Notes from the Land of B

To be continued...

Today marks the final day for posting for the year long Charcutepalooza challenge that Cliff and I have been participating in all year.  This is a project that will be continuing for us as we were not able to complete all of the challenges as planned.  Some things in life got in the way the last month or so, we missed the November curing challenge all together.  I will hang meat in our basement and be sure to share the adventure here.  This charcuterie thing has taken hold at the Bernhardt household and definitely has our seal of approval.

 

The final challenge for December is showing off some of the great meat skills we've learned.  Cliff and I have certainly learned a lot and tried a bunch of new things we would not have experienced if not for this project.  Our best example of this is when we made a three day cassoulet.  The recipe was from Michael Ruhlman and Anthony Bourdain.

 

It starts with a salt rub to the duck legs.  We got ours at the North Market, one of the best resources for our Charcutepalooza challenges.  While the legs were in the salt the beans were soaking in water.

On day two the duck legs were cooked and then cooled in duck fat.  Then the meat party really began with the pork belly, beans, sausages, and the duck confit layered in the pan and in the oven for a couple of hours.

On day three we cooked the cassoulet once more for over an hour "until screamingly hot through and through."  We enjoyed the cassoulet with my parents, a big loaf of crusty bread and a bottle of red wine, followed up with cupcakes for dessert.

 

Not only did we enjoy the cassoulet but we really enjoyed the entire process of learning to cure and cook with meat and the community that came with it.  This is not our final meaty adventure, looking forward to many more to come.

 

 

 

Charcutepalooza goes on vacation!

 

 

We just returned from a family vacation in sunny Sarasota, Florida.  While we were there we worked on our October Charcutepalooza challenge.  The galantine is something we may have tackled at home with our own kitchen, tools, and supplies.  We still might someday!  In Florida the challenge we took on was rillettes.  Had we been home we would have really worked more on the stretching part of the challenge using bits and pieces from challenges past.  We made the most of it starting with a visit to Walt's Fish Market for some local, smoked mullet. 

 

Walt's has a large fish case filled with snapper, wahoo, amberjack, and grouper cheeks, among others.

 

Our smoked mullet was in a box on top of the case. 

 

Plus, there were a couple alligator heads for good measure.

 

We cooked the mullet with butter since it doesn't have a lot of it's own fat.  Then we put our rillettes in the cutest little fish bowls my mom has in her Florida kitchen.

 

We enjoyed our rillettes with some Cliffmade bread, he now makes it in two states.  We also had some cheese, fruit, and a crisp white wine.  My dad wasn't too interested since we asked him to taste the toe cheese in a previous challenge, so it was a lovely poolside lunch for my mom, Cliff, and I.

 

 

Fittingly, on our last night in Florida while Stella was out with my mom and dad, Cliff and I had dinner at Pomona Bistro.  We had the charcuterie plate to start that featured rabbit rillettes.  Then Cliff had the duck confit salad that came with a delicious duck leg.  For dinner we shared the antelope with a side of brussels sprouts and bacon.  Yum!  I have to say that all these Charcutepalooza challenges this year have certainly expanded our tastes.  

 

 

Pork Pie!

Time again for the monthly Charcutepalooza review.  September's challenge was packing.  It was a charcuterie month of firsts for us.  It's the first month we didn't do both the apprentice and charcutiere challenge.  We went straight for the pork pie. 

 

Yummy meatstuffs inside a delicious homemade crust, how could we go wrong?

It is also the first month we weren't down to the wire, we made our pork pie Labor Day weekend.  It was quite a porky weekend.  My sister and brother-in-law hosted a hog roast on Saturday and we had a pork pie brunch on Monday.  Complete with Bloody Mary's with homemade mix using Mrs. Wheelbarrow's recipe and local Watershed Vodka.

 

I love my vintage ice bucket that was a steal at $3

 

One of the things I enjoyed most about this challenge was the crust.  I have been the family pie maker for many years, once my Grandma stopped doing it.  I learned at her kitchen counter from a young age making pie crust cookies, then onto fruit and custard pies as I got older.  I learned to handle the crust as little as possible and how to get just the right consistency. 

