Savoring the Whole Hog- an Old World view.

Sweet Onion Pork Stew- l'Escadaoun- a Gascon specialty

2009-09-17T18:58:00.000+02:00

My favorite French ‘pulled pork’ is called l'estouffade or l'escaoudoun in the Gascon patois. Tasted in a hideaway of a cafe in the Landes forest called La Croute du Pin near Reaup where it was made with the typique Noir de Gascogne pig, I re-created the dish here at Camont with most of the shoulder from Camas’ graduation pig. Once it cooked in the sweet onion sauce for a two hours, I ladled the sauce pork into large canning jars. When unannounced friends arrive for dinner, I’ll cook some Monalisa potatoes and serve them floating on an island of sweet onions pork, just like Madame did.

Recipe- for Estouffade de Porc- l’Escaoudoun

2 kilos / 4 1/2 lbs. of farm raised pork shoulder, cut into large cubes
1 kilo of onions, sliced thinly
2 soupspoons of duck fat
1 bottle of sweet wine wine (jurancon or cote de gascogne)
1/2 bottle madera, sherry or white port
1 generous glass of armagnac
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
a large bouquet garni- lovage, bay leaf, thyme
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper, a lot of it!
a large pick of quatre épice (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves)

The basic recipe is to cook all of the above until the onions have melted, the pork is falling apart and the flavors of the sweet wine mingle with the onion in a caramel-colored sauce.

Cut #2- Pork Shoulder basics

2009-09-01T12:15:00.001+02:00

* credit for chart

The Shoulder Cut of Pork is one of the most versatile cuts of meat in traditional Italian and French cuisine.
In France, the shoulder or épaule is cooked, cured, roasted, stewed, braised and made into pâtés.
A succulent shoulder roast stuffed with prunes and shallots is a classic French Sunday lunch. This summer we butchered the graduation carcass with the intent to can or cure all of the meat from half a pig. As I made a list of what to make with each cut of meat, I worried over the shoulder. The 25 pound boston butt and picnic ham is a lot of meat. (chart and pix of American cuts here)

In the end, I decided on a smothered braised recipe I had eaten in a rustic restaurant in the Landes Forest. My escaoudoun a la Croute du Pins was made from artisan French pork like this farm produces.

Although the shoulder meatis fattier than some other cuts, it melts in your mouth when cooked well. Start to compare cuts in the butchers or supermarkets and then taste the differences by choosing two cuts and cooking the same dishes with both of them. The echine,high up on the shoulder makes a great roast but I prefer a braising and stewing the shoulder.

Miale- Italian Pig

I wonder what Judy will make in Tuscany?

Ribs-in-Jar: french fast food

2009-08-30T14:31:00.001+02:00

This week at Whole Hog we started with the bone gnawing questions of what do Italians and French cooks do with ribs. Judy prepared a fabulous Naples-style Ragu here that turns into a Two-Meal Miracle. I decided to make a fast and furious rib dish to share with friends- French Fast Food.

What was so fast? I drove 4 kilometers to the nearest butcher (now that my 1-kilometer butcher shop has closed!)- 3 minutes. Bought the ribs- 2 minutes. Came home, cut them into single bone pieces- 6 minutes. Placed them in a large canning jar and poured marinade materials over them: a drizzle of our own honey, splash some red wine vinegar and apple juice & a generous pinch of salt and pepper- 4 minutes. Closed the jar, shaken not stirred and let rest while hanging out in the garden (read weeding!).2 hours doesn't count. Cooked the ribs over the grill with the sausage I bought for that night's dinner and then returned the ribs to the jar to store in the fridge.

Then I popped open a jar of simple summer beans I had canned last week (with thyme, bay leaf and Lovage)- 30 seconds. Placed the beans in a casserole dish- 30 more seconds. And slid them into a cold over, turned on a medium heat. 30 seconds de plus! Now just wait until hot- 30 minutes and EAT!

That's an easy 16 1/2 minutes of work, two hours of waiting, and 30 minutes to heat through.

Fast

French

Food.

I call it Ribs-n-Jar.

