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Definition: Speck

YumSugar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:15:00 -0700

An Italian cured, smoked meat native to the Alto Adige, a region that straddles Northern Italy and Southern Austria. To make speck, a boned pork leg is cured in salt, and spices like laurel and juniper, then intermittently slow-smoked, using pine or juniper wood for several months.

Deep red in color with heavily marbled traces of fat, speck is served thinly sliced as an appetizer, or used in to flavor cooked dishes.

Note that speck from Alto Adige or Tyrol, which enjoys a protected designation of origin, should not be confused with the German usage of the word, which refers to lard.

Source: Flickr User dags1974

Burning Question: Are Salumi & Charcuterie the Same Thing?

YumSugar — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:30:47 -0700

With cured meats making a comeback, it's common to see charcuterie and salumi platters on restaurant menus across the country. But are charcuterie and salumi the same thing? What about salumi and salami?

While charcuterie and salumi share many similarities - both are cured meats, and both maximize the use of every part of the animal - they're not the same thing. Charcuterie, a French term, typically refers to cooked meats such as pâtés. The Italian equivalent of charcuterie is referred to as affettati, while salumi generally refers to salted and dry-cured meats. Salame (plural is salami) is a cured sausage made from ground pork, and is a type of salumi.

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Burning Question: How Does Pancetta Differ From Prosciutto?

YumSugar — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:00:45 -0700

Aïda Mollenkamp prefers it to prosciutto, and PartySugar loves it wrapped around her peaches. But what exactly is pancetta?

Referred to as "Italian bacon," pancetta is an Italian charcuterie selection made from salt-cured, aged pork belly. It is not smoked like American bacon, so it has a mellower flavor and higher amount of moisture.

Unlike prosciutto - cured, Italian ham that is made from the hind leg of the pig and is often served thinly sliced and uncooked - pancetta is made from pig's belly, so it is higher in fat content. It is often cooked so its fat can be rendered to add depth to sauces, pastas, roasts, and sautés.

There are many gourmet varieties of pancetta (you can even make it yourself) but don't look for any Italian versions. They are banned from being imported into the United States. Which do you prefer? Pancetta or prosciutto?

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Would You Eat This Charcuterie Plate?

YumSugar — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:15:08 -0700

One of the hottest new restaurants in town is becoming well known for its charcuterie plate. The last time I was there I ended up with the plate in the photo. I loved every bit of it, but my friend was a bit squeamish about the white proscuitto on the left. It looked too fatty and she refused to eat it. Her loss was definitely my gain, and I was able to enjoy all of the porky goodness. What do you think, would you have eaten it?

Definition: Charcuterie

YumSugar — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 11:58:21 -0700

Charcuterie

French term that is derived from "char cuit" which means "cooked meat." It is mostly (but not exclusively) a reference to cooked or processed pork products such as sausage and terrines.

It can also refer to the place where the charcuterie is sold, similar to a delicatessen.

So you could buy charcuterie at the charcuterie from the charcutier (which literally means "pork butcher").

You can learn more from the book Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn ($22.05).

Come Party With Me: Harvest Party - Menu

partysugar — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:50:24 -0700

In wine making, the harvest is one of the most crucial times of year. It's when the vintners pick the grapes and usually occurs between August and October. Since the harvest is such an important season, many wineries celebrate with a lunch or dinner.

I think the tradition is the perfect excuse to plan a party! Just because you don't live in wine country doesn't mean you can't commemorate the harvest. Invite friends over for a meal that honors the wonderful world of wine. Every dish on the menu has wine on the ingredient list.

Start by displaying an assortment of charcuterie, olives, crackers, and goat cheese mousse with red-wine caramel. For the main course, offer chicken braised in white wine with shallots, pancetta, and fennel. Plate the chicken with a simple risotto alla Milanese - made with white wine and Parmesan cheese. These recipes are welcome at any dinner party, be it harvest-themed or a special birthday. To check them out, keep reading.

Come Party With Me: Fall Lunch - Menu

partysugar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:00:20 -0700

Since both Summer and my birthday are officially over, I've been a little down. There's nothing that makes me feel more excited and happy than a party on the horizon, so to celebrate the arrival of Autumn, I'm planning a simple lunch. The meal will honor the season and its most prominent ingredients. I'll start by putting together a small spread of olives, crackers, and charcuterie. When guests arrive, they can savor olives or nibble on crackers. To begin the sit-down meal, I'll serve a spicy green salad with Manchego cheese, pears, and pumpkin seeds. For the main course, a Fall lunch requires something comforting and classic, like a butternut squash and sage lasagna. If you are interested in the recipes to this menu, read more.

Spicy Green Salad With Manchego and Pears
From Gourmet

Ingredients

1/3 cup green (hulled) pumpkin seeds (pepitas; not toasted)
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
3 tablespoons Sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon mild honey
1 teaspoon grainy mustard
4 cups packed spicy salad greens, such as radish greens, watercress, and/or arugula, tough stems discarded
4 cups packed frisée (French curly endive), torn into bite-size pieces
1 (1/2-pound) piece Manchego cheese, rind removed and cheese shaved into 32 thin slices (preferably with a cheese plane)
8 small red or yellow Bartlett pears (preferably with stems)

Directions

Cook seeds in 1 tablespoon oil in a small heavy skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until puffed and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels and reserve oil. Season seeds with salt and pepper.
Whisk together vinegar, honey, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Add remaining 1/3 cup olive oil and reserved oil from skillet in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified.
Divide greens and cheese among salad plates. Cut off 2 opposite sides of each pear (reserve for another use), leaving a 1/2-inch-thick lengthwise center slice with stem and core. Arrange a pear slice on each plate and drizzle dressing over salads. Sprinkle with seeds.

