March 2006 Archives

I was sitting there, in my recliner, minding my own business, when a little package arrived with my name on it. I didn't remember ordering anything, but it had my name on it. So, I opened it. Made sense, since it did have my name on it. I turned it over a few times, looking for the word Nikon or All-clad on it, somewhere, anywhere.
Nope, it was a book. "Oh great." I thought, "a book." Hmmm, says Itty Bitty Kitchen Handbook. Well, our kitchen is pretty darned small, let's see what Mr. Justin Spring has to say.

As I sit down to write, Chilebrown is on his way from California to Idaho stopping at every damn smokehouse in his way. He said he only took 2 coolers, I mentioned he may want to consider getting another 2, dang an junk. The results of this trip should be pretty insane.

This makes up the second and last entry for our 2nd Meat Adventure. If you missed the fist part, please visit the 1st part and get yourself aquainted.

By the time we arrived at Uncle Franks, literally around the corner from Dittmer's, we were ready for food and drink. Both CB and I were on a high from scoring so hugely at Dittmer's, we absolutely couldn't believe our luck. As we walked up to Uncle Frank's, it said, No One Under 21 Allowed. Cool! The front part of the building is nice Old Man's bar with 2 pool tables, ahhh time to relax. CB ordered a draft and I the same with a shot of bourbon. The bartender wanted to know what kind? It's been over 3 years since I've been in a bar (I do my drinkin' at the smoker at home) and I couldn't remember what to say, so I just stood there looking blank. The kind of blank that said, "Uh, er, uh, you know? The brown liquidy bourbon that stings my lips and makes me say, NICK NICK and doesn't cost too much." I think it's called a Well Drink, whatever. CB and I sat at the bar for a moment, he watched basketball on the tv and I kinda stared blankly at everything. I realized in about 5 minutes that my drinks were gone and I was still hungry. Time to go sit down in a booth and place our order.

Ah yes, here comes the Porchetta and this time it's fancy Berkshire Pig from Newman Farm. I haven't had a lot of the Newman Farm product, but what I have had has been rich and tasty. A little redder than one might have guessed, so nice. Remember, cook this cutie no more than 138 degrees F, then pull and let stand for a bit. If you have a smoker or grill, this is most certainly the way it likes it the best. Or you can roast it in the oven with some veggies or just by itself. I usually roast it by itself, this way I get the pure roasting sensation. Not all mucked up with vegetables making a damned steam bath, ick. I like my skin & fat all caramelly.
If the Porchetta isn't enough, they've whipped up a badass crepinette for this week. Lamb Crepinettes with Cumin, Persian Mint and Orange, you can read that again if'n you'd like. I'm not convinced I've seen these before, that orange and mint sound too good to pass up. Crepinettes are so good for breakfast!
ooOOooo, look. Rabbit Pate with Chives. Oh man, the rabbit has such a nice mild sweet flavor and the chives melt right in making it a great dinner in itself. But of course we'd never indulge that far, would we? I would.
The menu looks really good this week and you'd be missing out if you didn't at least stop by for a gander.

If you'd like to pre-order your roast so it will be waiting for you, please visit their order page now. I use it on a frequent basis, it's nice to have the security of your meat with your name on it.

I look forward to seeing you at the market in Berkeley Saturday morning, rain or shine.

Please continue on to read the real Fatted Calf Newsletter written by them, not me.

A month ago Rworange and I were swapping emails, talking about hot dogs and other meat related news. I said while I really enjoyed a good dog, I really don't keep track of who made what dog for what restaurant and where these people might be. Using a fair amount of zeal, RW mentioned Dittmer's down in Mt. View. I put it on my list of todo's and thought it sounded like a good Meat Adventure.
I mentioned it to Chilebrown, we mulled it. Turns out Uncle Franks BBQ is right around the corner, so we set a date to visit both places.

Are you ready for a Meat Adventure that left a warm homey feeling that I feel even 3 days after? Can you handle it?

Ya know, after last week's market and dropping a healthy bankroll at Fatted Calf, I figured maybe this week go light. A petite sec and crepinette, that'll do me.
I may not make it. FC's stuffed lamb legs are one of my many guilty pleasures. Why? Because years ago I lost the taste for lamb. Just wasn't doing it for me, gack. Too much gam and too much gam fat, that's a no can do, sir.
Turns out I wasn't savvy and didn't get really fresh fancy lamb.
This week's stuffed lamb leg has Biggles stamped all over the damned thing. I can hardly wait.
If you feel the need to lay down some crepinettes? This week is the Pork Crepinettes with Orange, Pimenton, and Currants. Let me check, pork, orange, pimenton, currants. Nope, nothing I don't like there, all perfectly fine.
OoOOoO, I just got the tickle for something smooth and tasty. I haven't had their Mortadella in quite some time, maybe it's time to have another look.
Speaking of having another look. A few weeks ago I bought a little loaf of the Guinea Hen Pate. One of my favorites next to the duck & rabbit, heh. I remember over a year ago Taylor was perfecting the recipe and it was still in process. A while later he handed me a portion and smiled & said, "This time, I nailed it." I figured, "Well, consider it nailed and done."
Nope, here we are a year later and the darned recipe is still moving along. I don't know enough about the specifics of pate, but this was certainly not the stuff I'd had even 4 months ago. This right here is Meat Innovation and it's happening in your back yard. So, if you're smart you'll come back to your old favorites at Fatted Calf and see how things are going from time to time. I know I do.
Please read on to their newsletter and I'll be seeing you at the market this coming Saturday.