Not all French food takes a long time; the beans were done ahead of time one afternoon. It took me about one hour to shell and cook the fresh beans with the herbs and another 2 hour of canning time while I was doing something else (yup, weeding).Now I have three jars waiting for another fast meal.

The juices of the meaty ribs runs into beans to make a rich sauce. Beans. Ribs. What's not to like?
P.S. For all you "I don't have time to cooks", Check out some of the other things I have been cooking this week at my Kitchen-at-Camont here.

One Pot- Two Meals: Naples-style Pork Ragu

2009-08-26T17:46:00.005+02:00

When Kate tossed the proverbial bone- RIBS as our Franco-Italo challenge for pork this week, I immediately remembered a rich luscious sauce I had in Naples last year at the bread festival I attended.

Strangely enough the sauce is called Ragu Genovese- Genova-style sauce. The recipe is not from Genova, but it is rather frugal- as are the Genovese, using equal weight of onions to meat in the sauce. The ragu is a classic for the traditional Sunday lunch or holidays and evokes images of mamma up early at the stove with the large pot simmering away all morning filling the air with the profume of love!

It is a long, slow cooked sauce which develops a deep rich flavor lost in todays fast food world.

Not only is the sauce fabulous, but the technique of cooking whole pieces of meat in a tomato sauce, creates two meals from one pot of cooking.

I chose the meatier thicker ribs for this recipe, leaving them in large pieces, which can be then cut for serving.

Salsa alla Genovese

inspired by Favurite- Renato Rutigliano

The traditional recipe often uses a whole piece of beef, a potroast.

I have found many families use various cuts of pork, ribs, sausages and or necks to enrich this sauce.

2 pound/ 1 kg pork ribs

2 carrots
1 celery stalk

3 pounds of onions ( I used the local red onions)

2 cups white wine

1/2 cup olive oil

4 tbs butter

4 tbs lard

2 ounces pancetta or salami chopped into tiny strips or cubes

salt and pepper

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup tomato paste

1 cup tomato sauce ( optional)

-Finely mince the carrot, onions and celery together and place in a pan large enough to hold the meat and vegetables.

-Also add the olive oil, lard and butter. Add the chopped pancetta or salami.

-Season with salt and pepper.

-Place the meat on top and start to cook over a low heat.

-Stir the pot occassionally to prevent sticking, the vegetables will give off a lot of liquid.

-Cook for at least one hour. The onions should start to caramelize.

-Add the wine, 1/2 cup additions at a time, letting it absorb into the sauce.

-Add the tomato paste dissolved in the hot water and the tomato sauce. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

-Cover and let cook for another two hours at least.

In Naples they say "pippare"- s tiny bubbling like the hot lava from Vesuvius!!!My friends actually cook the meat for at least 6 hours, you can immagine Grandmother getting up at 6am to have lunch ready at noon!!!

I cooked my ribs for two hours and then cooked the sauce for another hour. The sauce should glimmer when done and be very thick. Some people do not add any tomato sauce at all and more traditionally only tomato paste.

-Remove the meat from the sauce and keep warm.

-Serve the pasta with the sauce, a traditional pasta are Paccheri, a huge oversized hollow rigatoni.

The meat is served as a main course, mashed potatoes would be great to absorb the extra sauce!
I immagine this is where the idea of spaghetti and meatballs came from and Pollo alla cacciatore.Where meats are cooked in sauce and in America, the meatballs were left on the pasta! Chicken cacciatore is the same, often served with huge amounts of sauce, immagine how much nicer it would be to use that sauce on pasta and serve the infused chicken on its own.

France & Italy Redux- Pork Ribs

2009-08-21T12:21:00.009+02:00

When Judy and I began this site a million years ago (ok, 2006) we were planning a piggy adventure for the Seattle IACP seminar with Fergus Henderson (see blog archives in sidebar). It was a way for us to organize the presentation and present supporting materials before the food world had adopted the e-way wholeheartedly. Fergus charmed us, taught us, and inspired us as well as the other 200 people in the room that day. The feeling was reciprocated. He said in his usual understated way, "It makes me a bit giddy. Why is everyone interested in me?" So I explained gently to him, "Fergus, here on Planet Food, you are a god, a maestro, a brave pioneer. And above all, food people are seeking 'The Way' in a too-virtual world. You offer them something visceral. Something they can hold. Smell. Eat. Digest. The nose-to-tail way of living.