 

Pie crust cookies

 

To be honest, I haven't been making my own crust for a few years now when I make 6-8 pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  (Shh, don't tell my family, they haven't noticed!)  This is also the first time I've used a food processor for crust and it was AWESOME!  So, I might get back into the crust business. 

 

 Grandma's rolling pin

 

The pork pie gave me an opportunity to use my Grandma's rolling pin.  I like to think about all the crusts it has rolled out in the last 50+ years.  I'm lucky enough to have it along with my Great Grandma's cast iron skillet that we use almost daily.  As I was on crust duty, Cliff was working on the porky filling - grinding the meat and adding some smoked ham from Leslee and Jaime's hog roast.  Our hard work was combined and the pie assembled.

 

Made with love

 

There was enough crust left for a few heart pie crust cookies and a small peach raspberry pie for dessert.

 

Peach Raspberry Pie

 

Homemade crust and pork filling, homemade Bloody Marys, served with homemade pickles, Coleman's spicy mustard and a backyard egg.   

 

In a pickle!

 

We enjoyed our pork pie cold with a couple of foodie friends as described in Charcuterie author, Michael Ruhlman's touching story on the Christmas tradition in his family.  This is a Charcutepalooza challege I can see making again, unlike last month's toe cheese.

 

Yum!

 

 

Are you ready for this gel-ly?

When we first heard about the August Charcutepalooza challenge, I have to tell you I was a little wary.  I've eaten plenty of bacon and sausage and hot dogs before I made them myself but headcheese, not so much.  Organ meat for a liver terrine?  Nope.  My mom loves liver and onions but I've gone over 30 years without really missing it. 

 

 

Toe cheese and Ritz crackers

It feels so retro!

So, as I read the post from Mrs. Wheelbarrow's Kitchen toe cheese sounded a lot more doable than cooking a whole pig's head for something I've never even tried before.  So began the quest for trotters.  I won't even go into the ridicule I got at the Kroger meat counter.  Cliff found some excellent pigs feet at the Asian market.  What's surprising is the small amount of actual meat you get from four pig's feet.

 

All those feet, so little meat

 

As I was perusing Charcuterie though, I ran across the vegetable terrine.  At this point in the summer I had all of those veggies on hand.  Plus, I figured I wasn't going to make the foray into organ meat just yet but this terrine sounded like an excellent way to capture the fruits of the season.

 

Veggies ready for broiling

As usual, even though we tried to start early we were under the wire to get everything done in time.  I had made the overnight tomatoes earlier in the week with some Roma's from a friend's garden. Thanks Amanda! 

 

Overnight tomatoes

 

Last night after Stella went to bed, I started broiling veggies, roasting peppers, and making my vinaigrette.  I went to get out the goat cheese only to discover ours had gone over.  So, Cliff ran out to find Anderson's was already closed but made it to Whole Foods minutes before closing time.  It was fun to build the terrine layer by layer and imagine how it would turn out.  Check out the slide show to see the terrine making in action.

 

Click here to view these pictures larger

 

We had plans this evening to celebrate my neice's 5th birthday so there were plenty of taste testers.  The veggie terrine went over well but the toe cheese wasn't a popular choice. 

 

My dad enjoyed the terrine

He wouldn't even try the toe cheese!

 

I have to say I agree.  I would do the terrine again but not likely the toe cheese.    

 

Veggie, goat cheesy goodness

 

 

 

Little Bear Butterfly Bernhardt

A few weeks ago, we found a caterpillar in my mom's driveway. We took her home and put her in Stella's bug catcher. 

 

 

We found out that she was a woolly bear caterpillar, so we named her Little Bear Butterfly Bernhardt.  In a few days she made a cocoon.

 

While she was in there we learned that woolly bear caterpillars turn into Isabella Tiger Moths.  As Stella will tell you, she has a cousin named Isabella. Little Bear stayed in her cocoon for two weeks. 

 

 

Just in time for Isabella's 5th birthday today, Little Bear Butterfly Bernhardt emerged this weekend.  We set her free in the front yard.  Safer out front, no chickens there looking for yummy insects. 