Serves 8.
Make ahead: Pumpkin seeds can be toasted 2 days ahead and kept separately from oil, covered, at room temperature. Greens can be washed and dried 1 day ahead and chilled, wrapped in paper towels, in a sealed bag.

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Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagna
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated (2 cups)
Freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup loosely packed fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
Fresh Lasagna Noodles, (you will need only 1/2 of the batch), cut into 4-by-13-inch strips and cooked, or store-bought dried noodles, cooked
4 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese (1 1/4 cups)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss squash, oil, and 1 teaspoon salt on a baking sheet. Season with pepper. Bake until light gold and tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool.
Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Combine ricotta, cream, yolks, mozzarella, and a pinch of nutmeg in a medium bowl. Season with salt.
Melt butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. As soon as it starts to sizzle, add sage, and cook until light gold and slightly crisp at edges, 3 to 4 minutes.
Place squash in a medium bowl, and mash 1/2 of it with the back of a wooden spoon, leaving the other 1/2 in whole pieces. Gently stir in sage-butter mixture and stock. Season with salt and pepper.
Spread 3/4 cup of ricotta mixture in a 9-cup baking dish. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1/2 of the butternut squash mixture over noodles. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1 cup of ricotta mixture over noodles. Repeat layering once more (noodles, squash, noodles, ricotta). Sprinkle Parmesan over ricotta mixture.
Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until cheese is golden and bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Serves 8.

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Must-Read: Lobel's Meat Bible

YumSugar — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:00:03 -0700

I have a confession to make. Although a good number of you are vegetarians, and even more of you eat less meat now that we're in a recession, I still crave meat on a regular basis - whether it's a lamb chop, slice of jamon Iberico, or charcuterie. So when I received a copy of Lobel's Meat Bible ($40), a new book by revered New York butcher brothers Stanley, Evan, Mark, and David Lobel, I couldn't wait to check it out. See what I thought of it when you read more

Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali Talk Italian Food

partysugar — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:44:44 -0700

At the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen over the weekend I was lucky enough to attend a demonstration lead by Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali. The duo are the masterminds behind a popular Los Angeles restaurant, Osteria Mozza. Silverton works most nights at the eatery behind the mozzarella bar. Batali, of course, is busy with lots of projects like a new line of tomato sauce and a pizza oven. When he hit the stage he dipped his hand in a pot of boiling pasta water and used it to slick back his hair! The two cooked, joked, and talked Italian cuisine. To find out what they had to say, read more.

To cook like an Italian, Mario insists on spending quality time shopping. "If you get good ingredients and don't really mess around with them, then you're cooking like an Italian."
When looking for ingredients, both Silverton and Batali seek out harder to find Italian specialty items like straticella (a type of fresh cheese), speck (smoked prosciutto), and guanicale (similar to bacon, but made from pork cheeks). Mario shamelessly pointed out that this kind of charcuterie can be purchased from his father's salumeria.

When making pasta, Batali undercooks it by two minutes. "When the box says it cooks in 10-12 minutes, I take it out after 8 minutes of cooking, then cook it for one more minute in the pan."
Like many Italian chefs, Batali said the "most crucial ingredient when making pasta is the starchy pasta water."
Instead of liquid honey, when she can find it, Silverton likes to use whole edible honey comb on cheese plates.
Let the pan do the work. Place meat and fish in a hot pan and leave it there. Don't mess with it, especially if it's fish.
Try making pesto in a mortar and pestle. Silverton, whose a huge fan of pestos, makes a variety including the classic basil, and other more interesting renditions like celery leaf, tomato, and caper pestos. While the elements may change, she makes pesto by hand in a mortar and pestle instead of a food processor. "The difference between male and female cooking is that men like machines and women like to be hands-on."
In Italy, they cook with everything from the head to the tail and from the leaf to the root, so make the most of your ingredients.
Unlike in French cooking, Italians (and Batali) don't worry about emulsifying sauces. Batali likes it when each bite is different and textured.
Lightly dress salads.
Spend the extra dollar on more expensive pasta. It will affect the overall flavor of the dish and is worth it.

The most important thing that Batali and Silverton stressed was that Italians are regionally focused. Each town has its own specific type of local cuisine. To truly cook like an Italian, look to your hometown for ingredients that are local and special to that region.

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Filling and Fast Appetizer: White-Bean Puree

partysugar — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:00:39 -0700

Normally, I am the queen of the kitchen, but recently my sister and her best friend decided to treat me to a homemade dinner. Trish, my sister, is incredibly smart, so I wasn't surprised when she asked Chef Chris Behr, of San Francisco's SPQR, for an easy and delicious appetizer idea. He suggested making a thick white-bean puree for crostini. Trish took his advice and ran with it. The final appetizer was very quick to put together and shockingly good to eat. Who knew white beans mashed with garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil spread on grilled bread would taste so good? It's simple, it's rustic, it's fabulous. I highly recommend you make it the next time you need a rapid hors d'oeuvre. For an instant party, serve it with cheese, olives, and charcuterie. To look at the recipe,

White Bean Puree
Original recipe by Patricia Sweeney

Ingredients

1 (14 ounce) can of white cannelloni beans
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Grilled bread or crostini for serving

Directions

Put the beans, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper.
With clean hands, mash the beans combining the ingredients until thick and paste like. If necessary, thin to desired consistency with more oil and lemon juice.
Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy immediately with grilled bread or crostini.

Serves 4-6.

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