And so it went all weekend that spring in 2006... pork, porc, maiale.
Now is the time to revisit what we were just exploring then. In the midst of a meat manifesto, a bacon explosion, a carniverous craving for flesh, bone and blood-- we return to honor Fergus Henderson's parting words, "Hug your butcher, please.'

From now until April 2010 when we return to the Northwest, this time to the IACP conference in Portland-Oregon- city of foodcart dreams and un-restaurants- we will be hugging our favorite Italian and French butchers as well as helping you learn about the Euro-way of pork butchery and curing. Charcuterie, recipes, portraits, pig lore, rare breeds, home butchery, and more to follow as we walk you through this oldworld pigearth where farmers are butchers, butchers are cooks and cooks are philosophers.

When I began this summer session of B&C (Butchery & Charcuterie) boot camp at the Kitchen-at-Camont I had no idea how deep we would go. Bone deep. I knew I was in trouble when I found myself seriously look at buying this for the workshops ...until I saw the price tag.

This week in honor of the last Summer weekends, we began at the inside, the structural key to loving the whole beast. The bone gnawing basics. The fatlicking fingers of tender meat. in other words...the ribs. Plain and simple. RIBS. Nothing spare about them.

Let's look at RIBS- neither acronym nor just a spare part, ribs are the very foundation on which we hang our bbq skills. Sticky. Sweet. Savory. Spicy. Think again. Think the Italian way. What do Italians do with ribs? Where does the butcher cut them? Or in France, what are the natives doing with the stubby little ribs, just buying 3 or 4 at a time? Check in for the answer from divinacucina and katedecamont and their butcher friends, here on the Going Whole Hog Road Show- part 2.

And yes, we are twittering as divinacucina and katedecamont.

Merci to www.arthursclipart.org for the artwork.

A Passion for Pork

2009-08-12T10:34:00.009+02:00

I WANT YOU!

If you have a passion for pork like we do,
come and join Judy and Kate in their Whole Hog Workshops in France, Italy
or on the road.

Since we began the whole hog for our sell-out IACP conference presentation with the delovely Fergus Henderson of St. John's restaurant in London, there has been a lot of bacon under the bridge. We offer our personal Old World advice and flavors to the big new wwworld that craves the authentic at the table.

Workshops in France:

This February in Gascony, Kate Hill is celebrating All Things 'P' in France with a farm butchery course: cuts, home curing and classic charcuterie featuring the very old world Noir de Gascogne pig, cousin to the Tuscan Cinta Senese. For professionals and home butchers alike, we'll take the Whole Hog approach and with our master butchers breakdown an entire carcass in our own Kitchen-at-Camont.

Workshops in Italy:

Learn the secrets of Porchetta and other Italian specialties from Judy Witts, who has worked along side Master butcher Dario Cecchini and other fabulous butchers in the Central Market.

Italian specialties:
Porchetta: the how to primer
Soprasatta: Headcheese
Fegatelli: pork livers in caul fat-two ways
Roventini: blood "pancakes" savory and sweet
Lard- Tuscan Butter

On the Road:

Together Judy & Kate will bringing their favorite French & Italian butchers and bacon with them to the West Coast for a Spring Pig Frolic before the April IACP conference in Portland Oregon.

Want more information? leave a comment below.

Inspired in Bologna!

2009-02-06T20:29:00.004+01:00

La Salumeria di Bruno e Franco
Via Oberdon, 16
Bologna

When in Bologna, one is in the land where pork is King!

On our day trip yesterday to meet with friends and do a little market filming, the selection preserved pork products was incredible.

Emilia Romagna is famous for it's pasta as well as it's pork, recipes change with every household and village.Very few recipes travel far in Italy,so the variety is incredible. Each area has it's own ways to prepare preserved pork. Salami's, sausages and prosciutto's. I was amazed at the wonderful variations on one of my favorite winter pork products, ciccioli, crispy little pieces of pork left over after rendering the fat. Here where was a moister, pressed version, made more like a soprasatta as well as the little crispy bits I amused to seeing.

