tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4579473919927464002024-03-12T16:30:26.695-07:00Theories of BaconA blog about bacon.culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.comBlogger163125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-65295201941004762742015-06-10T17:59:00.001-07:002015-06-10T17:59:23.959-07:00Sauteed Radishes with Bacon and Vinegar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My boyfriend recently made an incredible chicken dinner out of a recipe from Bon Appetit (May 2015) that was totally amazing. I wanted to recreate the radish portion as an apertif, and hit upon the idea of using bacon to get a little of the meaty flavor. It worked beautifully, and the result is a simple and delicious way to use a bunch (or two) of radishes.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p2Yr2B72TCw/VXjcyQM4cSI/AAAAAAAAMXI/diF8HeA4qb4/s640/blogger-image--999445176.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p2Yr2B72TCw/VXjcyQM4cSI/AAAAAAAAMXI/diF8HeA4qb4/s640/blogger-image--999445176.jpg" /></a></div>
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Ingredients:</div>
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1-2 bunches radishes</div>
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1-2 strips bacon</div>
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1-2 tbs red wine vinegar</div>
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Butter</div>
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Salt, pepper </div>
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Fry up a strip or two of bacon in a pan. Remove and set aside. While its cooking, wash the radishes, remove the tails, and separate them from their greens. Quarter or halve if they're large (I was using Shunkyo radishes from <a href="http://www.tomatomountain.com/">our CSA</a> so I cut them into chunks). Add the radishes, and a little butter, to the bacon pan. Sprinkle plenty of salt and pepper over them. Sautee until they begin to turn brown. Meanwhile, clean the radish greens and slice into quarters or so, width-wise. When the white of the radishes turns brown and slightly translucent, add the greens. Wilt them down, adding more pepper and salt. Finish with the vinegar, cooking until it's mostly evaporated. Tear the bacon into pieces and add that too. Yum!</div>
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culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-18932978073132556102014-05-13T13:59:00.001-07:002014-05-13T13:59:20.900-07:00Purslane Soup with Chorizo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm moving back to the US in June! Which might--might!--mean more frequent posts. It will definitely mean more frequent eating of pork, in any case.<br />
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I found <a href="http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com.tr/2011/09/portuguese-purslane-soup-unique-and.html">this recipe</a> when I was surfing the internet searching for more things to do with purslane. One of the perks of living in Turkey is that you can get all these absolutely incredible greens, many of which I have never seen before. I have grown particularly fond of this one (called semizotu in Turkish), and was happy to learn that it is actually possible to get it in the States. So I wanted to know what else I could do with it (besides my pot o' greens soup). I was really intrigued by this recipe -- mashed potatoes and rice in soup? -- but I figured who knows, it could be awesome, and indeed, it was.<br />
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I'm going to paste in the recipe in case the link stops working, with some edits for the changes I made (using Mexican chorizo instead of Spanish, dried mint instead of fresh, not blending the soup, etc). This was so, so delicious. Could also easily be a meal in and of itself. <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Purslane</span></span> Soup </b><br /><i><b>From <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Piri</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Piri</span></span> Starfish by Tessa <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Kiros</span></span></b></i><br />(<i>Makes about 1.75 litres / 61 fl oz / 7 cups</i>)<br /><br />2 Tbsp Olive Oil<br />1 large onion, finely chopped<br />1 carrot, peeled <br />2 small links (maybe 2.5inches each?) of Mexican chorizo</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped<br />3 Tbsp white wine<br />8 baby potatoes, peeled and halved<br />2-3 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">tsps</span></span> coarse salt</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">1 boullion cube<br />2/3 cup rice<br />A bunch of purslane<br />1/2 tsp ground cinnamon<br />1 tsp dried mint </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">juice of half a lemon<br /><br /><br />Heat the oil and butter in a large stockpot and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">sauté</span></span> the onion until softened and golden. Use the vegetable peeler to shred in the carrot (or grate it) and chorizo and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">sauté</span></span> for a while longer until it smells good, then add the garlic and cook until you can smell it.<br /><br />Add
the wine and cook until almost evaporated. Add the potato, salt and a
couple of twists of pepper, turning it through with a wooden spoon and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">sautéing</span></span> for a couple of minutes more. Add 1.5 litres (<i>52 fl oz / 6 cups</i>)
of hot water. Bring to the boil, lower the heat slightly, cover the pot
and cook at a high simmer for 20 minutes or so. Remove from the heat.<br /><br />With a slotted spoon (or a fork, so as not to get the chorizo!), scoop out the potatoes into a bowl. Mash the potatoes roughly in the bowl and leave on one side for now.<br /><br />Add
the rice to the pot and bring back to the boil, stirring with a wooden
spoon to make sure it doesn't stick. Add cinnamon, dried mint, and boullion cube. Cover the pot and simmer for 10
minutes. Add the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">purslane</span></span> and mashed potatoes, bring back to the boil, then simmer
uncovered for another 10 minutes or so until the rice is just cooked. Add lemon juice (it is absolutely crucial -- it cuts the fat of the chorizo and brightens the flavor).</span></div>
culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-34161157922466299502013-08-25T14:10:00.000-07:002013-08-25T14:10:06.780-07:00Spanish Pork with Apple-Citrus Salsa, plus a delicious salad<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm not even sure how I stumbled across <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/spanish-pork-apple-citrus-salsa-50400000115230/">this recipe</a>, but man, it was awesome. I'm copy-pasting it in case the link stops working someday, because it is that good, and because I made some modifications (minor ones).<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
<br />
The Pork<br />
1 1-pound pork tenderloin<br />
1 tbs olive oil<br />
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder<br />
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano<br />
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin<br />
1/8 teaspoon hungarian paprika<br />
1/2 tsp salt<br />
1/4 tsp pepper<br />
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<br />
Combine all the seasonings in a wee bowl. Rinse your pork (boyfriend always does this and now I do too) and pat it dry. Lovingly rub the olive oil all over it, then the spices, making sure its evenly coated with the mixture. Set on a plate.<br />
