Friends, customers, loyal readers – today my computer suffered a near-fatal virus. Long story short, I had to do a full restoral, re-setting it back to when it was new. I recovered most of my documents and photos but my e-mail was not so lucky. All of my folders are gone, and years of e-mail correspondence.

If you’re someone I have corresponded with in the past, I’d ask you to shoot me an e-mail using the “Contact” button at the top of the page. Thanks!

Thank you for visiting my site. I appreciate the support from readers, vendors and all who help me along in my endeavors. This video has some awesome footage.

Wishing all of you a healthy and prosperous 2012

I was excited to receive one of these knives from my friends at Mad Cow Cutlery and let me tell you – as my 13-year old daughter would say, this thing is “beast”.

I must tell you, the grip on this knife is perfect. The angle to the blade is ideal, and the texture makes it easy to hold. Add to that, this knife is quite possibly the sharpest one I have ever owned.

My friend Daniel Clay from Mad Cow says “Regarding the Dexter Prodex 6” curved boning knife. We had originally being selling this mostly to commercial accounts, but have started promoting them on our store since we had positive feedback from our bbq teams that tried it. It is shaped to provide a more comfortable and natural slicing motion. It has virtually no finger guards to get in the way when doing serious work. The handle has awesome grip. This has been a popular slicing and trim knife.”

Read more about the knife here: Dexter Russell 6″ Prodex Boning Knife

Last year my family started a new Christmas Tradition. It was more rewarding than we ever could have imagined. Let’s get back to the true purpose of Christmas….

Hello all – I am sorry that my blog has been silent. I took an unexpected, unscheduled break while our family dealt with some pretty serious health issues my wife was enduring. Hopefully thingshave settled down enough now that I can get posting!

While wandering the net looking for uniques sauces and rubs, I stumbled across BBQ Sauce Reviews.com. What an awesome site! There are sauces there I can guarantee you have never heard of, from “Mild” to “Wild”!

Anyway, I touched base with the owner and am happy to report that once a month he will peruse his reviews and send us over his “Pick of the Month” – I can’t wait! It will be cool to see what he sends our readers’ way.

I’ve also asked him about an interview. It will be neat to tell the story of one of the foremost sauce reviewers on the internet! Look for that in the days to come.

For your reading pleasure, here are some of his 5-Star Picks!

Thanks to Daniel Clay from Mad Cow Cutlery for this great tip! ~DRR

Seeing Isn’t Believing

Many people assume that if a hamburger is brown in the middle, it is done. However, looking at the color and texture of food is not enough—you have to use a food thermometer to be sure! According to USDA research, 1 out of every 4 hamburgers turns brown before it reaches a safe internal temperature. The only safe way to know if meat, poultry, and egg dishes are “done” is to use a food thermometer. When a hamburger is cooked to 160 F, it is both safe and delicious!

Provided by: Daniel Clay, Mad Cow Cutlery, www.madcowcutlery.com

Source: Is It Done Yet brochure, (USDA, FSIS, www.fsis.usda.gov)

To view brochure, please visit: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/IsItDoneYet_Brochure_LargePrint.pdf