Recently Denver’s own chef Justin Brunson (an Iowa transplant), owner of Masterpiece Deli and the (opening soon) Old Major project delved into their passion for pork feet first. Old Major will practice an extensive in-house meat program. Brunson armed himself with an SOP and HACCP plan that would rival most USDA inspected small plants practices including fresh meat, dry fermented sausage, not heat treated NRTE and a heat-treated not shelf stable program to allow him to safely and effectively craft meats in-house. Most health departments cringe at the mention of “house cured” “house made” salumi/charcuterie, or in-house meat programs. Brunson (Old Major) recognized this and respectfully wanted to do it right and proper as it relates to practice as well with the local health department officials.

The first final prototype making its introduction at the Denver Bacon & Beer Festival

Also recently, Brunson developed the Denver Bacon Company. Just as I did with Il Mondo Vecchio initially in 2006, Brunson started by outsourcing the services of a local USDA plant and familiarizing with production protocols. Small and medium sized plants can provide services such as private label contract business. We used to do similar contract business for the likes of Frasca, Canyon Ranch Spa Resorts, Vesta Dipping Grill, Cure Organic Farms, Oskar Blues and Black Belly Catering to name a few. Doing so allows Brunson to make his delicious artisan crafted Denver Bacon Company Bacon products under USDA inspection and bring it to market for wholesale, retail, food-service and grocers. For the small – medium plant it is an opportunity to generate more revenue streams and diversify their business model for profitability.

MEANS + IDEAS = STRONGER LOCAL FOOD SYSTEMS

From a purely economic standpoint this is truly a win-win situation for locally produced products, sustainable food systems and the possibility of becoming a local food staple supported by the general public: 

• For the USDA plant this allows opportunity to tap into revenue stream of simply manufacturing, packaging and possible storage and/or distribution or sales.
• For the Chef, this allows the creative expertise of artisan-chef crafted products to go into commerce without the cost of starting up an entire USDA plant with employees and all the other costs associated with an entire plant.
• For the Community, it provides opportunity for more local to local business interactions strengthening local commerce and local economy. Be it from farm to table, from field to fork or whatever other “buzzword” is appropriate. Outside the fancy talk, it is simply smart business all around. 

This December, we were able to promote DBC at the Denver Bacon and Beer Festival sponsored by Forkly.com (Jenna’s favorite iphone food app), Eat Boston and Denver Off-the Wagon.

RECIPE:

Here is a recent recipe I created one evening at home utilizing Brunson’s DBC-Bacon. This dish also incorporates use of leftovers sitting in the fridge: roasted chicken thighs I’ll be candid… I love my refrigerator “Quick Fire Challenges” it’s like I am on a Bravo TV or Food Network show. So here is my Denver Bacon Company Quick Fire Home Refrigerator Challenge outcome:

Smoked Pimenton Broth Poached Vegetables with Chicharron of Chicken Thigh and DBC Bacon Lardons with manchego-truffled croutons.

THE BROTH & VEG

Serves 2-4

• 1 TBS Olive Oil
• 2 Cloves Garlic Sliced
• 1 Small Yellow or Sweet Onion (diced ¼ inch)
• 3 Tablespoons Smoked Spanish Paprika (Pimenton)
• ¼ Cup Yukon or Red Potatoes (diced ¼ inch)
• 16 Ounces Poultry Stock
• ¼ Cup Orange Cauliflower Florets (sliced thin)
• ¼ Cup Baby Carrots (sliced 1/8^th inch thick)

Method:

In a small sauce or soup pan over med-high heat add olive oil. Add garlic and onions, cook until translucent. Add paprika and incorporate well. Add potatoes.

Add stock, bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Allow it to simmer until 25% of the liquid evaporates. Add the potatoes and simmer until cooked through: “al dente”. Turn off the heat and place in the remaining vegetables.

1 tsp Fresh Parsley Chopped for Garnish at time of service.

CHICHARRON:

• 2 each Chicken Thighs, skin on, pre-cooked (roasted) a great way to use leftovers (shred off the bone into small pieces)
• 3 each slices Denver Bacon Company sliced into thin strips (julienne lardons)
• 2 TBS Olive Oil (not E.V.)

