Getting to the Root

Eat from the earth. Literally. We have arrived upon the season where bounty has grown ripe deep in the dirt, and is ready to bring to the table. These roots in their many shapes and colors, dense and  heavy, are some of the greatest eating around. This is a story of  L-O-V-E. There's more, too. Like the great things I did with the stuff Gilt Taste sent me a couple weeks ago: Becker Lane's gorgeous pastured pork shoulder, and BliS bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup, which is every bit as dynamic as it sounds. Savory, sweet, hearty, and all of it comfort food.

 

 

 

Gotham Magazine

Here is new featured photography by me, out in this month's Gotham Magazine -

The feature showcases a couple images, about a new hotspot here in The Big Apple. Here are more from the shoot:

 Each is every bit as delicious as it looks. :-) Stay tuned - there's more like this soon!

Go to the Farmers' Market

I used to think going to the farmer's market was a fun, field-trip kind of experience. And then I read more and did the math of how expensive places like Whole Foods add up to be without necessarily offering better quality, and realized that for my money I prefer to support actual people as much as possible. I still get some things from WF and other places, but I really enjoy talking recipes and details with the farmers and walking stall to stall to see whose daily lot looks the most alive and why... I guess you could say that connecting to the growers helps me appreciate the food I'm going to prepare later at home.

The market is more fun than ever, now a weekly excursion - and even more frequent sometimes, to see growers I miss on other days. I've built it into my to-do pattern as a way of living, incorporating into my life the freshest fresh, seasonal foods. These photographs are the bountiful array from last week's trip at the Union Square Market in New York. Check online for your local farmers' market - almost every city and town has one, if not a few! If you are linked to a CSA  - community supported agriculture - even better. :)

We got our strawberries from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm and our eggs from Violet Hill Farm. The mushrooms are from Bulich Mushroom Farm; the pork chops from Flying Pigs; thanks to Hudson Valley Organic Gardens for the mung sprouts, and our radishes came from S&SO Produce. The mutsu apples are from Nemeth Orchards; our plants - the zinnias, are from Van Houten Farms, and the basil is from Nature's Healing Farm; the cheese is a sheep's milk aged gouda style and found at Valley Shepherd, and our cream-top whole milk is from Milk Thistle Farm. After collecting all these goodies and with our bags filled to the brim with as much as we could carry, we decided it was time to return home and begin the feast!

With local and personal in mind, I want to offer you a sneak preview of my next post... I am eager to share with you an interview I made with none other than the great food writer Betty Fussell, who has written stories on America's love affair with (and the history of) corn and beef, amongst many, many other things. She is an amazing person, and someone I am honored to call a dear friend. Please stay tuned for this very special story.

Crock Pot Porchetta

When cooking is done right, there really isn't a more blissful experience than eating the fruits of that labor. My friend Kate had a party not too long ago for which she made all kinds of delectable food; one dish in particular had me returning for seconds and even thirds (perhaps a bit gluttonous, I agree). She described it as a slow-cooker version of porchetta.

Having visited the famous little nook that is Porchetta in the East Village just today, I can verify that the slow cooker version is exactly like the one I feasted on a few hours ago, but here, with the bones left in. When you experience for yourself just how juicy and flavorsome this tastes, I think you will agree every bit with my assertions. I welcome you to prove me wrong, in fact. You cannot mess this recipe up if you have a crock pot and sustainably sourced, good quality meat. And with the leftovers you will have, the gifts just keep on giving. ;)

I bought a bone-in (more flavor in the cooking with those bones left in) pork loin roast from Ottomanelli & Sons, one of the oldest family-run butchers here in New York. They have offered pastured and local prime meats for over 80 years. Go there. It is a wonderful experience and they are such sweet fellows (and will take great care of you!). After slathering it with the pureed herb-spice mixture (see recipe below), I simply popped the roast in my crock pot for a number of hours and tried to find distractions from being driven crazy by the intensely savory fragrance filling my home.

I had enough leftovers to last a few days (yippeeeee!). So, I made two types of sandwiches to see if either satisfied me more, and really, they both were outstanding. First, I pan fried thick slices of red onion in a cast iron skillet and sandwiched them with the pork between the heavenly signature semolina-golden raisin-fennel rolls from Amy's Bread. For the other, I toasted a seeded bun and slathered the buttery meat with the last of my homemade grain mustard, and served pickled watermelon rind to accompany the sandwich. Their crunchy texture and sour kick complemented the juicy meat quite nicely. If you find new variations for your delicious leftovers, I want to hear about it! So many options. So much flavor.

Satisfying, Simple Eating

I am a big fan of throwing food together in a matter of moments. Sure, I love to go all out with pies, roasts, and other feats in the kitchen, but it is the simple creations that sometimes make time stop in its tracks with their small brilliance. This dish is exactly that. BIG on satisfying flavor, while - after the prepping of the artichokes - taking only a small effort to execute.

Artichokes are one of the esoteric vegetables, right up there with kohlrabi. That isn't to say that I don't enjoy it (because I adore it!), I just mean that I have to prepare with a capital "p" when I want to incorporate it into any dining plans. When I was a child, my mom would make steamed artichokes with an "aioli" for dipping. As part of the new wave of nutrition-minded mothers, she made our aioli out of yogurt, lemon juice, and a touch of store bought mayo. Not bad, actually. I remember relishing the ceremonial aspect of eating this strange & prickly vegetable: layer-after-layer, eating the flesh off the edge of each leaf, and all the discarded leaves piled in square metal saucers my mom would provide. Then came the dramatic finale of digging out the hairy choke so we could indulge in the tender heart. It was certainly eating with deliberateness.

In my recipe I have left the ceremony to the enjoyment of many elements together, like you with your beloveds and some good red wine. I've used baby artichokes (with some modification, you can use regular ones), and after trimming some of the tougher exterior parts and then braising them, you can eat the whole thing....yum!

 

If you like artichokes in any way - from your mother's cooking or recipes of your own - then make this! You will love it. And when all you have left is the braising liquid, use it as a sauce over pasta or add it to your favorite marinara or stew. Every element contributes new bounty - now dig in. :)