My Thoughts on Michelin and the Next Conundrum.

So today the 2014 Michelin Guide Chicago stars were announced. This red book generates a lot of chatter in the Chicago restaurant community and among enthusiastic diners.  A few weeks ago I said on social media that I questioned the continuing relevance of Michelin, particularly in Chicago.


Basically there was very little change in the starred restaurant list from last year. There are 5 new restaurants receiving stars and congratulations to these folks. They work very hard and it's nice that their accomplishments are recognized.   But of all of the restaurants on this list none are restaurants that I eat at regularly, and few are places anyone I know eat at on a regular basis.  Now, most of the starred restaurants are pretty pricey and not really the kinds of places that I, or the people I know, can afford to eat at on the regular. And that's fine.  Are they good restaurants? Well as a friend of mine said today "Michelin is still a too-short , patchwork list of bad-to-OK-to-good one stars" And I think this nails it. Where Michelin does hold some relevance is in the 2 and 3 star list. Of course not so much for Chicagoans, but for people traveling here. Where should you go for a blow out, price is no object meal on your trip to Chicago? Look to Michelin's two and three star list.
But that really doesn't hold any relevance to me.
Then there are the "Bib Gourmand" award winners. This award is supposed to be given to favorite restaurants that you can get two courses plus a glass of wine or a dessert for under $40. Again, this list is pretty wide ranging, but when you get to these kinds of places I can see a wider range that won't necessarily mesh with my opinions.
All of that being said, what really has me questioning the relevance of Michelin, for diners like myself, is that of the half dozen or so restaurants that I would consider myself a regular at, not a single one is on either list. Now, I'm not talking about places that fall outside of what Michelin typically reviews, super hidden little gems, odd ethnic places, or far off suburban locations. These are restaurants that are widely talked about, doing quality creative food, and their absence on either Michelin list leaves some very knowledgeable food people dumbfounded. Look, I dine out quite a bit, more than the average person, heck, I dine out more than I ought to, and there's a reason I go back to these places over and over again. They're really good. The food is often seasonal, the service is professional and friendly, the dining rooms are comfortable, and the wine/ drink lists are well done. But what it's really about for me is the food. And that's what Michelin says too. So how can we have such a wide gap between what Michelin thinks is worthy of their little awards and what I (as well as those very knowledgeable food people I mentioned earlier) think? Clearly they're looking at these places from a different point of view than I am. Since Michelin fails to recognize some of these outstanding places their list is really irrelevant to me. Again, that's not to say that award recipients aren't doing good, even great food. Often they are doing just that. They're just not places I choose to, or can afford to dine at regularly. And I'm OK with Michelin not giving the places I like their stars. But people who run these places work really hard and not making the list, at least to some of these people, hurts. What I would say to them is "Keep doing what you're doing. You're great at it and your customers appreciate it. After all isn't that all that matters?"

Michelin confounds.

And speaking of food, how is it Michelin continues to ignore  maybe the most important restaurant in the country, Next. Last year Michelin went on about how Next was too difficult to get into with their ticketing system. OK, I can sort of see their point. But should that really exclude Next? No, it shouldn't because Michelin says it's ratings are all about the food. This year getting tickets to Next became much easier.  This year again, Michelin left Next unrated. Why? Well this year a Michelin spokesperson said in an interview "it's hard to get in there and it hasn't been open long." Excuse me? Virtually every day tickets are available. Tickets are slowly released throughout a menu run and not all that hard to come by.  And not open long enough? Come on! This is the end of Next's third year in business. Grace on the other hand, which deservedly received two stars today, has been open for less than a year. As Mike Gebert wrote in the Reader today "If you can't figure out how to evaluate a restaurant which has sold out every night for 2 years, you're apparently the only one with that problem."

My friend Josh sums it up nicely in his blog

"1. Chefs and some media folks start posting about their excitement, anxiety, and predictions

2. The rest of us either join in or start complaining that Michelin is stupid (note: the latter group is no fun and should be shunned)

3. Some of the list leaks. Nothing leaked is remotely surprising

4. The stars are officially announced. Some choices are good, some are not so good. Glaring omissions are made

5. Everyone goes back to what they were originally doing, since honestly who cares what Michelin has to say about Chicago."

So that's what I'm going back to doing. Eating at great restaurants that I really enjoy, regardless of what some anonymous inspector grading places on mysterious criteria is doing.

Oh, those places left off either of Michelin's lists that I love (in alphabetical order)

Anteprima

The Bristol

Vera

Yusho

That's my list of stars and it's probably irrelevant to you.

That's how lists like these work I suppose.

Oh Food Blogs!

WARNING, ADULT LANGUAGE AHEAD

It seems that Food Blogs are like assholes; everyone has one, and they stink.

Well that’s not entirely true, they don’t all stink.

There are a number of very good ones out there. Some of my favorites belong to folks that have become friends of mine. So, if you’re looking for some good Bloggage (I just made up a word!), without having to wade through a sea of horribleness,  check out these. They’re each different, written by good people, whose opinions you can trust, they’re not filled with horrible looking, dimly lit, out of focus food porn photos, and are blogs I read on a regular basis.

Sky Full of Bacon comes from James Beard award winner Mike Gebert. Mike is a great writer and film maker who has written for the likes of The Reader, Time Out Chicago, Saveur.com, and was the editor of Grub Street Chicago.  Mike’s unique point of view and compelling writing style make this a blog to read on the regular. Mostly revolving around local dining from dives to high end, but he also delves into local farms and markets, searching out info about where the food we eat comes from. This guy really knows food, but better, knows food people and gets them to talk about their passions. Dig deep and you'll even find a good number of celebs. If you're not so much the reading type, Mike produces some great videos and the sight is peppered with them.

From Belly to Bacon is written by my friend Mark S. This blog is all about cooking. Mostly about curing and preserving, but other methods are certainly explored. Mark brings readers into his very creative thought process in coming up with fantastic ideas in cooking. He takes you through the formulation and execution of dishes that you’d often never consider making, and makes them very approachable to the home cook.  Some of his projects take months or longer to execute (Ham!), some are made with items he forages, some are even right out of cook books. One thing that really compels me about Mark’s blog is that in the past few months I was researching ideas I had in food and twice(!) From Belly to Bacon came up on the top of my Google search. If you enjoy cooking you must read this.

OK, so this next one has a name that isn't exactly family friendly but F*ckerberg on Food is written by my friend Kenny Z. Now, Kenny is opinionated, to say the least, but he’s super funny, often in a sarcastic way, and super knowledgeable about food. He even cooked professionally for a time. Kenny is very good at telling you what he doesn't like, and why. I may not always agree with him, but I always enjoy reading his blog. When Kenny does like something, you should sit up and take notice, because this guy really knows food. The story of how this blog got its name is a good one. Kenny tried out a new sandwich place opened by celeb chef Graham Elliot Bowles. Kenny didn't like what he had to eat and, in that special Kenny way, tweeted about it. G.E.B. didn't like that and called him "F*ckerberg" during the back and forth banter.  So when Kenny started his blog, he already knew the name. He totally embraced it. If you're looking for no-holds-barred restaurant blogging, this is the one for you.