Over low heat in a heavy bottomed skillet place the chicken and bacon strips. Allow to fry slowly and cook crisp. Allow them to get golden brown and crispy. This may take up to 15 or 30 minutes…do not rush it, slowly crisp over low heat.

To serve, pull out of fat and place on dry paper towels to absorb excess oils. Keep warm and place over the broth and vegetables.

CROUTONS (these can be made in advance):

• 1 cup Bread preferably sour dough or rustic cibatta bread (diced ½ inch)
• 2 TBS Manchego Cheese (fine shred)
• 2 TBS Olive Oil
• 1 TBS White truffle essence olive oil

Toss all ingredients in a bowl to coat lightly. Adjust seasoning with hint of salt and fresh ground black pepper. Spread out the croutons on a sheet pan and toast in oven at 350* until light golden brown and crispy.

Simplicity in execution and complex with tastes, textures, flavors and diverse cooking methods lend a velvety vegetable and broth with smoky notes of pimento, crisp fried bacon and chicken thigh meat/skin finalized with the classic flavor bombed crunch of a simple crouton.

Kudos to Chef Brunson, please join me in congratulating his current and future endeavors as well his respectable leap into the world of meat industry from production to plate and everything in between!

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When we started dating, Mark and I realized we both share a dream of taking a year or two to travel around the USA in an airstream and see every nook and cranny. I am the kind of person who loves to stop at every tourist attraction… and stop for food and meeting a local or two as often as possible.

We turned an 8 hour drive into a two day journey, stopping at a goat dairy, a brand new whiskey distillery, a spiritual hot springs, met a yak farmer, went to a Colorado(!) alligator and tilapia farm, left items at an official UFO watchtower, and met up with our friends at Sutcliffe Vineyards tasting room, ending our journey in the Sutcliffe Vineyard in Cortez, CO.

We sucked the marrow out of every moment of this trip.

First up, Jumpin’ Good Goat Dairy.

This dairy has loads of lovely goats, which they use to make many kinds of cheeses, ranging from feta to cheddar to goat blue. Mark first got to know them when they shipped some pork backfat from a couple of berkshires that they had raised on their farm to make lardo, which he processed for them to sell on site.

I fell in love with a few of the cheeses. They make the most amazing squeaky goat cheese curd. I wanted to fry it up into the best cheese curds ever! (Too bad it didn’t last that long.) I also was enchanted by the soft chevre… fresh and unaged, it is available in tons of flavors, but the plain cheese on its own is fresh and tangy, and the garlic and herb made a perfect stuffing for squash blossoms from the garden. We finished up our selection with the blue, bought some crackers and got ready for a picnic in the car.

This goat kept smiling at us when we pet her! With a twinkle in her eye like this, how can her milk be anything but amazing?

Once we got to the winery, we had a feast. I whipped up some stuffed zucchini blossoms before we had our meal. We plucked the zucchini blossoms from the garden (you can find them from your favorite farmer at the weekly farmer’s market, ask ahead as they usually go to restaurants). I like them fried (who doesn’t?) and used what there was in the cupboard to make the tempura. There is, however, no shame is buying a tempura mix from your Asian market, this is always foolproof.

Chevre stuffed crispy squash blossoms:

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup fine corn masa (gives a great flavor, but more flour or rice flour would be great too)
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup of ice cold water, soda water or beer
• kosher salt to taste

Method:

• mix all ingredients together well, do not over mix
• keep as cold as possible
• don’t freak out if there are a few lumps

For squash blossoms:

• pull the stamen out of the center of the flower, being cautious to not rip the flower, give them a gentle wash to remove any dirt or bugs, then dry.

• stuff something delicious inside, I love goat cheese (we used the garlic herb chevre we got at Jumpin’ good goat)…
• give tot top of the flower a little twist to make sure the cheese doesn’t ooze out while it is cooking

•  drag through tempura batter quickly to coat
• drop into 350* oil for about a minute or so on each side

eat immediately and enjoy!

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This chicken is so juicy, so flavorful, and the skin is crispy (always a necessity for me!).

