March 2005 Archives

Hey lookie this, an XL sausage that goes by the name of Cotechino. And from what Toponia says, it makes a great sammich. That sounds REALLY good to me right now. Mebe I'll stop off by Acme bakery on Friday and pick me up some hamburger buns, I'll be lettin' ya know how that goes. You bet. Their special this week? “Porchetta” style pork loin roasts with rosemary, lemon and garlic. Don't pass these up, they won't be around forever. Taylor will be on to something different soon and you'll have missed out. I find them best smoked or grilled, tenderly.
For the last few weeks I've been a crepinette hound. It's a tremendous package of meat, herbies, spices all mixed with greens and/or fancy nuts with possible onions or olives. Wrap it up in caul fat and you're good to go. The other night we did Lamb Crepinettes on toasted bread with some crazy good mustard. Darned fine lamb, not all gammy. This week they've got duck crepinettes, I most certainly will be getting a few of those. I also see the wieners listed! YAY for wieners !!! Hey, I see Rabbit Rillettes (actually saw them listed last week as well). If there are Rillettes, whar's the Rabbit Pate FOO !! I'm so ready.
Go read the list yourself and see you at the market on Saturday.

UPDATE (later on the same day): Welp, our plucky hero has found himself doing a little net related research on the Cotechino Sausage and it's Lentil situation. Here's a little blurb, "This hearty and satisfying dish is traditionally eaten on New Year's to bring abundance and fortune." Interesting beast this Cotechino Sausage. I haven't decided yet whether I will get one or not, we'll see. I can be pretty wishy washy at times. I'll go out for something specific and come home with new boots. Ya just never know.

Xo Xo

YEAH !!! I was perusing the net and found someone mentioned the release of Julia's 1960s cooking show, The French Chef , on DVD. Not only is this release surely going to be interesting to watch from a cook's persective, but it's something cool to watch. All the old knives, bowls & platters. Cooking shows are many these days, most of which aren't worth a plug nickel. This along with Graham Kerr's Galloping Gourmet were awesome! These shows were worth the week long wait for each episode. Oh man, I'm salivating. That's the good news. The bad news is it ain't out yet and isn't due until April 26th. Even so, go to Amazon and pre-order your copy now. Oh man, I can hardly wait!

Xo Xo

This baked chicken was too easy. And this is why I did it, it was easy. Was it good? Does it look good? Der, it was superb. Moist, moist with a crisp chickenny skin and loads of yummy salt. Yes, it was good. Chef Thomas Keller strikes again.
Rarely do I roast a chicken I don't like, I was not looking for the perfect roast chicken. I tried it because it was so simple, I was able to remember it and it'd take 20 minutes off my cook time. Saving time is a good thing, especially when it looks like this. Interested?

This week marked the ending of Is My Blog Burning #13, cupcakes & muffins. Surely you sawr the entry for Curried Chicken muffins on Wednesday? They were terribly good, but left a lot of room for improvement. Even I was able to come up with some decent changes. Before I could make my move, Mama jumped in and whipped up a batch while I was at work yesterday (Thursday). Since I had the image I asked her to write up what she did and why. She did, and how. It's a longin' and a goodin'.
I enjoyed the changes, the muffin was more homogenous than my attempt. Plus it had a far nicer curry flavor to it. I have to say though, I did miss the chunks of onion. The first batch had far too many, but still it would be nice to have some caramelized yummies. Oh, and she was able to dry it up a bit. Less oil and less onion, you bet.
Go see what Mama was up to on Thursday, ith gooood.

This week's Fatted Calf newsletter rolled in last night. I usually check out the Specials, just to see. They've got Hoffman Farm Quail stuffed with Black Trumpet Mushrooms and Pork Sausage, YEAH. Stuffed insanity. And the Little cold smoked single muscle hams, mines was juicy happy. But what really struck me was the appearance of Lamb Crepinettes with Red Wine and Nicoise Olives. There's nothing there I don't LOVE. The last part, Nicoise Olives, made my toes tingle. Such a treat to have the Crepinettes come in Lamb flavor this week, thank you Team Fatted Calf.
They're also sportin' some Wild Mushroom Sausage, I'm getting me a few. And what's this Cotechino? I dunno, I'll bite though. You bet. I'm also quite happy to see Pate de Campagne listed, "one loaf please!"
Ooooooo, look. Pancetta. Pancetta. It's even nice to say. I haven't had any in a while, I believe it's time.
This coming Saturday looks like a really great time to get out and go get yourself some treats. Between the Specials, the Lamb Crepinettes and the Pate, it's a great time indeed.

