http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/seasonalcooking/farmtotable/seasonalingredientmap
If you want to buy fresh, locally-grown produce but aren’t sure what’s ripe or in season, an interactive ingredient map at foodie web site Epicurious can help you figure it out.
The Flash-based map lets you search by state or month to see when fruits and vegetables are fresh in your area. You’ll get a full run-down including a description of what each food is, its nutritional value, and suggested recipes for how to prepare it.
Some of the states are in the middle of a dormant growing season right now, but the tool reminds you to “opt for items from storage, such as apples, pears, and root vegetables.” The map is particularly handy for getting a look at future growing seasons so you plan ahead if you like to can or have your heart set on being first in line for Iowa corn.
Are you making an effort to shop for locally-grown food this year? How do you stay on top of what’s fresh and available in your area? Let us know in the comments.
Ever butcher a pig? Nor had I until the other day. I’ve always known there was something funky going on with most of the meat being sold at the grocery stores and after watching the newly released DVD of “Food Inc”, my worst fears had been realized. I know not everyone will think the way I do about food and that’s okaybut it doesn’t change how I view it.
For years now, my wife and I have sourced most of our meat from local butcher shops – you know, the kind of places where the man behind the counter can actually tell you something about the products they’re selling? After all, don’t you want to know where the meat came from that you’re enjoying – I sure as heck do.
As a huge proponent of the “whole food” concept, I firmly believe that the closer we get our food to the source it comes from, the healthier it is for us, the better it is for the local economy and ultimately the more humane it is for the animal being slaughtered - and that’s something even most vegetarians can get behind.
A couple of years ago, I was introduced to a couple who own 35 acres and live about 30 minutes away. They raise horses, cows, chickens, pigs, lamb and goats – we first bought a side of beef from them at the time.
This past weekend, however, we picked up one-half of a hog from them and this time around I was determined to get more involved in the process of putting food on the table for my family. This involved both Traci and I as she picked up the other half of the hog.
This past Monday was the day her and I did our own cutting and wrapping of the pig and in hindsight I’m really glad I decided to do this. It’s one thing to know what the various cuts of meat are called from a culinary point of view but it’s a whole new level of immersion when you’re the one making (or in my case, trying to make) those cuts.
Having lived in Italy for about 20 years, she had a lot of experience of farm life and butchering her own animals so that was indeed a handy skill to have. That said,. however, she was still a bit “rusty” so we turned to Google and found this handy video on gourmet.com:
So what does this have to do with wine? Well nothing, directly – but like wine, quality ingredients make up the fabric of our lives in so many ways and frankly, a huge part of that is good food pair with good wine and friends – in my humble opinion – do make the world go ’round.
Tonight I fixed the first piece from our side of the pig – the tenderloin. I pan-seared it with onions, apples and rosemary then deglazed the pan-drippings with cognac and heavy cream. On the side are oven-roasted potatoes, carrots and crimini mushrooms.
We know it’s the last minute – day before – Thanksgiving just as well as anyone else here in America but if you’re like me, then sometimes things come up at the last minute. For many folks that can include which beverage to have with their food of choice, so what I’ll attempt to do here is throw out a few suggestions of various wine-types to try out.
Coastal California or Oregon Pinot Noir tend to go very well with herb-crusted meats like chicken, turkey or game and can be very complimentary to the entire cornucopia of foods at the table.
Oregon:
- Panther Creek Pinot from Oregon
- Argyle Reserve Pinot Noir
- Yamhill Estate Pinot Noir
California:
- Blackstone Reserve Pinot Noir
- Bouchaine Pinot Noir – Carneros
- Ventana Vineyards Pinot Noir
France (Burgundy):
- Domaine Rebourseau Grand Cru “Mazis-Chambertin”
- Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru “La Toppe Au Vert”
- Domaine Groffier Gevrey-Chambertin
-Gewurztraminer – the grape with the funky name continues to be a “safe-bet” for those less willing to adventure out into other varietals. All too many, however, are overly sweet and don’t have the acids to hold up very well with the various foods at a typical Thanksgiving table. A few of my favs are:
Hugel Gewurztraminer from Alsace region of France
2007 Snoqualmie “Naked” Gewürztraminer – WA State
2008 Ventana Vineyards of California
Breaking outside the norm:
There are so many other wonderful grape-types that I really think you should try – so many in fact, that I’ll try and shorten it down to just a few:
Grenache – Burgundy, Spain and Paso Robles (CA) do very well with this food-friendly grape
Tempranillo – this Spanish grape has all kinds of good spicey notes going on
Torrentes – a grape from Argentina that’s catching on
Viognier – try one that has lower alcohol – say below 12% if possible
Verdejo – a very food-friendly white grape usually from Spain
Zinfandel – an American favorite that has bold, spicey and jammy flavors
Any of these wines would do well with pork, chicken, beef or lamb, assuming you’re using good seasoning and herbs.