Finally here's a new comer to the Blog Party. Stuff I Eat by my friend Josh. There's only two posts, so there's not much I can tell you about what it is or will be. But what I can tell you is that Josh is smart, funny, and can talk food with the best of them. He has a level head, calls out silliness, and is sure to entertain and inform.

There are certainly more popular, celebrated, and perhaps even better food blogs out there, but these are some of my favorites.

You should check them out.

Is Sustainability Sustainable?

A business closed today. 

I guess some of you are thinking "Yeah, so? Businesses close everyday."

While you're absolutely correct, this one was different. This one was important. The funny thing is, while I did occasion this neighborhood shop, I was by no means a regular. I didn't know the staff like I do at a lot of places I shop. I didn't go in and ask what's good today or anything like that.  But knowing they're gone has affected me emotionally.

Why? Well, read this letter from the owner. 

It's sad, you know. Here's a guy who passionately went after the thing that's important to him and it just didn't work. But these things happen. Sometimes very little things affect the viability of a business. Espescially a small local one. So they close. It happens. 

But the one line of the whole letter that really got me was this one "...in the end I found that sustainability - an undying commitment to what that means - wasn't sustainable."

Can that be true? Are we doomed to fall prey to Big Ag feeding us GMO poison?

I say no. No we're not.

And what this really tells me is that while Mr. Friedman is the one suffering the loss of his dream, it's not he that failed, but us. We failed.

We failed to not buy our meat where we buy our toilet  paper.
We failed to support local business.
We failed to work a little harder and pay a little more for the food we eat.
We failed to support local farmers.
We failed to eat locally, seasonally and organically.
We failed.
Not him.

Why? Because it's cheaper and easier. We failed.

And that's too bad. It's too bad that our food system has lied to us and told us that food is cheap and easy. It's not. Well, not if you want to eat good food.

Cleetus Friedman is a hero, who, as my friend Mark said, was a guy who "fought the good fight."

So let's all try a bit harder this time. Shop at a local butcher. Buy your produce from a farmers market. Stay away from products with non organic soy and corn that are nothing more than GMO products forced down our throats by the makers of Agent Orange (and these things just might make your pubic hair fall out.)

Work a little harder to shop locally. Ask about the food you buy and eat. If it came from half way around the globe how good can it really taste anyway?

Mr. Friedman, you likely won't read this blog, but I wish you all the best and keep fighting the good fight. I'll try not to fail you in your next venture.

Follow Cleetus on Twitter @CleetTweet

No, It's Not All About You

OK, this post isn't so much about food or cooking so if you are looking for that you can stop reading now.


The food world has taken a funny turn over the past few years, and a few events in the Chicago food scene in the last couple of weeks highlight a lot of wrong in it.

So it got me to thinking, just where did it all go wrong?

From the time I was young what fascinated me about food was not only the act of cooking and eating, but  more how it brought people together around a table enhancing family and community. And as the food movement grew, and more and more folks got interested in eating and cooking well, a community of like-minded folks grew. We talked with one another about what made a certain restaurant great, or about how a certain ingredient or technique could make a dish you like to cook so much better.  Tips were exchanged, friendships were made. It was really great. The media became interested in our passion and the community grew.

Then somewhere along the line things changed. No longer was food about gathering and enjoying the sense of community. It was all about "Look at me!"
 "I'm eating something or someplace that you can't. That makes me cooler than you."
 "I was the first to eat at so and so's new restaurant."
The focus turned from community to self. And that makes me sad.

These people seem to look at the food world as a way to enhance their own self esteem.  Somehow people with very little idea about food, who rarely, if ever really cook something, can appoint themselves "experts" or "reviewers" because they can post their (often misguided, ill-informed) thoughts on sites like Yelp.

A perfect example of this, and one of the events I mentioned earlier that took my brain down this path, was a "review" of a highly anticipated new restaurant in Chicago. The author of this "review" was the very first customer this restaurant ever served.  So what does he do? Frankly, he pans the place. Now, I don't know this person, and he may be a perfectly nice guy. He may love to cook at home. But, his "review" (notice I use the quotes whenever I use that word?) shows a clear lack of understanding about the very nature of this type of restaurant. But he trashes it while standing atop a pillar of self appointed authority. Basically he's saying "Look at how cool I am, I was first in the door and the chef didn't kiss my ass while I snapped photo's of him, while he was trying to work on a very important night. I could have used some bread too." Sigh. Do you see a sense of community here? What I see is a lack of understanding and an attempt to boost ones own ego.  Sad.

The other event that got me to thinking about all of this was an actual review by a paid critic. In this review the critic spent 4 of 13 paragraphs writing about his fellow diners at this restaurant where the seating is communal. Whether what he wrote about these folks is true or not is unknown to me, but what sparked from the review, sadly, was a lot of chatter on various food chat sites not about this restaurant or its food, but rather outrage from the people written about, and who knew more, who was right, and who was the better diner and person. Again we see this "It's all about me." And that's sad.

Many of these people (or people like them) refer to themselves as "Foodies." DAMNIT! I hate that word. If you ever hear someone refer to themselves as such it's highly likely that they are an insufferable jerk.

Finally, this last event takes the cake. This one is so absurd that there's actual discussion about whether or not it's all just a big ruse. I'm not going to even discuss it because writing about it more makes me feel like I need to shower. Read it for yourself, but remember I warned you, it's slimy. If you are ever in the presence of someone with this card please, do us all a favor and tell them how disgusting they are. I sure will.

It's like these three episodes are all some sort of joke. The food community has actually become a parody of itself.

Where did it all go so wrong? I don't know. Actually I don't even care.  But I just want people to remember, food isn't about exclusivity, or who's first, or who's right or wrong, or who knows more. It's about taking an active role in community and family. It's about sharing, it's about friendship. Next time you eat or cook keep these things in mind.

It'll make for a much more enjoyable experience.

My Favorites of 2012

This blog isn't quite dead yet. Sorry I've neglected it and I'll try to do better in 2013.

So here I sit on New Years Eve and I've been reading many "My Favorite Dishes of 2013" lists. Many of these are very astute observations from serious food people. So I won't bother to recite a best things I ate list here.  But I would like to list my favorite places to eat. Most are in Chicago, a few aren't. These are place you should go to.
I'm listing them in no particular order and I'll let tell you just a bit about each. You may agree with me, you may not, but it's my list.

Here we go.

-The Bristol If you live here you've likely heard of it. If you haven't you need to get out more. This 4 year old farm to table restaurant continues to crank out some of my favorite food anywhere.

