Well, just one bolete and barely a handful of chanterelles. But it looks promising. Many more Amenitas. Rain almost every night. Warm days. I’m hoping we’re still a little early. Back up to forest next week.
Even if we don’t find any edibles, Tavo has such a blast. Normally he’s pretty mellow, but up there, he flies high over fallen trees like Super Dog. This morning he followed me into the garage and sat next to the car looking up at the tailgate expectantly.
Anyway, I brushed the sliced bolete with olive oil and herbs and grilled it with a Wagyu rib-eye.
Gustavo (“Tavo”), my yellow Labrador retriever and I went up to the forest early this morning to scout out some of our favorite mushrooming spots. The 40-minute drive into the sun at it rises above the Sangre de Cristo mountains always fills me with joy. Tavo seemed very happy too since he knew exactly what I was up to.
We saw some Amenitas which often portend the arrival of porcini. Even though conditions have been wet and warm, we were still a little too early. We found one large Aspen bolete, but I don’t like to eat them. So even though we came back with an empty basket, we had a great time. Tavo is crashed-out as I write this, his head on my foot and snoring like a train.
Loosely-based on a Paula Wolfert recipe for [i]Saucisses de Toulose Confit[/i]. The freshly made sausages were sealed in a pouch with freshly rendered lard; cooked SV @ 160F for a few hours and then briefly browned in a little lard. Silky texture, bursting with juice. Next time I need to add more salt. Served with warm baguettes, banyuls mustard, and potato gratin.
My wife was shocked – “You’re not going to boil that beautiful steak?” Well this 2 1/2″ thick 40-day aged prime porterhouse wasn’t exactly boiled. It was cooked sous vide in a pouch at 130F for a few hours. Then it was brushed with butter and flashed for a minute in a 1025F wood-burning oven to get a nice crust. Brushed with an emulsion of rosemary, salt, anchovies, and olive oil. After the first bite, my wife understood. She said it was the best steak she had ever had. Boiled steak, indeed!
- Seasoned pieces of pork shoulder, deep fried in fresh lard
- Cooked sous vide in pouch with tequila/beer/chile sauce for 24 hours @ 155F
- Served on fresh corn tortillas with cooked-down sauce
Ultra-tender, juicy meat with a mellow, yet spicy sauce. Keeper!
The challenge was to build a breakfast pizza that I had never made before. Yes, I’ve done the obvious – pizza with an egg on top, pizza benedict, pizza frittata, etc. Never done this one before, a riff on French toast. Really delicious.
- Eggs beaten with vanilla extract and orange oil spread on 48-hour room-temp dough
- Sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and drizzled with melted butter
Beef back ribs cooked @ 135F for 2 days. Then cold-smoked with pecan/oak smoke for 2 hours. Then fired for a few minutes with a tamarind/chipotle glaze. Served with smashed honey/thyme yams.
