked on the pit for about 1 hr 15 min a pound. It should have
been a home run. Internal (off the pit) stopped at 190. It should
have been a winner. The meat almost fell apart when I was cutting it,
but no quite. I was congratulating myself before the first bite.

The meat was strangely chewy, and tasted like meat that was cooked too
fast just to get it edible. You know, when the fibers don't break
down, or when someone just cooks a hunk of meat as fast as they can
without burning it to get it done. I was really disappointed, and
glad I didn't have company with that coming off the pit.

I decided this old steer must have been pulling a wagon for a few
years at one of the many dude ranches around here....

I saved all the meat juice and drippings and cut the meat into a pile
of 1" cubes. I made carne guisada from some of it, beef stew from
some of it, and the last was a tasty beef stroganoff. All benefitted
(especially the stew and guisada) from the smoke.

I won't give up on a piece of meat I have put that much time into, I
don't care if I have to grind it into a pre-cooked hamburger patty.

And of course, if anyone asks, you know it is only polite to remind
them that it was all part of "the big plan" in food
preparation. ;^)

Robert

RegForte wrote:
> I got my hands on a 4.5 lb choice grade cross rib roast.
> My plan was to make smoked roast beef, which gets cooked to
> around 125 - 135 F internal, depending.
>
> Now, cross rib is actually a chuck cut and chuck normally
> doesn't lend itself to anything other than 180+ temperatures.
> However, if done properly and with a little luck I've had cross
> rib come out just as good as any roast beef made from round.
> Various other chuck cuts, too.
>
> Nope. Not this time. This particular cut from this particular
> animal did not want to cooperate. Too tough, no matter how thin
> I cut it with the hobart slicer.
>
> So, in the pot it went. After cooling I cubed it, made a dark
> roux, added some vegetables and spices and made a quasi cajun
> smoked beef stew that came out great.
>
> In the long run, Meat will always bend to one's will.

RegForte -

Just wanted to point out that chuck-eye roast is the cut next to a rib
eye roast.

So yes, It would turn out well pretty much in either a smoked or grilled
version.

Just wanted to point that out in case you haven't tried the grilled version.

Bob

On 9-Aug-2009, RegForte > wrote:

> I got my hands on a 4.5 lb choice grade cross rib roast.
> My plan was to make smoked roast beef, which gets cooked to
> around 125 - 135 F internal, depending.
>
> Now, cross rib is actually a chuck cut and chuck normally
> doesn't lend itself to anything other than 180+ temperatures.
> However, if done properly and with a little luck I've had cross
> rib come out just as good as any roast beef made from round.
> Various other chuck cuts, too.
>
> Nope. Not this time. This particular cut from this particular
> animal did not want to cooperate. Too tough, no matter how thin
> I cut it with the hobart slicer.
>
> So, in the pot it went. After cooling I cubed it, made a dark
> roux, added some vegetables and spices and made a quasi cajun
> smoked beef stew that came out great.
>
> In the long run, Meat will always bend to one's will.

Nice recovery reg. I'm kind of partial to chuck for its assertive
taste, but I haven't had too much luck getting it cooked just the
way I'd like it. I grill some chuck steaks now and then, but I
don't even attempt to get them tender. We just cut it real small
at the table.

This evening, I'm going to cook a pair of pork chops on the Lodge
grill. I practically never serve up wet ribs or chops, but this time
I plan to finish the chops with some sweet sauce, probably Sweet
Baby Ray's original. I'll pair them with some cajun fat cut potatoes
roasted in the toaster oven and something green if there's anything
left.
--
Brick (Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess.
They always run out of other people's money.
Magaret Thatcher, 5 Feb 1976)