-Vera Chef Mark Mendez presents amazing, contemporary tapas in the friendly dining room run by his charming wife Liz.

-Yusho Yakitori inspired dishes elevated by the talents of Chef Mathias Merges, former Chef de Cuisine of now shuttered Charlie Trotters. They're also cranking out some of the best craft cocktails in the city.

- Antepima Here's a place you don't hear much about in social media or on chat boards. This Andersonville Italian spot serves up some fantastic, traditional fare, focusing on local and seasonal ingredients.

- Chalkboard Here's another spot you won't hear much about on Twitter, but Chef Gilbert Langlois is doing some really good stuff in his North Center restaurant. Elegant, at times delicate, fare with a slight southern twist.

- Katsu The best place in Chicago for Sushi. Period.

- St. John Bread and Wine After dining here in July, while in London on business, I understand why chefs around the globe revere Chef Fergus Henderson as some sort of culinary Buddha. If you go to London and don't eat here, we can't be friends.

- Lotus of Siam I thought I knew Thai food, until I ate here. If you find yourself in Las Vegas, get off the strip and prepare to be rocked by what I think is the best Thai food I've ever eaten.

- Incanto Sort of like an Italian version of The Bristol in San Francisco, where Chef Chris Cosentino is bringing the joys of offal to the Bay Area.

In the words of Jack Burton, driver of The Pork Chop Express "I don't claim to have been everywhere of to have done everything" so I'm sure there are all sorts of places that could easily have made this list but these are places I love, that are serving great food and run by great people who care about what they're doing. If you haven't been to these get to them in 2013.

Happy New Year

You paid how much?

$500 for dinner?

I struggle with this.

What the hell am I talking about? Well let me start by telling you over 6000 people scrambled to do just that. And just over 1000 were granted the honor of doing so. OK, I admit that's a bit harsh. "honored" is just me being snarky. To be fair purchasing a $500 dinner was not bestowed upon individuals, but rather, much like tickets to a concert or Championship game if you were first in line you got the tickets.

Tickets? For dinner? Huh?

As some of you know Next, the restaurant opened last year by Chef Grant Achatz and business partner Nick Kokonas, doesn't take reservations but rather sells tickets. More about that process here.

Anyway, the most recent incarnation of Next is a tribute to elBulli, the now shuttered restaurant by chef Ferran Adria in Roses, Spain, once considered the best restaurant in the world. Getting into elBulli, if you can believe it, was even more difficult than getting tickets to the Next tribute to it. Only open from June through December, elBulli served just 8000 guests per year. Over 2 million people tried to obtain these prized reservations. The cost for the meal was roughly 250 Euros (about $325) per person. elBulli was a temple to molecular gastronomy, or as some call it, modernist cuisine. The world's finest young chefs would apply to work the 6 months in the elBulli kitchen for no pay. These internships, called stages in the restaurant business, gave many of today's great chefs experience with molecular gastronomy, from the finest practitioner of it in the world. Grant Achatz was one of these stages. Along with his time at The French Laundry, his time at elBulli helped form him into the great chef he is today. Thus it's appropriate that he pay tribute to Ferran Adria and this legendary restaurant.

Now, as you know from this blog, a $500 meal isn't exactly a Lesser Cuts meal. OK, I can live with that. Not everything you eat should be cheap cuts. But there's something about the thought of paying $500 for dinner that just makes me uncomfortable. Maybe it's my Midwestern sensibility. Anyway, when pricing was announced for Next elBulli I thought, gee that's priced out of my league. I'm not all that into molecular gastronomy even though I've had some fun and amazing dishes prepared using techniques considered modernist. But I've also had some dishes where these techniques actually made a dish worse. Give me a good braised short rib. You can keep the foams and airs.

Anyway, a friend of mine is a huge fan of modernist food and badly wanted to try to get tickets for Next elBulli. Since he really doesn't know anyone else who would spend $500 on a meal,I told him if he got the tickets then I would go with him. But getting the tickets was on him. Well as luck would have it, he scored tickets and now I'm paying $500 for a dinner that won't happen until late April.

Every time I think “I paid $500 for dinner” I shudder. Sure there are people who can easily afford or justify this. I'm not one of them. This one meal will require sacrifice on my part. Saving a bit here and there, a few less nights out with friends, watching my personal expenses a bit more over the next few months, but I will be able to afford it. It will mean financial sacrifice for me, but ultimately I will be able to afford it. And that actually brings about a bit of guilt.

$500 for dinner? That's $1000 for 2 people to eat one meal. There are 16 countries in the world where the average income is less than $1000 per year. PER YEAR! And we're going to spend that on one meal! That's why it's a bit of a moral struggle for me.

But a meal like this is a once in a lifetime chance. Maybe even less than that given the odds stacked against people trying to get these tickets.

A friend who also got tickets to Next elBulli asked me what my expectations were for this meal. My response was if 2 of the 29 courses are “misses”, or if 5 or 6 are simply “meh” I'll leave disappointed. Now, I'm not going to look for disappointment. This is a meal prepared by one of the best chefs in the world, paying homage to the greatest restaurant in the world. It should be amazing. For the cost, I expect it to be transcendent. When I told this friend about my expectations for this meal he said that bar was set pretty high. “It sure is.” I replied “But I didn't set it, they did.”

Another conversation, with a friend who will not be experiencing this menu, revolved around the fact that people are often quality blinded by price, exclusivity, or simple ignorance. I'm not one of these folks. If something is great I'll say so, if it's less than great I'll say so. But a lot of folks can't do that. The soup at Next Tour  of Thailand was one of the best dishes I have ever eaten. However that isn't the case for some of the things I've eaten at Next.  On Next's Facebook page you can read reviews of Next Childhood where people loudly proclaim it the "best meal" of their life, and "perfection!"  Well, having experienced each of Next's incarnations I can easily say that, while creatively the most ambitious, and by far the most dramatic, Next Childhood was also the least successful menu from a culinary standpoint. The chicken noodle soup dish which many exclaimed as "fantastic", was a salty mess, and the mac and cheese that so many raved about was served to me with pasta so undercooked I should have sent it back (I totally chickened out!). But the theater of the meal was spectacular. Even though the chicken soup was not a good dish, the way it was served made me laugh. It was a gigantic bowl, making me feel like I was a child eating out of a bowl that seemed enormous. Just brilliant. I actually giggled out loud when the visual effect of the huge bowl dawned on me.Too bad the soup didn't reflect that. Now I'm sure many Next fanboys and girls will proclaim me a heathen for making such blasphemous proclamations but the fact remains, I can see when the emperor has no clothes. And I'll say so, and I'll tell you why.

So will I feel the four hours and 29 courses of Next elBulli is worth the $500 ticket price? I don't know. Can any meal really be worth $500? I'm struggling with that.

