Monthly Archives: March 2011

Pheasant and Pig’s Trotter PIe with Suet Crust

Sometimes it takes me a while to get around to a cooking project; in this case it took over a year. I concluded my post about trotter gear by saying “There’s a pheasant pie I’m thinking about…” – this recipe … Continue reading

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You and Me and Pernil

I rarely buy meat from the supermarket, preferring instead to support a network of local suppliers. But I’m also not immune to a bargain, so when I saw a ten-pound pork shoulder at the Stop & Shop  for only ten … Continue reading

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Saturday Meat-ing

Another Saturday meat pickup, but also some news items: Ryan Adams of Nose to Tail at Home (a through-cooking of Fergus Henderson’s Nose to Tail: The Whole Beast), is currently more than halfway through a 24-hour cookathon to raise money for … Continue reading

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Beautiful Soup

Most major science fiction conventions have an art show, an area of the convention devoted to the display of artwork by the Artist Guest of Honor as well as other who hope to sell their work. I’m not a fan … Continue reading

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Sous Vide on the Cheap

My first experiment with extended-time constant low-temperature cooking – commonly referred to as sous vide – involved creating a “ghetto” rig out of a deep pot, a steamer basket, and a wire colander, all set over my stove’s simmering burner. … Continue reading

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Vespers

I used to be a Catholic altar boy, long enough ago that one Mass every Sunday was still recited in Latin. The ecclesiastical Latin I had to memorize back then has been more useful than I expected, first in my … Continue reading

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Market Thaw

The days are getting longer, the temperatures are above freezing, but the arrival of locally-grown green vegetables can’t come fast enough. We don’t have many alternatives here in New England, but even buying from organic farms in Florida feels like … Continue reading

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Boston Boiled Dinner for Evacuation Day

There’s a contrarian streak in Bostonians that I find to be alternately endearing and infuriating, depending on whether I am merely observing or the recipient. Today is a day when I honor that stubbornness, taking great pleasure in referring to … Continue reading

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The Chef’s Whim

We don’t need excuses to go out for a good meal, but this announcement from Craigie on Main gave us an opportunity to correct two omissions at that restaurant: we had never experienced the late evening “Chef’s Whim” dinner, and … Continue reading

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Three Days of the Corned Beef

Today is the deadline for the Charcutepalooza March challenge: brining. The apprentice challenge – brining a whole chicken or some pork chops – is something I’ve been doing for years, so I changed it up a bit and brined duck … Continue reading

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