It took me almost a month and calls to half the butchers in New York before I could get my hands on a pair of pig jowls. Here’s the problem: they want you to order the whole head. And while I had a wonderful time watching pot-roasted pig heads go ferrying by my table at the Spotted Pig , when it was under the tutelage of British chef Fergus Henderson , the thought of lugging a 40...
Check out my recent post over at Serious Eats , a rundown of what's appearing now in New York farmers' markets. I visited both my local market in Fort Greene , Brooklyn, as well as the largest, most popular market in New York in Union Square (above).
In addition to the ubiquitous ramps , I also spotted asparagus, nettles, rhubarb, young garlic, spinach , and other hardy...
This weekend for brunch we made some huevos rancheros from start to finish.
The day before, we cooked a pound of the inimitable Rancho Gordo midnight black bean according to the instructions given by Rick Bayless : in a dutch oven, cook them with about 8 cups of water, two tablespoons of lard (or bacon drippings, or vegetable oil) and a chopped onion--bring to a boil, th...
And what better place to find proof than Harold McGee? His On Food and Cooking had a whole section on long cooked eggs. He calls them “an intriguing alternative” which can be cooked for anywhere between “6 to 18 hours.” Still no recipe, but I’m finally on to something. The most interesting aspect about the process is what happens to the flavor, which he says generates “flavo...
Polenta is only water, salt, and cornmeal, unless a cook chooses, in the style of risotto, to finish with a knob of butter or a hill of Parmesan cheese. It is one those dishes so simple, its execution can be lackluster or transcendent, depending on who makes it. What happens when these three things are combined is anyone's guess. The result can be like cornbread blended with water, a sou...
“American cheese (processed cheese)”
-Wylie Dufresne, describing the type of cheese he likes on his burger
I haven’t exactly made my peace with American cheese . I still don’t like it cubed, melted in grilled cheese, or laid across a deli sandwich. I’m not that into reliving my childhood and, really, actual cheese always tastes better. I thought that was the end of it...
A few months ago I was wandering the poultry aisle at my food coop looking at the bewildering number of options for a roasting chicken. As the words free-range and humane--proclaimed on every package--began to lose their meaning, I came across a pile of frozen, gangly-looking birds with their long necks still intact. The label, announcing this new product, read “Amish stewing hens.€..
In the midst of deep frying chicken last week I dreamt of Loretta Lynn . This happens only occasionally, and usually is musical in nature, but this time I had an image of her pan frying chicken in a large iron skillet. Sure enough, I found some rather hilarious commercials of her pawning Crisco on YouTube . How wonderful, I thought, that the amazing country singer never had...
Recently I was talking to a friend about food magazines, who figured I would know of some good ones. I offered the obvious choices— Gourmet, Saveur, Bon Appetit —but she quickly stopped me. “I’ve read those,” she said. “They don’t really do much for me.”
I asked her why, and the conversation ended up being about how bored this person was by the big, storied food magazines that we're a...
I am not sure where these urges come from, but last week I just had to have fried chicken. For no obvious reason, I dreamt of perfectly crunchy batter and moist meat. This was all quite odd. I’ve got enough roast chickens stuck in my head around to keep me occupied for months. But fried chicken? I can't even remember the last piece of fried chicken I'd ever had.
Instead of heading over...
Blake and Nick live in Chicago and have written for The Paupered Chef and other publications since 2006.
