Much has been written in the blogsphere about the MC pastrami made from short rib or even better, beef cheek. Just Google it and you’ll get a lot of hits and pictures. The attention is rightfully deserved since their process produces one delicious tasting piece of cured and smoked beef. When done right, Pastrami is one […]
Modernist Cuisine: Pastrami and Bresaola Read More »
This delicious vegetarian dish comes from Yotam Ottolenghi’s book Plenty. The chef is much better known in the UK where he runs a chain of “deli” shops that serve a huge variety of creative dishes, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. He also has a weekly column in the Guardian newspaper. The website has a lot of his
Yogurt Flatbreads with Barley and Mushrooms Read More »
I will kick this off by saying that this is every bit as delicious and as satisfying as it looks. It’s a great comforting combination of a cured piece of pork belly, a perfect impeccably cooked portion of loin, tart cabbage cooked with onions and bacon, seared marinated mushrooms and a rich flavor-packed pork sauce
The Fat Duck: Pot-Roast Loin of Pork, Braised Belly, Gratin of Truffled Macaroni Read More »
Making pasta at home is nothing new. I’ve been doing fresh egg pasta, flat, stuffed, hand-rolled or on a chitarra for years. However, making “dry” fresh pasta was not something I’ve tackled. I did not want to invest in a pasta extruder and was not sure it will be worth it. Also, most books never bother with
Fresh Extruded Pasta: Rigatoni, Sausage and Ricotta Read More »
This dish belongs in the spring section of the Alinea book. With ramps and green garlic as two of its main components (ramps goes where that scallions is in the heading of the original recipe) it really can only be served on their Spring menu. Ramps are wild leeks that look like a cross between a leek and a green onion. Their
Alinea: Pork Cheek, Pumpernickel, Gruyere, Scallions Read More »
I cured my own ham to serve for Thanksgiving this year. This was one huge piece of pork from Yonder Way Farm. It was cured for a couple of weeks before being smoked, braised, glazed and baked. The ham made for a fantastic meal or more like ten meals including breakfasts and work lunch sandwiches. After
Split Pea Soup with Ham, Fresh Peas and Mint Read More »
A long titled post suitable to a properly labor-intensive and delicious cold-weather meal. Both the Toulouse-style Cassoulet and the Walnut Tart are based on Paula Wolfert’s recipes in her book “The Cooking of Southwest France“. The bread is the Pain de Campagne (country bread) recipe from Peter Reinhart’s “The Bread baker’s Apprentice“. Making a proper Cassoulet is a good bit
I’ve tried making mozzarella a couple of times before with no success..until now. This was fantastic. The recipe that worked for me was from the “Ideas in Food” book (I just did not use the Lipase enzyme). Now, this time I used raw non-homogenized milk from a farm. So, it still remains to be seen
Homemade Fresh Mozzarella Read More »
Fall is finally here -more or less I suppose- and changing the way I cook is natural. Even if I can find tomatoes and peppers well into November and December I still prefer to cook more “orange” and “brown” stuff. It makes me and Diana happy to pick up some winter squashes or sweet potatoes and start cooking
Alinea: BOAR, Shallot, Cider, Burning Oak Leaves Read More »
Cooking with woodchips and hay (yeah, hay) might seem way weird at first glance. My 8-year old was beyond shocked when I told him that I am buying hay at the pet store (all natural packaged and never used hay that is) to use in cooking at home. He kept asking and double checking that I am not messing
Noma: Pig Belly and Potato Skins, Cep Oil and Wood Chips Read More »