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Then, get to work on the apple salsa. Which just involves mixing all of the following together:<br />
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3-4 apples (preferably something tart, but one semi-tart is also fine. I had 2 green apples and one honey crisp), cored and diced (no need to peel)<br />
2 tbs apple juice (I got the Simply Apple - you don't want one that's super sugary)<br />
zest of one lime<br />
juice of 1/2 lime<br />
chopped cilantro (the original recipe called for 2 tbs, I probably did more like 4?)<br />
1/4 of a sweet white onion, finely diced<br />
1 jalapeno papper, finely diced<br />
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The longer it sits, the better it will taste, is the thing.<br />
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Turn the oven on to 350. Sear the pork on all sides in a cast iron pan. Stick a meat thermometer in it. Curse your meat thermometer for apparently having stubborn pre-set temperature ratings, such that you can't actually set it to 145. Settle for the lowest setting, 158. Put pork in the oven. Remove it after what seems like 3 minutes? Seriously? Because your meat thermometer says it has reached a temperature of 158. Let it sit for half an hour because you have timed your dinner prep terribly. Or, you know, time your dinner better, and have a better method of roasting a pork loin properly (though mine did come out perfect, albeit room temperature).<br />
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Slice, and top with the apple salsa. Seriously fantastic.<br />
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But wait! you say. What is that gorgeous looking pile of salad? </div>
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Funny you should ask. It happens to be the perfect accompaniment to this pork, and totally delicious in its own right. Kind of a pain the butt to make, and you end up with A LOT of it, so this might be a potluck/bbq/dinner party type thing, but I have to give you the recipe, because it's soooo awesome.</div>
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You need:</div>
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2 cups raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)</div>
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2 tbs tamari (probably regular soy sauce would be ok too, but we happened to have tamari anyhow)</div>
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1/4 olive oil (use the good stuff)</div>
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1 tbs grated lemon zest (it's gonna take a whole lemon)</div>
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1/4 cup lemon juice (also a whole lemon)</div>
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sea salt and freshly ground black pepper</div>
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4 oranges</div>
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1 one-and-a-half-pound head of red cabbage, cored and finely sliced</div>
2 small fennel bulbs, cored and thinly sliced<br />
1/4 cup hemp seeds<br />
~1 bunch cilantro (get a large bunch and use some for your apple salsa)<br />
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Here's where it gets to be a pain in the butt.<br />
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Preheat your oven to 350. Spread the pepitas across a foil-lined baking sheet (I needed two. I didn't line it with foil and man was it a pain to clean). Roast for about 6 minutes, then take out, toss with the tamari, and put back in the oven for 3 minutes. Remove, set aside.<br />
Whisk the lemon juice and zest with the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. No idea why the recipe felt it was necessary to do this in advance but sure.<br />
Now you need to dice all cabbage, which is a pain. And the fennel. And, the most annoying part to me, pick all the cilantro leaves off the stem. SO TEDIOUS. Anyways, put all that in a very large bowl with the hemp seeds and about 2/3 of the pumpkin seeds. Or all of em, but honestly, it's a lot, and they make for a nice snack so hey. Peel the oranges, or ask your boyfriend to do it for you because your pork loin has already been out of the oven for 20 minutes at this point, and it's almost 12:30am and you're both really hungry. Once he's peeled them, use a sharp knife to slice the spines off each wedge (you know what I mean?) and maybe cut the backs off and basically try to get little chunks of orange without all the connecting tissue. Hurry up, I'm hungry. Throw that in the bowl, pour the dressing over the top, and mix it all together. It's a lovely blend of colors and flavor, and also a delightful combination of textures. From the Food and Wine Cookbook of 2013 (or maybe 2012?)? Which we've been using a lot lately and enjoying.</div>
culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-6713555197248182802013-08-06T08:59:00.004-07:002013-08-06T09:00:59.399-07:00Ton Katsudon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Boyfriend, Harold, and I went to <a href="http://oiistar.com/">Oiistar</a> for dinner on Sunday night, and while much of the meal was not that exciting,* the buns were pretty great, particularly the tonkatsu bun.** I was trying to come up with something quick and tasty to make Boyfriend when he got home from work last night (he usually returns around 11pm) and remembered that tasty pork. A little googling later, I had a plan - a combination of <a href="http://norecipes.com/blog/katsudon-recipe/#sthash.njsa7aiX.dpbs">this</a> and <a href="http://justonecookbook.com/blog/recipes/chicken-katsu/">this</a> recipe, which culminated in a totally delicious dinner.<br />
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You need:<br />
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<i>for the tonkatsu</i>:<br />
pork (I bought two thinly cut pork cutlets, because that's what <a href="http://dillpickle.coop/">Dill Pickle</a> had, and I felt like buying local, humanely raised, hormone free, etc etc)<br />
panko bread crumbs<br />
vegetable oil<br />
salt and pepper<br />
worcestershire sauce<br />
1 egg<br />
<br />
<i>make it don</i>!<br />
rice<br />
1 small onion<br />
2 eggs<br />
1 green onion<br />
dashi broth (I made some - 1 wee piece of kombu and a handful of bonito)<br />
soy sauce<br />
mirin<br />
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If you're using dashi broth, get that started - put a wee piece of kombu into about 1 cup of water. Let it sit. After half an hour, put it on heat until almost boiling. Then remove from heat, add a handful of bonito flakes, let sit.<br />
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Now, make your pork. Beat an egg in a wide, shallow bowl. Shake some panko crumbs onto a plate. Add some salt and pepper to it. Trim the pork chops so that you're not getting sudden bites of nasty (ie gristle). Dip the pork chop into the egg, then roll thoroughly in panko. Carefully lay on a plate. Note that most recipes would tell you to dip in flour first, but the flour was hiding in the back of the pantry so I left that part out. And it turned out ok. Anyways, pour a whole bunch of oil into a pan - 1/2 inch or more. Crank the heat. When it's hot hot hot, grab some tongs (kitchen life is SO much easier with tongs. I never used them before, but they are great) and carefully slide the pork into the oil. When the bread crumbs turn a nice golden brown, flip it. When its browned all over (mine took about 4 minutes?), remove and drain on paper towels. Set aside. Clean your pan.<br />
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Make rice! Rinse 1 cup rice in a pot. Sprinkle salt over it. Add 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to as low as it'll go, cover, and cook until done - about 20 minutes.<br />