Biggles

ps - Remember, if you'd like to make sure you get what you need, please place your order.

Or at least that's the unconfirmed rumor I'm starting (keep reading, no really). I just received a comment in one of the posts I did about Tina Nordstrom. And if you've done any googlin' on Tina or Andreas in the last year and a half, Meathenge is either beat out scandcook.com or is at least #2. Not bad, eh? In any case, here's the comment:

We're glad you like the shows -- we do to! You'll be glad to know that Andreas will be back with a third season of "New Scandinavian Cooking with Andreas Viestad" in September 2006. Let your local PBS station know that you want more! Tina just had a baby, so a second season with Tina is a little further off. We'll let you know when it's confirmed. American Public Television distributors of "New Scandinavian Cooking"

As far as rumors go, this sounds as solid as any. Tina just had a baby and Andreas will do a season, then Tina comes back and does another one. YAY !!!

If you haven't heard of or seen New Scandinavian Cooking with either Tina or Andreas, you're missing out. Rarely do I enjoy a cooking show this much. It's a total package deal, from the passion, cinematography, production, editing and commercials. It's all outstanding.
Have you flipped through Andreas' Kitchen of Light cookbook? The photography is better than most fine art photography books let alone a dumb cookbook. How is this possible?
It was Andreas' first season that inspired me to even remotely consider visiting Norway. Not because I thought Norway sucked, but because the passion this man has for his country and cuisine is that inspiring.
So, while this is an unconfirmed rumor, scandcook still bears Andreas' likeness on their first page and it's too good to let it pass without saying something.
Meathenge Labs will most certainly be hosting a small party to view the season premier of New Scandinavian Cooking with Andreas Viastad.

Xo Xo

It wasn't too long ago Sandra of Khoolsville and I crossed paths in our comment sections. Days passed and I'd left a comment about one of her drawings, a cat I believe. It went something like this, "If I were to draw a cat, it'd be clutching its meaty prey." Or something along those lines. Time quickly flew by and I mentioned something about a Meat Fairy and Sandra said she'd love to draw this Meat Fairy . Neat!
Well, sooner showed up rather than later and above you see our Meat Fairy! Dang, she sports some good action on her pen, eh?
And here we have her cat clutching its meaty prey.

I'm glad she drew the cat and not me. I know what mines would have looked like and this most certainly would totally kick my cat's ASS.

Thank you Sandra for a nice finish for today.

Biggles

Chilebrown sent me an email in late February about a new meat market opening in Moraga. C.B. wanted to know if I'd like to attend a ribbon cutting ceremony and have a Meat Adventure. Gee, I dunno. I considered it for about .0001 of a second and said, "YES".

Heeyaw! OH man, check out this week's special. Heritage Pork Shoulder Pot Roast stuffed with chard & walnuts. There's nothing there I don't like. And since it's a nice shoulder portion, a long slow braise or roast is in order. I just love cooking meat for hours, love.
Remember, by eating heritage meats we're saving a breed of animal that could very well drop from the face of the earth. These animals were bred many moons ago and fell to the wayside for breeds that grew faster, bred easier and yielded more meat per beast. So, save the heritage breeds by eating them on a regular basis, I do. Meathenge cares.
While the pork crepinettes look divine, my eyes dropped right down to the Boudin Blanc with braised chestnuts. These will have to be tried and applied, I can hardly wait. I did up a portion of the Guinea Hen Terrine last week, but don't see it today. Awww, no sweet guinea. Maybe a Rillettes would be fine and this would want to be duck for sure.
All in all it looks like a fine week at Fatted Calf and if you want a roast, you must reserve it. Otherwise, they be gone by the time you arrive. Please reserve your roast or anything else you'd like HERE.
Take care and see you at the market!

