May 19

Yesterday’s bread salad

Around here, at the end of the day on Sundays, the bakery sells off it’s fresh bread at buy one get one free.  What to do with all that bread?  Well, the first loaf usually gets served & demolished at dinner in Sunday night.  The second loaf gets saved for the next day, divided in two, with half for breadcrumbs and the other half for this yummy salad!

Salad Using Yesterday's Bread

Yesterday's Bread Salad

Yesterday’s bread salad
5 medium tomatoes
2 large seedless cucumbers
1 tablespoon your favorite herb seasonings (oregano & basil or Herbs de Provence)
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1/2 loaf day old bakery bread, cubed (I like an italian garlic loaf)
1 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Combine vinegar and parmesan in a large bowl or cup. Stir well.  Add olive oil and whisk or vigorously shake until well blended.

Cube the cucumber, tomato & bread and place in a large mixing bowl.

Sprinkle herbs over the top and toss in half the dressing.  Add more dressing if you like and eat immediately or the bread will go soggy.

May 18

Sweet Italian Sausage Recipe

I have wondered why Mild Italian Sausage also known as Sweet Italian Sausage. It is not as if sugar or some other sweetener has been added, but there is no mistaking the flavor of a Sweet Italian Sausage when you take that first bite. Now imagine that first bite when the sausage has been made in your own kitchen.

Hand Crafted Sweet Italian Sausage

Homemade Sweet Italian Sausage Stuffed in Natural Casings

There is something amazing in how the the combination of salt, fresh cracked black pepper, fennel seed, minced garlic, dried oregano, ground allspice and red wine when combined transforms ground pork to entirely different dimension. I know that I am biased towards Italian-centric sausage recipes, but this same transformation can be said for any number of possible combinations of seasonings mixed with ground pork.

If I was to recommend two or three sausage recipes for the curious to try, whether or not the seasoned ground pork mixture was stuffed into a casing, I would suggest Sweet Italian, Hot Italian or American Country Breakfast. None of the spices, seasonings or flavorings are so exotic that you do not have an opinion on the suggested seasoning. Whereas Hot Italian can be too hot or spicy for some, the level of seasoning for Sweet Italian can be modified (lessened or increased) to adjust for an individual’s taste.

Ingredients for Sweet Italian Sausage (modified from Bruce Aidells’ Complete Sausage Book):

  • 3 Pounds of Pork Loin
  • 1 Pound of Pork Fat Trimmings
  • 1/2 Cup of Red Wine (a little extra splashed is not a bad thing)
  • 1 Tablespoon of Minced Garlic
  • 2 Tablespoons of Fennel Seeds
  • 1 Tablespoon of Fresh Ground Black Pepper (I prefer the pepper corns to be cracked large)
  • 4 Teaspoons of Kosher Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon of Dried Oregano
  • 1/8 Teaspoon of Ground Allspice (If not in your spice rack, it is fine to leave out)

After you have Ground the Pork Loin and Pork Fat Trimmings and have Mixed and Chilled the Combined Ingredients you are not ready to Stuff the Casings. The sausage is now ready to eat, but it is recommended to Air Dry in the Refrigerator overnight / 24 hours to tighten the casing and enhance the flavor. Fresh sausage will keep in the refrigerator if wrapped for a few days and for a few months if properly packaged and frozen.

Cooked Homemade Sweet Italian Sausage

Baked Homemade Sweet Italian Sausage

I can say with certainty, that once you have eaten your own hand crafted, home made Italian Sweet Sausage, sausage purchased in a grocery store or eaten at a restaurant will pale in comparison. It may not be “sweet”, but the combination of flavor, seasonings combined with the red wine will make the experience memorable.

May 17

This is why we are not foodies – 100 things to eat before you die

Recently the Houston Press published a list of 100 foods that ‘Foodies’ should try before they die, after a different list was doing the rounds on Facebook. Some of the things in both lists are truly wonderful food, but some are really only there to be as outrageous as possible. I’m all for being adventurous and trying new and unusual food, but there are things in this world that apart from the bragging rights for trying something like Hakarl, it would never be something you would want again and again, which is my definition of a food that should be in a top 100 list of foods to try before you die. A better way to think about this sort of list, is what 100 foods would you try if you only had 100 days left to live. I think the lists would be very different.

How many foods from these lists have you tried, and do you have your own list of 100 foods or drinks that you want to try before you die?