Brick wrote:
> On 9-Aug-2009, RegForte > wrote:
>
>> I got my hands on a 4.5 lb choice grade cross rib roast.
>> My plan was to make smoked roast beef, which gets cooked to
>> around 125 - 135 F internal, depending.
>>
>> Now, cross rib is actually a chuck cut and chuck normally
>> doesn't lend itself to anything other than 180+ temperatures.
>> However, if done properly and with a little luck I've had cross
>> rib come out just as good as any roast beef made from round.
>> Various other chuck cuts, too.
>>
>> Nope. Not this time. This particular cut from this particular
>> animal did not want to cooperate. Too tough, no matter how thin
>> I cut it with the hobart slicer.
>>
>> So, in the pot it went. After cooling I cubed it, made a dark
>> roux, added some vegetables and spices and made a quasi cajun
>> smoked beef stew that came out great.
>>
>> In the long run, Meat will always bend to one's will.
>
> Nice recovery reg. I'm kind of partial to chuck for its assertive
> taste, but I haven't had too much luck getting it cooked just the
> way I'd like it. I grill some chuck steaks now and then, but I
> don't even attempt to get them tender. We just cut it real small
> at the table.
>
> This evening, I'm going to cook a pair of pork chops on the Lodge
> grill. I practically never serve up wet ribs or chops, but this time
> I plan to finish the chops with some sweet sauce, probably Sweet
> Baby Ray's original. I'll pair them with some cajun fat cut potatoes
> roasted in the toaster oven and something green if there's anything
> left.

Brick - Try and score a couple of chuck-eye roasts or steaks. It does
make a difference.

Bob

On Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:40:05 -0400, Bob Muncie wrote:

> Just wanted to point out that chuck-eye roast is the cut next to a rib
> eye roast.

When they label it correctly. At my normal store they label it
properly, but I've seen other stores call something else chuck eye
[roast]. I can tell by looking at it that it ain't genu-wine chuck
eye.

Other people here have reported that the chuck eyes they've bought
have been nasty as steaks. Some have even posted pictures of
something that is not chuck eye.

-sw

Sqwertz wrote:
> On Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:40:05 -0400, Bob Muncie wrote:
>
>> Just wanted to point out that chuck-eye roast is the cut next to a rib
>> eye roast.
>
> When they label it correctly. At my normal store they label it
> properly, but I've seen other stores call something else chuck eye
> [roast]. I can tell by looking at it that it ain't genu-wine chuck
> eye.
>
> Other people here have reported that the chuck eyes they've bought
> have been nasty as steaks. Some have even posted pictures of
> something that is not chuck eye.
>
> -sw


SW - Not complaining here, but if you really did have the chuck-eye
roasts or steaks, wouldn't that be a good thing?

I've been buying them here lately for around $1.99/lb. I've been buying
the ones I look at, that have a good marbling.

Just saying that times often throw us the bones we'd like. In this case,
I like the bones. :-)

Bob

On Sun, 09 Aug 2009 18:51:58 -0400, Bob Muncie wrote:

> Sqwertz wrote:
>> On Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:40:05 -0400, Bob Muncie wrote:
>>
>>> Just wanted to point out that chuck-eye roast is the cut next to a rib
>>> eye roast.
>>
>> When they label it correctly. At my normal store they label it
>> properly, but I've seen other stores call something else chuck eye
>> [roast]. I can tell by looking at it that it ain't genu-wine chuck
>> eye.
>>
>> Other people here have reported that the chuck eyes they've bought
>> have been nasty as steaks. Some have even posted pictures of
>> something that is not chuck eye.
>>
>> -sw
>
> SW - Not complaining here, but if you really did have the chuck-eye
> roasts or steaks, wouldn't that be a good thing?
>
> I've been buying them here lately for around $1.99/lb. I've been buying
> the ones I look at, that have a good marbling.
>
> Just saying that times often throw us the bones we'd like. In this case,
> I like the bones. :-)

Our USDA Select chuck eyes here are $4.99. Ironically, the "Natural
USDA Choice" store brand is $3.98. Uh, no bones either.

I have never eaten a fake chuck-eye. But I have seen them.