I figure this dish needs no further introduction, so if you haven’t yet… just make it already!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 can of beer (use the good kind, drink half)
• 1 shallot, cut in chunks
• 5 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1 lemon, cut in half
• 1 whole chicken
• blackening spice
• kosher salt and black pepper

Method:

• Heat your grill. Keep the coals on one side, you will cook the bird over indirect heat to keep it from burning, and let it go slow and low.
• Rinse the bird with cold water and don’t forget to remove the package with the liver and heart. Feed it to the dog.
• Tuck the wings behind its head so it looks classy.
• Take the top off the beer can with a can opener. Make sure you have drank half of the beer.
• Drop the shallot, garlic, and a spoonful of blackening seasoning into the beer. Squeeze half the lemon into the beer. Drop it in as well if there is room. If not, toss it.
• Stick the other lemon half into the neck of the bird to help keep the steam from the beer in the cavity while cooking.
• Season the chicken with a light sprinkle of kosher salt and black pepper and the blackening seasoning. Take it easy, because a lot of pre-made seasonings already have salt in them.
• Stick the can up inside the chicken and position it so it stands up.
• Place the bird over the cooler part of the grill, over indirect heat. Don’t make the tragic mistake of letting it get too hot so you burn the skin.
• Place the lid on top of the grill. If the lid won’t go on, try taking the grate off and putting the bird in a pie tin or cast iron skillet and just placing it near the coals.
• Let it alone for about 1 hour or so, checking every once in a while to be sure it doesn’t burn or get too cool.
• Test the meat with a thermometor (every kitchen should have one) and pull it out at 165*.

It should go without saying that you shouldn’t use a glass or plastic container for the beer, but I sometimes get crazy questions and don’t want to hear that one:)

Enjoy!!!

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What’s spining when the knives are slingin’? My music influences have certainly fluctuated over the years. 1970′s I’d spin my 45′s and 33 1/2′s (no those are the size tires I rolled on back then for all the youngin’s out there). From the Beach Boys to Sugarhill Gang, KISS, Led Zepplin, Woodstock Album, John Travolta (yes he has an album out there), KC and the Sunshine Band and too many others that I can’t think of at this time.

There was a brief moment in the early 80′s prior to my exposure to heavy metal was rap & break dancing music. Of course back then in my super fly windbreaker and parachute pants RUN DMC was in full effect along with Herbie Hancock, UTFO Crew, Fat Boys, Roxanne, Newcleus and I could bust out some top rock, windmill, crab, handspins, headspins and beat ‘em all out with a suicide flip…YO! No need to fight let’s break it out.

After that very brief moment in time I cut my funky fresh tail and began to grow out my hair. In the Beginning….Good always overpowered the evils, of all man’s sins…but in time, the nations grew weak and our cities fell to slums while evil stood strong... so ensued a long road into my long journey on the long-haired metal head road. Some may argue that it was my personal “Highway To Hell”!

My teen years I delved into music much more. and by mid-teen years I eventually got into a band and my appreciation grew away from  metal and more towards classic rock roots of the 70′s, 50′s and 60′s. Motely Crue (the early years) were my favorite. All that aside my tastes began to lean more towards Metallica, Alice Cooper, Grateful Dead, Blues Traveler, Aerosmith, Black Oak Arkansas, Skynanrd, Janis, Arlo Guthrie, Charlie Daniels and any other backwoods get down music. Pickin a six string on the top of a fire tower on top of a mountain or by the riverside just outside Elkins, WVa is quite an amazing experience. So there is few years when you get lost from your music tastes and get stuck in a rut, new music and bands sucked, the 90′s musically didn’t prove much and the new millennium didn’t bring anything great either. At least in this former amateur musician’s humble opinion.

Into my 30′s my tastes tended to stray back towards R&B and Rap mainstream and some off shoot west coast and Houston hood rap…yo G! Seriously though mainly because it was different and my 20′s and early 30′s I had re-listened to everything way to many times so music got boring to me. Now nearing my 40th I listen to whatever the hell sounds good and not like anything that is on…but has anything really changed?!

So on that note…here are 20 songs I cut meat, season meat, and stuff meat into intestines to. This is in no particular order and has no rhyme or reason to it whatsoever.

