Pirate Tools

     Ahoy all!  So recently, I ordered a pirate-themed bottle opener from Picaroon Tools on Etsy.  Why, you may ask? Well, simply put, a good bottle opener is always a good thing to have on hand & he makes some great tools.

     I was quite surprised to see that he sent me 2 more bottle openers after I asked if he would mind if I reviewed them!  Now, to be clear, I bought the main one & only asked if he minded if I did a review on it.  

     The tool I ordered was the One-Legged Pirate bottle opener in brass with a patina finish.  

     There's a few aspects of this tool that I like.  First, the look is awesome!  I love the antiqued look of it, like an old pirate coin, haha!  Now about the actual functions of this little guy. Now about the actual functions of this tool.  The hole at the very top of the hat is a lanyard hole that allows for one way of this to be carried. The left eye is a 10mm hex wrench & the right eye is a 8mm hex wrench, which can also hold a screw bit.  That piece sticking down on the left is the pocket clip and allows for this to be carried in the corner of the pocket, making it very easy to carry without getting in the way.  On it's right side is a bottle opener that made quick work of bottle cap.  The left leg is a flat head screwdriver & prybar that works well to pry up pulltabs on cans.  The right leg, while it's not mentioned as having any specific purpose, makes a wonderful little tack/stapled puller.

     The first of the extra bottle openers that I was ssent is the Cracked Skull in stainless steel w/ a standard finish.

     I like this one so much that it now has a permanent home on my keychain.  The stainless steel makes for a sharp looking tool indeed.  You can see in the picture that it has a lanyard hole on the left, which works well to add a keyring to as well, and the bottle opener is on the right.  Both of the eyes are hex wrenches, but so is the bottom of the bone on the right.  The left eye is 3/16", the right eye is 5/16", and the bottom of the right bone is 1/4". The bottom left bone ends in a flat head screwdriver.  This worked really well on bottle caps as well, the crossbones on it made it really easy to use.

     The second extra bottle opener he sent me is the Parrot Head bottle opener in stainless steel with a standard finish.

     This bottle opener is much simpler but still works really well with the bottle opener on one end & a lanyard hole on the other end.  It was easy to use & the contour of it made it comfortable in the hands & to use.

     All in all, these tools are very well made and work really well to take off bottle caps & for some other uses as well.  As I mentioned before, the Cracked Skull bottle opener is now on my keychain & is with me whenever I go out.  The One-Legged Pirate bottle opener sits on a bag that I carry whenever I go to work or travel so it's usually not to far from me.  The Parrot Head bottle opener is in a drawer for now, I'm planning on making a lanyard for it to accentuate the parrot features of it.

     Go check out his store by clicking on Picaroon Tools & see what all the tools he sells are, please be aware that it might take a little while to get them as he's based out of Varna, Bulgaria.  I might even order another one or two down the line myself, haha!

German-Inspired Cabbage & Bacon Slaw

Morning all, I know it's been awhile since I posted a new recipe so I have one for you today.  This is inspired by German potato salad, which is a hot potato salad with a vinegar kick. The nice thing about this is that there's no need to add salt because of the bacon & bacon fat.

German Cabbage & Bacon Slaw

by

The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:

      1/2 Head of Cabbage, shredded

      1/2 Lb of Bacon, chopped

      1 Medium Onion, chopped

      2 Cloves of Garlic, chopped

      1 1/2 Tbls Cider Vinegar

      3 Tbls Ground Black Pepper

Directions:

1. Cook the bacon in a frying pan over medium heat, until crispy, in 2 batches.
2.  Drain the bacon on paper towels & save the bacon fat.
3. In a large pan or wok, put 2 tbls of bacon hat and heat to medium.
4. Add onion & garlic & saute until slightly brown.
5. Add cabbage and saute until it starts to wilt, then add bacon.
6. Stir in bacon, black pepper, & cider vinegar.
7. Keep stirring to make sure everything is evenly distributed & cook for another 2-3 minutes.
8. Serve hot & enjoy.

Happy Holidays!

Good morning ye bunch of scurvy dogs!

As we wake this morning, may there be laughter and smiles in your homes!

I be enjoying my traditional Christmas breakfast of quiche, hot cocoa, & A Christmas Carol!

So I wish you all a Merry Christmas, a Blessed Yule, a Happy Hanukkah, and/or a Happy Kwanzaa!

May your hunger be sated, your thirst be quenched, and your hearts be filled with love!

Happy Thanksgiving!

From me to all of ye, a very Happy Thanksgiving!

May your bellies be full, your laughs be deep, & your cups never empty!

Happy Halloween! I'm back with a new recipe! Beetlejuice Pasta!

     Sorry for being MIA for a while but I had some personal things I had to take care of and it took up way more of my time than I would have liked.  However, I be back and am coming at you with a brand new recipe!

   And what better time to come back than me favorite holiday, Halloween! Also known as Samhain, All Saint's Eve, Dia de los Muertos, etc. So today I bring you a new recipe inspired by one of my all-time favorite Halloween movies, Beetlejuice!