I'll probably struggle with the idea until that night in April when I dine at Next elBulli. Perhaps longer.

Not Just For Zombies Anymore!

Have you ever eaten calves brains? I bet most of you are saying "EWWWWWWW!" right about now. But after having not one, but two brain dishes this week I knew that these guts dishes needed to be blogged about.

When asked about one of these amazing dishes by our server all I could muster was "Calves' brains are like sweatbreads' sexier, older sister." And really that about describes them. Sexy. They are very delicate in flavor and so creamy in texture it's amazing. This elegant piece of offal lends itself to both rustic and refined preparations.

Still not sold on the idea of eating calves brains? OK well let me tell you about the two dishes.

The first was at The Publican. This brain was floured and deep fried, dusted with just a touch of curry, and served with beets and a lemon aioli.  Crunch exterior, creamy interior and a mild flavor that let the skillfully prepared aioli shine through.

The next was a special dish at The Bristol. These brains were lightly floured then pan fried with butter and served with a classic white wine, garlic, butter, and caper sauce. Close your eyes and, aside from the texture, you might think you're eating a super fresh pan fried walleye. Hold smokes was this dish spectacular.

I know that ordering brains might be pushing your limits, but you never know when you might find something new that is really delicious.

Oh yeah, they also go great with eggs.

Mmmmm Braise-a-liscious

It's winter time and as the cold weather comes in there's nothing quite as warming as braised meat. Lesser cuts are perfect for braising because they're typically tough and have a lot of connective tissue, which renders into rich meat and sauce. And quite frankly, one of the best lesser cuts to braise is the shank.

The shank is the lower leg of the animal. Hind shanks are typically meatier and more flavorful. If you go to the butcher and ask for a hind shank, he'll know you know what you're doing.

The shank take hours to cook. Low and slow, so all of that connective tissue releases its gelatin into your sauce and makes it lush and rich.

And while it takes a long time, braising is really quite simple.

Start with a dice of mirepoix (onion, carrot and celery) some herbage like bay and thyme, liquid (enough to cover about three quarters of the meat) like a combination of wine and stock, salt, pepper, cover, heat.

I was looking to braise something a few weeks back on a cold, wet Saturday. I wondered into The Butcher and the Larder and stared into the case looking for a suitable lesser cut. Just then, Rob comes out of the walk-in carrying a whole goat. "Whatcha looking for?" he asked.

"I dunno, something to braise."

Quickly he suggested "How about a couple of hind shanks?"

"SOLD!"

He qucikly cut them off the back legs of the animal, trimmed them on the band saw, wrapped them, and sent me on my merry way.

Like I said above, mirepoix, herbs, wine, stock, salt, pepper, cover, 325 degree oven for 3 hours and serve with some mashed potatoes, glazed carrots and top with some reduced braising liquid and chopped parsley and mint.

Wow, simple and amazing.  Try it with lamb if you can't find goat, or even an Osso Bucco.

It'll warm your soul on a cold winter's night.

The Pig's Head That Won an Election.

So I'm sitting there happily munching away on the pig I roasted in the Caja China and I was sitting next to my friend Scott, who I work with. Scott had brought his two sons to the party and they were behaving like perfect little gentlemen. His oldest, RL, was sitting next to Scott and asked me about the pig's head. "Can I have the head?" he asked.


A bit puzzled, and more skeptical really, about why a 10 year old would want a pig head I said "Well, if it's OK with your dad" while glancing at Scott.


Scott says, "It's for a school project it's fine."


"OK, RL" I say "You can have it, but what's it for?"


"We have show and tell every Monday about something we did over the weekend and I want to tell the class about this."


"Pretty cool, OK, I'll wrap it up for you."


So after wrapping it up I tell Scott how to clean it before his boy took it to school.


Tuesday at work Scott tracks me down and tells me "You have to hear about the pig skull."


The story goes something like this.


Monday morning RL strolls into his class with something in a big plastic bag. Curious about this the teacher asks "RL, what do you have there?"


RL happily responds "It's a pig skull for show and tell."


"Bring that here." the teacher commands. "I want to see that." So RL walks over to her desk and proudly opens the bag revealing the cleaned skull in all of it's glory. The teacher turns pale white in a bit of horror but understands that this could be a good lesson for the kids. "OK" she says "you can show that."


So, show and tell time comes about and when it's RL's turn he gets in front of the class and tells them about this party he went to with his dad where this guy roasted a whole pig. He tells them about the Caja China and then, after building up the story, tells the class he came home with a souvenir. Then, he opens the bag and lifts out the skull.


Now,  in a fifth grade class the girls screamed, and the boys hooted with glee. They couldn't get enough of it.   The commotion was so great that it caused a teacher from the other fifth grade class across the hall to come and see what all the racket was about. She saw the skull, turned white herself, then asked RL's teacher if he could bring it to show her class across the hall.

Needless to say the reaction from the other class was about the same. RL and his pig skull were the toast of the fifth grade for that Monday.


So that was pretty cool to hear that a kid, who had probably never seen a pig skull before, took an interest in it and was rewarded with the glee of his classmates.


But the story doesn't end there. A few days later Scott comes up to me at work and tells me that RL was running for his class representative to the school council. He had run the year before and lost, but he was trying again. Just before the election Scott asked him how he thought he'd do. Somewhat glumly RL replied "Well, I think I'll get 2 votes, mine and my campaign manager's." Now, c'mon, that's a scream, a fifth grader has a campaign manager for school council elections. That's awesome. But RL went onto explain that since he wasn't one of the "popular" kids he couldn't realistically expect to win the election.


Anyway, as the election approached, of RL's two opponents, one changed schools, and the other, seeing RL's new found popularity from the pig skull, decided to drop out leaving RL to run unopposed. Thus RL won his student council election.


Needless to say I'm tickled. I hope one day that young man can look back on this story and see how an open mind about food can change the world.

Going Whole Hog

Part of what got me started writing this blog was the idea of using the whole animal that gave its life to feed us.  Now, that’s easy for a restaurant to do but when it comes to the home cook, like me, once you get beyond something the size of say a turkey, using a whole animal is pretty much impossible.

A few years ago however, a friend of mine told me about this party a friend of his was at  called “Pigs and Pinot.” Aside from my immediate love of the name, which had two of my favorite things in the world in it, the idea of a party which involved good food and good wine really intrigued me. My friend explained to me that at this party they cooked a whole pig in something called a Caja China or China Box.  As I researched this thing I found that a Caja China is the way folks in Cuba roast whole pigs. Supposedly it gets its name from the Chinese railroad workers who brought it to Cuba in the mid nineteenth centuries and used it for cooking, this may just be a myth, but what I can tell you is using one is as simple as advertised.

All you have to do is load this sheet metal lined box with whatever it is you’re cooking, cover it with the lid and place lit charcoal on top. Replenish the charcoal as needed and when your food is cooked, open the box and serve. Easy peasey.