 

Facebook – 100 things to eat before you die

  1. Abalone
  2. Absinthe flavouring
  3. Alligator
  4. Baba ghanoush
  5. Bagel and lox
  6. Baklava
  7. Barbecue ribs
  8. Bellini flavouring
  9. Bird’s nest soup
  10. Biscuits and gravy
  11. Black pudding
  12. Black truffle
  13. Borscht
  14. Calamari
  15. Carp
  16. Caviar
  17. Cheese fondue
  18. Chicken and waffles
  19. Chicken tikka masala
  20. Chilli relleno
  21. Chitlins
  22. Churros
  23. Clam chowder
  24. Cognac
  25. Crabcake
  26. Crickets
  27. Currywurst
  28. Dandelion wine
  29. Dulce de leche
  30. Durian
  31. Eel
  32. Eggs Benedict
  33. Fish tacos
  34. Foie gras
  35. Fresh spring rolls
  36. Fried catfish
  37. Fried green tomatoes
  38. Fried plaintain
  39. Frito pie
  40. Frog’s legs
  41. Fugu
  42. Funnel cake
  43. Gazpacho soup
  44. Goat
  45. Goat’s milk
  46. Goulash
  47. Gumbo
  48. Haggis
  49. Head cheese
  50. Heirloom tomatoes
  51. Honeycomb
  52. Hostess fruit pie
  53. Huevos rancheros
  54. Jerk chicken
  55. Kangaroo
  56. Key lime pie
  57. Kobe beef
  58. Lassi
  59. Lobster
  60. Mimosa
  61. Moon Pie
  62. Morel mushrooms
  63. Nettle tea
  64. Octopus
  65. Oxtail soup
  66. Paella
  67. Paneer cheese
  68. Pastrami on rye
  69. Pavlova
  70. Phaal
  71. Philly cheesesteak
  72. Pho
  73. Pineapple and cottage cheese
  74. Pistachio ice cream
  75. Po’ boy
  76. Pocky
  77. Polenta
  78. Prickly pear
  79. Rabbit stew
  80. Raw oysters
  81. Root beer float
  82. S’mores
  83. Sauerkraut
  84. Sea urchin
  85. Shark
  86. Snails
  87. Snake
  88. Soft shell crab
  89. Som tam
  90. Spaetzle
  91. Spam
  92. Squirrel
  93. Steak tartare
  94. Sweet potato fries
  95. Sweetbreads
  96. Tom yum soup
  97. Umeboshi
  98. Venison
  99. Wasabi peas
  100. Courgette flowers

Houston Press – Foodie’s List of 100 Things to Eat Before You Die

  1. Python
  2. Avocado smoothie
  3. Doro wat
  4. Bean pie
  5. Foul
  6. Bone marrow
  7. Fufu
  8. Amaebi nigirizushi
  9. Squash blossoms
  10. Durian
  11. Stinky tofu
  12. Boudin noir
  13. Bath chaps
  14. Pig ears
  15. Duck tongues
  16. Venison tai chanh
  17. Pickle-flavored sno-ball
  18. Balut
  19. Fish head curry
  20. Jackfruit
  21. Congee
  22. Uni
  23. Menudo
  24. Barbacoa
  25. Squirrel
  26. Nutria
  27. Chicharrones
  28. Oysters on the half shell
  29. Boiled crawfish
  30. Chicken hearts
  31. Lengua
  32. Mollejas
  33. Kangaroo
  34. Sea anemone
  35. Huitlacoche
  36. Escargot
  37. Beef tendon
  38. Beef hearts (anticuchos)
  39. Calf’s liver
  40. Veal
  41. Foie gras
  42. Suckling pig
  43. Tocilog
  44. Dinuguan
  45. Kare-kare
  46. Latkes
  47. Borscht
  48. Lutefisk
  49. Hakerl
  50. Geoduck
  51. Sannakji
  52. Corn tea
  53. Pulque
  54. Yerba mate
  55. Morcilla
  56. Biltong
  57. Oxtails and gravy
  58. Scrapple
  59. Rocky Mountain oysters
  60. Spam
  61. Sesos and scrambled eggs
  62. Haggis
  63. Cuttlefish
  64. Poke
  65. Ceviche
  66. Surströmming
  67. Takoyaki
  68. Turducken
  69. Chicken feet
  70. Whole-fried turkey
  71. Fried frog legs
  72. Fried green tomatoes
  73. Grits
  74. Natto
  75. Marmite
  76. Fiddlehead ferns
  77. Ramps
  78. Campari
  79. Kvass
  80. Retsina
  81. Iguana
  82. Halo-halo
  83. Bubble tea
  84. Tiết canh
  85. Scorpion
  86. Witchety grub
  87. Grasshoppers
  88. Pot brownies
  89. Bird’s nest soup
  90. Kopi luwak
  91. Meat sundae
  92. Pizza cone
  93. Chicken-fried bacon
  94. Fried butter
  95. Garbage plate
  96. Kobe beef
  97. Beluga caviar
  98. Château Pétrus
  99. Black truffles
  100. Kale

