Meat – Harmonious Belly

July 19, 2013July 21, 2013

Carne-Val at The Meatwave – Delicious Pork Barbecue in Astoria

Last Sunday I attended a wonderful Astoria event series, The Meatwave. It’s run by local Astorian Josh Bousel, who really knows his meat and how to cook it. He (and probably his wife, Kristin) comes up with clever titles, and the one for this particular day was “Carne-val.”

There was pulled pork, pepper vinegar barbecue sauce, ribs, chicken—all grilled and/or barbecued. Plus there was a delicious mustard slaw, plenty of beer, and one of the guests offered me one of her s’mores bars. It was all so good and I’m glad I went.

Here are some of the things I ate. First, the pork in two states—whole and pulled. Here’s the before:

And the after:

Josh used big black rubber gloves to shred it by hand. He then poured some sort of liquid on it—probably braising liquid, which helped to keep it moist. This batch of meat was cooked in foil. There was another chunk of pork he had cooked without foil, which promised great bark. All I know is that they was truly delicious and made for a great pulled pork sandwich. Here it is—on a appropriately squishy Martin’s Potato Roll—with the aforementioned slaw.

The ribs were great, too! I believe they were in the smoker and then grilled with a sweeter barbecue sauce. I loved the texture and taste.

I did not get a chance to try any of the chicken, though.

As for the weather, it was damn hot, the beginning of a seven-day heatwave. I sweated buckets and was happy to find myself in the air conditioning afterwards; we headed to MOMI to catch a movie, then over to a nearby pub for more A/C, conversation, and project planning—more on that later. And since we were there on the early side, it was nice to have a chance to chat with our hosts.

Thanks to Josh and Kristin for a delicious afternoon!

July 15, 2013July 15, 2013

Summerbeat – Edible Queens Throws a Great Party With Beer, Meat, and Ice Cream

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of attending Summerbeat: Eat Meat Drink Beer, a delicious celebration of Edible Queens’s relaunch. The publication went though some editorial and ownership changes in the past year, as well as a site relaunch (which looks great). All the staff did a tremendous job with organizing this seriously delicious event and I thought I’d bring you some of the sights from the evening.

I arrived around 5:45 p.m., and the crowds were light but increased over time, but not to the point where things were unbearably crowded (as can be the case at some NYC food events). That’s one of the things I loved about this event—there was a lot of breathing space and it was easy to move around from vendor to vendor.

It was easy to chat with the vendors. The first person I saw was Brian Donaldson, owner of Native Coffee Roasters. He was there with his excellent cold brew coffee, and I loved seeing his smiling face at the start of the evening. More on his coffee later.

This is the Big Alice Brewing table. They are a new nano brewery in LIC and make very small batches at a time.

I really enjoyed their Sour Cherry Sour Ale. It had a nice tang to it and I loved the cherry aspect. They use dried sour cherries in the mix.

The folks at the Bridge and Tunnel Brewery, a micro-brewery based in Maspeth, Queens, were also having a great time. I tried their Hazelnut Brown Ale, which was light and delicious.

The first meaty dish I had was this very interesting and delicious roast duck sandwich from LIC Market. It had a foie gras butter on it and a cherry spread. I loved the soft, buttery bun, too. It was fun to chat and connect with Chef Alex Schindler, too, who was there on site.

When I stopped by an empty table with a flurry of preparation activity around it, I had to ask what was up. The young woman told me that Peking duck was on the way from Canton Gourmet. Well, I love Peking duck and was looking forward to trying it.

When it was ready about a half hour after that, I went to check it out and was pretty happy with what I tasted—a nice balance of duck, cucumbers, and hoisin sauce. And yes, I do love the hoisin sauce (I used to eat it often when I would order Chinese American steamed vegetable dumplings from the takeout joint up the street from my last apartment). It also made me miss my beloved duck buns in Flushing. Must get back soon.

After that, I wandered over to the table in the corner, and lo and behold it was Ovelia! I love their food at their restaurant (sesame crusted feta cubes, be still my heart!), and was really happy to see them at this event. Owner Peter Giannakis and crew were serving spit-roasted lamb and at the first bite, I was in love! The beautiful lamb flavor was there, combined with lemon and some kind of herb (my guess would be oregano), and the texture was wonderful—very easy to eat. This was my favorite meat of the evening.