• Only Girl  - Rhianna
• Moment 4 Life – Nicki Minaj
• Beeda Weeda – Turfs Up
• Damage Inc – Metallica
• No Remorse – Metallica
• This is Why I’m Hot – Mimms
• Airplanes-BOB
• Bang Bang – Coka Nostra feat. Snoop Dogg
• Fist Full of Steel – Rage against the Machine
• Kick Start my Heart-Motley Crue
• Hooligan – Big B
• Turn it Up – Chamillionaire
• Chillin – Wale feat. Lady Gaga
• Live Wire – Motley Crue
• Opposite of Adults – Chiddy Bang
• Stupify-Disturbed
• Grillz – Nelly
• For Whom the Bell Tolls – Metallica
• Not Afraid – Eminem
• Mix of Classical Music – Ludvig Von

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We belong to an amazing chicken co-op that provided us the opportunity to be involved from the ground up. We had 9 little chicks in our home from day two of their lives for a little over two months. We fed them their first food. We fell in love with them, loved them, named them, and we certainly had the most spoiled chicks in the city.

The chicks all live on a farm now as part of the co-op. 40 happy hens growing strong, someday to give us eggs. One rooster ended up in the group, and he was pretty aggressive with the hens. The day finally came to a head where the lives of the hens were in danger (his fault) and he was separated. Unfortunately due to the (very) early morning cock-a-doodle-doo of the rooster, he had no place on the farm in the middle of the city, or in the back yard of our members.

SPOILER: if you have are sensitive about killing, plucking, or eating an animal, please skip on to another post. If not, read on.

I grew up in Boulder, CO. I never had the opportunity to raise chickens in our backyard, and certainly never had the chance to butcher one. I know where this rooster has been every day of his life, and exactly what he has eaten: Organic, no gmo, no soy feed and fresh Colorado water (and maybe a little poop, because chickens poop in their water a lot.) I was very excited about this.

I did a little research on youtube, asked some friends and sharpened up the knife. We grabbed a plastic container to hold the rooster, grabbed our gloves and got to business.

I talk a big game. I am down for every experience, but this time I got a little nervous. I have never had anything die by my hands before. I shuffle spiders out the door in lieu of smashing them. (I do, however, kill mosquitos). Mark gave me a little pep talk and we made it happen.

There are tons of videos on the web about how to do this, so if you are ever lucky enough to do it yourself, youtube it. I’ll just say, have your mise en place ready so you can move once it is started. I cannot believe that my Grandma Hunter used to do this all the time when she was growing up in Fargo.

It happened. He bled.

The video said to place the bird in boiling water to make it easier to pluck, but we just got plucking. This way, I could see which feathers were pretty for my father, who will use them in tying his flies. Its pretty easy to pluck. And a great excuse to use the word “pluck”. Like mother “plucker”. Mark cleaned out the insides, which was just one step too intimate for me.

Here he is drying out after plucking and before I burned off the feathers on out little gas burner. I broke down the animal.

The recipe for dinner was decided by Mark, he wanted coq au vin, which we love. Traditionally, this recipe great for an old hen. The red wine and the braising make the meat tender and tasty. Our bird is young, but it still sounded good to me. We used white wine instead (it is hot in Denver right now), and it turned out fantastic.

Talk about using the animal, here is where the bird ended up:

Feathers: to my Dad Jim for tying flies for fishing

Feet, bones: into the braising liquid for flavor and enriching the broth

Meat: enjoyed every bit of it.

Nothing was wasted. Thank you Mr. Rooster.

Coq au Vin blanc:

• 1 rooster, cleaned and broken down
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 each, carrot, peeled and rough chopped
• 1 each bay leaf
• 1 small bunch thyme (pull from the herb pot outside)
• 1 spring rosemary (herb pot)
• 2 cups or so chicken stock
• white wine (enough to cover the bird after the stock)
• to taste kosher salt and black pepper

Method:

• season the bird skin and sear on each side in a splash of oil until golden brown. Set aside.
• place onion and garlic in pot. Saute until translucent.
• Add bird, stock and wine. Heat through. Add herbs.
• Heat for 1 1/2 hours or until rediculously tender and crazy flavorful.
• Season to taste.

Serve with warm bread for dipping. The bread with the sauce alone was enough to make a meal!

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A pop up is a dinner, usually in any kind of space that has access to a kitchen. It can be in a home, a barn, a farm, an airplane hanger or a brewery, you get the idea. The point is it is a fun and different way to showcase a chef and her (or his) food, perfect when they don’t have a brick and mortar restaurant and/or if they want to do something completely outside of what they do daily in their home kitchen.The level of creativity and originality that you see at these things can be pretty crazy because there is little risk. Dinners rarely are scheduled for more than a few nights, then the opportunity is gone.