The more I looked into this China Box, the stronger my urge to throw a party similar to the one I had heard about grew. Thus, earlier this year I finally decided to throw the first ever “Swine and Wine” party. It was to be a celebration of all things porcine and vinified (I'm pretty sure that's not a real word but you know what I mean and hey, its my blog!) I set the date for Saturday, September 24^th.

As the date approached I got more serious about my research into the Caja China.  First, where could I get one. I certainly didn’t want to spend $300 to purchase one for what might be a once a year, or even less, affair. Well it turns out that the guys at The Bristol just happened to own one.  Since I’m a regular there they told me it would be no problem to borrow it for my event.  Next, where to find a pig. Well, that seemed like a no brainer. First off, there’s no way I was going to serve some warehouse raised GMO fed pig at my party.  So, my choice was obvious. Talk to Rob at The Butcher and The Larder. Having never really cooked for more than a dozen or so folks I had no idea how big of a pig to get. After some discussion we decided that since I was planning on around 50 guests I’d get a 70 pound pig from Slagel Farms. 

Since I was planning on cooking the pig using a traditional Cuban cooking method, obviously my idea was to go that direction in flavor profile.  After a bit of research I decided on a simple blood orange and garlic marinade.

I picked things up at various times during  the week leading up to the party. Sunday I shopped for numerous supplies, Thursday I picked up the China box from the Bristol, and bought some more ingredients and supplies. All the while I was stressing over this 70 pound pig.  It seemed like a lot for 50 people, but Rob reassured me it was the right amount. What if I screwed up cooking it? Well, everything says that Caja China cooking is almost idiot proof. What if people didn’t show up? From Evite and Facebook responses  it seemed that I’d have right about 50 people coming, and they all seemed excited about it.  OK Calm down.

I realized that I had nowhere to store this pig overnight when I picked it up on Friday. After a brief chat with Rob he told me all I needed to do was to wrap the pig in a tarp, lay it in a bath tub, cover it with several bags of ice and cover it all with another tarp.  For the 14 hours or so it would be in there I’d be fine.  OK Swell, pig cooling plan made.

So after work on Friday I picked up the pig. Rob split the spine for me (more on that to come) and scored the skin. I popped the pig in the back of my car and off I went. 

I picked up 4 large bags of ice and got the pig (all 74 pounds of it) into my bathtub under ice and wrapped in tarps just like Rob told me.

After that I made my marinade. 2 quarts of blood orange juice, a pound of peeled garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons of salt , 2 tablespoons of oregano, a tablespoon each of black pepper and cumin. Blend it all together and refrigerate overnight to let the flavors meld.

One of the cool things about cooking a whole hog in a Caja China is that the cooking time is crazy fast. Like 4-5 hours, as opposed to the 12 plus hours of roasting on a spit or the 24 hours in a smoker.

So at about 11 in the morning, two friends came over to help me get the pig started. 

Step one, salt the entire pig, both inside and out.

Step two, put the pig between the two metal grates so it lays flat and secure the grates together with “s” hooks. Since Rob split the spine this worked out pretty easy, although some brute force was needed.

Step three, inject the marinade into the pig all over, then rub the marinade all over the inside and outside of the pig.

Step four, put the pig into the box, skin side down.

Step five, cover the box and put 16 pounds of lit charcoal on top.

Now this next part is very important. At no time for the next three hours can you open the box. Not even for the slightest peek.  Don’t do it. Just let the box work it’s magic. Every hour just throw another 10 pounds of charcoal on top. That’s all you have to do. That and hang out with a nice glass of wine or a beer. No tending to the fire or watching temperatures like other whole hog cooking methods.   The China box is really a “set it and forget it” way of cooking.

After 3 hours and 36 pounds of charcoal, you can finally open the box.

It looks nicely roasted but the skin needs to get crisp...

...so grab hold of the racks and flip that bad boy over, skin side up.

Also, insert the probe of a thermometer into the ham to measure the internal temp so you know when the pig is done.

Close the box up, add another 10 pounds of charcoal and go back to your wine.  OK I can do that.

Everything I read said it would take another hour to complete the cook, well I guess because the pig was pretty big (74 lbs. Remember?) it took about an hour and 45 minutes.  When we opened the box it looked amazing. Of course because this is a lesser cuts and guts party the ears never even made it to the table. Heck, I don’t think they even made it out of the box.

Anyway, the skin was crispy and sweet, and the meat came out just amazing.

It was so easy and delicious. The marinade added a nice flavor but the pork flavor was what this was all about.  This isn't BBQ so there's no smokey flavor. But if you take it for what it is it's just specatacular.  I had a Cuban friend at the party and he was gleeful. "It's like Christmas" he squealed (pardon the pun) because this style of roasted pig is the traditional Christmas meal for Cuban families.

The party was a real hit but really the pig was only a small part of what made it fun. 

If you've ever wanted to do a pig roast, try the Caja China. It's so easy and fun I can't wait for next year.

Check back soon when I tell the story of how a pig skull helped win an election...

Eating at Next

So, this post is a long time coming. Several months ago I wrote about the "Ticketing" system at Next, the new restaurant by Grant Achatz.  Needless to say, I was thrilled to be able to score tickets, especially considering the insanity that happened when they were released.

Anyway, I don't like writing reviews of restaurants, so take this more as a trip report. Actually, I intentionally waited to write this report until after the "Paris 1906" menu concluded. If you don't already know, Next reinvents itself every 3 months serving a new menu from a different time and place. I wanted to wait until the  "Paris 1906" menu was no longer available before writing this. If you've been you may agree or disagree with some of my thoughts, that's up to you.

My reservation was for 5:30, the first seating of the night, and we arrived a few minutes early.  It was a nice early spring evening and the door was still locked. We waited outside for a few minutes with some other folks. There was a tingle of excitement in the air. Promptly at 5:30 the hostess opened the door and greeted us.

We were quickly seated in the sleek dining room. Comfortable and elegant all at the same time, the room is comprised of soft gray hues with an interesting beam curving along the ceiling of the long narrow dining room. The tones of a cool, early 20th century French singer came over the sound system. 

We were greeted by our server with a "program" for the evening. The simple bifold, heavy stock program was printed on a gold exterior with a subtle "Next Paris 1906" logo on the front. Upon opening it the interior was printed with a map of the streets of Paris with these words:

"Cesar Ritz and Auguste Escoffier opened the Ritz Hotel Paris in 1906. A New upper class thrived; visiting the Ritz, along with restaurants such as Maxim's, became something more than just dinner. Part fashion show and part social scene, the restaurant was now the entertainment.

Paris, 1906 - Escoffier at the Ritz was and easy choice as our opening menu at Next.