-sw

Sqwertz wrote:
> On Sun, 09 Aug 2009 18:51:58 -0400, Bob Muncie wrote:
>
>> Sqwertz wrote:
>>> On Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:40:05 -0400, Bob Muncie wrote:
>>>
>>>> Just wanted to point out that chuck-eye roast is the cut next to a rib
>>>> eye roast.
>>> When they label it correctly. At my normal store they label it
>>> properly, but I've seen other stores call something else chuck eye
>>> [roast]. I can tell by looking at it that it ain't genu-wine chuck
>>> eye.
>>>
>>> Other people here have reported that the chuck eyes they've bought
>>> have been nasty as steaks. Some have even posted pictures of
>>> something that is not chuck eye.
>>>
>>> -sw
>> SW - Not complaining here, but if you really did have the chuck-eye
>> roasts or steaks, wouldn't that be a good thing?
>>
>> I've been buying them here lately for around $1.99/lb. I've been buying
>> the ones I look at, that have a good marbling.
>>
>> Just saying that times often throw us the bones we'd like. In this case,
>> I like the bones. :-)
>
> Our USDA Select chuck eyes here are $4.99. Ironically, the "Natural
> USDA Choice" store brand is $3.98. Uh, no bones either.
>
> I have never eaten a fake chuck-eye. But I have seen them.
>
> -sw

SW - I'd share if I could. I honestly would. I know the differences in
cuts in this case, and I am enjoying at the moment what I bought. Put 6
steaks about 1 inch each in the freezer today since I went shopping
yesterday. And it was choice... the marbling was nice. And no bones :-)

Bob

Bob Muncie wrote:

> Just wanted to point out that chuck-eye roast is the cut next to a rib
> eye roast.
>
> So yes, It would turn out well pretty much in either a smoked or grilled
> version.
>

I disagree that this a hard and fast rule. It *may* work
cooked rare, roast beef style, but there's a chance it won't.
It depends on the supplier and other factors that effect
quality. That was the point I was making, actually.

RegForte wrote:
> Bob Muncie wrote:
>
>> Just wanted to point out that chuck-eye roast is the cut next to a rib
>> eye roast.
>>
>> So yes, It would turn out well pretty much in either a smoked or
>> grilled version.
>>
>
> I disagree that this a hard and fast rule. It *may* work
> cooked rare, roast beef style, but there's a chance it won't.
> It depends on the supplier and other factors that effect
> quality. That was the point I was making, actually.


I don't disagree with you here. being respectful to your meat is
important :-) Your point is well taken.

Bob

On Aug 10, 5:21 pm, "Nunya Bidnits" <NunyaBidn...@eternal-
september.invalid> wrote:

> Smoke in stroganoff... interesting. My BBQ team buddy wanted me to use
> brisket for stroganoff (fresh, not off the smoker) and I had to convince him
> it was too tough a cut for that purpose. But I suppose properly tender
> barbecued brisket,

Absolutely. By the time this stuff was in its second iteration from
the kitchen, it should have been paste from being cooked so long.
Still, it was just right.

> My strog is old school, none of the beef stock business, just a good quality
> cut of beef,

SNIP *drool* SNIP

> hit with a little warm heavy cream, a lot of warm sour cream, and a splash
> of dry white wine, black pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.

Mine is not so sophisticated. Yours sounds better! I get to the
garlic, olive oil and the cream and sour cream, but rarely have any
dry white wine on hand. And unless it's the holidays, no nutmeg,
either.

>The only thing is I wonder if these sorts of flavors
> might not be overwhelmed by beef with a lot of smoke flavor on it.

Actually, when I smoke a brisket, I am not one of those that wants to
pull out a charred log that looks and smells like the bad side of the
smokehouse.

I like a rich, smoky flavor, but don't want to cover up the taste of
the beef itself. I use oak when I smoke, and occasionally toss in a
chunk or two of well seasoned mesquite or pecan. That's it. So the
aim is that the meat has a nice smokey taste, but not overbearing.

Of course now, the burnt ends are a different story. I put in hot
sauces, peppers, garlic and other nasty things when the boys are over
since we are going to wash it all down with some quality suds.

I was thinking of you Marty just this last Sunday. At one of our last
local markets that are still standing, they had a great buy on
jalapenos. I went down to get some to make some bombers to go with
Sunday's brisket, but almost had to leave the store when I saw the
size of them.

Having grown about truckload or two of peppers, there are times when
the act really strange. We have had a lot of near flooding all around
us, and the peppers benefited greatly by the extra rain and sunshine.