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Strain your dashi broth (I use a coffee filter). Put it in a bowl with a tablespoon of mirin and a tablespoon of soy sauce.<br />
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When your pork is cooled, slice into strips. Sprinkle worcestershire over it.<br />
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Chop the onion into thin-ish slices. Fry over medium-low heat until they start to soften. Meanwhile, finely chop your green onion. Pour the dashi combination over the sauteed onions and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, quickly beat two more eggs into that bowl. When most of the liquid is gone from the onions, pour the egg over it (you're supposed to put the pork on there too. I couldn't bring myself to do it - not my beautifully crisped pork! so the end result was that my pork was only room temperature, which is maybe not ideal, but it was not soggy and covered in egg, so hey). Shake it around the pan, and when its most set, flip it (you can break it into smaller chunks to do that; its fine). Sprinkle about half of your green onions over the top and kinda push em in, so they wilt a wee bit.<br />
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Now, you're ready to assemble. Pack some rice into a bowl. Put a layer of onion-egg over it. Top with a few strips of pork. Garnish with some more green onion. Serve with sriracha, for those who want to kick it up a notch.<br />
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Yum!<br />
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One of the best meals I've made in a long time. And really quite easy!<br />
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*Avoid the tuna carpaccio. It's just not very good. The chicken wings are excellent, and the ramen and green beans were both very pleasant. I'm not sure why I left with such a meh impression of the place, actually - most of what we ate was quite tasty. It's just that we paid more than I'd have liked, and it seemed like everything had an egg on it.<br />
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** Both the tempura shrimp and the duck breast were also awesome; the chicken was so-so; the pork shoulder was dry and flavorless. </div>
culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-9458928028482702642013-05-18T02:27:00.000-07:002013-05-18T02:27:19.393-07:00Bacon lentil side dish<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Like clockwork, as my return to Amereeka draws nigh, I begin burning through my pork reserves like an asteroid entering Earth's atmosphere. <a href="http://theoriesofbacon.blogspot.com/2012/11/peruvian-ish-lentils-with-chorizo.html">I've had some luck before uniting lentils and pork</a>, so I figured I'd give it another go. I poked around the internet and found <a href="http://a-girl-and-her-fork.blogspot.com/2012/02/french-lentils-with-bacon.html">this recipe</a>, and also <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/stewed-lentils-with-bacon-and-herbs-recipe/index.html">this one</a>, and sort of combined them.<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
3 glasses green lentils, bacon, onion, garlic, carrot, celery, fennel, chard, red wine vinegar<br />
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I put 3 glasses of lentil in a pot with the scraps (ie, the leafy bits) of a fennel bulb and a teeny bunch of celery* and added 1 liter or so of boiling water and two packets of Goya Sazon powder. In the future, I'd add some bullion as well, or at least some salt.<br />
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As those cooked, I fried half a pound of bacon in two different pans over medium low heat. When it was done, I placed it on paper towels, and poured the grease into one pan.<br />
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I finely diced the fennel, two onions, and chard stems and put them in the pan I'd poured the grease out of, adding a little bit of grease from the other pan. I let that cook over medium heat until softened but still firm. Meanwhile, I chopped the celery and (peeled) carrot quite fine and put them aside.<br />
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At this point, my lentil were done, so I drained them, discarded the scraps, and put them in a big bowl. I added the sautéed onion, fennel and chard stems. In the less greasy pan, I cooked the celery and carrot for a couple minutes, until slightly mellowed but still crunchy, and added them to the bowl.<br />
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I chopped the chard leaves into strips then chunks of strips and put them in the pan, drizzling plenty of red wine vinegar over them. I pressed in 4 cloves of garlic and cooked over low heat, stirring. When the garlic had lost its bite and the chard was wilted and well infused with garlic and vinegar flavor (2-3 minutes), I added it to the bowl. Then I crumbled the bacon in and stirred everything.<br />
<br />
I tried to make a dressing with mustard, bacon grease, salt, pepper and olive oil, but it wasn't very good so I trashed it. Instead, I added plenty of salt and pepper to the bowl and more red wine vinegar and served it. And it was pretty dang good, if I do say so myself. I think having the chard leaves be the primary dressing vehicle, as it were, kept the flavors of the other ingredients from being overpowered. The texture was nice, crispety and crunchety - important, I think, with lentils, which can very easily be sort of chalky. Overall, definitely a success!<br />
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*Turks don't seem to recognize celery stalks as food. You can buy celery root, but the stalks are hard to find, and usually scrawny, pathetic little things thinner than a drinking straw.</div>
culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-83265371651048536642013-05-18T02:02:00.001-07:002013-05-18T02:02:33.939-07:00Bacon sodaI've been meaning to post about this but I think my taste buds are struggling to suppress the memory. Awhile back I was contacted by a representative of the Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop, asking if I'd review their new bacon soda. Of course I said yes, with the usual provisos - no guarantee of a positive review, but you do retain veto power, so if you send me something awful, I won't post a bad review if you don't want me to. Apparently, the Rocket Fizz folks decided that even bad reviews could be good publicity, so here's the deal: this stuff is super gross.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/05/18/80.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/05/18/s_80.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I was dubious of bacon soda from the get-go, but this was far more repulsive than even I imagined. It has a weird grassy flavor, like a vaguely bacon-y dirt. What's worse though - and maybe it's just my imagination, generated by some chain of associations that happens in your brain when you consume a pork flavored beverage, but I could swear it had a slightly greasy texture. And to top it off, it was sickeningly sweet. Essentially, it was all the worst things about both bacon and soda, united into one foul product. Even the smell is rank. I'm vaguely glad I tried it, in the way you are pleased with yourself for doing something that few others would, but it's not even the kind of interesting gross that makes you want to have another sip a few minutes later. It's just disgusting.<br />culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-59296890152391697562013-03-24T02:06:00.001-07:002013-03-24T02:06:53.892-07:00Easy Chorizo HashSometimes the simplest things are best. Slice up some baby potatoes and put in a pot with cold salted water. Light a flame under it. Meanwhile, chop up a few onions and some peppers and peel some cloves of garlic.