A Rose By Any Other Name….

Q: What would drive a man to such extremes, that he found himself so utterly obsessed that he needed to rip apart his perfectly fine Red 1986 Honda Fourtrax Foreman, 350cc ATV?

A: He wanted it Blue.

Sure hope he gets it back together…

We Played ‘Til The Dawns Early Light….

If Some of those faces in the photos look a bit tired it’s only because, THEY ARE! Last Saturday night was the third Poker Night & Drinkfest up at the Manhut. Action started around 7:00pm and didn’t finish up until after 6:00am! Yeah, 11 straight hours of five-card, seven-card, etc…. With no breaks except for a quick bite or a quick pee. By the end of the night the game of choice was five-card, Jacks or better to open and Three-of-a-kind or better to win. I do admit, in the end I was the only loser, meaning that everyone else who walked away did so with my cha-ching in their pockets!... That Hurts.

Some of the evening’s highlights include:
- PW’s delicious venison chili… Pure perfection.
- Mrs. G’s Sausage and peppers… So good I took home the leftovers!
- A beautiful Padron 1926 Maduro N0. 2… May favorite cigar.
- Johnny Walker Green… That is some good Scotch I tell ya.
- Weave is the luckiest poker player I ever saw!...

Cheers!...

Poker Night & Drinkfest III…

Just a reminder for invitees; Our 3rd Poker Night & Drinkfest will be taking place this Saturday night November 14th 2009. Gaming will begin at 7:00ish with pre-game activities starting whenever you get there. Invited guests are asked to bring:
- A bottle of spirits (your beverage of choice)
- Smokes (smok’em if you gott’em)
- Cash (no IOU’s, checks or credit cards will be accepted)
As far as food goes, we want to keep it simple as space is limited; PW is whipping up some chili for one of the stove burners leaving the other one open for another hot entre, please email if interested in cooking something. I’ll bring all the odds and ends.

NOTICE: All uninvited attendees will be politely asked to leave.
Thank You
Management

PS- Please sign in at front desk.

Ramping Up For Winter!...

With fewer outside working days left before the winter chill, the Boyz thought it a good idea to get one more big exterior project done. With memories of our bruised butts from last winters Icy climb up the rock to the ManHut door; the decision was made to work on easier & safer access. Big Lou consulting with Grizz drew up plans for a “dock style” ramp leading to a landing outside the Huts front door. With plans to start building Friday at 9:30, Lou got out earlier in the week to buy the lumber, bring it up the hill and stack it… All by himself (Thanks Big Lou).
Construction day temperature was a crisp 41 degrees and we finished up around 4:30… I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking.
Cheers!...

Happy Birthday Hut Wench!...

Shout-Out to my favorite Hut Wench on her BIG BAD BIRTHDAY!…. I aint saying how old she is, but trust me it’s a BIGGY!
The Gang had a great time celebrating KK’s milestone day in a very interesting and different way. It started with a very snooty warm-up brunch with fine cheeses, fruits & nuts, dried sausage and caviar. Beverages included fine Champaign (Veuve Clicquot and Moet & Chandon) and an awesome Russian vodka called Zyr (best I’ve ever had, you should try it).
After about an hour an 18 passenger white stretch Hummer pulls up, we all get in and we’re on our way for a full day of wine tasting and lunch on New York’s Shawangunk wine trail. First stop is Palaia Vineyard, a funky little winery with a nice atmosphere. Next was Benmarl, we liked this one best; great atmosphere and great wine. We ate lunch here (3-foot Italian sandwich, salads and LP’s amazing home made stromboli), as we tasted wine overlooking a beautiful view of the Hudson River and valley. After that we finished up at Adair and Whitecliff Vineyards. On the way home we picked up Chinese food and continued laughing, eating and carrying on (I myself fell asleep on the Weaves couch…. Wine does that to me).

Cheers to a Great Time, for a Great Gal on her Special Day!

*Special thanks to the Weaves for their help and hospitality.

Happy First Birthday ManHut…

WOW!... I just realized that today is the Birthday of our Man Hut. Exactly one year ago today, ManHut was born (see October 21-22 2008 postings for the story). Weird, feels like it’s been around a lot longer than a year, yet it feels like it just happened yesterday. Man we’ve had a good time this past year and I know that there’s a whole lot more good times ahead of us in our little retreat in the woods. Coincidentally, today I picked up my new quad; A 2004 Fourtrax Rancher ES. I loved my 1986 Honda Fourtrax, but I’m happy to say that it’s staying in the family as The Weave is taking over the care and feeding of this awesome beast… I’ll miss her. I decided to name the new machine Kitty because she really purrrrrrs.
Last weekend the insulation was finished in the ceiling of the hut (thanks Grizz & Todd), one-inch black rigid foam core board between all the joists. We tested it out and it makes a big difference. With the outside temp at 41 degrees we were able to get the inside temp up in the 70’s-80’s and that was with the propane heater on low. This should make a huge difference on those sub-zero days in the middle of winter.
For those who were there Sunday let me just say that behavior like that is not condoned on a school night… You know what I mean.
So Happy Birthday and Cheers to our awesome ManHut!....

