sustainability

Radishes, Beets, and Turnips, Oh My!

1 July 2010

It was a family kitchen emergency. My cousin Kristina had received produce (pictured above) from her CSA (community supported agriculture) program in Maine.  The selection of radishes, turnips, and beets made for a nice arrangement, but they were items that ordinarily didn’t find their way into Kristina’s shopping basket. It’s not that my cousin had [...]

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Shake it up: Vinaigrettes in a Jar

12 June 2010

I like mustard, but I like these 16-ounce glass jars even without their former contents. They make ideal storage containers for an open can of jalapenos en escabeche, for instance. But I really like them for making vinaigrettes. All you have to do is put the ingredients in the jar, give it a good shake, [...]

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Pork in the Oven

10 June 2010

And then I was left with three pieces of pork: some belly, some leg, and the trimming of fat and skin. A pork braise was in order, and this time I was thinking Mexican: pork en salsa verde. When my family is cooking for a large crowd (50+), a normal—no kidding—occasion around the holidays, my [...]

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Pork Over Fire

9 June 2010

Now for some promised pork cookery. After the Mado pork butchery demonstration, I came home with the aforementioned portion of pork loin, a section of belly, and a piece of leg. I’ll start with the easiest piece to prepare. The loin wasn’t like the loin you might see at the grocery store. It was fresh, [...]

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Choice Cuts: Butchering a Pig at Mado

3 June 2010

There’s a lot of well-documented talk among chefs about using various cuts of pork. Particularly when a restaurant takes the initiative to buy the whole animal, break it down into its primal cuts, and then fabricate the meat into more-familiar pieces: the chops, the ribs, the belly, the shoulder, and so on. No wonder these [...]

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