If you have any questions at all – please email me: dp@winefoot.com
Me and some friends pair the Sweet Valley Righteous Red with grub from Seattle’s famous Dick’s Drive-in.
Links:
Corvus Cellars
Sweet Valley Wines
By Chef Steve Jacobson
It’s not quite as easy a decision as one would think. A “scratch kitchen” is a wonderful thing to me but to a whole lot of restaurants all they see is food and labor costs. I have had the honor of working in scratch kitchens the majority of my life and now that I am running my own place I appreciate even more what those Chefs’ went through on a daily basis to keep it that way.
“I learned that the only way you are going to get anywhere in life is to work hard at it. Whether you’re a musician, a writer, an athlete or a businessman, there is no getting around it. If you do, you’ll win-if you don’t you won’t.”~Bruce Jenner
I do remember, not so fondly, the few times I worked in places where 85%+ of the food was “brought in” and how I and everyone else it seemed felt like a cog in the machine. The food , if that’s what you want to call it, was subpar at best with a distinct focus to what I call a sheep mentality which is “Get them in, Get them out” attitude which permeated throughout not caring if they produced a decent product only the bottom line.
The food in the kitchens where the majority is from scratch took time and a team effort to produce often with delicious results and a feeling that we actually had some input in the end result. Stocks & Sauces in particular I find have a distinct difference in flavor and texture when made from scratch and provide a wonderful base to a well run kitchen. The soup bases and powders a lot in the industry use have a distinctly weird powdery texture I can spot instantly not to mention an unusual amount of sodium as well. Desserts have a very special quality about them when made from scratch. While I must admit the pre-made ones can taste pretty good I still prefer scratch.
The question is does the average American customer even know of much less appreciate the effort that went into scratch cooking?
“We only serve what we make ourselves” is a motto I once saw over the door of a restaurant I went to and that stuck with me as a pretty good idea however that is not the case in any of the “box store restaurants” I can assure you.
Please keep in mind this is not some crazy bloviating rant on big production kitchens that have seen budgets slashed, jobs lost as well as having a difficult time just staying afloat instead I just want to see if anyone out there thinks like I do?
As Americans we have a not so great mentality of “Eat To Live” instead of “Live To Eat” meaning most of us could care less if the food tastes amazing all we seem to care about is the oversized portion and reasonable price, no wonder most of us as well as our children are so fat. So in mock defense of those places that buy EVERYTHING pre-made I can see where it all reaches a point when scratch cooking, especially here in the states, is impractical and in fact counterproductive to the bottom line. I can tell you right now after a lot of time spent in large hotel kitchens and buffets as sad as this is the public just does not care about good food there.
So, when is it worth the extra expense in effort, labor and food cost to do it myself? Bake my own bread? Roll my own pasta? Make my own desserts? Cut my own meat?
What about making our own salad dressings and coleslaw? I know for a fact that everything I have mentioned so far is available in ready-made form from someone!
Here are some common battlegrounds for the debate between from-scratch vs. ready-made. To me premade food tends to make chefs/cooks ’stagnant’ and non-innovative. When you work for a person who requires 100% from scratch such as myself you will work your ass off yet the food will be ten times better in my opinion, all very rewarding from a Chef’s point of view.
What this has done for me personally and professionally has turned me into a very discerning person food wise. I will not order a dessert in a restaurant because I know it was store bought and just plated. I am willing to pay extra for food that I know has been done from scratch.
One mentality I face consistently is the people that frequent the “Box Restaurants” as these restaurants have to hire “bodies” that can produce the food on a consistent basis with little or no actual culinary skill. They use pre-prepared products that are best heated in a microwave and are what we as chefs call “idiot proof” so that any worker can be able to prepare it. They usually only have kitchen managers with little or no real culinary background cheering them onto food cost victory while dolling out over salted, over prepared cookie cutter food.
Unfortunately these restaurants are the norm for casual dining in the US which in my humble opinion is the problem us as chef’s face in today’s world.
I will serve as much from scratch as I can with a focus on quality instead of quantity. Hopefully we will be a success doing so.
As always I value you’re opinion.
Make sure to visit Steve’s ongoing blog at:
http://chefstevenjacobson.blogspot.com/
Make sure to check their products out at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/nwcw2001/
In this video, John shows how to make their excellent salsa:
How to roast a chicken:
How to break-down a chicken:
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