<br /><br />Squeeze a few links of Mexican chorizo onto a pan and cook over medium heat, breaking it up. When it's browned, add the chopped onions and peppers, and squeeze the garlic in through a press. Add olive oil if needed - but you shouldn't need much, because chorizo is oily stuff. Your potato water should be boiling by now. Let the potatoes boil a minute or two, until they're just barely or maybe even not quite cooked through. Drain. Your onions and peppers should be somewhat softened. Add the potatoes into the mix, stirring well so that everything is coated with chorizo grease. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, but carefully - you don't want to turn your potatoes into mush. Grab your favorite hot sauce and drizzle it generously over everything. I used <a target="_blank" href="http://coopsauce.com/shop/mole/">Co-op Mole Hot Sauce</a>, which I love. It added a nice earthiness and a note of bitter chocolate. But I think regular old Frank's would be pretty awesome too. Or whatever else you like. Anyhow, stir, then turn the heat to high and let everything crisp up some. As a finale, sprinkle some grated cheddar over the top. <br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/03/24/395.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/03/24/s_395.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Pretty awesome.<br />culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-87901268322435572112013-03-16T01:57:00.002-07:002013-03-16T01:57:51.083-07:00Chorizo and fish?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Whoulda thunk it. <br />
<br />
I have some Mexican chorizo that I smuggled in from the States, and was cruising the internet looking for some new ideas with what to do with it. I stumbled across <a href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10583/chorizo-new-potato-and-haddock-onepot">this recipe</a> and decided to give it a whirl, despite finding it kind of odd. As usual, some slight modifications:<br />
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*It doesn't really specify, but I'm pretty confident that the recipe was thinking of Spanish chorizo, not Mexican. Pretty different, but hey. Also, if i had Spanish chorizo right now I would just eat it plain, not cook with it. Oh man do I love Spanish chorizo.<br />
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*Not having dry sherry, I used white wine (which I think gave it a rather fruitier flavor, not entirely unpleasant but I definitely want to try the sherry version.<br />
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*Not knowing the Turkish word for haddock, or what any of the Turkish names for fish translate to, I ended up with a fillet of panga. The internet suggests that this is neither a tasty nor a healthy fish. I can't comment on the second, but as to the first, the internet has a point. It's pretty blah. A meatier white fish would have been much better.<br />
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*I didn't have crusty bread, I just ate it as it was. Which was fine.<br />
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*It said to season the fish, but didn't say with what. I just did salt and pepper.<br />
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Overall - wow! I will definitely make this again. A really interesting combination of flavors, and really, really simple to make. There's a slight risk of it being a bit on the sweet side, which probably has a lot to do with what alcohol you end up using. Also, I'm not big into parsley, but I think it was actually pretty crucial to this, for a bit of freshness. But it's a delicious meal, and I know it seems like a weird assortment of ingredients, but it's definitely worth trying.<br />
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culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-24142385162719409542013-03-08T10:01:00.001-08:002013-03-08T10:01:25.606-08:00Prosciutto, Arugula and ParmesanMy dear friend Daniel Leonard was in Italy in January and brought me back a souvenir:<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/03/08/1173.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/03/08/s_1173.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I am naturally a hoarder, but I suddenly got worried that it would spoil, so why not, today was the day. Although prosciutto is completely delicious on its own, to be totally honest, I have a preferred method of consuming it. Tear it into pieces and add it to a hefty bunch of arugula. Squeeze a lemon half over it, drizzle with some high quality olive oil, and top with parmesan shavings (Daniel brought me some of that too!) and freshly grated black pepper. Toss and eat (do it fast-ish, because the acid of the lemon starts to act on the prosciutto pretty quickly). This might actually be on my top ten list of all-time favorite foods. It's so good that I didn't even really miss a glass of a good wine to go with it.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/03/08/1174.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/03/08/s_1174.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-71223018302510049162013-02-22T08:59:00.001-08:002013-02-22T08:59:13.462-08:00Baby favas with chicken and baconThe other day I went to an organic food store with a friend. I bought what I thought was a container of green beans, but which turned out to be baby favas. I only know one way to deal with fava beans - boil them in salt water (shucked beforehand - in Poland you can buy them already shucked) and eat em. Delicious. But I was willing to try something new. I was, however, resistant to the idea of eating the pods, even if they are allegedly ok when still young. Just didn't appeal to me. The fact that recipes I found suggested grilling them didn't assuage my fears. So I shucked them, which left me with only a few handfuls of wee little beans. This quickly tanked my lofty plans to make several dishes out of them, Iron Chef style. <br /><br />In the end, having browsed various recipes online, I defrosted 3 slices of the bacon from my cache, chopped them and fried until nearly crispy. Pressed in a few cloves of garlic, stirred, then added some diced chicken rolled in oregano (or maybe thyme. Jury is still out). Once that was nearly cooked, I added the fava beans, stirred, then splashed maybe 1/2 a cup of white wine in and simmered until it was evaporated and everything was cooked through. I served it over polenta with some grated Parmesan, and overall it was pretty decent. In the future though - I'd do it without the favas. They added very little joy. I'll have to find something else to do with those, I guess.<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/02/22/897.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/02/22/s_897.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-78936636972075096792013-02-17T03:42:00.001-08:002013-02-17T03:42:24.016-08:00Bacon Greeting Cards<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Awhile back I was contacted by a representative of Ron Kanfi, the president of Noble Works, a greeting card company, asking me if I'd be willing to review some of their bacon-themed cards on the blog. I agreed, and she sent over a pack. <br />