But what I really want to try ( next time) is the pressed lard!
It looks very much like marble.

Doesn't that look fabulous???

Not having had enough pork- lunch today was a Spaghetti all'Amatriciana my way.

It is the first recipe I cooked for my now husband. When I served it, he walked out of the room without eating it at all. I had made it wrong!
He is my Italian life coach as well as culinary coach and I NEVER let that happen again!

Today he ate it all- I have had 25 years of practice!

My Amatriciana for two

200 gr spaghetti ( tradition is bucatini, a thick hollow spaghetti)
100 gr ( 3 ounces) smoked pancetta ( or thick sliced bacon)
1 small red onion, sliced
1 clove garlic
2 tiny birds eye chili's
olive oil
1 cup tomato sauce

Slice the pancetta into thin strips.
Saute' in pan until crispy.
Remove and saute the onion in the fat left from the pancetta, adding a little extra olive oil if needed.
Add the sliced garlic and break in the chili peppers. ( do not touch your eyes!)

Once the onion is cooked, add the tomato sauce and salt to taste.

Drain the spaghetti ( save some of the pasta water).

Place the spaghetti into the pan with the tomato sauce and saute.
the spaghetti will finish cooking by soaking up the tomato sauce.
Add some of the saved water if it gets too dry.

Add the crispy pancetta bits now and saute' again and serve immediately.

NO cheese!

I am leaving on Sunday for a month of teaching on the West Coast so I am building up my brownie points by cooking my heart out!

Dinner tonight was roast pork shins, stinche di maiale, one of the first dishes I had in Bologna about 20 years ago. Oven-roasted with simple rosemary, garlic, olive oil and sea salt.

Bake in parchment for 2 hours at 375 (or until the meat is ready to fall off the bones).
The last hour I threw tiny new yukon gold potatoes in the pan with sea salt, rosemary and olive oil. They melted in our mouths!

The secrets of the Italian kitchen.... great ingredients- prepared simply!

Fall is for Pigging out

2008-11-16T15:11:00.025+01:00

nothing is wasted in Florence's Central Market!

fabulous selection of salami's

As fall comes in, our palates goes to the "P" words

Porcini

Pumpkin

pumpkins and fall squash

Polenta

baked polenta with kale and tuscan white beans, " farinata"

and of course
PORK!

suckling pig is always fabulous for a party

Kate and I both agree pork and beans is fall's comfort food.
Rib-sticking, heart-warming, belly filling

We thought it would be a great idea to warm up the fall
with a virtual gathering of recipes
inspired by this classic combination.

Kate, the Queen of Cassoulet, offers week-end workshops
and also provides cassoles by mail for your own
weekend Camp Cassoulet at home.

In my hood, Tuscans are called "Mangiafagioli"- bean eaters
and have a special way with pork

and beans both!

It is comforting that yearly seasons repeat themselves
rewarding us with meals to remember!

Soups or stews
what is your favorite?

freshly shelled cannellini beans are so Tuscan

Join us in celebrating by sending in your personal favorite.
Hit the market, grab a pot and start cooking!

Need beans?
Contact Steve, our personal bean guru at Rancho Gordo.
Check out his new book on beans
Wonderful gift for xmas with a selection of Rancho Gordo beans!

Thank you in advance for sharing any secrets from your kitchens!

A nice way to start the holiday celebrations!

Send us a link to your recipe on your blog or site and we will collect the links here!

Join us in pigging out!

Bourbon BBQ beans from Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn

Kate's very faux but yummy NOT cassoulet

Jonathans Table in Queens, NY a cassoulet

Diva's oven-roasted garlic'd beans with ribs

Diva's Tuscan Chili

Boudin Balls!

2008-07-30T17:17:00.003+02:00

When we were in New Orleans for IACP last April,
I organized a first night dinner to introduce friends.

It had to be Cochon!
We filled our table with incredible pork bits one of our favorites
were the Boudin Balls.

That is really pigging out,

Fried anything is lovely of course,
but these were great.

Immagine my joy when I got an email from the Rice Board
with the Recipe

as soon as it cools down here I am making some!

Let the good times roll!

It's done!

