28 Thursday Feb 2013
Posted in Cured Meats, Dried Meats, Making Charcuterie, Pork, Smoked Meats
In an era when people are working endless hours trying to reduce the actual work time needed to make food and publishing books that brag about being able to complete every recipe in a time period shorter than a commercial free episode of Dora the Explorer, this project took well over a year. As a parent, I understand the draw of found time, but if this isn’t your first time reading these posts, you know my tendency to go the long way. Continue reading »
26 Tuesday Feb 2013
Posted in Cured Meats, Dried Meats, Goat, Making Charcuterie, Pork, Sausages, Smoked Meats
Given that we’d be out of the house a lot over the next few weeks, I thought it might make sense to make some shelf stable snacks to bring along with us. An exercise in utility turned into a little of an odd and ends charcuterie project coming from multiple points of inspiration.
First, I had no fat back, but I had slabs of cured lardo. Last year, while in Charleston, I had some salumi studded with cured lardo at Cypress. Figuring the goal here was to keep a shelf stable product, why not start with lardo that was already there? Continue reading »
21 Thursday Feb 2013
Posted in Barbeque, Beef, Condiments and Pickles, Making Charcuterie, Smoked Meats
In November, I was sitting in a waiting room killing time when I picked up Time Out Chicago. I typically would rather read the ingredients in commercial ice cream (yes, Polysorbate 80 is the most delicious polysorbate) than Time Out, but when I opened to an article written by someone I have admired from afar, Martha Bayne, I was compelled to read it. Continue reading »
15 Friday Feb 2013
Posted in Beef, Lamb, Making Charcuterie, Offal, Pâtés and Terrines, Pork, Rillettes and Other Potted Meats
Going out to dinner on Valentine’s Day is not how we do things. Going to the mattresses at home is one of those things that I get to do pretty infrequently – mostly for larger family gatherings and dinner parties. Making dinner, I do every night, but not like this. Every night is usually a little protein, colorful veg, and green leafy things, but Valentine’s Day is a fun day to go all out.
11 Monday Feb 2013
Posted in Cured Meats, Fish, Making Charcuterie
With the sheer volume of cookbooks released on a monthly basis, it is easy to forget about the great ones that are sitting in one’s collection. Yet on Saturday mornings when I am looking for a few dishes to make in the coming week, most of the time I grab a few new books, but with them, I almost always grab the same book -”The Zuni Cafe Cookbook” by Judy Rodgers. Zuni seems to have an endless trove of delicious dishes that feel new despite being published over a decade ago. It is like the pages refresh upon each open. The recipe that stood out on a recent trip through Zuni was salt cod. Continue reading »
07 Thursday Feb 2013
Posted in Chicken
After tasting the sunflower seed risotto made by Alex Talbot of Ideas in Food this summer here in Chicago, I said to my lovely wife, “I am going to go home and order a pressure cooker immediately.” In the heat of the moment, it sounded like a great idea, but like some of those, it was lost by the wayside. A pressure cooker did, if fact, make it onto my wish list and I received one over the holidays. Continue reading »
03 Sunday Feb 2013
With the Super Bowl later today, I set out on yesterday’s long run in the snow with the goal of arriving home with a few ideas of dishes to make which would be creative, use what we had on hand, and fit the football party atmosphere. It was really helpful to set out with something specific to think about because once I walked outside, I knew that the run would be difficult. We had about 4-6 inches of fresh snow and, since I head out at 5 AM, not a single flake of it had been shoveled. Throughout the thirteen miles, I thought of all of the terrible emails sent notifying me of a chicken wing shortage or how spinach-artichoke dip can be made at home (and with only 3 cans). The one flavor I kept going back to was buffalo sauce. I love the sharp blast of vinegar-y heat and the way the butter keeps the that heat and acidity on your tongue for far longer than a salsa or hot sauce. Continue reading »