Escoffier's life was framed by La Belle Epoque; it was a period of political stability, technological innovation, and a thriving economy before the chaos and horror or World War I. His seminal La Guide Culinaire established dishes and techniques that became the bedrock of Western cuisine. His kitchen organization and methods are still taught today.

The main liberty we have taken with the presentation is to 'plate' most of the courses.  At the Ritz, this menu would have been presented as part of a grand buffet, or served upon great platters set amongst the guests at large tables. While Escoffier gave precise details on how these should be arranged, the visual feast occurred before the food arrived on a guest's plate. 

We have followed many of these guidelines, but have done so on a personal scale.

Bon Appetit"

Our server came back almost on cue after we finished reading the program and explained that this was their take on Escoffier at the Ritz and the whole idea behind the restaurant was about taking a journey.

Throughout the evening service was impeccable. Neither rushed, nor too slow, timing, attention to detail and every guest need was taken care of effortlessly.

Our first glass of wine was presented not long after. A very nice non vintage sparkling wine from the Alsace, Chateau d'Orschwir Cremant d'Alsace Brut. Unlike a lot of Champagnes this wine was not overbearing with yeast. The bottle was presented, glasses were poured and the bottle was set on a small silver tray on the table. Not that we'd need more, but left in case we wanted more. The first course arrived seamlessly after. A beautiful tray of Hors d'Oeuvers set upon an elegant silver tray. The server briefly described each; leek with mushroom, anchovy on top of quail egg, pig on cracker with chive, foie gras and brioche, and creamy egg custard with truffles.

These were as tasty as they were beautiful. The leek was a perfect round of leek greens filled with an earthy duxelle. The pig on cracker was the silkiest rillette I've ever eaten. The small quenelle was set atop a house made cracker that was light and crisp. The custard was served inside an eggshell. This dish contained potato puree, whipped brandade, and of course the custard, all garnished with chopped truffle. I really wanted to like this dish more. To me the potato was out of balance with the rest of of the dish. While the flavor was nice I really didn’t get much of that custard creaminess I was expecting. The Foie Gras Brioche was a real stroke of genius. The mini slice of brioche had a small circle cut from its center which was filled with a wonderfully smooth, yet not too rich torchon of foie gras. Wow, really elegant. My favorite bite though was the quail egg topped with anchovy. This perfectly cooked medium boiled quail egg was a single bite and the yolk just oozed. I was skeptical of the anchovy garnish, but it all worked together so well.

While enjoying the Hors d'Oeuvers a camera crew from CBS was shooting in the kitchen. To get some dining shots the camerman came into the dining room and turned his sun gun on (that little yet powerful light on top of the camera) and aimed his lens straight at me. Well, I don't really like being shot without my permission and I like a glaring light blinding me while I dine even less. Lucky for me I'm a producer and I knew exactly how to get him to stop...look straight into the lens and stare until he shoots someone else.  It worked.

The next wine was served not long after the dishes from the first course were cleared away. This was an unusual wine. 2005 Domaine de Montbourgeau Savagnin “Etoile” from the Jura region of France. This nutty white is intentionally oxidized which gives it the character of sherry. This paired perfectly with the next course, Potage a la Tortue Claire. Turtle soup! When the waiter presented this dish he referred to it as Turtle consomme. OK, so I have a bit of a problem if this was in fact supposed to be a consomme. Consomme is supposed to be crystal clear. When this soup was poured from the elegant white tea kettle into the bowl garnished with carrot, turnip, and chervil, it was not crystal clear. A minor point to be sure, since the soup tasted great.  The chervil garnish really played well with the consomme. I'm usually not the biggest fan of consommes because I just don't think they deliver the bang of flavor I'd like. This one too was a bit delicate.  I'd have preffered a bit more intensity. I was curious about what type of turtle was used and the waiter informed me they get the snapping tutrtles from a farm in Louisiana. Talk about an informed staff! The sherry-like wine worked perfectly with this dish.

The bread course was next, a nice little roll served with butter. Nothing “wow” here, but I made sure to save some of the bread for sauce sopping later on.

Next (PUN!) we were served a fantastic 2006 Macon Milly-Lamartine “Clos du Four.” This white burgundy showed why Burgundy is a great wine region. Neither over-oaked nor too buttery, this minerally white was sure to be a great food wine. While the wine was good the next course was my favorite of the evening. Filet de Sole Daumont. All I can say about this dish is wow, just wow. The sole may have been the single most perfectly cooked piece of fish I've ever eaten. I just can't say enough about how amazing this was. Also on the plate were a perfectly fluted mushroom cap stuffed with crawfish, a crawfish head stuffed with crawfish mousse, and a small ball of breaded sole roe deep fried to a crispy brown. All of this was sauced with a spectacular bruleed butter sauce. Aside from the obvious flavor explosion one thing that really stands out in my memory about this dish was how the texture the flute cut on the mushroom cap really made things even better. A subtle point, but something that I'm sure most people miss. Too bad, because it's small details like this that really make a restaurant like Next stand out against the rest.

The wine that followed this dish was a bit of a surprise. This 2009 Chateau de la Liquiere “Les Amandiers” from Faugeres in the Languedoc is a rhone style blend. The reason it surprised me is because the next course was Supremes de Poussin. Chicken. Red with a chicken dish? Yup it worked, it just goes to show how the minds behind Next are always pushing to give the diner a new experience. It would have been so easy to serve a rich chardonnay from Burgundy with this dish, but not these guys, they never take the easy road and always push for excellence. The slight smokiness of the wine really paired nicely with the dish. This course was a perfectly cut diamond shape of chicken breast cooked sous vide, topped with a super rich and velvety foie gras sauce. Along side were two rounds of cucumber which were seeded, and filled with a chicken forcemeat. This was all poached in butter and wrapped with a salt pork. The cucumbers were really outstanding. Of course what isn't when it's poached in butter? I didn't quite “get” the salt pork though. I just couldn't figure out why it was needed and what it added to the dish. Also, while the flavor of the chicken and sauce were fantastic, the chicken was just ever so slightly over cooked. Again, not a huge problem but a slight, unexpected misstep.

The next wine was a 2006 Domaine Brusset “Les Travers”, Cairanne located in the Cote du Rhone. The huge berry flavors and good tannin structure stood up well to the luxurious, fatty texture of the Caneton Rouennais a la Presse. This duck entree was perhaps the most talked about and raved over dish of the entire menu. The sauce for the dish was made with a duck press. Chefs put the carcase of the carved duck into this tool and crank the press down to extract all of the juices which are used to create an elegant, yet not overly complex sauce. While really good, I found that the duck just wasn't hot. Now, perhaps this was intentional as in Escoffier's day it would likely not have been hot. Regardless I'd have liked the dish to have been hot. Another minor misstep I think.