The chickens go to school

 

 

In May, my nephew, Andrew's 2nd grade class was hatching eggs.  We thought it would be fun for the kids to see grown up chickens since they were learning all about eggs and chicks.  So, two of chickens, Big B and Toffee took a field trip to Evening Street Elementary. 

 

 

We visited three 2nd grade classes.  The kids were so funny, some were really interested or knew all about them with chickens in their own backyards.  Others were very cautious about the wild animal in front of them.  Each one got a chance to pet and feed the girls if they wanted. 

 

The chickens were great.  They traveled well in the bunny cage I got and they enjoyed all the treats and attention.  Plus, I got pooped on which is hilarious for the 2nd grade set.

 

Stella thought it was pretty cool that the chickens got to go to Andrew's school so they took a second field trip to  the North Broadway Children's center.  It's funny how the younger kids weren't nearly as wary.  After we talked about the care and maintenance of the birds they also got a chance to pet and feed them. 

 

After petting and feeding, my mom read the book Tillie Lays an Egg by Terry Golson to the class.  It's a great story about a hen who doesn't like to lay her eggs in the coop and lays them instead around the house and the farm.  Then the kids get to find where she lays them each day.

 

I heard stories for a couple weeks after of kids asking their parents if they could get chickens, too.  So, at NBCC when I'm not being addressed as Stella's mom, I'm known as the chicken lady. 

 

Hot Dog!

 

 
The book of recipes and techniques

July's Charcutepalooza challenge was a lesson in procrastination and teamwork.  As my mother has said, if it wasn't for the last minute nothing would get done.  Cliff and I let the month get away from us and then we had plans to make hot dogs with some local charcutiers that fell through at the last minute.  So, Tuesday afternoon we were just getting started. 

 

Spices, parsley, and lemon zest for the brats

 

Cliff and I are a great team though and by bedtime on Tuesday we had the brats emulsified and ready for stuffing and the hot dogs were building proteins with the salt in the fridge. 

 

Emulsified brat goo, it looks kind of like bubble gum

The brat recipe called for crsuhed ice so as an added bonus I got to use my vintage ice crusher.

 

Don't mind my reflection

 

Wednesday evening we finished up the hot dog process - grind, chill, grind again, chill, then blend.  We stuffed the dogs and brats, then poached the brats.  We borrowed a vertical stuffer and OMG!  It was awesome and easy.

 

Cliff stuffs the brats

 

On Thursday evening Cliff smoked the dogs to what looks like perfection to me.  We really didn't have high hopes on the hot dogs for some reason but they look and smell delicious.   

 

Smoking the dogs

 

 Special thanks go out to fellow Charcutepaloozian Rachel from Hounds in the Kitchen for letting us use her vertical stuffer.  It was awesome and we're likely going to be getting one.  Also, to the guys at the meat counter at Weiland's in Clintonville.  As I was scrambling to get our supplies on Tuesday, they really came through for me with all the meats, fat, and casings I needed.  Even after they suggested that it may be simpler to get some ground meat or already made sausages from their case.  I told them I wasn't really going for simple. 

 

Cliff chills the smoked dogs in an ice bath

 

In our haste to get everything made we didn't really get a chance to try our brats and dogs.  We are hosting a tie dye shin dig this weekend with some friends and will be serving them up on the grill.   Hoping to make some homemade buns and relish to go with everything along with our homemade kraut.  Pictures and reviews to follow, for sure!

 

 

 

Scioto Audubon Metro Park

 

 

Stella is taking a field trip with her class today.  The class took a vote to decide where they would go.  The choices were the Scioto Audubon Metro Park downtown or The Homestead Park in Hilliard.  The decided on the Scioto Audubon Metro Park.  I love all the great stuff they do at the North Broadway Children's Center.

 

The park is a partnership effort between Metro Parks, the City of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department and Audubon Ohio.  It is located on the bank of the Scioto River on the Whittier peninsula in downtown Columbus. 