I also had the chance to try some of Alchemy Texas Barbecue‘s meat. They are a newish barbecue joint in Jackson Heights, located in the back of Legend’s Bar. While a bit fatty for my taste, I enjoyed the flavor of this meat, and the barbecue sauce was delicious, too.

I was sorry to not get any of Tyson Ho‘s North Carolina style barbecued hog meat, but I got to taste his work a few weeks back at the second session of the inaugural day of Hog Days of Summer in LIC. Here’s what I ate then, which was similar (sans slaw).

I couldn’t leave without a glass of Native Coffee Roasters’ cold brew coffee, which was strong and delicious. Plus it was gorgeous. Just look at that!

By the time I had to leave, there was quite a crowd enjoying the food and drink. I left with a cup of ice cream from Malu—a scoop of Shiraz Rocky Road, and a scoop of Bourbon Maple Bacon. I ate it too fast to take a photo because it was irresistible. But here is the scene I saw as I left.

Actually, I didn’t leave right after that—I found my friends Tom and Lisa hanging out just past the entrance! It was fun to catch up for a bit and chase the sunset that was happening before our eyes. It was really beautiful (I saw a number of shots of this sunset on Instagram) and I’m glad I stuck around to photograph it.

One thing I didn’t mention yet is that the event took place in Sunnyside Gardens Park, a private park located in the historic district of Sunnyside Gardens, so it was a real treat to be in this park just on its own. On my way out of the park, the fireflies kicked it into gear and put on a real show. It was beautiful. And very summery.

Many thanks to Edible Queens and the vendors who were there, who fed us and quenched our thirsts. It was a wonderful time!

December 19, 2011December 21, 2011

Grain-Free Meatballs

Lately, I’ve gone to a number of meetups with the Traditional Community Kitchen. This is an official Meetup group based in NYC, and one that I help organize (I’m a Co-Organizer and to some extent the Social Media Manager). It’s been one of the most fun social groups I’ve been a part of in NYC, and I’ve met some delightful people there that have become friends. Everyone is really friendly and eager to both teach what they know and learn from each other.

If you are in the NYC area, and interested in cooking together – whether your orientation is WAPF, paleo/primal, grain- or gluten-free, vegetarian, or simply an overall curious person looking for more inspiration to eat whole, real food – I highly recommend joining this group and coming to one of our meetups!

So, one of the most recent meetups was actually a repeat event – making a big pot of meatballs. This recipe was originally developed by Hannah Springer here in NYC, and she shared it with one of our meetup members, who passed it on to the rest of us. We’ve all really enjoyed the resulting delicious savory meatballs (which I like to make on the smaller side), enough so to make them together again.

They are different from any other recipe I’ve seen for meatballs, in that they are free of grains. Essentially, they are all meat, with the addition of egg, cream, and a few other things. I’m not personally avoiding grains, but for those omnivores that are, this is a great recipe

I remember the first event – which took place at my home – to be really fun. This second event was a lot of fun, too, and held at another member’s home. The four of us chopped onions and I was glad to talk about my favorite way of chopping onions, which I’m happy to say sped up the chopping process – chopping onions can be a painful experience, so getting through them as fast as possible is a real benefit.

We then mixed those onions with spices and some pastured lard, and fried ’em up. You can only imagine how wonderful the house started to smell while this was going on.

Continue reading “Grain-Free Meatballs”

February 6, 2011

NYChiliFest 2011

About a week ago, T and I joined our good friend Judith for the inaugural NYChiliFest. This incredibly festive event took place over at Chelsea Market and was a celebration of chili and beer. While I didn’t get to drink much beer (the beer line was nuts), I did eat a lot of chili.

I was really happy that the meat was supplied by Dickson’s Farmstand Meats. They provided each contestant with locally-raised beef from Wrighteous Organics in Schoharie, NY.

Dickson’s is a great company and I have a lot of respect for the way they work with animals that become meat and the farmers that raise them. They are purveyors of artisanal meat and meat products. They like heritage breeds, grass-fed, and organic meats. They pay attention to how sustainably the farmers use their land, as well as how humanely they treat their animals. On their website, they outline some “baseline criteria” for product they handle:

The entire supply chain (farm to slaughterhouse to point-of-sale) must be no more than 400 miles long.