Along side of the duck was served Gratin de Pommes de Terre a la Dauphinoise. This was the finest preparation of potatoes Dauphinoise I have every had. Creamy, perfectly cooked potatoes that weren't too rich. Usually this dish is so rich you can only eat a few bites. But not this one.

After this we got a small, tiny Salade Irma. An array of greens served with nasturtium blossom, asparagus and radish. While nice, I found this salad to be slightly overdressed.

Dessert was a Bombe Ceylan. This coco covered ice cream dome sat atop a chocolate cookie aside rum soaked cherries. While perfectly fine, I felt the dish was a touch too cold and paled in comparison to the rest of the meal. This was served with a Smith Woodhouse 10 year tawny port.

Finally came the Miganardises. 3 really wonderful little sweet bites to end the meal. Salted Carmel, a spectacular nougat, and a beet jelly that blew me away.

While enjoying our last course I mentioned to my friend that I hope we could get a tour of the kitchen.  One different thing about dining at Next is that no bill is presented at the end of the meal because everything is paid for in advance upon the purchase of your ticket.  After our dishes were cleared we got up to leave and a server came over to us and said he had arranged a tour of the kitchen for us. Apparently he heard me say I'd like one while he passed. I didn't think I was speaking loudly enough for anyone other than my friend to hear me.  Again, just another example of the level of attention to detail and outstanding customer service which comes with a dinner at Next.

So much has been written about Next; Paris 1906 that there's not much more I can say about it. Many people exclaimed “Perfection”, “I can now die happy”, or “The best meal of my life.” Well, I don't think it was that great. It was really outstanding and worth every penny. While it wasn't perfect the meal was one that I'll remember for a long long time. Congrats to all at Next on giving diners a wonderful experience.

While I didn't take photos of any of the dinner you can find some really spectacular ones here. Thanks to the folks at LTH Forum for allowing me to post this link and to "Yellow Truffle" for his permission and great photography.

Now I look forward to my “Next” meal “Tour of Thailand” which I was able to score tickets for tonight!

Short and bitter

OK, so it's been a long time since I've blogged. I'll own that. But you know, I saw something tonight that pissed me off.

While watching a cable show hosted by a guy who eats Bizarre Food, he was taken around a city known for the "Independence" of our nation by a "Food Blogger." This chick was cute and couldn't have weighed 110 pounds. When he took her to a place that severed a lot of lesser cuts and guts she admitted, on camera, that she had never eaten tripe or tongue.

Seriously?

What does she write about? All the trendy new places serving the see and be seen crowd I bet.

Screw that. Who are you going to listen to when it comes to food? The chick who doesn't ever expand her horizons when it comes to food or the guy who isn't afraid to try anything and cook it too?

And she gets the national TV segment.

Eff that!

I'll be back soon to talk about the good stuff.

The Most Anticipated Restaurant in the World

So, we can't always eat the lesser cuts. Sure I love them, but sometimes, when presented with the opportunity, you eat a really exciting meal that is comprised of some of the finest ingredients that are neither local nor sustainable.

A little over a year ago Chef Grant Achatz of Chicago's Alinea, which was recently awarded three Michelin Stars, announced the opening of a completely new type of restaurant, called Next (This link does not work with Internet Explorer but Firefox and Chrome work.) When the opening of Next was announced the website offered people the chance to sign up to be alerted of it's opening. I was lucky enough to sign up the first day the site went live. More on that in a bit.

Next was going to do things differently.  First, this restaurant promised to reinvent itself by changing both the time and place of its menu every three months. Diners might experience 1906 Paris, 2050 Bangkok, and other places and time. Next (pardon the pun), Next would not accept reservations. Instead, it would sell "tickets". Like buying an airline ticket, prices would vary. 6:00 on Wednesday would be less expensive than say 8:00 on Saturday. Achatz promised to deliver 3 star dining at one star prices. Over the next (PUN!) year excitement grew from the murmur of those few excited about this idea to an all out frenzied hysteria just prior to opening.

A few months out from the announced early April opening the time and place for the first menu at Next was announced. Paris 1906 - Escoffier at The Ritz. This was to be a total departure for Chef Achatz who is known for modernist cuisine. Dinner at his flagship Alinea includes many airs, foams, and a host of other molecular gastronomy techniques.

Auguste Escoffier, is known as the chef who basically invented modern (not modernist) cuisine. His recipes, techniques, and even his system of running a kitchen are still used today. Seeing how Chef Achatz, known for forward and futuristic thinking about food, brought himself back in time was going to be interesting to say the least. That is, if I could score tickets.

As the time for the release of tickets approached social media exploded with anticipation. People were going bat-shit crazy. When will the opening be? When can "I" buy tickets? How will you release tickets? And on and on. It was announced that tickets would be offered first to those who signed up on the website as I had.  Those signing up first would be offered tickets first. Finally, just a few days prior to the opening, the date was announced. April 6th, 2011. Next would be releasing tickets to 500 people at a time. You would be allowed to purchase 2 reservations each. Only parties of 2 or 4 would be booked. There was also the 6 person "Chef's Table" that could be booked for a bit more money, but would include extra courses.

Oddly, owner Nick Kokonas chose to release tickets on opening day. Would I be able to get tickets? If so, would I want two seatings? Because Next was selling tickets, the seats were required by law to be transferable.  A lot of speculation was made about a potential secondary market.

The morning of the announced release of tickets arrived. 10:00 a.m. was to be the time of the first emails. What was supposed to happen was that, when your turn came to buy tickets you would receive an email letting you know to go to the website, enter your email address and await your individual password. 10:00 came and went and nothing. Sigh, maybe I wouldn't get to eat at Next. It turns out that there were a lot of technical problems with the ticketing system on the restaurant's end. Delays. Finally at 2:00 it was announced that the first emails were being sent. Because of the delay, rather than 500 emails, the first 1000 people who signed up would be getting an email. I was one of those! I quickly went to the website, entered my email address and almost immediately received my password. I signed in to the website where I was informed to fill out my profile, including my credit card information, before proceeding to chose my reservation time. I did as instructed and chose a table for 2 at 6:00 on Wednesday, April 13th, 2011. I also chose my drink pairing. Options ranged from water service for no charge, all the way up to $98 for the reserve wine pairing. I selected the standard wine pairing for $48 per person. The total for two was just under $300, tax and tip included.

This was the cheapest you could get these tickets with this wine pairing for.  So, should I buy a second set of tickets? Tax time was approaching and I knew Uncle Sam was going to be demanding a hefty check from me. If I played it right I could buy another set, scalp them and maybe even pay for my own dinner there with the profit. But something just didn't feel right about that. I immediately tracked down a friend at work who I knew really wanted to go but didn't sign up until the last second to receive his email. With over 19,000 people signing up, his chances were slim to none of getting an invitation. He jumped at the chance to buy tickets under my name and we booked his tickets.