The small peppers were about 4" long, and the largest ones were about
7" long, and about 2" across. They were huge, even for around here.
Everyone that was around the display was laughing their butts off.
The downside to peppers this size is they are mostly water and carry
little heat. That was the case with these.

But some softened cream cheese stuffing reinforced with dried onion,
oregano, fresh garlic, black pepper, cayenne and red pepper flakes put
them right. They were large enough to set parallel with the grate
pattern on the WSM next to the brisket without falling through even
when they shrank from cooking!

And now the peppers are starting to come into the stores in droves.
Japs are now (none nearly as big as those sausage types) in the three
pound bags for a buck in many places. Time to restock for the year!

I am thinking I will do a pork butt this weekend and I can dry and
smoke a pound or two to get some of those dried, smoked peppers I like
to put on everything. I just cut them in half and lay them out on
foil and dry them in the smoker until they are almost crispy. Then I
grind them up and shake them onto chicken breasts, enchiladas, carne
guisada, etc. It is amazing how much smoke they retain and transfer
to your food.

I think I will keep your stroganoff recipe. It sounds pretty good -
any special advice?

Robert

On Aug 12, 5:20*pm, "Nunya Bidnits" <NunyaBidn...@eternal-
september.invalid> wrote:

> Holy mackerel! They sound like they are as big as some numex chilies. I've
> truly never seen them that large. I'd look for some ripe red ones if you can
> get them for your smoking/dehydrating effort.

These were the size of larger Anaheim peppers, except round and dark
green. And since they grew so fast and had so much water they looked
like they were out of a magazine they were so perfect.

I bought three pounds, and went back for more but they were long out
of them. Now the peppers are a little larger than normal ( 3, 3 1/2")
but are back to the old price of .99 a pound.

As far as saving a few of the larger ones... every single one has
already been dispatched to a higher calling on the pit.


> It goes really fast so you need to have everything prepped ahead and ready
> to add.
>
> I like to serve it over spinach fettucine when I can find it, otherwise egg
> noodles.

Wow, Marty! Thanks for the details. I will definitely try this out
now as it would be a great change of pace for me this fall. When it
finally cools off down here, I have a tendency to grill or barbecue
constantly, so a new recipe is welcome.

I'll let you know how it comes out!

Robert

On 12-Aug-2009, "Nunya Bidnits" >
wrote:

> said:

Brick snipped everything that wasn't about stroganoff

MartyB said;

>
> I season the meat and flour with a mix of dry savory spices, usually
> oregano, savory, thyme, and a little less of basil and rosemary, plus S&P
> and granular garlic. The flour goes on as a very light dusting, just put
> some in a bowl with the prepared strips of beef and give it a shake. You
> can do it without the flour too but I like that it helps thicken the
> sauce a
> bit at the end, sort of the way you would start the chunks for a beef
> stew.

I like to prep my meat the same way. If you don't overdo the flour, you
get nice body to the stroganoff without making it to heavy.

> When I brown up the meat I do it pretty hot to get a nice crisping effect
> in a combination of butter and olive oil. You don't want juice from the
> meat
> running off and cooling the pan and interfering with browning.

This is where I have the most trouble. Way too often, I either have too
much meat in the pan or not enough heat and it stews or boils instead
of browning the way I want. Yes, I know it's stupid to keep repeating
the same error.

>
> Then the meat comes out and gets set aside, add more butter and olive oil
> and sautee the mushrooms, and a little bit of shallot or sweet onion if
> you like, nice and hot. Toss in a little minced garlic when it's nearly
> done,
> not too early so it doesn't burn.
>
> Then I deglaze the pan with the white wine and the beef goes back in and
> everything gets heated back up. Make sure the cream and sour cream are
> warm when you add them at the end, you don't want to overheat them.
> Then the pinch of nutmeg, a little salt, and plenty of fresh ground black
> pepper
> and voila!
>
> It goes really fast so you need to have everything prepped ahead and
> ready to add.
>
> I like to serve it over spinach fettucine when I can find it, otherwise
> egg noodles.
>
> MartyB

Really nice word picture Marty. Thanks. I've had an Atlas pasta
roller/cutter for years, but have never used it. I'm about to try some
of that spinach pasta you talked about. Spinach and flour are available
most of the time. I'd guess that canned spinach could be used if
necessary. The pasta dough can be ginned up in a food processor
real quick.

