Leftover Derby

When we were in Montreal last weekend I had hoped to purchase some horse meat. In Canada it's legal to sell horse meat. It is not, of course, legal to bring it back into the United States. However, I have some little hideaway hatches in the trunk of my car that I'm pretty confident I could have smuggled them across the border in. It would have been much in the manner of the smuggling hatches on the Millennium Falcon. I'm pretty sure that Han and Chewie were mostly smuggling horse meat. Sorry, bantha meat.

Sadly the horse meat was not meant to be. More on that later.



Jen has been under the weather for much of the week. While I fed her matzoh ball soup I undertook the task of repurposing the Cinco de Mayo leftovers. I put a helping of cilantro lime rice into a toasted tortilla shell then topped it with the chili-cumin sweet potatoes, braised veal, fire roasted poblano peppers, and fresh cilantro. On the side I served up a little of the avocado salad and some sour cream. Regretfully I forgot to put some cotija over the top. Still, it was pretty tasty.

Today was the Kentucky Derby. I know this because there were a far greater number of horse pictures on Google News than normal. It was at this point that the failure to procure horse meat in Montreal hurt even more than I'd expected. Those of you that read the blog know that we love nothing more than doing a themed meal. What could have been more perfect than making a dinner of horse meat for the Kentucky Derby? Unfortunately it was not to be.



I know nothing about the Kentucky Derby. In fact, I'd rather watch just about anything than a bunch of horses run around a track. That being said, it was an opportunity to eat or drink something that we wouldn't normally and for some reason we are suckers for that.

Since there was a big stupid wonderful horse race today I took the opportunity to make mint juleps. I used the remainder of the bourbon I'd gotten from Tuthilltown Spirits in upstate New York. I crushed up some mint leaves and let them steep in the bourbon and then used that in approximately a 1:1 ratio with some simple syrup. Traditionally it's a 2:1 ratio of bourbon to syrup but I'm kind of a wuss.

Sadly Jen was unable to taste any of the drink but she did sip a little. I had hoped the mint and bourbon would help to clear her sinuses but I think instead it did as much to ease her cold symptoms as watching the Kentucky Derby might have.



For dinner I used up the remaining braised veal shoulder and fire roasted poblanos to make this soup which I served over the lime cilantro rice with come crumbled cotija over the top. It worked well as a meal, it worked well as a burrito, and it actually worked quite well as a soup. I think this idea of braising meat using a portion of milk is something I will try again in the future.



For beer I had a Blonde de Chambly by Unibroue. Instead of some musketeers on the label it features some beautiful French ladies. While I think I prefer the Noire de Chambly, the Blonde de Chambly is a little more visually appealing in that respect.

This beer is, apparently, a "tribute to the young women who came from far away to build a new country." This beer is intended to pay celebration to the women who were sent by France to marry soldiers and populate the New World.

The thing I love about Unibroue is that it is not only a drink but it is also a history lesson.

Now, just think how much better this would have went with some horse meat.

Cinco de NAFTA

Americans are great at having holidays where they celebrate other nationalities. This is generally done by making foods that natives of that particular country have probably never heard of and by consuming mass quantities of that country's one large beer import. In some cases this may involve a spirit or cocktail. Also it is not uncommon to see Americans dressing up like members of that particular nationality.

It's very hard to tell the difference between when Americans celebrate a nationality and when they're just mocking it.

After my insult to all that is Polish with last night's sauerkraut soup, I decided to take on Mexico tonight! After all it is Cinco de Mayo!

Since Mexicans everywhere are probably feeling full of embarrassment from all the Tostitos and Coronas being consumed today I decided to go in a slightly different direction.



I had this veal shoulder from Provitello Farms in upstate New York so I opted to turn that into something vaguely Mexican. I rubbed it with olive oil, smoked paprika, chili powder, cinnamon, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. In a pan I cooked some crushed garlic, spring onions, carrots, and celery. After the vegetables had softened slightly I browned the veal, covered with half chicken stock and half milk, and braised it in the oven for a little over two hours.



I'd never braised meat in milk before tonight. I think that's a very French thing to do (I'm not actually sure). It turns out that it is quite tasty. Imagine that. The French figured something out about cooking!



For side dishes I fire roasted some poblano chilies, and roasted some sweet potato with chili and cumin. I also made a quick salad out of avocado, lime, red onion, grape tomato, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Just for good measure I also made some lime and cilantro rice. That last part is what I like to call a little Tyler-Florence-Mex but it went nicely with everything else prepared.



I was in no mood for Corona or Dos Equis or even Negra Modelo. Besides, we'd just returned from Canada with a huge amount of beer so I opted to try yet another beer. To pair with this meal I cracked open a Rickards Dark.

As I savored the beer I smiled in smug self-satisfaction at the fact that I'd made a Cinco de Mayo meal without the use of sour cream, salsa, gaucamole, tortillas, or any sort of Mexican beer. Strangely, this was probably a more

However, this meal did not only represent Mexico, it represented all of North America. We had veal from upstate New York, vaguely Mexican preparation, and beer from Canada. I can't think of anything better than celebrating the unity of North America in such a fashion. The only thing that could make next year's Cinco de Mayo more festive would be if we defeated the French Army.

That would be the greatest Cinco de Mayo of all.

Kapusniak-ak-ak-ak-ak-ak, You Oughta Know By Now

This week may take the record for the least amount spent on groceries. Somehow I've just been flying through all the backed up items in the fridge. The unfortunate side effect of that is that toward the middle of the week the meals start getting a little uninspired or just plain weird.

