cucina bene; mangia bene (homemade pancetta)

I wrote on the 19th about making porchetta, and how we also bought a pork belly from Carlton Farms the same day we picked up the roast for the porchetta.  The pork belly is for pancetta which is a type of Italian bacon.  What makes it different from American bacon is that it isn’t smoked and it’s typically rolled into a cylindrical shape.  Real imported Italian pancetta is hard to get here in the states and most of the domestic versions I’ve tasted have been poor imitations.  So, with that said, I am attempting to make my own pancetta.  I cured 1/2 of the 9 lb. pork belly I bought for 7 days in the refrigerator, and today have begun the drying process.  I rinsed the meat to remove the cure and dried it with paper towels.  I seasoned the meat side with cracked black pepper, rolled it into a cylinder, and tied it with butcher’s twine.  It’s now hanging in one of the bathrooms upstairs (in the shower) to dry for the next two weeks.  We’ll know by the smell how it will turn out, because if it’s good, it will smell sweet.  If it goes bad, I think we’ll know.  The bathroom is off limits for the next two weeks, by the way.  It’s a good thing we have another one upstairs…..   Stay tuned……..

Mentoring opportunity

I’ve been given an opportunity to mentor the Taft High School culinary class prepare for a competition in February called ProStart.  A team of four students are given one hour to prepare two servings of an appetizer, entrée (protein, starch, vegetable), and a dessert.  There are no stoves or ovens, only two burner butane stoves at each station.  The students must demonstrate knife skills, sanitation, and proper food handling procedures.  They must produce menus with food costing of the ingredients and retail pricing of each dish, and they must plate the dishes attractively and professionally.  This year, the team must also fabricate (cut into eight pieces) a whole chicken prior to the commencement of the competition.

I met with the team last week for the first time and we discussed the potential menu.  They had already decided they wanted to make Caponata which is a Sicilian salad made with eggplant.  The recipe itself is relatively simple, but the flavors are very complex as the salad must be balanced between sour (agro) and sweet (dolce).  The difficulty lies in the difference in taste when the salad is hot out of the pan and after it has cooled off and is served.  It’s easy to over do it on either the sour of the sweet and through it off balance.  I had to make this dish several times while I was in culinary school and it was very difficult to make it correctly.  The judges of this competition apparently love complex and difficult dishes, so if they can make a decent Caponata they have a good chance of winning!

Since they wanted to start with a Sicilian dish, I suggested they do an entire Sicilian menu.  After I returned home, I looked up some recipes and emailed them to the team leader.  After meeting with them again this morning, they’ve decided on the following menu:

• Starter: Caponata
• Entrée: Sautéed tuna with tomato and oregano, couscous, and pureed peas with mint
• Dessert: Poached Asian pear filled with zabaione

The team made Caponata for the first time today, and unfortunately, I had to leave before it was finished.  The recipe they were using only had sugar in it, while the more traditional way to make it is with raisins in addition to the sugar.  I found a recipe after I returned home that had raisins and emailed it to Tony.  They will be making that one next Friday to compare the two and decide which one they prefer.

I’m excited to be able to help coach these kids over the next few months into becoming a finely tuned machine for the competition.  I’ll keep you updated as we progress.

cucina bene; mangia bene (porchetta is better than roasted turkey)

I wrote a post about porchetta back on September 5; how porchetta is very popular all over Italy and how it’s starting to catch on here in America.  This past Saturday, Bruce & I drove out to Carlton to pick up a 7 lb. bone-in pork shoulder roast (Boston Butt).  We bought the roast from Carlton Farms which can provide any cut you are looking for with an advance order.  Carlton Farms has been around for over 50 years and produces good quality pork.  We requested the special cut, because in order to make porchetta you need the skin.  So my pork roast had the skin and the layer of fat still attached which is very important for the roasting process to be successful.

On Sunday I removed the small bone and butterflied the roast.  I used the recipe from the restaurant called Porchetta in NYC.  There was an article (and a recipe) about that place in one of my cooking magazines.  Normally, porchetta is made with a whole pig, but Porchetta uses Boston Butt roasts to simulate the experience.  I made a stuffing of fresh rosemary, garlic, fennel fronds, salt, pepper, and fresh thyme.  I rubbed the mixture all over the inside of the roast, cut slits in the skin and inserted fresh garlic cloves,  brushed the skin with olive oil, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and then tied it with butcher’s twine.  I put the roast in a foil baking pan and put it on the Ducane BBQ (at low heat) for about 5 hours.