/////////// News FLASH !!! \\\\\\\\\\\

Your Newsletter has been interrupted for:

UPDATE 3/35/2005:

I sent out a, what I thought to be, a coherent non-threatening letter to the administration for the local farmer's markets. I received a pretty quick reply, from Linda Graham stating that the Fatted Calf's stall (at the Berkeley Tuesday markets) was a temporary one. They were only keeping the space warm until the original owners came back to roost. I thought to myself, okay I can deal with that. And I'm sure the market's spaces are finite. She went on to say that they would make every effort to keep Fatted Calf around. I'm not sure what "every effort" means. Cause brother, or sister, if I made every effort to keep Fatted Calf around, they'd be staying. For crissakes man, MAKE A LITTLE ROOM !!! I can't speak for everyone, but I remember growing up eating dinner at home or at my grandparents homes, there was ALWAYS room for another place at the table. The more the merrier, everyone eats a bit less. But the time was a jolly one. Let the jolly times roll this coming year and make room for Fatted Calf. They're small, and they carry a large meatstick.

Here is the original call to arms:

Meat Public Service Announcement: There is a chance that The Fatted Calf stall at the Tuesday Market might not be allowed to stay much longer, due to the proliferation of spring and summer fruit stalls. If this vexes you, (as it does us) please contact the Market Management to express yourself. bfm@ecologycenter.org.
Or phone: 510-548-3333

CALL OR EMAIL RIGHT NOW !!! Don't let them take away our meat !!! No matter how good stone fruit is!

Alright, I did it. After all this time I finally get to participate in a group blog cooking funtime. I did one, once, a long long time ago. It seems as though I'm always just missing them. Or just too darned busy, usually the latter.
This month, Is My Blog Burning #13 - My Little Cupcake (or muffin) hosted by I was just really very hungry.
I wanted to do something savory and asked my wife to search around for something neat lookin'. She found a handful of goodies and I had planned on doing two different kinds. Yeah well, I got to one of them. And this one would be Curried Chicken Muffins, from Alma in Australia. And they were goooood.

A month ago I was perusing a 1965 Family Circle magazine and ran across a full page ad for Campbells Soup, some recipes too. One recipe was some kind of a meat loaf cooked in a bundt cake pan, covered in Cheddar Cheese Soup & bacon. They called it Crowning Glory. It scared me. The next recipe was a mini meat loaf & traditional American spaghetti with a red sauce. Looks like a gut glump to me. However, the featured recipe was a meat loaf slathered with creamy mashed potatoes and a gravy (yes, made from Campbells soup) over all. This I could do, after all, Comfort Food is what I'm all about. So when Moira from Who Wants Seconds? offered up a contest for a making of some "Comfort Food", I knew what I had to do. I was on a mission.

... Shuna! Happy Birthday Shuna. May this year be filled with duck confit & sausage & juicy citrus. All the best,

Biggles

My mood just changed. Right now, just now. It's early in the morning and I'm at work. A light warm rain started a while ago, we were expecting it. How sweet.
But now it's downright pouring. Like this, WHUMP. Now all the piggies in my head that were dancing are wearing galoshes, rain hats and little yellow slickers. Poor piggies in the rain.
This means the Farmer's Markets are going to need your help the next few days. Put on your slickers and go get some nice asparagus and for sure go visit Taylor at the Fatted Calf stall in Berkeley on Saturday morning.
This week Fatted Calf is sportin' two fancy meat roasts. First the little badass Cold Smoked Single Muscle Hams. I did one last week, just finished up the cold leftovers last night. Juicy, tender and not loaded down with salt. These hams are subtle, not some over powering spiral sugar cracked nothin'. This is real meat. Next they've got the Porchetta style pork loin roast, a bone-in pork loin with lemon, fennel and herbs. I can't speak for everyone, but if it doesn't have the bone in, it ain't got love. OH YEAH, something I saw last week. They have wieners again !!! Get some. While going down their newsletter I can see they have the Pepperoni this week. Remember, this isn't that wierd cupped stuff you get on some lame pizza, no sir. This is an entire stick of juicy, rich pepperoni, the stuff they can only dream about. Well, this week it can be yours. Oh dear, look they got Ham Hocks too! Time for a pot of beans, oh yeah. Looks as though Taylor is sportin' a full load this time. You go on Saturday and make yourself grin.

Now go read their newsletter ...

Cream butter, then add sugar. Not all at once, ya bone.

Pimpin' baking skills at local fancy kitchen supply stores is nice and all. The visiting chef has access to multiple mixers, stoves & ovens. There are assistants to set up, take down and wash dishes. But dangit, The House walks away with the bulk of the cash and the classes can get too large. This produces an impersonal class and the pupils wander away with less than a positive experience.
Yeah well, Pastry Chef Shuna Lydon thought she could do better and has headed out in a positive direction. A direction where her pupils aren't left with unanswered questions and her pockets have a tad more of a jingle when the day is done.
Today's Story: Meathenge Labs attends #2 in a series of baking/cooking/skill classes taught by Chef Shuna. Or how Biggles dares The Big City a second time and learns to walk fast past the watchful eyes of shaggy junkies in the Mission District. Near the Bart Station (subway) that is.