Biggles

A month ago or so I picked up the boys from my uncle's place, it'd been Ralph's Day.
See, one day a week the boys get to spend the majority of the day with my uncle doing everything they're not supposed to. Candy, ice cream, sodas, pop corn, top ramen, canned soup and toys in huge quantities, all afternoon long, with no restriction.
While I was attempting to round up the boys (akin to bathing a wild salmon), Ralph mentioned that a close long-time friend of his Cheryl Koehler, is the editor of a new local publication, Edible East Bay.
I know, I know. I mentioned my complete and total lack for food magazines a few weeks ago, so why am I interested in this one? Edible East Bay isn't about New York, it isn't about Sidney, it isn't about Portugal, it's about my neighborhood. And as everyone knows, I'm all about me.

I hadn't planned on posting this meal from last night. It's a rehash of a few other posts I've done in the past, just search Meathenge for turkey breast. But goldangit! I just checked the snapshots to send to Kudzu, for show & tell and decided it needed to be SEEN !!! Awww, pretty meat.
Yes, yes, I know and have heard all the comments about how nasty and tasteless chicken & turkey are. I can still see Scott's face spewing and contorting when confronted with the mere thought of a chicken breast. More for me is all I have to say about that. Wanna see how you can make it worth eating? I maarrrinated it in Italian coarse saallllt.

Ha! Meathead gifted me this quite some time ago. More than a few months, but the product still looks good, I suppose. I don't have what it takes to open it and sample and I'm sorry. Have you opened and had a little treat?
Do you have one in your fridge? Let me know what it's like!

I can't believe I'm sitting here thinking that this is the first time I've had bacon as a main course for dinner. Sure we've all had bacon with dinner. Or bacon as dinner, at least some of us anyway. But this is the first time I've served bacon as the main course in dinner.
Last weekend I received an email from Chilebrown, he was starting up another load of his homemade bacon. Each batch varies a little, smoking temps, cuts of meat and cure times. I've been pleading for a bacon with more smoky flavors. And brother, or sister, he came through in flying colors.
I enjoyed this batch a lot. It had great pork flavor and was matched by an applewood smoke that left you smacking yer lips. Both Mama and agreed it was on the salty side, but it seemed to go over fine because everyone's plates were clean.
Saturday's supper was easy, fast and a topnotch way to end a nice afternoon.
Meathenge recommends you try having bacon as your main course for your next Saturday Supper.

Xo Xo

Yeah yeah, still running late these days and this week is no exception. Not much going on at the Lab this week, not much to report. I almost cooked something fancy last night, but chickened out. Oh wait, I did cook something GREAT this week. But I didn't post about it. I figured there wasn't anything stellar about what I did other than how great it tasted in the bowl with rice. It was a Cajunny dish for Fat Tuesday, not sure what to call it other than Pig Foot Soup.

My only regret was that I didn't do a roux, that would have put it over the edge. It had the garlic & onion browned of course. Then I tossed in a smoked pig's foot from Highland Hills Farm, a load of fresh Andouille from Fatted Calf and a leftover fried pork chop! Some jalapeno, can of maters, can of black eye peas, smattering of broffs and a toss of hearty red wine. At this point I added too much "Cajun Seasoning", this means it was too salty and spicy. But that was fine because once you added the rice? Perfection. It sat on the stove top for 3 hours, oh yes.
Reheated a few days later? Just as good.
Enough of that, on to the Fatted Calf's menu for Saturday morning.
Their special this week is the Bone in pork loin roast stuffed with brandied prunes and peppery sausage. While I haven't had this specific combination, I can tell you the quality of the pork loin roast is incredible. I attempted to find something in my archives, but it's too vast a search and couldn't find anything in a reasonable amount of time. Just take my word for it, the roast is beautiful with or without the stuffing. As you can see, it has peppery sausage in it. This could very well mean that if you show up a tad early you very well might get some of that in casings! It could happen you know.
Next up we have the crepinettes, they're pork with Mariquita's erbette chard, pine nuts and lemon. I believe these will be exceptionally good this week cause they gots citrus! Did you catch that Shuna? Citrus !!!
I'd like to point your attention to the Rabbit Boudin, these are skinny little dudes with sweet rabbit meatses. Be careful if you grill them, they tender.
OoOo OoOo, check out the Salumi isle! They've got the Spanish Style Chorizo listed! Listen up, this is a wonderful treat. Rich, and wildly tasty on the buds. Taylor has figured out a fat to meat to spice ratio that sends these flavors to all corners of your mouth in a rush. It's crazy, get one, you'll see.
And last but not least in any sense of the word is the Sugo di Carne (meat sauce). Just get some, don't care what you say. Kate and I were discussing how incredible the junk is. Warm and spread on toast, veggies or whatever. Add maters and you have a pasta sauce worth sharing with your mother. That means it's good, you knob.
No matter how you slice it, this week's lineup looks great. Do yourself a favor and head to Berkeley Saturday morning at maybe 10am, you'll be glad you did.

Xo Xo

ps - Make sure you have a front license plate when you park. I didn't and got a fix-it ticket, costs me 25 bux.