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To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what occasion calls for a bacon card. Happy Birthday, friend! Have I told you lately how much I love bacon (and you, I guess)? Though come to think of it, I get quite a lot of emails declaring that International Bacon Day is nigh (there seem to be many such days - is there some kind of international committee that regulates such things? They should investigate the Bacon Day issue), so maybe if you're bringing someone a gift of pork on a day that is devoted to it, you could match it with a thematically appropriate card saying Happy Bake-day (wink wink), or Happy Birthday (to Bacon, not you)? I really don't know. I'm actually not big into gift cards myself (though I do love sending postcards when I travel), but Better Half almost always includes them with gifts, which makes me feel like I need to step my game up. Maybe it is more conventional than I realize to have birthday cards that seem to be talking about things totally unrelated to the person or their birthday. Or maybe I could think of these as postcards with a lot more space and an envelope. I dunno.<br />
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ANYWAYS. These are very nice cards. Bright, lively colors, and reasonably clever messages. This was my favorite:<br />
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But if you go to the Noble Works website - <a href="http://www.nobleworkscards.com/">www.nobleworkscards.com</a> - you'll find that they have lots of cards of all different kinds, many of which have more obvious use than missives pledging love to pork. </div>
culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-69997863870835483482013-02-15T01:59:00.003-08:002013-02-15T01:59:51.283-08:00Foods Made Better with Bacon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This blog seems to be getting a lot of traffic lately, because I keep getting emails from people with links to things they think my readers (I guess I have some?) might enjoy. I tend to ignore the blatantly commercial stuff (no, major fast-food chain, I do not want to advertise your latest bacon burger. Please stop writing me.), but if something actually looks good, I pass it on.<br />
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Suzanne Cullen sent me a link to <a href="http://www.aupair.org/blog/25-foods-that-are-made-better-with-bacon/">her list of 25 Foods that are better with bacon</a>, and I have to say, it's a damn good list. Aside from the blue cheese, because I am just not down with blue cheese at all, to the extent that I can't even think about whether they would work well together, I agree with every single thing on there. I've even posted about some of them, or at least I think/hope I have. I don't eat corn on the cob (or any corn in non-popped or corn nut form), but I am pretty confident that it'd taste better with bacon grease.<br />
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Anyhow, overall, an excellent list. Thanks for the email, Suzanne!</div>
culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-16774948319954674682013-02-07T15:43:00.001-08:002013-02-07T15:43:17.082-08:00MetaBright<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was recently contacted by a guy named Nathaniel, who is co-founder of a site called <a href="http://www.metabright.com/">MetaBright</a>. MetaBright is an online community where people post challenges and then users can post their "solutions" to them. It bills itself as a way to "showcase your skills and get better at stuff you're passionate about."The challenges are divided by topic - I was contacted because, of course, <a href="http://www.metabright.com/challenges/bacon">they have a bacon section</a>. <a href="http://www.metabright.com/challenges/">But they've got other categories too</a>. To be totally frank, I'm not entirely sure how posting a picture of your favorite American food improves any skills other than finding an image online and posting it (though I will say that hats off, finding a bacon-themed coffin is pretty impressive), but it does seem like kind of a fun site to play around on, and Nathaniel seems like a really nice guy, so I wanted to pass on the info for people who might be into it.* Unfortunately, you do need to link either your google or your facebook account to it in order to register - Nathaniel and I exchanged a few emails about that, because I am deeply opposed to the idea, and he was willing to listen and said they are still trying to figure out the best way to balance how closed/open the site will be, which is understandable but doesn't change how I feel about it - but if that doesn't bother you, dive in and get to work!<br />
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*If you are reading this and thinking that this means I will also advertise whatever bacon product you sell, you're mistaken. I don't really like advertising stuff on this blog. But if someone mails me free stuff to review, or contacts me with something neat, or emails me and seems like a cool person who I'd like to help out, then I will make an exception. But most of the emails I get seem like they've been written by robots and they really creep me out. And insanely enthusiastic ad copy about the latest burger at a certain fast food chain annoys the crap out of me. You know who you are. Quit it.</div>
culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-81361879708250284182013-01-02T09:23:00.000-08:002013-01-02T09:23:10.158-08:00New Year's Pozole<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My sweet baby is nothing if not an idea man, and this was definitely one of his better ideas: making pozole on New Year's Day. After girding ourselves with a few bloody mary's from <a href="http://bigstarchicago.com/">Big Star</a>, and stopping for a few last minute groceries from the miraculously open corner store, we put our pork in a pot with half an onion and set it a-cooking. As it simmered, we catnapped and watched <i>The Princess Bride </i>- another brilliant idea. When the movie was done, the meat was cooked, and we pulled it off the bones and chopped it up. To be totally frank with you, I'm not entirely sure what happened next, because I am still suffering from the deleterious effects of jetlag, and I simply could not stay awake. I roused myself when the soup was basically done, and obediently chopped up the accoutrements for it. A big, hot bowl of this stuff is a meal in itself - a spicy, soul-warming serving of awesome. Happy New Year's!<br />
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Pozole Rojo, adapted from Rick Bayless' <i>Mexico One Pot at a Time</i><br />
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1/2-1 pound of pork shoulder<br />
1 pound pig head, chopped into chunks (we were going to get trotters, which is what the recipe calls for, but the nice guys at <a href="http://thebutcherandlarder.com/">Butcher and Larder</a> persuaded me that head would be richer and meatier.)<br />
3 cans hominy<br />
1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled and halved<br />
1 large white onion<br />
4 medium dried ancho chiles<br />
2 arbol chiles<br />
1 small cabbage<br />
1 bunch radishes<br />
dried Mexican oregano<br />
tostadas<br />
limes<br />
avocado<br />
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Put all the pork in a large pot with half the onion, diced, and cover with 4 quarts of water and a tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil, skim off the grayish foam that appears on the surface, and let it cook over medium low heat for about 2 hours. Let it cool in the broth.<br />
Meanwhile, rehydrate the chiles in a little bit of hot water for about 20 minutes. Leave the seeds in if you want it spicier, or remove them if you want it milder. We did about half and half, and ours was pretty fiery. Put them in a blender and puree the ever loving crap out of them.<br />
Remove the meat, pull it off the bones and chop or tear it up. Skim the fat off the top of the pot - lick the spoon off every so often for a little taste of heaven.<br />