May 17

God’s Butter – Marrow bones

Once a month I go to a wine dinner at Latin American Restaurant, where they pair wines with five different courses. One of my favourite dishes is ossobuco, a section of veal shank braised with vegetables, wine and broth, originally from Milan, Italy.

Veal Shank

Veal Shank (CC Image courtesy of Mogens Engelund – Wikipedia)

Ossobucco literately means ‘Bone with a hole’ or marrowbone, but I’ll get to that later. If veal is not to your liking, then lamb shank is a good alternative. The meat in ossobuco is so tender that it just falls off the bone and has a rich depth of flavour that comes from the long slow cooking.

At the end of the meal, most people have left the marrow bones on their plates, and I usually ask if I can have them in a ‘doggie-bag’ to take home. They aren’t necessarily a treat for the dog, but a treat for me. I like to either heat the bones gently in an oven or just spread it cold, like butter onto some bread or toast. It maybe have been regarded as peasant food in the past, but to me it tastes as decadent as foie gras.

I only recently heard of the phrase ‘Gods Butter’, in relation to marrow, and it is spot on. I know some people are squeamish about these sort of things, but in reality it is no different to pate, and far better than what does into hot-dogs. I’m all for using every part of an animal, it’s just that I’d rather see what I’m eating, than it was hidden in some kind of processed food.

God's Butter on bread

Marrow on bread

If you every get the chance to try marrow bone in a restaurant, go for it, you will be pleasantly surprised. Or even try and cooking it at home, by making ossobuco or roasting the marrow bones yourself.

My dog enjoying a marrow bone

My dog enjoying a marrow bone

 

 

 

May 17

Tomato, Mayonnaise, Cheese Sandwich…First Sandwich of the Tomato Season

Of all the ingredient combinations for sandwiches in the world, there are few that pay homage to the fresh garden tomato as the BLT or my personal favorite, Tomato, Mayonnaise and Cheese. Whereas the BLT does require some preparation of the bacon, there is something particularly special about literally the first tomato from the garden being sliced and matched with White American Cheese, Mayonnaise and yes, Sliced White Bread.

Garden Tomato, Mayonnaise, White American Cheese and White Bread

First Tomato of the Season

Assuming that you like tomatoes, I do not believe that there is anyone who would argue that a home grown, vine ripened tomato is superior to any tomato that can be purchased in the grocery store. It is a tradition of mine, a tradition learned from my father that the first tomato from the garden, most usually the variety Early Girl is picked and sliced for this sandwich. The tomato is still outdoor warm, perfectly ripe, exploding with that acidic juicy flavor that can only come from the garden.

Sliced Fresh Picked Garden Ripe Tomato

Sliced Garden Ripe Early Girl Tomato

As strange as it may seem, the American White Cheese, Mayonnaise and Sliced White Bread complement the Garden Fresh Tomato. The tomato is first and foremost the dominate flavor in every single bite that is taken. More importantly, it must be tomato from the garden. Tomatoes from the grocery store do not have the freshness, flavor and juiciness that make this sandwich special. Aside from eating the tomato by itself, I can think of no other sandwich that acknowledges the first tomato of the season.

There are fancier, more exotic combinations for a simple tomato sandwich; French Bread, Brie and Tomato; Pita, Feta Tomato and Tzatziki Sauce or Bruschetta topped with Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella with drizzled Olive Oil. All of these combinations sound amazing, but for me, the first tomato of the season from the garden will always be paired with Mayonnaise, White American Cheese and Sliced White Bread.

Garden Tomato with Mayonnaise and Cheese Sandwich

Tomato, Mayonnaise and Cheese Sandwich