These dinners are happening all over the world!

Often, these dinners are at a secret location until it is announced, usually a day or two before the event.

I have a dinner coming up at Studio F. Studio F is in the historic Icehouse building in Denver on 18th and Wyncoop.

This dinner is a celebration of food from all around the globe. I’m serving these dinners same week as the premiere of Around the World in 80 Plates, airing on Bravo on May 9.

The menu begins in Spain with a trio of tapas and moves on to Thailand so guests may enjoy (Il mondo Vecchio) lap chong paired with a beautiful cocktail featuring Mekhong, the spirit of Thailand. Attendees will move on to my favorite country, Italy, and work their way to France, finishing in Morocco with a one-of-a-kind m’hanncha, a snake-shaped cake surrounded by almond-stuffed dates and the partner to end most Moroccan meals, warm mint tea.

All of the cocktails and wines are paired with ingredients and origins from each country, and I’ve got music from each country to pair with the evening as well, as I really think that enhances the experience.

I’m thrilled to join on of my favorite Colorado chefs, James Mazzio, (one of Food & Wine’s best new chefs in 1999) as we celebrate the opening of Studio F and the debut of my new show. I want to give my guests a little bit of flavor from all of my favorite parts of the world.

Each evening will feature a seating at 6:00 pm. Please arrive early and have delicious libation as we will begin the experience on time. and tickets for the 5-course dinner are $100. Tickets may be purchased online by visiting www.studioflodo.com.

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How many knives? Three (3)

Which specific knives?

• French/Cooks/Chefs or santoku knife 6 or 8 inch. These knives are the workhorses! I have found the 8 inch to be best suited to my personal needs in both professional and home settings. Jenna uses an 8 inch as well.
• Pairing/Utility Knife: a good solid handled 4 inch blade paring knife for fine detail work, tourne, peeling, and shaping. Back in the day, before fancy machinery, we used this to make potato or turnip roses for parties of 200 – 800 servings (3 roses per person) almost daily.
• Boning Knife: A six inch semi-flexible curved boning knife. Great all purpose boning knife that is short, direct, and maneuverable.

TANG: Not the breakfast drink of NASA: A knife handle is just as important as the knife itself. Go for full tang! What that (tang) means is that the knife blade portion that extends into the handle. The tang of a quality knife should be fully integrated into the handle and riveted or completely part of the handle.

Comfort is most important:

• How does the knife feel in your hand? This is a very integral part of a knife. It is, in essence, the extension of you.
• Materials of the handle: stabilized wood (epoxy/laminate/resinwood), molded or composition plastic, fibrox enhanced rubberized grip, smooth polished wood.
• Should feel good in your hand, should not pose safety issues, and should be resistant to abrasions.
• The shape of the handle, how it fits and feels in your hand. A knife should feel natural in your hand, it should not put any undue stress on hands or wrists when cutting for lengths of time.
• The “balance” of a knife refers to where the weight is in a knife. Is it blade heavy or handle heavy? It should be evenly balanced especially with knives that are specifically used for multiple actions such as slicing/dicing. Again you will be able to “feel” this in your hand as you hold a knife.

Knife materials:

• Stainless- not a good option, these tend to be very hard to sharpen and used by most that don’t care to tend to knives.
• High Carbon Stainless Steel-most commonly used for knives holds a good edge but will need sharpening/honing frequently, resistant to tarnish/rust.
• High Carbon Steel-Old school standby used by chefs that know how to take care of them. These hold a great edge but will tarnish/rust if proper care is not taken.
• Damascus is for show and shine:  an expensive knife that is fashioned from a variety of steels layered together. A finishing touch is an acid etch that exposes lines in the surface of the steel giving it a artistic appearance. It is a tough blade with good edge quality.
• Porcelain/Ceramic – Need I even say…the fact that it will shatter (in the kitchen!) if dropped counts this one as not usable in my book.

Remember… a more expensive knife does not mean that the user’s cutting ability will be any better. A knife must be cared for, used properly and feel comfortable while in use. In my next post, I’ll speak to the points of sharpening, as well honing your fine piece of cutlery.

