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 »
We were in San Antonio this past weekend, so I did not have much time to prepare a full-fledged barbecue spread. San Antonio was a fun close getaway with the family and as usual we had a great meal at Dough Pizzeria Napolitana (might be one of the best of it’s kind in the country) and
Labor Day Bocks and Brats Read More »
Most probably assume that Modernist Cuisine only makes food that looks like foam or spheres or something extra fancy. Well, sure it has all those things, but that is not the point. It’s just modern food, using all the information that was learned over the past few decades. The point is not to make “weird food” but to
Modernist Cuisine Barbecue Read More »
This Alinea dish combines some classic combinations in a more or less classic presentation. It’s basically a pork with polenta dish with a few twists…and grapefruit. Why not though? The grapefruit is tart, sweet and a little bitter. That makes for a great counterpoint to the pork, rich cornbread pudding and the honey that is
Alinea: PORK, Grapefruit, Sage, Honey Read More »
Making terrines is such a satisfying process. I love every aspect of it. I start by selecting the meat, in this case it’s the meat from two pheasants that a friend shot in Kansas. Next is figuring out what kind of terrine this is going to be. It could be very coarsely ground (or hand chopped), homogenous, smooth
At least twice a year I get together with a few friends and we make a bunch of sausage. We make 3 or 4 varieties usually. This time we made the largest batch yet, about 62 lbs of them. It was a two-day fest of grinding, stuffing and feasting. We made four varieties this time
Over 60 lbs of Sausage Read More »
It’s great to have what amounts to about three small wild hogs worth of meat in my freezer at this point. That includes several shoulders, a few hind legs (hams), 3 or 4 loins and some odds and ends. I am planning to use the meat in many recipes that call for good old pork.
Wild Boar Loin with Onions and Raisins Read More »
It is very exciting to find such fantastic pork being raised so close to Houston and available (with some planning) for the average home cook in town. Revival Meats is one of two local meat producers that I’ve had the pleasure of procuring some pork from. The other is Harrison Hogs. Revival however seems to
Revival Meats Pork: The Belly Read More »
I, along with a couple of friends, recently visited a good buddy of ours in Seattle. Well, we went to “Lebowski Fest” actually. That was fun, but the trip was really an excuse to share beers with friends, see the sights of the absolutely wonderful city of Seattle (the weather was just perfect BTW), and eat some good food of course.
Perciatelli all’Amatriciana – Seattle Style Read More »
Making something delicious out of “scraps” is one of the pleasures of cooking. It’s simple to make a piece of steak or a chop appetizing, but transforming an admittedly ugly-looking piece of pig – a tail in this case- into a dish worthy of a classy fine dining restaurant needs technique and some creativity. So, when a friend
Under Pressure: Fried Pig Tail, Deviled Quail Egg, Beans and Sauce Ravigote Read More »