The rough side of Silk

Yesterday was one hell of a storm and the lady birds got the ass end of the wet cold windy LATE MAY storm. Oprah my little black Silkie gives me the best eggs rain or shine this funny chicken never lets me down....So sitting here at home pulling a Yoko Ono and sat in bed all day pouring over my old cookbooks looking for my next kitchen adventure I realized people (in general) dont know how to cook a perfect egg. During my kitchen tenure when a young hopeful wanted a stint working with us, I'd give a test, a seemingly simple test. Make me eggs three ways. I would let the poor victim choose his methods but they had to be perfect. Easy? Hell no. To correctly, scramble, baste, fry,caudle or omlette is not the simple task it seems. The simple things can be the hardest.
    I consulted James Beard, Simca(Julias' Co author)The California Egg advisory, South Dakota Rotary cook book, Girl Scouts cook book, Joy, Mrs. Beeton's Book of cookery circa.1884 on and on a list of a thousand ways to get that egg done right. Do you add water to a egg to be scrambled or milk or cream do you add the salt after it is cooked or before ,it is said to bring toughness to eggs before cooking? arrghghghgh.
    ok. Kid gloves is the first rule. Gentle with this delicate orb of protein. High heat is going to be your enemy every time. Low flame, double burner and patience is the theme. Eggs solidify very fast and if the heat is not just right a curdled hot mess is sure to follow. OHHH and Mrs. Beeton (1884) recomends when choosing your egg , "apply your tounge to the large end of the egg,and,if it feels warm,it may be relied on as fresh."Well there you have it. AND in the winter months when the girls are not laying Mrs. B says I shoud slather my (not MINE but the chickens)eggs in lard and store in sawdust not touching each other in a dry dark place like the larder.Good god I've been doing it all wrong.
JOY OF COOKING 1943 IRMA ROMBAUR
SCRAMBLED EGGS
Melt in iron skillet over LOW heat 1T sweet cream butter browned
Beat and pour into the warm slillet  3 eggs and 3T top cream
When eggs begin to thicken ,break up eggs with a fork into sheds.When they are thick and custardy searve over buttered toast and sprinkle a pinch of salt.

There you have it. Now go practice its not so easy to get the feel for perfect custardy scrambled egg to a dry crusty rubber mess.

Simple, Seasonal and Local will always trump silly,over thought and out of season every time.
Get out of bed and practice the seemingly simple art of the egg. go on ...... 

A stolen moment when the universe is a perfect place

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OK LETS FIND A SOLUTION .....PIGGY TUMMY DONE RIGHT

So I ranted a bit and so did my partner in food crime(girl on the Vine). So now lets talk solutions and grow from mistakes rather than dwell. Good GOD Ive fucked up a thing or two in my 22 year career in the kitchen and only hope we all learn from mistakes and be better cooks for it. So here is a nice simple sexy recipe to fool proofing a PORK BELLY adventure. Dont fear the FAT embrace with balance and confidence. Perhaps some  APPROPRIATE stone fruit chutney to give it a bang WITH a ton of wine a ton of friends and a ton of good times. Dont forget we are all students at life. Its the collection of experiences and the lessons learned that makes us all who we are. good eating my friends ...Much love

4lb pork belly from your local butcher such as EL SALICHERO
2 tablespoons fennel seeds

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

4 bulbs of fennel, cut into sixths, herby tops removed and reserved
1/4 C brown sugar.

a small bunch of thyme, leaves removed

5 cloves of garlic, unpeeled

olive oil

1 750 ml bottle of wine a good  white Burgundy would be lovely for pig and cook. Wink



Preheat the oven to its maximum temperature.



Using an extremely sharp knife, score the skin of the pork belly in deep vertical lines. Try to get them as close together as possible and as parallel as possible.



Crush the fennel seeds and 1 tablespoon of sea salt  and b sugar until you have a fine powder. Massage this powder into the skin.



In a roasting pan toss the fresh fennel, thyme, garlic, olive oil, and some salt and pepper. Place the pork belly (skin side up) on top.



Put the pan in the preheated oven. After 10 minutes turn the heat down to 325 degrees and roast the pork for a further hour.



After 1 hour at 325 degrees, remove the pan from the oven and drain off the fat and save for fryin up some taters.... Add the white wine and stir.



Put the pan back in the oven for another hour.



Remove the pan from the oven. Remove the fennel from the pan using a slotted spoon. Keep it warm.



Put the pork back into the oven for a further hour until the skin is golden and crisp. If the wine starts to evaporate during this time, add a splash more wine, or a splash of  stock.



Allow the pork to rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes.
You know you've done good if the skin is crispy,carmalized and practically winking at you, the belly itself should be spreadable not meat jello. Save those pan drippings reduce by a third add a pat of (my raw milk sweet cream cultured) butter for a heavenly sauce to drizzle over this piggy delight. Fry up some fingerlings in the pork fat reserve . Pop open a bottle of Kabinett(needs the acid to balance) and break into some crusty bread and a dollup of Stone fruit Chutney....ohhh Sweet Cheesus we have a party in our mouth.

That my friends and countrymen is how you do Pork Belly ........mama loves you

OK, girly on the vine!  My turn......the whisk is fired up!