What followed online was astonishing. While the ticketing system worked flawlessly for me, hundreds of people, maybe even thousands, posted on the Next Facebook page that they couldn't access the site. Many complained that they knew they signed up on day one to be informed of the opening. Many said they received their invite email but couldn't get their password. What the owners of Next couldn't anticipate was the amount of traffic their site would receive when tickets went on sale. Now, I'm certain many people were doing anything they could to circumvent the system, and get tickets even though it wasn't their turn.  There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.What happened was that people were trying to get into the system who weren't currently allowed to and all of this extra traffic really bogged it down. So, some people who did genuinely receive their invite email were having a hard time logging in and weren't able to.  But I got my tickets, was able to help a friend get his, and I was happy and a bit giddy with excitement. 

In my Next (PUN!) blog I'll tell you about my dinner at what might just be the most anticipated restaurant in the world. Next - Paris 1906.

Some People Don't Get It. Some People Do!

Some people just don’t get it. OK, so this is going to be a bit of a rant.  I was at dinner the other night and a young, well dressed, good looking couple was seated at the table next to us. From the minute they were escorted over to the table they didn’t say a word. Not to the host, not to one another, or to anyone else.  They had their faces buried in their respective iPhones and were furiously texting away.  When the waiter came to greet them, drop off menus, and take drink orders, they both muttered their drink preference without even looking up from their beloved iPhones. They remained sitting there in silence tapping away at their keyboards. This went on for a full 10 minutes when they simultaneously set their phone on the table, text messaging apps still running, and only then did they start speaking to one another. Their dinner was continuously interrupted by ever so urgent breaks to return a text.

Seriously? This is how adults dine these days? I mean, this wasn’t at some diner or fast food joint, we were in a nice restaurant. Where did these people grow up? My parents would never have allowed for that kind of behavior when I was a child. Let alone as an adult. If I had pulled a stunt like that as a kid I’d have been told, in no uncertain terms, to put whatever it was that was taking my attention away from the meal with my family away. If I had not complied whatever it was would have been taken away until at least the end of the meal and likely a whole lot longer. With these two however, they continued their respective text conversations on and off throughout their meal. This is how you enjoy dinner out? Where are your manners people? Put the phone away for an hour or so, enjoy each other’s company, damnit is it that hard to be civil for Christ’s sake? If your text conversation is so pressing take it away from the table, finish it, and come back to have dinner when you’re done. I swear to god I really do hate people sometimes.

Conversely, the people who own and work at the restaurant I was having dinner at that night do get it. The place serves really great food, in a comfortable dining room that’s neither too formal nor too casual. They have a great wine and beer list, attentive and friendly service and for the most part use local, sustainable, and organic ingredients. They bring in a lot of whole animals and do a lot of “snout to tail” cooking. It’s not rare to see rabbit kidney or chicken gizzards on the menu, and they do a lot of their own charcuterie. In case you don’t know what that means, well, it’s using the bits and scraps left over from an animal to create amazing things like sausages and pates.  These guys care about the ingredients, how they're prepared and how they take care of their customers.

Where is this little gem? It's on Damen Avenue in Chicago and it's called The Bristol. If you live in Chicago and you haven't eaten there you have to check it out. If you're not from Chicago, the next time you come you have to eat there. It's one of my favorite restaurants in the world. Seriously, these guys rock.

When you go, don't be afraid of something that might sound like it's outside of your culinary comfort zone. Trust me, you won't be sorry you expanded your food horizons.

A Tasty But Cheap Dinner

A lot of people say “I can't afford to eat organic meat.” You know what? Just about anyone can, you just have to select the right cuts.

I picked up some gorgeous Dietzler Farms beef cheeks for The Butcher and The Larder last week.

The cheek is the facial muscle of a cow. It's typically lean and quite tough. It's loaded with connective tissue and is super dark in color due to the amount of work the muscles get throughout the cow's life. Because of this it's the perfect cut for braising. Cooking this cut slowly, over low heat,allows the connective tissue to break down and release its collagen which produces a very tender, rich and dense, almost falling apart result. And the real beauty is, they're cheap, like really cheap. The 2 pounds cost me just about $6. And because of the rich result these could easily feed 4 people or more depending on how you prepare them

Now, you usually can't just roll into your butcher and pick up beef cheeks, and you certainly won't find them at your local megamart. Typically, you'll have to order them in advance from your butcher. But When I was in The Butcher and The Larder the other day Rob just happened to have some. Obviously I jumped at the chance to buy them. The two cheeks weighed in at about 2 pounds. That's a lot of cheek.

I decided I'd make them into ravioli. That way I could freeze any uneaten ones in individual servings.

2 pounds of beef cheeks makes enough ravioli to easily feed 8 people. At $6 for the protein,and just a few bucks for the other ingredients, you can easily feed 8 hungry adults for under $3 each. You can't eat at a fast food joint for that!

I started out by getting my mis en place together. If you don't know what that is, it's a French term meaning “everything in place.” Before they start cooking chefs begin by doing all of their chopping and measuring, this way, once the cooking begins, every ingredient is ready to go. They don't have to stop to get something else or run across the kitchen to grab another ingredient. All of that additional running around would throw a professional kitchen into chaos. I once read a quote from a chef “If you want to hike, go to the outdoors, when you want to cook, mis en place.” If you don't typically cook like this, try it. You'll be amazed at how easy it makes cooking.

My mis en place looked like this.

2 pounds of beef cheeks

One onion diced, one carrot diced, tow stalks of celery, diced, once cup of chopped tomatoes, two cups of red wine and 1 teaspoon of fresh chopped rosemary.

I started by searing off the beef cheeks in a touch of oil in a hot pan.

Searing gives meat that is about to be braised a nice texture. You're not really cooking at this point you're just caramelizing the exterior of the meat.

After about 2 minutes on each side I took the cheeks out of the pan, lowered the heat, and added mirepoix (That's just fancy chef speak for onion, carrot, and celery.)

I sauteed the mirepoix for about 10 minutes then added the tomato, wine and rosemary.

Once this all come to a boil the cheeks went back in and I covered the pan and popped it into a 350 degree oven for about 2 and a half hours.

Now, you could serve these cheeks on top of some mashed potatoes or polenta along with some of the reduced braising liquid and have a great dinner.

But, as I said earlier I wanted to do ravioli. So, after everything cooled down I poured it into my food processor.

A few quick pulses reduced it into something that didn't look too appetizing but tasted great. I adjusted the seasoning with a bit of salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Then I made some fresh pasta and rolled it out

and made my raviolis.

Now, it wouldn't be a Lesser Cuts and Guts dinner with just some ordinary sauce. I made a chicken liver and brandy sauce and garnished it with some fresh parsley and Romano cheese.

Sure it was a bit of a project and took some time, but none of it was really difficult and it was a cheap dinner that suckers downtown are paying $25 a plate for.