Here’s what it looked like when it was done:

And what it looked like on the plate:

I served the porchetta with pureed white beans and sautéed greens.  The one mistake I made was I tried to crisp the skin a bit more, after I took it off the BBQ, in the broiler.  It made the skin way too tough making it virtually impossible to eat, but the pork itself was delicious.  Bruce said that it was better than roasted turkey which was a serious testimonial since he is a certified turkeyholic!  Anyway, it was fun to make and I look forward to doing it again.  We also bought a 9 lb pork belly.  Why, do you ask?  I am making my own pancetta.  After eating delicious pancetta in Italy, I can’t stand the nonsense that is sold here.  I’ve decided to try making my own.  Today, I cut the belly in half and put one piece in the freezer for later and the other I mixed with a salt cure and put in the fridge.  It needs to sit in the fridge for 7 days.  I then have to roll it, tie it, and hang it for 2 weeks in a cool dark place…..which will be in the bathroom shower upstairs…… 🙂  I’ll be sure to write a post about the pancetta as time goes on.  Hopefully it will turn out.  Keep postive thoughts!

cucina bene; mangia bene (the lost art of fresh garden salads)

Over the past 20 years, Pati and I have visited many fine dining restaurants only to find out that the serving of a fresh garden salad packed full of flavor is becoming a lost culinary art form. While it takes a little effort to make a fresh salad, the benefits gained are immense not to mention the health properties received from eating raw greens and garden vegetables. With a little planning, you can resurrect this culinary art form to integrate into any menu plan as a refreshing side salad or taking the center stage as a main entrée.

The key to making a fantastic salad is in the quality of the greens and herbs used. A little attention to detail when shopping for fresh ingredients pays off in a big way. Farmers’ markets are a great resource for procuring a wide variety of salad greens and garden vegetables during the spring and summer months. During the other months, you can still find acceptable ingredients available at indoor farmers’ markets, natural foods stores and local grocery stores.

In order to make a great salad, a few things in your kitchen can help make the creation process much easier. First and foremost is to use a high quality knife that maintains a sharp edge. A sharp knife (chef’s knife) can make all the difference in preparing the salad ingredients and will help to reduce your time spent in prepping the salad. Also, a nice pair of salad tongs will make serving the salad a pleasure. I like tongs made with softer material like molded plastic to avoid bruising the salad greens when serving.

One of the challenges in salad preparation is to keep the greens dry and to avoid excessive water accumulation. Too much water on the greens and the herbs can ruin a salad quickly. Therefore, a full sized salad spinner can help remove the excess water after cleaning the greens and herbs. I have been using a salad spinner made by Copco (A Wilton Industries Company) for many years. The spinner is very durable and the company has an amazing customer service department!

In making a great salad, I have found two approaches that work well. The first approach is to use one salad green like Arugula or Butter Lettuce to form the base of the flavor profile. With one lettuce green, a simple salad works best with a few accompanying ingredients. For example, wintertime Arugula with its sturdy nature is complimented well with parmesan cheese, black pepper and a lemon-based vinaigrette.

The second approach is to create a mixed salad base with at least seven types of fresh greens and herbs. This approach creates a flavor profile that is unique with each bite as the various ingredients excite the palate. You can combine various lettuces and herbs into a base, and then tailor the salad to a particular ethnic cuisine with the addition of a few other ingredients.

Here are a few tips to improve your salad making efforts:

1) When buying the lettuces or herbs, make sure they look vibrant and are fully hydrated. Avoid any ones that are limp, showing brown spots or wind blown.

2) When storing the lettuces and some of the herbs (see our post dated August 29^th), use a green veggie bag designed to extend storage life. I like to wrap the greens in a paper towel to help absorb any excess moisture trapped inside the veggie bag when stored in the refrigerator.

3) Once I get home from shopping, I immediately sort through the greens and store them away in the refrigerator. With lettuces, I remove the some of the outer leaves that will not keep as long in storage. I use the outer leaves to create a salad base for later use that evening. The rest of the lettuce head will store nicely in the refrigerator. Also, any other greens already past its peak form can be incorporated into the evening’s salad base.