Last week The Bay Area was experiencing a "Heat Wave". This was nice considering all the damned rain we've slogged through over the last few months. We're talking direct Spring weather. Bright intense sunshine with crisp air hovering around 75 degrees. Brilliant green grasses, blossoming fruit trees & wild flowers filled the air. SNEEEZE CHOOOO.

GRILB TIMEB !!!

Searing hot Lasagna, it was as good as it looks. That, right there is comfort food.

A gift that keeps on giving, a 350 pound piggy delivers another weekend of luscious gifts. Taylor, Toponia & the fine staff at Fatted Calf have decided to offer us Hoffman Farm quail stuffed with savory pork sausage & Riverdog Farm greens. These brined quail have been deboned and stuffed with fresh savory sausage. I've had the sausage in link form and it's delightful, rich & bright. These little guys are a meal worth smoking, roasting or grilling. If you're going to grill the little darlings, make darned sure you oil your grill so they don't stick. They're delicate creatures and take care when on the grill. Figger one quail per person.
Hee hee, I haven't seen the small cold smoked hams in a while. These little bundles are fresh and succulent. They aren't cooked, they raw. Keep this in mind when timing yer meal, foo. Since they're already smoky, you don't necessarily need to smoke or grill them. But I do, you bet. These are a nice small size, perfect for a Sunday's supper. Get yourself to Berkeley's Farmers Market this Saturday, starts at 10am and should not be missed. I hope to see you there!

How did it happen? I dunno. Maybe a month ago I received an email late in the afternoon from Amanda. She was wondering if I was hip to being interviewed for an article she was interested in doing for the Food section. She offered her phone number and I called her directly. I thought it was cool because she wanted to talk in person, not via email or a phone interview. We set a date for 10am at the Berkeley Farmer's Market. Seemed fitting eh?

Is everyone tired of winter yet? Tired of the snow, maybe? Tired of the rains? Oh you bet. Those long, day after day rain storms? Yes already.
For whatever reason, they broke this last weekend and we all saw 65 degree + weather, perfect for a morning out. Guess what I found?

Pork Crepinettes with Roasted Shallots, Parsley and Walnuts. Pan seared, rested and devoured. Click on piccie.

We had a Cub Scout den meeting and had to move fast for dinner. We had no idea it was going to be so special. The crepinette was so tender, so luscious with an interlude of juicy splendor. We could have done it 4 times, but 2 would have to do. I'm surprised I was able to knock this photograph out at all, let alone have it come out this good. There's a synergy here between the meat and the photography. They are both this good.

The setup: D70 with 60mm f2.8 micro Nikkor set to f6.3 / 80th a sec. Camera & Metz 45 CL-4 mounted on tripod. 250 watt UV balanced incandescent flood over top. Main flash head pointed to white ceiling, secondary flash pointed to product. Touch of contrast & level work in Photoshop, not much. Good feelings had by all.

Xo Xo

The dry spell is over! (It's been a few weeks) Fatted Calf has pork roasts available. As the title states, they're butterflied pork roasts with s&p, garlic, lemon, fennel and rosemary. I'm going to get at least 1 or 3. Looks as though the crepinettes this week are Guinea Hen Crepinettes with Braised Cippolini and Prunes. Those are an absolute delight, I can hardly wait. I see there's something called Pate Maison, what's that got in it?

Here's what Taylor had to say, "... pretty similar to the campagne except a finer grind and it has a duck confit garnish (no liver in this one)". Thanks for clearing up the situation Taylor & Kim. Even with my mistakes it's going to be an outrageous Saturday. You miss this one and you'll miss it all.

You going this Saturday? I am, see you there!

Today hasn't always looked tasted this good. Earlier today Big D got some bad news about the funky transmission in his '95 4Runner. It was fried and as it turns out, the transfer case is built in to the transmission. This means it has to be rebuilt/replaced as well. All told it'll take about 25 hours in the shop and will cost upwards of 6 grand. Big D quickly turned to Sad and Depressed D. But wait, it gets worse. I decided to cheer the guy up by coming by and taking him to lunch. Sounds easy enough, right? Nope. Travinos was closed, who knows why. Not only was the news about the tranny depressing, but our lunch plans were flying right out the window. We decided to head down San Pablo Avenue to see if anything piqued our interest, Mc Donalds? No. Church's Chicken? No sir. Our next place would have been Wienerschnitzel, I detoured and headed to the Barrio. Enough was enough, we needed something rich & satisfying. We found it! Portumex Family Restaurant on 23rd Avenue in Richmond. YEAH !!!