Put the two cans of hominy in a small pot with a bit of water and the garlic. Cook for about 20 minutes.<br />
Throw that into the pork broth. Push the pureed chiles through a medium sized strainer. Now that you've got all that combined, add a few cups of water and simmer the soup for 45 minutes or so, reducing it down. Add the meat and simmer another 15 minutes or so.<br />
Meanwhile, chop up the rest of the onion, rinsing it in cold water. Slice the radishes thin. Cut the lime into wedges. Chop the cabbage into thin ribbons. Chop up an avocado. Set these all out as a kind of buffet, along with a small bowl of the oregano and a pile of tostadas. Let everyone add what they will.<br />
De-licious.</div>
culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-75761777836591835912012-11-21T10:00:00.000-08:002012-11-21T10:00:36.881-08:00Peruvian-ish lentils with chorizo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was feeling adventurous the other day and decided to experiment with lentils. I ended up sort of combining two recipes, using <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Peruvian-Rice-and-Lentils-em-Tacu-Tacu-em-352877">this one</a> as a base and <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sausages-and-Green-Lentils-with-Tomato-Salsa-236810">this one</a> for inspiration. The next night, heating up the leftovers, I had the brilliant idea of getting some chorizo involved, and thus, Peruvian-ish lentils with chorizo were born. The recipe still needs some work (feel free to leave ideas in the comments!), but it was tasty enough that I figured it was worth posting about.<br />
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To recreate what I made, you will need:<br />
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2 cups lentils<br />
1 chicken boullion cube<br />
1 bunch parsley<br />
2 red onions<br />
lots and lots of garlic<br />
cinnammon<br />
crushed red chili<br />
red wine vinegar<br />
chorizo<br />
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce<br />
1 can tomatoes<br />
1 cup forbidden rice<br />
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Put your lentils in a big pot with the stems from your parsley, chicken boullion cube, and a few cloves of garlic (I actually forgot about the garlic part, but I think you should try it. The Jamie Oliver recipe suggests a bay leaf too I just noticed, so add that as well, even though I didn't). Pour 8 cups or so of boiling water over it - the recipes vary in their amounts, but lentils drink lots of water.<br />
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As they cook, mince a few cloves of garlic and put them in a big pot with some oil over medium-low heat. Stir for a minute, then add your cup of rice (I used forbidden rice, because I had some and thought it would look pretty, but regular rice will probably do as well). Stir to coat, then add 2 1/2 cups of boiling water and turn the heat to very low.<br />
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Now, chop up an onion and a few more cloves of garlic. Set a smaller pot on the stove with some oil and sautee your onion and garlic over low heat for a minute or two. Once the onion softens, add some crushed red chili and a few spoons of cinnamon. Cook for another minute or two, then crank the heat and splash in a glug of red wine vinegar. Stir well, lower the heat, and add the tomatoes. I know Jamie Oliver says to do this first, but when I did, it cooked way too long and became too thick. As discussed below, this part of the recipe is the most iffy. It could easily be replaced with something better.<br />
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Now you wait, and chop up your parsley. Put it in a bowl. Then, chop up your second onion and a few more cloves of garlic and set aside. Open your can of peppers and remove them one by one, being careful not to lose their delicious sauce. Chop them up.<br />
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Your lentils and rice should be finishing up around the same time. Drain the lentils, remove the parsley stems and bay leaf, if you used it, and return to the pot. Then add the rice and stir to combine.* In a small-medium pan, fry the onion and garlic. When they're soft, add the chipotle peppers and their sauce. Stir until heated through, then add to the lentils and rice and stir. Then add the parsley. Top with the salsa (ie, the tomato cinnamon thingy).<br />
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Oh, and the chorizo! As mentioned, I added it the next day. Basically, I fried it, breaking it up, and then added the cold rice-lentils concoction to the pan. I guess you could either fry the chorizo earlier. Perhaps with the onions, garlic, and peppers. But the basic idea is, you mix everything together =-)<br />
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Here's the deal though. The recipe is flavorful, but not so well balanced. The chipotle peppers and chorizo dominate. The tomato-cinnamon was a nice touch flavor wise, but it sort of added to the melange of adobo and chorizo in a not especially inspired way. I'm not entirely sure what to do about that. I would prefer, actually, to go with Italian sausages, as per Jamie Oliver's recipe, but I just didn't have any. For the chorizo variant, I might try to improvise on the original Peruvian recipe idea, which involves frying all this up at the end. My plan is to try, perhaps for lunch tomorrow, frying up a little more chorizo, combining it in a bowl with some of the lentil-rice concoction (because I still have tons of it left), and then, get this - combining it with some egg and frying that. I think the egg might mellow out the other flavors some.<br />
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The bigger problem, for me, is that it was overly dry. The salsa added some liquid, but not nearly enough (perhaps because I cooked it too long). I think ideally you'd really get some kind of good gravy like thing going for this.<br />
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I dunno. It's a work in progress. But the dinner guests I fed it to raved about it, and I did find it quite tasty, albeit somewhat monotone as a main dish, so I wanna stick with the idea and see what I can do with it.<br />
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*I would consider adding some butter to the rice when it's done cooking, and letting it sit for a minute, then adding it to the lentils. Living in Turkey has converted me to well buttered rice. </div>
culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-87725081456923096892012-11-19T23:37:00.001-08:002012-11-19T23:37:04.084-08:00Fou lard (bacon scarf)<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/11/19/3044.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/11/19/s_3044.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='212' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />http://www.natalieluder.ch/shop.htm<br /><br />I have to admit, I find it strangely beautiful. I kind of want one.<br /><br />(The above image is from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.swiss-miss.com/2012/11/fou-lard-bacon-scarf.html">here</a>, and I also need to give credit to my friend <a target="_blank" href="http://alaskajane.blogspot.com/">Alaska Jane</a> for alerting me to it in the first place)<br /><br /><br />culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-23707933028375919422012-10-04T12:07:00.001-07:002012-10-04T12:07:07.740-07:00Expat pepperoni pizza<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's funny; you miss different kinds of pork at different times, living in Turkey. Sometimes I feel like I would would sell my first-born child for some good chorizo, other times I heart for a succulent pork tenderloin. Lately, I've been jonesing hard for pepperoni pizza. You can get something that is called pepperoni pizza here, but I quickly realized that it was actually pepperoni flavored sucuk, ie, a fraud. When my dad was visiting recently, I asked him to bring me some pepperoni and he obliged with a stick of Boar's Head. My oven is not trustworthy enough to make a pizza from scratch, but I figured it could probably handle a doctored up frozen pizza. And today I decided to take the plunge.<br />