 

We ended up there sort of by accident not too long ago.  It has the Audubon center for bird watching, a couple of dog parks, a climbing wall, and some trails for walking and running.  Plus, it has a great playground with all kinds of cool, modern play equipment.

 

 

The Homestead Park looks like a good one for us to check out sometime soon, too.  We also need to get to The Scioto Mile and the Columbus Commons.  Columbus has so many great things to see and do!

 

Celebrations

I have a lot of great pictures and adventures to share but it seems I am very behind.  Better late than never, right?  I'll start with some celebrations from this sping.

Way back in April, we celebrated Easter with an egg hunt in my parents neighborhood, dying of Easter eggs, a visit from the Easter Bunny, and had family over to our house for and indoor egg hunt and yummy food and drinks.  Everyone had fun visiting and checking out the chickens, which were pretty new back then.  Check out the great pics in the album below.

 

Click here to view these pictures larger

 

In May, we celebrated Mother's Day with dinner out with Cliff's mom at one of our favorite restaurants, Figlio in Grandview. 

 

 

Figlio has great food and awesome pomegranate martnini's.  I remember going there as a kid in my soccer cleats after games with my parents.  Plus, Cliff and I were engaged there so it's a special place for us.  I love this shot of Stella and I with my martini and her milk.

 

Then we spent the day at my mom's and got some great shots of her with all the grandkids.  A serious shot:

And a funny one:

 

The chickens celebrated Mother's Day by giving us our first egg!

 

This spring, Stella has started going to birthday parties for friends in her class at the North Broadway Children's Center.  It's a fun, new world for us.  We haven't been to a lot of kid's parties that weren't family in many years.  Parents are so creative.  At the first party there was a cake walk and Stella got a cake with a chicken on it, of course!

 

 

At the second party, there was pond swimming which was fun and a great treasure hunt. 

Everyone loves being a pirate.  Arr!

 

 

 So, there's a little glimpse of our recent adventures and celebrations.  More to come soon!

 

Stuffed!

Italian sausage

Cliff and I spent this week grinding and stuffing sausage for the June Charcutepalooza challenge.  We ground sausage last month so the real challenge was the stuffing. We used our KitchenAid stand mixer with the food grinder and stuffer attachments.  It is pretty good for grinding but a little tedious for stuffing. 

 

 

Grinding

The first night we stuffed Italian sausage.  It was a little chaotic, my sister Leslee came over to take pictures for us since stuffing is a four handed job. 

 

Stuffing

The kids were running around, playing with the chickens and wanting dinner.  Cliff was baking a couple loaves of bread.  Leslee and I were making cocktails and cracking up at any opportunity for an inappropriate joke or picture.  I'm sure you can picture it.

 

 

  Cheers!

In the end, it was a great night, the cousins had fun hanging out and we had a good meal.  Freshly made sausage boiled in beer, sauteed with homemade sauerkraut and last year's canned tomatoes.  I just love whipping up something great with our homemade goods! 

 

Dinner

Plus, Cliff made a delicious rosemary, lavender no knead bread that we all devoured with fresh strawberry jam.  I think my nephew, Andrew had 5 or 6 pieces!  He usually only eats that much if it's fruit or broccoli.  

 

Bread

The second night we stuffed the tomato, basil chicken sausage from Charcuterie.  It was a little more low key, just me and Cliff.  We tried some new techniques - stuffing one long link, then twisting it into individual links after.  Trying to link it up as we were stuffing seemed to add to the chaos the night before.  We froze the links on the baking sheet and then vacu-sealed them the next morning since they seemed to get squished a little in the vacu-sealer the first night.  We had our chicken sausage sauteed with some bok choy and garlic scapes from our CSA, plus two tiny carrots and a turnip from our garden. 

 

Tomato, basil chicken sausage

We're still not really sure the best techniques.  It's still a learning process for us, the sausage has a good flavor but the texture just doesn't seem quite right.  We will try, try again!

We would love any tips from more experienced sausage makers, do you stuff then link?  Do you link as you go?  What kind of stuffer do you use?  Do you mix up the meat after grinding for the primary bind or does the sausage bind as you are stuffing?  How do you get the right texture?