4) When establishing a salad base. I like to balance soft greens with ones that have more rigidity and structure. During the summer months, our farmers’ markets feature a type of Arugula that is leafy and very pliable. I add the inner leaves of Butter Lettuce or Romaine Lettuce to add a sense of crunchiness to the softer greens. During the winter, our farmers’ markets offer a hardier version of Arugula which marries nicely with tender baby lettuces.

5) Depending on your taste preferences, you can build a salad base preferable to your audience. If you prefer a mild taste, you can concentrate on lettuces like Butter or Green Leaf. For more bitter or peppery finishes, you can use Radicchio, Escarole, Arugula, Dandelion Greens, Watercress or Endive.

6) Fresh herbs can enhance any taste profile. There are many types of mint that can be used as well as Basil, Parsley, Tarragon, Dill, Cilantro, and Chives.

7) When creating your salad base, look to use different lettuces and herbs featuring different color palettes. I like to use Red Lettuces, Radicchio, light green Butter Lettuce, and white Endive to compliment the natural colors of Green Leaf Lettuce or Arugula.

8) For adding color and depth, I like to include peeled vegetables like Carrots, Radishes, and Turnips to compliment the greens. Also, thinly sliced Green Onions and Fennel can enhance the salad. Changing the way you slice the ingredients can add more color or shapes to enhance the appeal of the salad presentation.

9) Preparing the greens all at once can be time consuming. Staging the cleaning and preparation of the various greens into separate phases can be a great way to approach salad creation. For example, when I watch television or a movie, I can clean and pick greens for future use. During a three hour football game, I can prepare a large bunch of Arugula while enjoying the game. I bag the greens in a veggie bag for later use.

10) If you have a little time available, you can prepare a subset of the ingredients and store them in the refrigerator. You might have 20 minutes and you can use this short amount of time to peel some Carrots and Radishes during the day and store them in the refrigerator for later use. By breaking up the components, you can build a nice salad spaced over time.

The photos showcased include the following:

The first photo highlights the bounty of ingredients available at our coastal local farmers’ markets including different varieties of fresh lettuces and garden vegetables.

The second photo captures the start of building a salad base using picked Arugula.

The third photo shows the balance of the various greens mixed with peeled and thinly sliced vegetables before adding any dressing.

The fourth photo shows the finished salad made with the salad base. Additional ingredients added to the salad include chicken mixed with pesto, blanched yellow beans and black/green cured olives. The salad base includes Arugula, Red Butter Lettuce, Red Leaf Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Sorrel, Spearmint, Basil, and Parsley.

More details on the Art of Salad Making to follow in upcoming posts.

giving back to the community

Since our inception, we have been busy implementing our company vision and working to make a difference in the community.  Our goals are to use our passion and creative cooking talent to produce excellent food for our clients, share our  knowledge and recipes to help inspire creativity and passion in others, and to act as mentor to those who may have similar aspirations. 

Pati  has started volunteering for Food Share of Lincoln County here in Newport.   A little time spent working with this terrific organization, and you soon realize how much need there is in the community for simple necessities like food and water, and you realize how dedicated the people who run the organization really are towards helping people in need. Pati is learning the basics of the pantry distribution right now and will be working on developing a plan to provide recipes, samples, and eventually cooking classes for the food box recipients.

We are both involved with the Culinary Center in Lincoln City directed by Executive Chef Sharon Wiest. The center offers some great classes for food lovers and has allowed us to connect with some of the local culinary resources.  This past weekend, we participated in the Pacific NW Wild Mushroom Cook-off.  Some of the event proceeds went to support the Taft High School Culinary Program located in Lincoln City.  We had a chance to meet Pam Simpson, the driving force behind the program, and we were very impressed by her vision, passion, and desire to help the students achieve their goals in the culinary world.  We may have an opportunity to act as mentors to the students in the future.   

Beyond these activities, we are supporting some of our local chamber events by donating gift baskets bundled with our personal chef services. Pati created ‘A Night in Italy’ gift basket and the lucky recipients will be able to enjoy dinner and a movie in the comfort of their home. This past weekend,  Bruce spent a day volunteering at the Oregon Coast Cake and Cupcake Camp held in Newport. The charity event raised money for Donate Life Northwest.

We feel good about what we have done in such a short time, and we are looking forward to more opportunities to give to our community in the future. 

‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.’
    Margaret Mead