2008-05-04T10:16:00.006+02:00

Here is the final product, my first homecured meat!

Capocollo

I can't wait to have my maestro's feedback, I will take it to those that helped from my neighbors
the Tinti's, to Dario and Orlando and to the market in Florence!

This foto was taken a week ago when I returned from New Orleans.
I thought it was still a little pink,
so I rewrapped it and stuck it in the aging room ( under the stairs to the attic)
and am going to reopen it today for snack.

Will reshoot a foto and weigh it again.
I weighed it when I opened it last week and it was about 1,600kg
so not quite half it's original weight.

The Maestro of my Maestro

2008-02-24T13:53:00.008+01:00

Orlando, the Maestro's Maestro

now mine too!

no man works alone, Dario's team

Since Renaissance times, apprentices have worked with masters to learn.

In many ways, nothing has changed.

Although downtown Florence may look like any other town with

Footlocker, Disney Store, and McDonalds,

if you look hard enough,

you will still find artisans producing products as their fathers did

and their father's fathers did.

I feel honored to be a friend of Dario Cecchini's, my meat master.

His butcher shop is like an artisans workshop.

Faith Willinger called him the " Michelangelo" of butchers.

His shop is the Uffizi of beef!

I went to hang out the other day in the Bottega, which is always the best way to learn.

While he works, he holds court more than just selling meat.

Food and wine are flowing,

old friends and new friends,

passer-bys and those that go out of their way to find Dario.

As friend enter, Dario stops work to catch up on news.

This is the Italy I moved here for.

Friend are more important than work to Dario, here with Loys

Dario Cecchini with Vincenzo Chini, artisan butchers.

Vincenzo is in Gaiole and raises Cinta Senese pigs

Their fathers and grandfathers grew up together.

Dante From Udine, closed his restaurant and now teams up with Dario

He is a Maestro at the art of hand-cutting prosciutto.

Hanging on the wall are Dario's guanciale, cured pig cheeks.

It is mostly used in Rome for making Amatriciana sauce, instead of pancetta.

I had a chance to ask Dario's Maestro, Orlando, who has known Dario since he was child, when Dario's father would go to buy their meats from the company that Orlando worked for.

Passing on tradition and also maestro's!

I took advantage of my luck and got more tips on my Capocolla.

Orlando's advice for final curing.

Wash the salt off the meat and let sit at room temp until dry.

Make a rub with garlic and black pepper.

( no more salt!)

I also added chili, a southern touch.

I then re-wrapped the coppa and have hung it to dry in a cool room.

I was inspired by the Coppa I had in Calabria

from the chili festival in Diamante, Calabria

Love the way they form them with the bamboo sides.

Spicy capocollo.

Here is my version, thanks to Maestro Orlando.

ready to be tied and hung for aging.

Here are Dario's Guanciale, made from the hog jowls, or pig cheeks, aging hanging from the rafters

Now the most important ingredient:

TIME

See you April 21!

it should lose about 50% of it's present weight.

It is important to tie it tightly as it will get smaller as it dries too.

Phase Two

2008-02-21T09:22:00.003+01:00

I am not so sure how this is all going to work out.

The weather as been so bizarre, clear crisp sunny days.
We did hit freezing here the other day, but it is not the usual winter.

I salted and resalted the pork and for fear of the wam weather left it in the fridge.

At the end of the salting period, I rinsed off the pork and let it sit out for the day to dry.

I then made the final rub with rosemary, garlic, black pepper, chili powder and salt.

Gave it all a nice rub and with the butcher paper Gabrielle gave me
I am going to tie it up to hang and age later today.

The meat weighed 2,400kg when I started and now weighs 2,100 kg.

In my reading, I think it says it should lose 60% of it's weight.

Dario is back from vacation so will go to my local Master of meat and get more info!

New year - new recipe- join me!

2008-02-05T19:29:00.000+01:00

Gabriel Tarchi, mercato San Lorenzo

Winter is here, but the weather has been to warm to prepare pork!

My friend with pigs have not yet slaughtered as it has to be colder to make prosciutto.

Global warming at it's worst!

Last year my neighbor, Signor Tinti,

lost all but one of his prosciutto's due to the heat.

No fridges here.