My favorite knives over the years, what feels good in my hand, are as follows:

• French Knife 6” or 8“ Henkel (I have an engraved 8″ from my opening team Chef Enrique Rodriguez and Chef Mike Mr-Kenny 1999 Houstonian and Shadow Hawk Golf Courses in Richmond, TX)
• On Jenna’s trip around the globe on Around the World in 80 Plates, she used her Porsche 8 inch chef’s knife.
• Boning Knife: Victorinox fibrox handle 6 inch curved semi-stiff
• Paring Knife 4 inch Henkel. Jenna loves her Victorinox 4 inch paring knife, and at $5.00, you won’t cry if it is misplaced.
• Although not mentioned above, I love my 10” Victorinox fibrox breaking knife a.k.a (cimeter/scimitar)

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All scientific jargon aside, both wet and dry aging, in layman’s terms is…controlled rotting. Rotting you say?!?! Yes!!! A very naturally occurring process… in a positive way.

Most beef sold has typically been wet aged and is really not marketed as much as dry. Wet age is just not as exciting and there is not all that much to it. There is simply nothing sexy about vacuum sealed meat resting in refrigerated temperatures. Bring on the beefcake with dry aging and you now have yourself a sexy hunk of meat!

To simplify some of the basics…

Wet age:

• A piece of meat (most common are whole boneless roasts or individual steak cuts) is vacuum sealed in a bag and kept free from air.
• Kept at 35 – 40 degrees for upwards of 14 days.
• At 14 days tenderizing has reached its peak.
• There is a natural enzymatic softening (tenderizing) of the muscle fibers that takes place, thus making the fresh meat more tender.
• There is minimal, if any, noticeable flavor difference/change.
• There isn’t much, if any loss from moisture or trimming.
• Not much marketing goes into this, as this is how the majority of consumer and wholesale beef is packaged, stored and handled.
• Wet aging is much less expensive to produce (less loss, less time, easier to control).

Dry Aging:

Colorado's Best Beef All Natural Charolais 14 - 21 Day Dry Aged Carcasses

• Dry aging is applied to larger cuts such as full carcasses or sides of beef, full primal cuts or large whole bone in or boneless roasts. Often times rib roasts (rib-eye steaks), short loins (where t-bones and porterhouse are cut from) and strip loins (KC and NY strip steaks).
• The meat hangs in a temperature controlled room of about 38 degrees F for upwards of 35 days.
• The RH (relative humidity) is between 50 – 60%
• The exterior of the meat surfaces is exposed to air and adequate air flow, no two pieces of meat touch. This is important as if two surfaces touch it creates a moisture pocket which would contribute to really bad bacterial growth.
• What takes place, as in wet aging process, is enzymatic muscular fiber breakdown, thus tenderizing the meat.
• There is a loss of moisture, and with this loss along with the “controlled rotting” a significant deepening of flavors takes place. Beefy, meaty, rich and deep notes takes hold.
• Lastly before the meat is sold to you the consumer, the exterior that has dried (rotted) gets trimmed off as it is too pungent as well not good nor pleasant to eat. This excess trimming and loss also contributes to the much higher cost of the dry aged.
• There is upwards of 21% loss from the original weight of the beef cut that is dry aged.
• A concentration of flavors due to the moisture loss in the dry aging process is what gives it it’s deep, rich and beefy flavor.

Hopefully this simplifies aged beef.

There are many restaurants that practice dry aging in wooden rooms, Himalayan pink salt rock rooms, even so much as airport restaurants and even now some Whole Foods locations.

Gallagher's NY Prime Steakhouse Newark Airport

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Summer is here, and that means cocktails. Margaritas. Mojitos. Mexican beer with lime.

I always like it when we get the citrus in a large 25# box for drinks we make at the restaurant… there is a funny little drawing on the side of the lime box showing how to cut the limes to get the most juice. Strangely enough, hardly anyone ever does it.

Cut the lime like this… (but you’ll cut it all the way through)

I think the best thing about cutting it like this at home is that the edges are perfect for squeezing in guacamole and on chips (then sprinkling with salt and chile), and the core section slides perfectly into your bottle of beer. Of course, there is no way to get 100% of the juice, but this way really allows for a good squeeze.