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The bodega by my place didn't have a plain cheese pizza, so I got their fancy Italian style pepperoni. Side note: isn't it actual trick that frozen pizza boxes play on you? The picture on the outside looks like this:<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">A trained eye will immediately realize that something is not quite right about this pepperoni.</span></div>
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But what is inside the box invariably looks like this:<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">It actually looks better with the plastic wrap on, is the sad thing.</span></div>
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I picked off the sucuk, which looked crappy, and the olives and mushrooms (didn't want em anyways), so I was left with the least appealing part of any frozen pizza; the crust, sauce, and cheese. At this point I realized, again, how dumb it is t buy frozen pizza. All you really want is the crust, and it will invariably be awful, as will the sauce, probably sickly sweet, and vastly inferior to a can of tomato paste with your own herbs mixed in. Oh well.<br />
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I grabbed a hunk of my cheddar cheese reserves from the freezer, carved it up, and sprinkled it over the top, followed by a chopped onion, a hefty sprinkle of what smells to me like oregano but could be thyme, and, of course, the pepperoni. One of the nice things about DIY pizza is that you can finally have as much pepperoni as you've been wanting all along. They were ready to hit the oven:<br />
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I then got caught up in a New Yorker article about Justin Bieber's manager (I don't have full blown Bieber fever; more like a touch of a flush? He's a guilty pleasure. Shut up.) and semi-forgot about what was in the oven. Ooops. Luckily I like my pizza a little burnt-y. Voila, le dinner!<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">The wine was on sale at Real recently. It's decent, but not great. Especially on the second day.</span></div>
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Not as good as the real thing, but not too bad either. I think regular, crappy pre-sliced pepperoni might actually be more like what I'm craving. But this was close enough to tide me over for the next two weeks, when I'm visiting Amereeka.</div>
culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-87040317328005630632012-09-28T22:50:00.001-07:002012-09-28T22:50:12.679-07:00Pork from PolandThinking of pork shortages, check out the bounty I received from my mother recently (she flew here from Poland):<br />A pile of <i>kabanosy</i>, similar to slim jims but much, much tastier (some of these are actually made of goose, not pork, but whatever);<br />A whole log of my favorite coldcut in the world, <i>kindziuk</i>. Porky, spicy deliciousness. I've only ever seen it in Poland, but it's a Lithuanian food. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/sausage-recipes/kindziuk">The internetz inform me</a> that it's a fermented sausage that is smoked but not cooked. And that it's legendary for its longevity. I hadn't realized this, so mine is sliced and wrapped in separate little bundles in the freezer, along with the other pork I brought from the States.<br />The kabanosy, I've eaten already. They exude a powerful porky smell, and I was worried that they'd offend my cleaning lady. <br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/09/28/2822.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/09/28/s_2822.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-92013161209788689692012-09-28T22:41:00.001-07:002012-09-28T22:41:43.232-07:00In case you were worried<a target="_blank" href="http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2012/09/unavoidable_bacon_shortage_u_k_s_national_pig_association_has_everyone_worried_about_the_price_of_pork_.html">Slate explains the alleged upcoming pork shortage.</a><br /><br /><br /><br />culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-37348168595781167092012-08-31T09:34:00.000-07:002012-08-31T09:34:55.429-07:00BMan's Bacon <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One of my boyfriend's co-workers,* Brian Lagerstrom, makes his own bacon. I had never really thought of bacon as something you might make at home, but there you have it. So Boyfriend came home the other day with this exciting package:<br />
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And we fried it up and had it for breakfast.**<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(We cut the slices in half so they'd fit in the pan. Some bacon curls up like those mood-reading red fish when you do that, but this stuff was solid. But not so thickly sliced that it took half an hour to cook. Just right.)</span></div>
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Oh wow was it good. I'm gonna be honest, despite keeping this blog for so long, I haven't spent much time thinking about the intricacies of bacon's flavor. How thickly sliced it is, what recipes you can use it in, sure, but the range of taste notes - not so much. I first began to consider it when we did a fry-off between the bacon from Rich's, the Polish store down the street from us, and some from <a href="http://thebutcherandlarder.com/" target="_blank">Butcher and Larder</a>.*** Then I noticed that sometimes when I get bacon at crappy diners, it tastes like shoe leather. So I've started paying more attention.<br />
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ANYWAYS. This bacon was delicious. The perfect balance of salty and sweet, with a wonderful meatiness to it. Toothsome and quite succulent. There were definitely some good juniper and herb flavors, but they weren't overpowering. It tasted like bacon. Bacon this good should just be fried and eaten, not used for cooking, so that it can be properly savoured. It's awesome.<br />
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If you want to acquire some of this fabulous stuff, head over to his <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/105659363/1-lb-sliced-bmans-bacon" target="_blank">etsy page</a>, where you can get a pound for the astonishingly reasonable price of $7. Let me give you that link again: <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/105659363/1-lb-sliced-bmans-bacon" target="_blank">HERE BE TASTY BACON. Come, my child.</a><br />
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*If you're wondering, they both work at (Michelin-starred) <a href="http://www.sepiachicago.com/" target="_blank">Sepia</a>. <br />
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**He fried the bacon, I made the eggs (scrambled eggs with green chilis and cheddar). You may be surprised to learn that I am terrible at frying bacon, and almost always burn it - especially if I'm cooking for my boyfriend.<br />