He hung his hams in the guest room, windows opened for fresh air.

But it was unusually warm and they got the MOSCA!

the guests in their "aging" room

When you prepare aged meats as it as been done for generations after generation,

but the weather changes, traditions will also have to adapt.

I hope that doesn't mean that all food will be exactly the same,

made under the exact same conditions.

The beauty of Italy has been it's artisans.

This year I am joining in with my fellow shoppers at the COOP grocery store

and following the book which was given out to customers,

am making a CAPOCOLLA.

This is a whole 5 pound piece of well marbled pork.

Follow me and keep your fingers crossed!

I bought ordered my meat several weeks ago
and picked up my capocolla February 3.

The instructions in the book on salting your own meat, which was given out by the shop,

gave very detailed instructions on preparing a ham, to be a prosciutto.

For the capocolla,

very simply stated,

massage the meat with salt,

as for prosciutto.

Let sit for 3 days, resalt.

After 12 days, rinse off salt, season, and tie and hang.

Ok, I needed a little more direction.

I went to my source at the Central Market, Gabriele Tarchi.

His dad was my January pin-up boy last year, holding a fresh ham.

For years he was worked with those who raise the animals his father sells,

but now that dad has retired Gabriele has taken over the stand.

HE KNOWS.

So following his guidance,

I tweeked the instructions.

Along with the salt, which I had added chili powder

to create a more southern version for the rub,

Gabriele suggested adding garlic paste.

Instead of just massaging in the salt, he suggested to create more of a crust, covering it more.

Also, to let it sit on a cutting board, tilted to let the blood flow off of the meat,

instead of sitting in the liquid.

I began on Sunday and will re-salt and Wednesday.

Wish me luck!

Never one to waste, when I trimmed the pork to even off the edges,
Here is what I made.

A riff on Dario Cecchini's Carne in Galera
a recipe where meat was cooked in vinegar
and herbs
to help maintain it while on long voyages.

I also think that vinegar takes away any bad flavors
old or wild game may have.

Pork in vinegar
serves 2

8 ounces pork ,cubed
6 shallots, peeled and halved
olive oil
1 cup or more red wine vinegar
rosemary
lots of sage
salt.

Brown the pork and the shallots in olive oil.
Season lightly with salt.
Add chopped rosemary and sage.

Add 1/2 cup of vinegar, cover and cook.

If needed while cooking add more vinegar.

When the meat is tender, adjust seasonings.
If too tart from vinegar, add some water.
I added more vinegar and more salt.

FAVOLOSO!

Before serving I had some left over roasted veggies I threw in.

cooking time, about 40 minutes

Whole hog for the holidays

2007-12-02T23:16:00.000+01:00

EAT PORK

A splendid table of Cinta Senese products at a local fair in Italy.
Really whole hog! Prosciutto, sausages, salami, blood sausage, cooked livers packed in rendered lard, preserved loin, more tender than prosciutto,
inspiring me for a winter project.

We have been lax in keeping up with the whole hog blog, but cooler weather will have us back dreaming about preserving pork in many ways and markets inspiring us to cook on!

But with the holidays coming
I recieved an email that brought a smile to my face.

I am so grateful for Grateful Palate
their catalog is a thing of beauty.

When we did our presentation in Seattle on Saints Preserve Us,
with Fergus Henderson
from Saint Johns in London
I ordered Bacon Brittle for our tasting.
LOVED IT
Just one of the fabulous items in this great catalog!

Other items I have seen for pork lovers-

When I taught at Ramekins in Sonoma and cooked on
the Big Green Egg
I was a instant convert!

I would get the biggest Big Green Egg,
everything we cooked on it
was better,
faster
and easier
than in the wood burning oven
or the Weber.

Then when I was looking for info on the web on
roasting a whole pig
I saw THIS

a roasting box
to do whole hogs...

let the partying begin!

happy holidays

Celebrate the PIG!

Over the Tuscan Stove

2007-08-26T22:30:00.001+02:00

Which Celebrity Chef are You?

You are MARIO BATALI!
You're not one for details, you throw it together and, well, let's just hope it tastes as good as it looks! Molto Mario is your show!