--
Brick said that.

On Aug 9, 1:56*pm, RegForte > wrote:
> I got my hands on a 4.5 lb choice grade cross rib roast.
> My plan was to make smoked roast beef, which gets cooked to
> around 125 - 135 F internal, depending.
>
> Now, cross rib is actually a chuck cut and chuck normally
> doesn't lend itself to anything other than 180+ temperatures.
> However, if done properly and with a little luck I've had cross
> rib come out just as good as any roast beef made from round.
> Various other chuck cuts, too.
>
> Nope. Not this time. This particular cut from this particular
> animal did not want to cooperate. Too tough, no matter how thin
> I cut it with the hobart slicer.
>
> So, in the pot it went. After cooling I cubed it, made a dark
> roux, added some vegetables and spices and made a quasi cajun
> smoked beef stew that came out great.
>
> In the long run, Meat will always bend to one's will.

Sounds like it sucked big time.

Bent Attorney Esq. wrote:


> Sounds like it sucked big time.

Heh. Suck this, troll.

wrote:

> I decided this old steer must have been pulling a wagon for a few
> years at one of the many dude ranches around here....

I think this kind of variation is a big wildcard. Some weird
factor that makes a specific piece perform stangely. I keep
pretty good track of what I buy and where I get it, and I've
not found one source that is 100% consistent.

Take brisket, for instance. From my favorite provider, about
1 out of 20 performs completely outside the envelope. My normal
cook time for a 10 lb brisket is 6-7 hours, give or take. Every
now and then I get one that finishes in 10+ hours. The
record for shortest cook is 3 1/3 hours. How a 10 lb brisket can
cook completely in under 4 hours is a mystery, but I've had it
happen.

recipe for the first dish please, Lee


> wrote in message
...
On Aug 9, 11:56 am, RegForte > wrote:


> So, in the pot it went. After cooling I cubed it, made a dark
> roux, added some vegetables and spices and made a quasi cajun
> smoked beef stew that came out great.

Now I'll bet that was tasty with the addition of the smoke flavor!

> In the long run, Meat will always bend to one's will.

I agree. Resistance if futile. I had a piece of chuck last year that
I cooked on the pit for about 1 hr 15 min a pound. It should have
been a home run. Internal (off the pit) stopped at 190. It should
have been a winner. The meat almost fell apart when I was cutting it,
but no quite. I was congratulating myself before the first bite.

The meat was strangely chewy, and tasted like meat that was cooked too
fast just to get it edible. You know, when the fibers don't break
down, or when someone just cooks a hunk of meat as fast as they can
without burning it to get it done. I was really disappointed, and
glad I didn't have company with that coming off the pit.

I decided this old steer must have been pulling a wagon for a few
years at one of the many dude ranches around here....

I saved all the meat juice and drippings and cut the meat into a pile
of 1" cubes. I made carne guisada from some of it, beef stew from
some of it, and the last was a tasty beef stroganoff. All benefitted
(especially the stew and guisada) from the smoke.

I won't give up on a piece of meat I have put that much time into, I
don't care if I have to grind it into a pre-cooked hamburger patty.

And of course, if anyone asks, you know it is only polite to remind
them that it was all part of "the big plan" in food
preparation. ;^)

