Morgan Fast Commuter

The Morgan "Fast Commuter" is hands down the best looking new power boat I have seen in a very long time.  Designed by the late Tom Fexas of Cheoy Lee fame, these boats have a real nice blend of new and old.  I am not sure if Charley Morgan of Morgan Sailboats was involved on this at all, but these newer Morgan boats originate in Italy.  Personally I find these later Fexas designed boats much more attractive than    his signature "Midnight Lace" design - which also echoed the roaring 20's commuter design, but with more of a sportfish aesthetic. Although the fast commuter line of boats from Morgan.IT purport to be direct descendants of the originals which ferried business men to NYC in the 20's, to my eye, they more closely resemble Old School sport fishing boats like Hemingway's Pilar or an early Merritt or Rybovitch.  But what ever the case, American design and Italian craftsmanship have produced one of the best looking yachts in recent memory. Buy two, They're Small.

Finding the Center of Cylindrical Stock

There are lots of ways to find the center of a round piece of stock, but *most* of them are a bit of a kludge and involve a combo square and more than two hands.  There are a few other "center finders" out there on the market, but this one is the easiest and most foolproof I have tried.  You can get one from Rockler Woodworking here : J Square Center Finder

Vintage AV Geek -1970's Newcomb Classroom Record Player

Remember these?  I do, and I wasn't even in AV Club.  What I remember most about them is they had these springy feet, which caused the whole thing to jiggle whenever the teacher messed with it.  These things were about as portable as the first Compaq portable computer , but they could get seriously loud - to the point of filling an elementary school auditorium.  "Ecoutez, Repetez Aprez Moi" indeed.  I would love to get one of these with a film strip projector.....Beep !

Do You Have A Pepper Mill In Your Pocket?

One recent trend I simply can't abide is the giant restaurant pepper mill. I dunno what brain surgeon came up with this practice, but for the pepper lover, nothing is more of a PITA than having to wait while some poor waitron grinds on and on, impatiently waiting for you to tell them to stop.  The alternatives to this ghastly ritual are crappy pepper packets, preground pepper put into a salt shaker or going without entirely.  Well, those last two options are actually the same since pepper won't fit out the smaller holes of the salt shaker. Well, thanks to the internetz, I no longer have to suffer in silence, while looking around for a good source of peppercorns, I found this miniature peppermill over at Pepper Passion - a site dedicated to all things pepper. So the next time you see me I'll have one of these little numbers in my pocket, though I may also be happy to see you.

The Worlds Best Wine Key - The Pulltex Pulltab

You're probably still using a cheapy corkscrew you picked up at the packy* (either that or that rabbit contraption), either way, you are missing out.  It's often the little things that make the difference, and this is one of those little things.  Like Mary Poppins and the Rossle garlic press, the Pulltex is practically perfect in every way.  The Pulltex our friends had given us many years ago recently went missing and it wasn't 'till I purchased a cheapy replacement that I truly appreciated it.  It didn't transform water into wine or anything, it just worked really well without a lot of thought, the way things should, something I cannot say for it's generic replacement.  Get one, you won't be sorry, I promise.

These Ribs Will Rock You To Your Very Foundation

Hamersley's Bistro Braised Short Rib Recipe Made this recipe for Christmas Eve a few times and these ribs are the best I have ever had, much better than the over-rated ones I had a Craft in NYC, that and they are dead simple to make.  Two suggestions, make sure you have plenty of room in the pot before you put them in the oven or you will cause an epic fire, get really good quality ribs from a butcher, don't bother with supermarket ribs, they are too fatty and small.  I recommend John Dewar's in Boston, Newton & Wellesley.  Oh, and these ribs should really be served with some slightly lumpy garlicky mashed potato's, steamed broccoli rabe would also be a nice accompaniment (the bitterness will nicely set off the sweetness of the ribs and spuds. Gordon Hamersley's Bistro Cooking at Home Beef Short Ribs Braised in Dark Beer with Bacon and Red Onions Serves 6 6-8 lbs bone-in beef short ribs Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper About 3 tbsp vegetable oil 1/2 lb bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces 2 medium red onions, cut cross-wise into 1/2 inch rounds 2 tbsp tomato paste 2 bottles stout beer, such as Guinness (IPA works too if you're not into stout) 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 2 cups beef stock or combo of beef & chicken stock Heat the oven to 350. Trim the excess fat from the ribs and season them on all sides with salt and pepper. In a large heavy Dutch oven, heat the oil until very hot. Working in batches, brown the ribs on all sides adding more oil if necessary. Remove the ribs and pour off the rendered fat but don't clean the pot.  Add the bacon and cook until most of its fat has rendered, about 5 minutes. Add the onions and cook until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes. Add the beer, vinegar and beef stock. Put the ribs back in the pot. Bring to a boil, cover the pot and cook in the oven until they are fork-tender, about 2 hours 15 minutes. (Begin checking them after 2 hours). Take the lid off and continue cooking the ribs for an additional 15 minutes, uncovered. Very carefully, so as not to break apart the meat, transfer the ribs and the onions to a rimmed platter or sheet pan and keep warm. Degrease the liquid if necessary. Bring it back to a boil and cook until reduced by at least a third.

Building Your Mid Life Crisis Kitchen? Consider These Often Overlooked Items From The Commercial Kitchen

French Top Range

Griddles and Charbroilers are a dime a dozen in the midlife crisis kitchen, but you almost never see a range with a French top. Although the grill and griddle are certainly worthwhile additions to a range top, the French top may be a better choice.  A French top is basically a modern approximation of an antique coal fired range  in that it gives you a full spectrum of cooking heat, from simmer to boil, on one large surface.  Although they can be had in a larger size, the most common size available for the home is 24" x 24".  The really nice thing about the French top is that this intuitive approach to cooking allows you to concentrate on the food without fiddling with a bunch of knobs.  A conventional gas hob forces you to bend over and peer beneath large pots  to see what the flame is doing, and since the average hob is a bit touchy, you'll need to remain in that position while adjusting the heat.  With the French top, the temperature of a pot is obvious by it's position, if it's in the middle, it's hot, if it's on the perimeter, it's not - you can't get much simpler than that. A Salamander Broiler

I can't recall ever seeing a salamander in a home kitchen, which is odd given it's ubiquitousness in the commercial kitchen.  A salamander is a top fired grill/broiler typically mounter on the back of a range, much like an over the stove microwave/hood combo.  There are two really great things about the salamander, it's flexibility and it's position.  In a salamander, you can cook anything from Creme Brulee to Scrod, try that with your char grill.  The eye level position of the salamander's grill allows you to closely monitor the cooking process.  For most people, the salamander is definitely overkill, but if you really want to bang out food they really can't be beat. A Pot Filler

Frankly, I don't know why every home doesn't have a potfiller, it seems like such a no brainer and it's not like they cost a million bucks. A faucet by the stove, what's not to like?