How do you compare?
Take this test! | Tests from Testriffic

Porceddu

2007-08-24T19:38:00.000+02:00

Mr. Mediterranean, Clifford Wright, has just relaunched his fabulous website.

Summer is here and I couldn't help but be inspired by his recipes for
sardenian roast suckling pig, called Porceddu in dialect.

In Florence we are lucky to have a couple of places,
that for a table of 8 will do a porceddu dinner!

Next time you are here.. great dinner party!
Almost like a treasure hunt first finding the suckling pig, then the Mirto!
and any decent dinner would finish in Filu ferro or Mirto Grappa!

SF Salami - Chris Cosentino

2007-08-16T09:53:00.000+02:00

Surfing the net, found the great news!
Boccalone, the big mouth, is the new salami producer in SF.

Chris Cosentino is one of my hero's!

They have created a CSA for salumi!
Join the Salumi Society and stop by Incanto for your pickup!

If I wasn't in Italy.. I would be so there!

Pig+Cookies = Fast Track

2007-08-13T13:09:00.000+02:00

foto- Laura Krantz NPR

When not tending my own e-garden here in Southwest France, I listen to the dulcet sounds of American's NPR while doing the dishes, mending an parasol, or just slacking off. Always on the alert for Swiney news that's fit to print... I offer you all an Oreo and a Summer Fair corn dog...on the hoof. Some days you just gotta wonder at how we all make a living.

Kate & Bacon

Real Women Eat Steak

2007-08-12T15:37:00.000+02:00

What's better than sitting down to a nice grilled Steak?

Sitting down to a nice grilled steak and sharing it with your man!

A loaf of bread
A jug of wine
a 2 pound T-Bone

and thou!

Times have changed!

I don't know about you, but I was a vegetarian for years.
I don't eat a lot of meat, but when I do, I want a nice big steak.
Forget sweets, Steak is my Tiramisu, Pick-me-up.

For some reason it just energizes me.
Maybe that is why it is great first date food?

Here is how to recreate the perfect steak at home.

BYOB--- Bring Your Own Boy!

Bless This Grill

2007-08-06T10:02:00.000+02:00

August 10th is coming right up, the patron saint of the Market in Florence, San Lorenzo.

Considered by some to be the patron saint of chef's for how he was martyred.... Grilled alive!
Tales tell that he asked to be turned over as he was done on one side.

La Notte Di San Lorenzo, the night of Saint Lawrence, is also the night of the falling stars, and a wine festival Calice alle Stelle.

What better way to celebrate than a great grill and some fabulous wine.
I am off to the store right now to get inspired!
Why wait for the 10th!

There are just two of us, so a simple grill:
2 boneless chicken thighs
1 small rack of ribs
2 sausages
1 pork tenderloin for a second meal

no marinades, no brining , no sauces
just pure and simple grill!!!

serve with salt, lemon and if you want sauce on the side!

Buona Grigliata

Bless this Pig

2007-06-24T09:40:00.000+02:00

San Antonio Abate, patron saint of pigs and other farm animals

Stefano Benicista of Falorni's Butcher shop i Greve
Temple to pork

Cinta Senese, the same pig in the carved image of San Antonio

inside Falorni's

On our week in Chianti, we spent a morning in Falorni's shop in Greve,
here tradition blends with modern day marketing
Prosciutto's hanging from the ceiling waiting for their moment.
But on the shelves are picnic slices ready to open and eat.

Artisan butcher's are now preparing ready to cook products which mamma used to make
Freeing up more time to spend with the family

wide variety of prepared meats

our Arista a pork roast already boned, seasoned and put back on the bone to roast.

The woodburning oven gave a fabulous smokiness to the roast

our finished product

Roasted pork with lentils

Playing with Fire! Light 'em up!

2007-05-18T14:22:00.000+02:00

What happens when two transplanted American cooks meet at a wood-fired oven in Tuscany? Sparks fly and the heat is on!
A week of wood-fired ovens artisan pork, and the best butchers in Tuscany inspired by two cooks who love meat and the artisans that produce it!
Join Kate Hill ( The French Kitchen) and Judy Witts ( Divina Cucina) in celebrating summer.