A few lime tips:

• Buy the heaviest limes you can at the grocery. These suckers are usually pretty expensive, and you certainly want to get the most bang (or juice) for your buck.
• If you think the recipe would be enhanced by the flavor of the zest, by all means use it! I think the zest offers some of the best flavor with any citrus fruit. (I always use a rasp or microplane to zest). I put it almost every recipe that I put the juice in.
• Roll the lime on the counter under your hand a few times to release the juice before you cut. It breaks up the membrane inside the fruit.
• A warmer lime will give up more juice. Use it room temp rather than from the refrigerator. Some people even microwave them for 10 or so seconds. I don’t.
• Use a hand citrus juicer. Put the lime in what looks like backwards. I have seen tons of people use this the wrong way. You want the cut side facing the holes where the juices come out, and the lime gets turned inside out. You can buy expensive ones at a fancy kitchen store, or they come really cheap at a Mexican market. They both make the same margarita!
• Use tongs. Lots of chefs grab a pair of tongs to do the squeezing work. Just position the citrus close to the handle, in between the tongs, and squeeze.
• Use a reamer. These are great and get out a ton of juice.
• Use a fork in the same manner if you don’t have a reamer.
• Use your thumb in the same manner if you don’t have a fork.

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This week, the kids and I headed to Two Bear Farms, where Bruce Miller has over 250 chickens, all free range, organic and all natural. No hormones, chemicals or pesticides are ever used. Bruce gave us a tour of the property and we really enjoyed hanging out with the hens. It was pretty cool to see how big our chickens will be once they are layers. We have had our 9 chicks for 5 weeks so far, and they have already grown to 4 times the size they were when we first got them!

The coolest thing of the day at the farm was pulling the eggs right out from under the hens… and they were still warm. I am so excited for our fiture with fresh eggs everyday!!

Vivianna and Matteo with the chicks at a couple days old:

 One sexy chick and her egg of the day at Two Bear Farms…

Brand new farm fresh eggs won’t peel easily. We tried the other day and it was a disaster. For the most success, 2 week old eggs or older work best. You can tell the day of the year the eggs were packaged by the 3 digit number on the side. All USDA inspected eggs have this numeric indication, which ranges from 001 (January 1), to 365 (December 31).

• As eggs age, the yolks flatten out and the whites become thin and watery.  You can tell when you crack an egg into a hot pan if the egg is very fresh or not by checking the white. If it holds together tightly, it is very fresh. If the white thins spreads out and is thin, it is older (this does not mean unhealthy or bad, however). We eat older eggs all the time.
• A splash of white vinegar and a teaspoon or so of salt in the water may help with both coagulation of the albumen (the white) of any eggs that crack, keeping it together and making it less messy. Mark disagrees and actually makes fun of me for it, I’ve read it may be a wives tale, but I don’t really care. I do it anyway because it doesn’t hurt anything, and it makes sense to me. (I’ve also read scientific reports about protein denaturation and how the acids in vinegar).
• The color of eggs (white, brown, green) is just due to the breed of the chicken. Color has no significant bearing on the the flavor of the egg. So spend more money on the brown ones only if you like the fancy color better.
• Storing eggs on their side (lay the carton on its side in the refrigerator) if you want the yolks centered for deviled eggs.
• Spinning an egg on the counter will help if you can’t remember which ones you have already boiled. A raw egg will wobble like a weeble-wobble. A cooked egg will spin like a top.
• Claudine Pepin (her father is Jacques Pepin, so she learned from the best) recommends poking a hole in the base, the flatter part, of the egg with something thin and sharp like a needle There is an air pocket here and it is said this helps for peeling. Just make sure you lightly poke, don’t go all the way to the yolk, just through the shell into the membrane.
• Overcooked eggs result in a yolk with a green ring and whites that are very rubbery.

How to boil an egg perfectly…

• Place eggs in a pan with cold water. Cover eggs by at least an inch.
• bring water just to a boil over high heat.
• turn them way down, to a very light simmer for 10 minutes. (8 minutes will give you a softer yolk, 12 minutes will result in a very firm yolk)
• turn off the heat and remove, placing the eggs in ice water for about a minute. This will stop the cooking.
• either remove and roll each egg on the counter under your hand to crack all over, or pour off the water and vigorously shake the eggs in the pan to crack the shells.
• put them back in the ice water for 5 minutes to cool. The mistake we often make is to leave them at this step.
• they must be peeled now for perfect removal of the shell.

They will be cooked to a golden yellow, with tender yolks and whites (not rubbery)

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