Animal based feeds, prophylactic antibiotics or added hormones are not administered at any point of the animal’s life.

The animals from which our meat comes must spend their life on the farm – no CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) or feedlots.

I also like what they say here: “We only work with farmers who take pride in their product and want their name, before ours, on each package. We believe the farmer is a far more important part of this system than we are.”

On top of everything, the meat is extremely tasty. And it was so nice to taste it prepared in chili. The three of us are big fans of chili.

Overall we had a wonderful time! It did get really crowded at one point, and we were glad we had gotten there as early as we did. Oh, and the event sold out by the Thursday before the event, so we were smart to order tickets on line earlier in the week.

My favorite chilis were from Toloache and Telepan. Toloache topped theirs with kimchi and crema, while Telepan made a chili with green chiles topped with a Mexican semisoft cheese, which was unique. Toloache’s was unique because of the kimchi – and let me tell you, kimchi and chili is a stellar combination.

I also enjoyed very much the two chilis that came with an avocado crema – The Green Table and Blue Ribbon Bakery. I am a sucker for avocado, so having that as an element in the chili pleased me to no end.

Almost all of the chilis were delicious, with only a couple of exceptions. I was sorry to not have tasted the winner, made by Northern Spy Food Co.

Here is a selection of images from the event:

From left to right, clockwise: crowds in front of Toloache’s table; pot of Telepan chili; kimchi from Toloache; commemorative chilliest bowl with spoon; Toloache’s chili; Blue Ribbon Bakery’s chili with avocado creme; Telepan’s green chile chili with Mexican cheese.

As a result of attending this festival, I plan to check out a number of the restaurants that were there, especially The Green Table. Toloache is definitely on my list, too.

Hooray for NYChiliFest! Looking forward to next year’s, too.

June 16, 2010September 2, 2011

CSA Bounty – Week Two

We had another week without radishes, but with plenty of lettuce. Last year we got a head each week for almost the entire season; I wonder if this year will be the same. I will eat a large salad tonight. This week we got:

The strawberries were better this week than last week, I think, which is kind of like saying we got 12 oz of gold this week over last week’s 11.5 oz. Both weeks have brought us amazing strawberries. We ate them for breakfast this morning with some cantaloupe I cut up last night.

strawberries week 2

This week’s lettuce head was a leaf lettuce in a very unusual color – kind of the color of manzanita wood.

red lettuce

We got cilantro this week! Also dried black beans. I’m thinking of making a black bean salad tonight with them both.

cilantro

bagging black beans

I have a share of beans and grains from Cayuga Organics, which grow the best beans I’ve ever had. Their grains are also amazing.

We also got asparagus – I think we are at the end of the season.

asparagus

Last night I had some of it and it was so good. Simply pan roasted with some salt. I ate it with a quesadilla I fried in coconut oil, made with raw pepperjack cheese (also from the CSA), some cilantro and Tortilleria Nixtamal tortillas. We had stopped in over the weekend and picked some up on our way home from touring the Louis Armstrong House in Corona (fabulous). They really are the best tortillas around.

In addition to the veg, berries, black beans and grains (farro!), my meat and dairy order came in – my freezer is now full of grass fed/finished beef, organic chicken breasts and turkey sausage, and I’ve got a nice goaty chevre to look forward to tonight, too.

May 17, 2010May 16, 2010

Perfect Crispy Bacon

Bacon

I love bacon. I really do. However, over the years I haven’t had the best luck cooking it, even though it seems so simple in theory. When cooking it on the stove top – the only way I’d been taught – I’d always get grease spatter on my hands (ouch) and the bacon would cook unevenly. I kind of gave up on preparing bacon, to be honest.

However, I’d recently heard about cooking bacon in the oven, and since I wanted to make a cobb salad on Friday, I thought I’d give this technique a chance. Well, I am a total convert now! This method works beautifully and turns out amazing crispy bacon, with no grease spattered hands or burnt bacon.

I took my inspiration from a method described on about.com, which is as follows:

Line a baking sheet with foil. This will make cleanup easier later.
Arrange bacon slices on the foil and place the baking sheet on the center rack of a cold oven. Close oven door. Turn oven on to 400°F. Walk away.