Carnivorous grill girls, butcher babes and BBQ boys are welcome!
June 18,19 20, 21, & 22- 2007
One day workshops 290 euro
All five days 1,200 Euro

Hands-on classes with meals and artisan tours.

Hotel not included.
Contact Kate ( kate@thefrenchkitchen.com) or Judy ( diva@divinacucina.com)

Recipe: Saucisse Fraiche Southwest France

2007-03-03T13:39:00.000+01:00

I have made sausage in homes and farms all across Southwest France. Each home, family, farm does it slightly differently: more or less salt, pepper freshly ground or store bought, spices, garlic, wine, armagnac... but the sausage made in butcher shops and by artisan farmer/butchers is basic, pure and relies on one most important ingredient- the pig.

The pork comes with it's own special flavor, the just right amount of fat and a natural succulence improved with cooking over an open grill.

So when asked for a basic recipe, I turned to the experts at hand and offer these words of advice from my favorite very local butcher at Brax.

Saucisse de Toulouse
1 Jambon- skinned, boned and cut into large pieces- weigh
1 Shoulder- skinned, boned and cut into large pieces- weigh

Salt-16 grams per kilo
Ground Black Pepper- 3 grams per kilo

1 liter cold water

• Grind the pork with a #10 plate (the size of your index finger).
• Add salt and pepper to water; pour water over meat and mix with your hands
• Stuff into casings.
• Cook while fresh or freeze.

Merci!

one of my many expert butchers!

Outdoor Oven Cooking in Tuscany.

2007-02-27T19:31:00.000+01:00

Going Whole Hog in Chianti-
with Judy Witts and Kate Hill

The heat is on! Carnivorous grill girls, butcher babes and BBQ boys welcome.
Wood fired ovens.
Slow roasting spits.
And the best butchers in Tuscany.
It is all about meat and the people who produce it.

Join us in the heart of the Chianti wine-making region this June to go Whole Hog with Kate Hill of the French Kitchen and Judy Witts Francini of Divina Cucina. Hands-on cooking classes, grilling workshops with some of Tuscany’s master butchers, and using a terracotta oven for beef, pork and poultry. Nothing is safe from our grill!

Pizzas, porchetta, Florentine steaks, short and long ribs, and other Tuscan oven fare shares the spotlight with Kate’s French Kitchen pantry of ‘Gascon steaks’ (duck breasts with foie gras!), Saucisse de Toulouse and a traditional wood fired cassoulet in it’s traditional clay cassole. The friendly rivalry of French and Italian soul sisters, Judy and Kate, just keeps the cooking lively as the wine and grappa flows. There might even be a smuggled bottle of vintage armagnac to share as the embers die down and the sky fades on these longest summer days. Sparks from beehive ovens to Tuscan ovens rival the fireflies to decorate the nights.

Workshops with:
Dario Cecchini- Panzano in Chianti
Fratelli Falorni- Greve in Chianti
Giacomo Ferreti- Monsummano Terme
Visit Colonnata- home to Tuscany’s famous LARD, aged in marble boxes in the hills above the marble quarries of Carrara.
What is a meal without wine? Meet the producers of some of Chianti’s best wineries to pair with out meals.
Tour Florence’s Mercato di San Lorenzo, discover the secrets of generations.

For more information: http://www.divinacucina.com/code/classchianti_07.html

That time of year!

2007-01-13T15:54:00.000+01:00

we accept reservations for products to salt:
-hams, shoulders, bacon and collar

always the season for spit roasting a suckling pig
Saturday at the Castelfiorentino market

Time flies!

It was a year ago that Kate and I began this venture into preserving and documenting the Pig in Gascony and Tuscany for our presentation in Seattle last year with Fergus Henderson.

Little did we know how many others are also fired by the passion of pork!

2007 is the year of the pig, starting in Febraury 18th.

The celebrations begin at Kate's in Gascony for New Years and in June come to Tuscany.

Winter is a slow season as the earth takes a long sleep ready to explode in spring but for those who work the earth.. there is no rest.

All are preparing the larder for the cold winter months ( if they arrive this year!)

Join us as we explore the season, with our teacher's, those that work the land and those that feed the workers.

Who could ask for a better school?