Hey Mark, what were your PRs in competition?

[Thyge Riisgaard]

Actually I don't. I should start eating pickled herring more often.

It's only good with rugbrød (rye bread) made with sour doug. Can you get that?

And snaps.

Odly enough you can't get Copenhagen in Copenhagen.

[Mark Rippetoe]

I eat sild by itself, bread makes me fat these days. I suppose it's best I can't get the good stuff here. Snaps?

[hbriem]

In English, snaps is usually spelled schnapps, derived from the German spelling Schnaps. Pure alcohol flavoured with various herbs and spices.

Aalborg akvavit is the most famous one. Icelandic brennivín is far behind.

[Jamie J. Skibicki]

I assumed there wouldn't be many mosquitos where you are being dry and all.

[tnumrych]

Not sure if sild is the same thing but I grew up on pickled herring of all kinds. It was a staple dish on the table for every holiday and I developed a penchant for eating it whenever I can get my hands on it. Pickled, in cream, in a wine sauce with raisins (basically the stuff found here), whatever my mom conjured up was devoured. All my non-Polish friends cringe when I talk about it and few have ever tried it. They don't know what they're missing.

[Mark Rippetoe]

I have two bottles of schnapps. I also have 9 kinds of bourbon/rye.

[hbriem]

Síld is herring (in Nordic languages). It is usually served pickled in vinegar, which softens and almost dissolves the very fine bones.

There are many different varieties and recipes but the classic is simple vinegar with onion, peppercorns, bayleaf. Usually served with dark rye bread, hard boiled eggs and potato salad. Yum.

[Rob Waskis]

I thought you were a Scotch drinker.

I like the Balvenie, especially their limited edition whiskeys.

[lc9er]

The pickled fish sounds horrifying. I do however, have 4 bourbon/ryes, an Irish, and a scotch whisk(e)y at the moment.

Question: Is it ever acceptable to pollute your bourbon with ice?

[halbritt]

My favorite bourbon lately is Eagle Rare. $30 750ml 10yo bourbon is pretty good.

The pickled herring from Ikea is surprisingly good if you have one of those nearby. They have a small Swedish deli. It's just re-branded from another company who's name I forget. It definitely compares favorably to the pickled herring made in the Norwegian deli here.

Presently, I'm negotiating on a side of grass-fed beef raised somewhere in Northern California, probably massaged by hippies and coddled for most of its life. I imagine it'll cost a bit more than I used to pay for beef when I lived in West Texas. I once got a pile of T-bones from a meat market in Big Lake for $3/lb.