Robert

your stroganoff in the nest would be outstanding, Lee
"Nunya Bidnits" > wrote in message
...
> Brick said:
> clip
>
>>> When I brown up the meat I do it pretty hot to get a nice crisping
>>> effect in a combination of butter and olive oil. You don't want
>>> juice from the meat
>>> running off and cooling the pan and interfering with browning.
>>
>> This is where I have the most trouble. Way too often, I either have
>> too much meat in the pan or not enough heat and it stews or boils
>> instead of browning the way I want. Yes, I know it's stupid to keep
>> repeating the same error.
>
> One of the simplest lessons, yet the hardest to carry out sometimes, is
> the
> simple admonition "don't crowd the pan."
>
> I also notice that when you've cut meat across the grain in slices like
> that, it invariably gives up a lot more of its moisture too quickly.
>
>>
>>>
>>> Then the meat comes out and gets set aside, add more butter and
>>> olive oil and sautee the mushrooms, and a little bit of shallot or
>>> sweet onion if you like, nice and hot. Toss in a little minced
>>> garlic when it's nearly done,
>>> not too early so it doesn't burn.
>>>
>>> Then I deglaze the pan with the white wine and the beef goes back in
>>> and everything gets heated back up. Make sure the cream and sour
>>> cream are warm when you add them at the end, you don't want to
>>> overheat them.
>>> Then the pinch of nutmeg, a little salt, and plenty of fresh ground
>>> black pepper
>>> and voila!
>>>
>>> It goes really fast so you need to have everything prepped ahead and
>>> ready to add.
>>>
>>> I like to serve it over spinach fettucine when I can find it,
>>> otherwise egg noodles.
>>>
>>> MartyB
>>
>> Really nice word picture Marty. Thanks. I've had an Atlas pasta
>> roller/cutter for years, but have never used it. I'm about to try some
>> of that spinach pasta you talked about. Spinach and flour are
>> available most of the time. I'd guess that canned spinach could be
>> used if necessary. The pasta dough can be ginned up in a food
>> processor
>> real quick.
>
> :Let me know how that goes. There used to be several brands of spinach
> fetticune on the shelves around here but now the only thing I can find
> without going to a specialty market are those fettucine "birds nests" made
> from the spinach pasta.
>
> We're in a barbecue competition this weekend in Excelsior Springs which
> features a pasta side contest. I'll try to remember to post back how that
> goes. One of the sponsors is a huge pasta maker with a whole bunch of
> different national store brands like RF and Martha Gooch among others, so
> maybe we'll luck out and find the spinach stuff. Not doing stroganoff
> though. Not my decision. [-(
>
> MartyB
>

i know nothing about competition, so forgive me if this sounds silly, once
you get a winner like this dessert, can you keep rentering it, ? Lee


"Nunya Bidnits" > wrote in message
...
> Nunya Bidnits said:
>
>> We're in a barbecue competition this weekend in Excelsior Springs
>> which features a pasta side contest. I'll try to remember to post
>> back how that goes.
>
> We turned in a cold thai pasta with carrots, scallions, and other veg, in
> a
> sweet lime/sesame/peanut sauce which was worked up by our food stylist
> partner. The deal was that you had to use your choice of one of the
> provided
> pastas so we made it with spaghetti rather than the traditional rice
> noodles. We put in the shrimp I use for spring rolls, which is boiled in a
> sealed vac bag with sesame oil and garlic. It took fourth. I thought it
> was
> a little short on the peanut/sesame flavor it had the first time we tasted
> it but fourth ain't bad, but one position out of the money.
>
> We got a 9th place on our brisket. My partner is obsessed with taking meat
> that is almost done and putting it back in the cooker wrapped in foil at a
> higher temp, and therefore we have a consistent issue with overcooked
> entries. But this time for some reason the smallest flat resisted
> overcooking. The burnt ends were a bit overdone too, partner thought they
> were too fatty to turn in but I talked him into it. A lot of this
> repetitious drama results from trying to do all four main meat entries in
> a
> FE100 cookshack hit the turn in times for the various meats but I'm always
> overridden as far as the right timing and holding techniques.
>
> I was really dissappointed in something I had tried at home, which was a
> boneless, rolled and tied pork butt. The idea is to create a really nice
> sliceable hunk of pork, rather than trying to ferret out just one muscle
> for
> slicing from butts which were really cooked too hot for anything but
> pulling
> or chunking. It got overcooked as well and was unsliceable. Drat. I'm also
> still not comfortable with the prep technique for the roll, so I'll post
> looking for help on that in another thread.
>
> In dessert we took third. The scoring was so close, the difference between
> first and third was two 8s instead of nines, with the winner only being
> two
> 8s short of a perfect score. I guess that at least validates our first
> place
> at the GAB for the recipe being a bonafide contender. We had a bit of an
> unmolding issue with one part of the dessert, resulting in a minor
> imperfection in appearance, and that is probably the diff between first
> and
> third.
>
> MartyB in KC
>