Master of what is the real question?  Spin doctoring what a person does NOT know makes the expectant guests high expectations fall very hard and cold.  Today the term "Chef " gets tossed around like a rag doll in the spin cycle.  A term first and formost that is saved for the lifetime cook who has earned his credentials to be able to flow into the twilight of his/her career; yielding a clipboard not so much a knife.  TO COOK and BE A COOK is the honour few possess and, if and when one gets that honour, it's not ever used in vain.  It never is the label that makes the cook, but the skill, love and drive to feed his/her subjects. 

turkey sammy is in the heart of Santa CRuz

Simple is the reason for the season
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here piggy piggy piggy

Its getting chilly up here on the Summit and the Wild Boar population is getting bold. The babies are now getting more independent and aggressive pubescent digging and foraging is doing a number on our beloved Vineyards and Gardens (OH Zyante I hope its not too bad this year)That being said its HUNTIN time here in the Santa Cruz Mountains to help keep this non native at bay so erosion and habitat destruction can be as minimal as possible. Ok so PIG was on my door step. She's drained dressed and cut for sausage, Prosciutto and a bevy of fun with pork. The picture(thanks kiddo 5th grader that entered this guide at the Santa Cruz Co. fair 2010)Gives you an idea of where on the pig your cuts come from to help you figure the cooking method. Tonight it is all about the cheeks. Yuppers the smile pillows. The chefs cut or the lost fillet right there smack dab in the middle of its face. Who'd a thunk? I mean sure bacon is one sexy smoked beast (Clint I want my smoker back)But come on we got it...  Bacon rules. Crap I cant even order a Bourbon with out a bacon laced alternative. Got it. So lets go down the road less traveled..CHEEKS Baby CHEEKS. For a long long time the public had been cheated out of a cut on many animals and fish that never leaves the boat, blind, or hunters view. Commercial Salmon fishermen can tell you eating Salmon cheeks Sashmi right on the boat is a religious experience. Beef cheeks..wha wha you say better than the fillet. you betcha. And the mighty pig wild or otherwise those few ounces of tender flavor bombs is the way to go every time. Grill it Braise it roast it BBQ it just do it. UMMMM cant find this love lumps at your mega market with coffin coolers filled with precise cuts suffocating in cellophane real date unknown. I raspberry you. Time to find your local farm or butcher shop. Know where your meats come from and how they were raised and treated. KARMA is in the air. A pasture raised hormone free pig that has been butchered with dignity and respect is a whole new eating experience . To know the girl or boy who cuts your meat not only brings you closer to your food but understanding what you pass through your lips will change how you feel about food. Connect people connect. To see the sheepish smile pass the lips of your Monger when you request some cheeks is worth a double bourbon alone. SOOOO you got your cheeks home and now staring down at theses lovely pillows of Porky Heaven..What to do what to do. well lets see. break out the crock pot people its braising time for some Santa Cruz style pulled pork sammies with fennel and sultans(white raisins DUH)and dried figs.

Cut up a bulb or two of fennel place at the bottom of crock pot (don't want direct contact with heat gentle people gentle )cut two white onions drop in ...Three leeks washed and cut any way is fine ,toss her in. A bunch of green onions roots clipped left whole. A few cups of (homemade mushroom stock(another day we shall go over)turn on the pot for an 8 hour cook cycle.
In an iron skillet (what the fuck? go get one then)HIGH heat, little bacon fat please. Roll cheeks in flour with salt(kosher or sea)white pepper and a pinch each of cardamon ,cinnamon,and chili powder. dust up the cheeks and toss in the hot iron skillet. get a nice crust goin on all sides. might get smoky open a window. Its cooknin not sewin: smoke happens. All brown and sexy like a good Kentucky Rye. Let her rest for a moment have a sip of above mentioned RYE. Then drop em in the crock pot. add a handful of raisins and quartered dried brown turkey figs(cant find them? leave the mega mart and find a local market) and cover with some nice Petit Syrah(DURIF) this wine has such a smokey black fruit thing going on will play so nicely with this crock pot party. Simple yet oh baby its gonna be good on a fall day in Santa Cruz. Now go out to your favorite local baker and pick up a grip of Potato rolls, wine and spirits shop get a great SCM wine. I almost would say a tank fermented Chard could easily rock or a beautiful Pinot from Corralitos valley wouldn't suck either.Then again a 750Ml of Buffalo Trace Bourbon is NEVER a bad idea .
Make a quick salad of arugula spritz of lemon juice from your neighbors tree who by the way just let the fruit drop and never gets used unless you climb over that fence a get them. A splash if Kalamata olive oil (again LEAVE the mega mart)pinch o sea salt a crack of pepper. Simple is the name of this game.
open the crock pot. Take a moment breathe it all in. ahhhhhhhhh. Heat up the potato rolls for a moment and split them open on a platter. Shred up with a fork the tender amazing bits of pork love.pile on the bread.
pile up the braised Alliums (onion family) on another plate and all the juicy juice in a bowl for dunking. BASTA din din is served. go on ....
TLC RANCH
AROMAS CA
tasteslikechicken@yahoo.com
(831)726-9618
pasture raised pigs, chickens and eggs. No bullshit here just pigs shit.
Now taking orders for whole and half pig