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***I probably should've posted about that. Not at all surprisingly (if you know us), I preferred the former, Better Half the latter. It wasn't really a scientific study though, because the Polish bacon was sliced super thin, and the Butcher and Larder bacon was quite thick, so that affected the eating experience. But flavor played a role as well. To me, the Polish bacon tasted... like what bacon should taste like. I dunno. To my sweet baby, it had a strong juniper flavor that he wasn't wild about. In contrast, B&L's pork tasted like it should to him, whereas to me it had a carmel kind of sweetness that I wasn't wild about. No offense to B&L, because I love their meats.</div>
culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-3440029975787261222012-08-23T13:27:00.001-07:002012-08-23T13:27:55.468-07:00Chorizo, chilies and potato tacosInspired by the tacos de papas con rajas at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bigstarchicago.com/">Big Star</a>, a simple and pretty fantastic taco filling. I improvised quite a bit, as should you, but basically, I used:<br /><br />1 pckg chorizo - Mexican, not Spanish style. It was basically a pork paste in a plastic tube.<br />2 medium-large russet potatoes<br />1 onion<br />4 cloves garlic<br />1 can diced green chilis<br />1 can chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (I am so bringing a few cans of those back to Turkey!)<br />Tortillas<br />Fresh cilantro<br /><br />I peeled the potatoes and sliced them into matchsticks, chopped the onion into small slices, and diced the garlic. I put a little oil in a pan on medium heat and squeezed the chorizo onto it, stirring it around to break it up. Once it was crumbly and had exuded a nice amount of grease, I added the potatoes. Then I wondered if I should've removed the chorizo onto a paper towel first (but that always seems like such a pain in the ass to me), or if I should've added the onions and garlic sooner. So I tried to push the potatoes to the side a little, and stack the chorizo on top of it, and added the onion and garlic. I sprinkled the potatoes liberally with salt, which proved somewhat unnecessary, because the whole thing came out super salty (luckily still good though. But I think it'd be better dialed down a notch. My point being, go easy on the salt.). Then I stirred it all, with a sinking sense that it was headed for disaster. But what the hell, I opened the can of green chilis and added them, and the can of chipotle chilis. I sort of shook some of the sauce off them and chopped them up and threw em in. Gave the whole thing a few more stirs and decided it was ready. And you know what? It was awesome. I ate it on heated flour tortillas, garnished plentifully with cilantro. It has proved to be a fantastic packed lunch option, too - roll some up in a tortilla (no need to reheat) with or without cilantro, wrap it tightly in aluminum foil and boom, portable lunch! For reheating at home, I think a frying pan would be the way to go, and maybe a squeeze of lime.<br /><br />I know my timing guidelines aren't so helpful, but it really is a wing it sort of meal. What is crucial though, is that you not overcook the potatoes. You want them to have some crunch. You also want the onions and chilis somewhat firm. It really doesn't take long for it all to cook - its a simple, cheap, and plentiful dish. If you overlook it, it'll still be delicious, just maybe kinda mushy. At which point, I suggest you form it into patties and fry it on high heat. I bet that'd be awesome too.<br />culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-63820429567695616522012-04-21T12:50:00.002-07:002012-04-21T12:50:28.012-07:00Bacon poetrySeen on the facebook:<br />
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Kind of charming. It called to mind <a href="http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/poetry-faq" style="text-decoration: underline;">this delightful piece from McSweeney's.</a> I used to find McSweeney's kind of obnoxious and irritating, but lately I have really enjoyed everything I've read from them. I wonder if I changed or they did.culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-52592396619257048262012-04-21T12:47:00.001-07:002012-04-21T12:47:39.028-07:00Salami and Capers tomato sauceI recently broke into my dwindling reserves (I'll be back in the US for the summer in just over a month now, so I can be less frugal with the pork supply) to try to recreate a pasta sauce that T* and I made way back when. Prior to that occasion, I had never tried cooking salami - it actually seemed like kind of an absurd idea to me. But that time, it turned out quite delicious. From what I could recall, it was basically sauteed salami hunks plus spicy tomato sauce and fresh parsley. But I don't especially like parsley, so I axed that part. I also used tomato paste instead of a can of tomatoes**, because I had a little jar of homemade tomato paste a family friend had made from the tomatoes in her garden that I was looking to use. So basically, I chopped up some salami and sauteed it with garlic, added the tomato paste, some crushed red pepper and oregano (or maybe it's thyme. I mean, it says it's thyme, but it really smells and tastes much more like oregano to me.) and cooked it for awhile. But then it didn't really taste all that amazig, so I added a few handfuls of capers! Capers are also something I do not think of as a thing one cooks, so it kind of made sense, category-wise.<br />
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Anyways, it was delicious. But to be honest, the salami was kind of the weakest link. This may be because of the particular salami I used, or because it is somewhat aged at this point. But the take-away lesson for me was actually that plain old tomato paste with some spices and capers is pretty delicious. <br />
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*I have decided that the 18th century convention of initials seems more dignified than calling him Better Half or my dude all the time.<br />
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**I am getting kind of paranoid about canned tomatoes. I keep hearing these rumors that they're really bad for you.culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-68770985754007194942012-03-22T23:14:00.001-07:002012-03-22T23:14:13.547-07:00BaconCookbook for iPadMy friend Rowan sent me a link to <a target="_blank" href="http://gizmodo.com/5895698/the-better-bacon-book-bacon-on-bacon-on-bacon-on-ipad">this piece in Gizmodo</a> about a bacon cookbook for the iPad. I haven't posted in eons, so I figured I'd pass it on. But I have no idea if it's any good or anything. =-)<br />culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-457947391992746400.post-8241389169924699002011-12-16T23:56:00.000-08:002013-02-07T15:44:06.975-08:00duct tape jacket for iPad 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
To be honest, this is only tangentially related to bacon, but the creator has emailed me twice already (d'oh! Sorry for not doing this sooner!) and it does seem like an awesome project, so hey. He makes iPad cases, and <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/651134780/ipad-2-duct-tape-magnetic-jacket">he's got a Kickstarter project going</a> to collect orders and money so that he can buy supplies in bulk. The cases come in different designs - of course you can get a custom one, but you can also get Basic, Pattern (the zebra print is pretty awesome looking) or... Inspired, which is where bacon comes in.<br />
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I recommend going to <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/651134780/ipad-2-duct-tape-magnetic-jacket">the Kickstarter page</a> and reading the history section, because it's a feel-good DIY story of someone dissatisfied with a product and inspired to make a better one. The video also shows you the case, which looks rather more impressive in person, especially when you see what it can do.</div>
culture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.com0