Beetlejuice Pasta

by

The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:

2 lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

2 - 8.8 oz packages of B&W Farfalle pasta (I used Antico Mulino from World Market)

8.1 oz Jar of Classico Basil Pesto Sauce

Steak n Shake Steakburger Seasoning

Directions:

1) Start up your grill.

2) Season the chicken with the Steakburger seasoning

3) Once the grill is ready, place the chicken and cook till done.

4) While the chicken is cooking, get the water going for the pasta.

5) Cook the pasta per the directions, or if using the same pasta I did, it took about 6-8 minutes.

6) When the chicken is done, remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes.

7) Slice chicken into bite size piece.

8) Drain pasta, put back in put and add chicken.

9) Add pesto to taste & stir until fully combined. (I used about 5 heaping tablespoons)

10) Enjoy!

I hope those of you who try this recipe enjoy it as much as I did!

Labor Day, Hurricane, & Rum

     So I'm sitting down, having just showered after battening down the hatches as hurricane Dorian looms on Florida's horizon this Labor Day, and think how nice a good drink would be right now.  The problem being that I didn't buy any of my normal accoutrements to go with some rum.  Not wanting to fight the panicked hordes at the stores, I know I have to have something in the fridge that I can make a decent drink with.  Lady Luck shined upon me and I came up with this nice little cocktail!

The Red Sky

by

The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:

     Rocks glass

     3 Ice Cubes

     1 shot Spiced Rum

     Vitaminwater Fire

Directions:

     1) Place the ice cubes in the rocks glass.

     2) Add in a shot of your favorite spiced rum

     3) Top it off with Vitamin Water Fire

     4) Stir & enjoy!

     The Vitaminwater Fire is a really unique drink as it's a spicy watermelon-lime drink that is not only cool & refreshing, but adds in a hint of heat on the back end of it.  This combined with the flavors of a spiced rum, make for a very unique flavor mashup that combines a hot summer day enjoying a nice cool watermelon, some homemade grog, and a touch of heat to get your taste buds going.  So will this Red Sky be a warning to you or result in some delight?

Good Road Ciderworks - Charlotte, NC

     A while back, I was visiting Charlotte, NC on work and decided to explore one night.  I stumbled upon Good Road Ciderworks before grabbing some dinner and what a selection they had! Not just of ciders, but also of meads.  They had so many, I couldn't decide what I wanted so I went with a 5 sample flight.

     From left to right, they're the Waymaker, the Blackberry Pitch, the Frolicking Fig (Anniversary Release), the 10 Penny Lane, & the Avogadro's Trail.

     The Waymaker is an apple ginger cider that has a nice 6.7% ABV to it. It's a nice crisp apple cider with a healthy ginger kick to it.  I could drink this all the time, it was really refreshing and was absolutely delicious.

     The Blackberry Pitch was actually one of my least favorite, even though it sounded amazing.  The mix of blackberries and apples host a 6% ABV and the flavor was really well done with a beautiful blend of apples and blackberries.  The problem I had with it was that it was too tart for my taste, it could have used a little more sweetness for my taste to even out that tartness of the blackberries.

     The Frolicking Fig (Anniversary Release) is a delicious mead with complex flavors and boasted an impressive 12.8% ABV!  It's a full-bodied and semi-sweet mead that combines the spice & warmth of a medium-dark honey with the toast and spice of being aged in a Doc Porter Rye barrel, all layered with the flavors of figs.  I really enjoyed this one and it would make a great holiday drink or after-dinner drink following a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

     The 10 Penny Lane is one of the more interesting drinks I've had.  It's what's known as a braggot, which is a hybrid creation that combines the best parts of beer and mead.  They combined several honeys and several malts to bring this to life with a 10% ABV.  This one combine fruit and toffee with the bitterness of beer and sweetness of mead.  This was an impressive blend and a great beverage for lovers of beers and mead.

     The Avogadro's Trail is a classic mead with a twist, the honey is from Avocado blossoms. This honey led to a mead with notes of browned butter, caramel, and apricot flavors with a nice 7.5% ABV. While it may not be a very strong beverage, the flavor composition was well-balanced and was very smooth.  I could see relaxing by a fire while drinking this.

     There was one other mead I tried while I was there, and brought a growler of it home with me, the T'ej.  This delicious mead was a new experience for me as it's not the traditional mead people are familiar with but is based on an Ethiopean mead recipe. It blends African honey with hops to create this national drink that boasts a 10.5% ABV.  While most meads are traditionally on the sweet side, this one is more of a medium body with a woodsy taste with hints of tea & black pepper.  These flavors all blend together with the honey to create a mead that reminds me of an adult version of Earl Grey with a dollop of honey.  one of the more savory meads I've had and truly enjoy.

     I really enjoyed my trip there and look forward to my next trip to Charlotte to try more of their products and bring home another growler of one of their creations!