Why weber_cam?

Hi. I'm Dave of Dave's Beer and I live in Columbus, OH.

The story of the weber_cam is an old one. When I started davesbeer.com, I wanted to set up a web cam pointed to my Weber. I often cook on it low and slow. E.g., a 12-15 hour cooking of a Boston butt is not uncommon. I thought I could start one in the morning of a work day, keep an eye on it from work via the web, and have some good eatin' by dinner. I never rigged it up but liked the concept enough to name my food blog the weber_cam.

I love writing about my daily adventures in the kitchen. I used to do elaborate preparations with photographic detail. Now a parent, I cook to survive and get my daughter in on it as much as possible (she rolls out a mean focaccia; been doing so since she was 2). I cook fast now, I think I could survive as a sous chef in a NY kitchen.

I'm a scientist at heart and most every thing I cook is an experiment of some sort; subtle variations on staples, major changes, totally new dishes ... complete flops. Lessons from failure are often more valuable than success. I love baking breads more than anything. And, the baguette is something I'll never tire of making. And, of course, I love 'q on the Weber. Some day I'll break down for a Smokey Mountain.

A few years ago, I was in a commercial for Weber-Stephens. It was a blast. The commercial aired around the country. I barely escaped fame.

But, seriously ...
One big reason I started this food blog is from the question: "Do you have the recipe?" My breads are special to me. When I'm on my deathbed and someone asks me (family bonds notwithstanding) what I am most proud of, it'll probably be my daily bread, my baguette. It's not quite a recipe but a way of life. In order to give an adequate response to the recipe question, I felt I needed to provide a reference in case someone was really ready to tackle the "recipe." I used to write pilot plant directions to execute chemical reactions in 4,000 L reactors. I know how to describe a process. I receive too many communications on my baguette prep saying it didn't work (... "oh, and I didn't use the yeast you said, I didn't use the pan you mentioned, I didn't ..."). No dice. Every detail has a story. If there were a shortcut, I probably tried it. I get lots of mail about the baguette thing and not one has done every thing stated in the recipe.

I live for your participation via comments - good or bad, anonymous or not - leave a comment and make my day.

Thanks for visiting.