Come back 17 to 20 minutes later. As soon as the bacon is golden brown, but not excessively crisp, it’s done. The exact time will depend on the thickness of the bacon slices, and also on how quickly your oven reaches the target temperature.

Remove the pan from the oven. Transfer the bacon to another sheet pan lined with paper towels to absorb the fat. You can pour the liquid fat into a heat-resistant container to save for other uses. I like to pour it through a strainer lined with cheesecloth to filter out any crunchy bits.

My observations:

The foil was a really good call. I wouldn’t want to do it without foil because it really does make cleanup easy.
At about 15 minutes, I turned over the bacon slices, using tongs to grab them. I think that gave the bacon a chance to cook more evenly than just cooking it on one side.
One way to drain the bacon is to set the slices on a baking rack which sits over a paper towel. That way, the bacon won’t be sitting in its own fat and will have a better chance to more thoroughly drain off the fat.

My household was really impressed by this bacon. It was perfectly crispy without being burned or overcooked. In fact, you could hold the bacon horizontally and there was no bending. It snapped off and almost melted in your mouth. It was perfect in our cobb salad (which was delicious), and for breakfast this weekend.

I will forever cook my bacon this way.

Photo credit: (cc) Porge, via a Creative Commons License.

May 5, 2010May 5, 2010

Omelet – a Quick and Delicious Dinner

omelette

I don’t remember how I came up with this dish, but it was probably inspired by having a bunch of leftovers combined with my love of eggs. Basically, “omelet”, as I call it, is vegetables and meat sauteed in a pan, topped with uncooked scrambled eggs and cheese, and steamed until the eggs are cooked through. It doesn’t sound exotic or fancy, and isn’t the prettiest thing around, but it is tasty, nourishing, and easy to prepare. It’s an excellent dish to cook when you have little time or are just plain tired and want something to eat fairly fast. It’s also a great canvas for improvisation.

I mentioned leftovers above – it’s a great dish for leftovers – greens work especially well, as do onions, potatoes, carrots, summer squash, and tomatoes. You can mix in some pesto with the eggs, add diced or ground meat, sausage, or cured meats. You can also make it very simple with just onions, potato, egg, and cheese. You can even add a sauce you like at the end. This dish is incredibly flexible, which is one of the things I like about it.

Last night, I used half a white onion, leftover garlic lemon greens, chopped cooked chicken, pesto ricotta, eggs, and grated Locatelli (a salty hard cheese). In this case, everything but the eggs and cheese were leftovers from last week. It was a very tasty combination.

So, what I did was:

Diced up the onions and sautéed them in olive oil (about 1 T) until they became translucent.
Added the chicken and cooked that a little bit.
Then came the greens, and I cooked everything together until it was heated through.
I also made sure that the pan was completely covered with this mixture, so that eggs would not leak through to the pan surface; it’s best if they sit atop the vegetables.
Scrambled the eggs and poured them on top (I used 5 eggs this time, which was perfect)
I then put small dollops of pesto ricotta across the top of the mixture, and sprinkled on the grated cheese.
I put a lid on it, turned the heat down to low and let it steam. I’d check on it from time to time to make sure the eggs were cooked through. It took about 10-15 minutes for the eggs to cook and the dish to come together.
I only salted the onions a little bit, as the leftovers had all be seasoned when I cooked them originally, so extra salt was not needed.

If I were skipping the pesto ricotta, I’d probably use a sharp cheddar in place of the Locatelli and eat it with hot sauce!

So, in general, the order of ingredients would go as follows:

aromatics (e.g. onion, garlic, bacon)
ground/chopped meat (if using)
hard veggies (e.g. carrots, potatoes)
soft veggies (e.g. greens, summer squash, tomatoes, sauce)
herbs
eggs (solo, or combined with sauce like pesto, tomato, or salsa)
cheese
The order of things can even be re-arranged if it works better for you.

Like I said, there is room for improvisation and the dish is extremely customizable.

It’s been a quick and delicious dinner staple in my household and has provided us with delicious and nutritious meals numerous times. I hope you find it a useful and enjoyable dish as well.

This post is participating in Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.