Sweet Setup Gents…

Picked up the chairs and table yesterday. Guy who sold them to me up in Connecticut was a pretty good guy too; he even threw in an extra chair. Big Lou and The Weave helped bring it all up to the hut. A definite sweet addition for the comfort of the hutsters. The setup seems perfect; right size, right heights, and good comfort… Unlike the old shortened table and slinky crappy chairs. Plus with the Grizz’s garage sale folding poker tabletop will make the next poker outing really great…

Cheers For The Chairs!…

Yeah Baby!... No more uncomfortable evenings in Soccer Mom chairs up at the Hut! Last night I was the winning Ebay bidder (and only bidder) for the six maple chairs and table you see pictured. Only $50 Bucks!
Cheers!...

Hut Chores Was A Fun Day…

Saturday was a big day for making a few home improvements at the Manhut. The guys got the insulation up and most of the plastic in place. Grizz added some weather stripping and a drip edge thingy to the windows. Should be a major improvement to the warmth factor for those late night poker games. I’m having some additional thoughts on how to stop the heat exiting through the ceiling while still keeping it open looking… I’m thinking some rigid foam fit between the rafters, at least through the winter months. Saturday was a long day with a couple of grilling sessions (dogs & burgers), PW’s dogs with her awesome toasted potato bread was a big hit. Fun day for all.
Later….

Labor Day Excursion…

It’s been a while since the Quadsters all made it to the top of the mountain but this past Labor Day we decided to take ourselves a ride. We figured it was the perfect time for an outing since any “Camper” activity would be over and we could have the woods all to ourselves. The accompanying photo is a shot of Max’s Pond, last time we saw this it was solid ice… Everything up top looked different with all the leaves and greenery.

This coming weekend the Boyz are planning to do some chores up at the Manhut to get ready for winter. Finally going to get around to insulating the floor and calking the walls. If time allows perhaps we’ll get to a few other activities. Stay tuned….

FLASHBACK: Redneck Lawn Care…

Finally getting around to posting the only known photos of the infamous “Redneck Lawn Care” afternoon. Here’s the story; for months I was complaining about the laborious task of raking out and replanting my shady moss covered lawn. For those same months I resisted Big Lou’s insane urging for us (the Quad Squad), to rip it up 1-2-3 with our ATV’s.
So one bright Saturday afternoon I stroll out to the lawn with my shiny new tools and I see Lou who calls me over like he needs a hand with something. Instead he tells met that he and The Weave are hanging poolside and downing some brewskies. My face dropped, I knew I was in trouble. As I reluctantly catch up with them beer for beer the thought of all that work plus the urging of my pals plus the brews took hold. I would not do the work, I would not rake my lawn, I would do something insane. I finally agree.
Like a bullet my two buds shoot up from their chairs and within minutes the three quads are ripping through the turf. The sound was deafening like a NASCAR race. Neighbors began to gather. The quads moved like an insane mechanical ballet hitting each patch of ground and at times almost hitting each other.

In the end Big Lou was right, the yard was churned up better than a whole day of raking and the lawn is now coming in fine. What you see here in the video are the only images from this interesting day (courtesy Grizz and his honey who enjoyed the event from the comfort of their lawn chairs from their driveway).
Enjoy…

How To Spit Roast a Suckling Pig…

Everyone loved how our suckling pig came out on the spit, so, I figured I would post here how we prepared and cooked it.
1. Get a suckling pig: 20-30lbs, gutted and cleaned.
2. Brine the pig: Get a big plastic container w/lid to hold your 20-30 pound pig. Into it add 3 gal water plus 1 gal water heated to blend 4 cups sea salt & 2 cups brown sugar. Put liquid in bin. Add to liquid; 2 qt vegetable stock, 3 heads garlic (halved), 1 head celery (rough chopped), 5 sprigs each of parsley, sage and rosemary. Add 1-2 bags of ice. Place pig in bin with liquid. Place an unopened bag of ice on top of pig to hold it down and keep liquid chilled. Add additional full bags of ice as needed to keep temperature around 40 degrees farenheight. I added bags every 4-6 hours. We brined ours for only 12 hrs, I think 24 would have been even better.
3. Prep the pig: Remove from brine and rinse. Make sure any remaining guts are removed. Rub the outside and inside with good olive oil. Rub on a small jar of minced garlic. Rub on one 3 oz of McCormick’s Grill Mates Pork Rub (this rub is made up of Chili pepper and herbs including red pepper, brown sugar, garlic salt, onion, apple cider vinegar). In belly, insert 3 heads of garlic (halved), 5 sprigs each of parsley, sage and rosemary before stitching it up. With a knife add cuts to skin to prevent it from popping when cooking.
4. Attach to spit: This is the best site to see how to truss and attach your pig:
http://www.spitjack.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=SJ&Screen=TRUSS
5. Cooking and Basting: Cooking will take 3 to 5 hours depending on strength of heat source and distance of pig from the source. So you’ll want to baste often to keep moist. Here’s my basting solution; in a pot on low heat and blend together 4 sticks butter, 2 cups olive oil, 2 cups vegetable oil, 2 tbl spns garlic powder, 1 oz of the McCormick’s pork rub, 1 oz Essence of Emeril, 1 tbl spn each of salt and pepper. Use a brush and dab onto pig 10-15 minutes. Remove pig from heat when inside temp reaches around 165 degrees farenheight. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Hope we do this again soon,
Cheers!...