There were a number of things I could have made tonight. I opted to go with an eastern European theme. A Polish theme, more specifically. Well, it's only one dish so I'm not sure if that can be technically called a theme at all.

I don't know anything about eastern European cooking, Polish or otherwise. Nothing. Whenever I try to make anything from any of these countries I always feel like I'm being jerk and insulting many nationalities. Kind of the way tourists from Mexico must feel when they go to a Chili's.



Tonight I opted to make Polish Kapusniak for dinner. Kapusniak is Polish for sauerkraut soup. The word also reminds me of the oafish friend of Parker Lewis in the classic TV show Parker Lewis Can't Lose. Those are both facts but the latter (I'm pretty sure) is exclusive to this blog!

From my research -- upwards of 15 seconds -- I gather that Kapusniak is sort of like a Polish version of bouillabaisse. It's loaded with all manner of stewed vegetables, pork items, and sauerkraut. I was careful not to tell Jen what this was until after she'd had some as I was certain that 'sauerkraut soup' would be rejected outright.

I browned some crushed garlic in olive oil and butter then threw in the remainder of the tasso from the freezer and some diced bacon. After that had rendered I added spring onion, celery, carrot, and diced Yukon Gold and Red Bliss potatoes, salt, and pepper. Then I threw in the remaining sauerkraut leftover from St. Patrick's Day, a bay leaf, chicken stock, the remaining kidney beans from last night, and water. I also tossed in the remaining roast chicken, bones and all, to stew with everything all together.

You can see now why my grocery bill is so low this week.



I served the soup with some thick slices of pumpernickel bread and butter. That's something that maybe they might do in Poland. It's possible. If they don't they should give it a try because it's pretty tasty even if the only bakery near you that sells pumpernickel has only loaves with raisins which is a little weird with this soup.



I'm not a big fan of having beer with soup but I am a big fan of having beer so that usually wins over. On tonight's menu, another from our Montreal trip: the Noire De Chambly from Unibroue. This beer is named after my ancestors who wore black musketeer hats and fought against the Iroquois on the orders of King Louis XIV. There's nothing quite like drinking a beer to remind you of the shameful actions of your ancestors.

Putting aside the beer's namesake I figured that a darker beer might be a welcome accompaniment to a hot soup on a cold, rainy night. It turns out I was right! Not only am I a master of eastern European cuisine but I'm also the world's foremost beer expert.

With great fake power comes great fake responsibility.

Quattro Carciofi

If you don't want to miss a single moment of me ruining artichokes, you should follow us on Facebook! The 1 millionth follower gets a free Jen & Nate Buy the Farm . . . Share baseball cap (valued at $9.99). Don't miss this amazing opportunity!

Each spring I like to attempt, again, to do something with artichokes. I purchased a couple of artichokes for Easter then forgot I had them until I discovered them in the crisper last night. They were a little past their prime so I was forced to do something with them this evening.

The first time I ever really learned about how to prepare an artichoke was from Jacques Pepin. He had a show on PBS when I was in culinary school and my mother used to watch it all the time.



I don't think this is the actual video I saw as it is undated but it was something very similar to this. Artichokes always worried me so this video gave me the kick in the pants to try preparing them. I never really got the hang of it and every time I make artichokes I always imagine Jacques Pepin's ghost hovering over me and shaking his head in disappointment.

This is very unusual especially considering the fact that Jacques Pepin is still alive.



I took out all the items in my fridge that I was tired of looking at and decided, after steaming the cleaned artichokes, that I would prepare each halved artichoke in a different way. This would maximize the amount of ingredients I was able to clear out of the fridge, freezer, and pantry.

The first artichoke I made with some leftover tasso, cornbread, and cotija cheese with a little melted butter and smoked paprika. This was Jen's favorite as it incorporated cornbread in a stuffing form which is one of her greatest culinary pleasures.

For the second artichoke I used the remaining pesto from last night, some roast chicken from Sunday's dinner, sliced grape tomato, toasted and crumbled rosemary bread, and shaved Robusto cheese.

The third artichoke was filled with rice, kidney beans, cilantro, smoked paprika, cumin, feta, and a little lime juice.

I served the last artichoke simply with a poached egg, a drizzle of lemon juice, some cracked black pepper, and truffle salt. I gave this one to Jen first to get it out of the way since she has a strong dislike for eggs, particularly of the poached variety.



To wash down this odd collections of poorly-prepared artichokes I selected the blonde beer from Boréale that's we'd picked up on our weekend jaunt to Montreal. I don't know what the prescribed beer pairing for artichokes generally is but since there was no real theme tying these artichokes together it worked out just fine.

What thing will we clear out of our fridge next? What Canadian beer will we pair with it? Tune in tomorrow, or maybe the next day, or maybe next week, to find out!

2 Boots, 96 Beers

Across the street from where Jen used to live there was a restaurant called Two Boots. The idea was to combine the foods of Louisiana and the foods of Italy, two geographical bodies that both vaguely resemble boots. One resembles the type of boot one might expect a bordello worker to wear. The other resembles a construction worker's. I'm not saying which is which.

Now, apparently, there are several locations for this Brooklyn restaurant in the United States. The thing that I really liked about this restaurant was that it combined Louisiana and Italian cuisine but it was not fusion. Instead they simply offered pizza and pasta as well as a selection of fried catfish and po' boys. I respect them for that.



Tonight, I unintentionally did what I'm glad Two Boots did not do and made a kind of Louisiana/Italian fusion cuisine. I caramelized some spring onions in olive oil and butter, chopped up some tasso from the freezer, then finally added some peas and pesto. Then I tossed in some gnocchi with a little bit of the pasta water and served it up with some grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

The result was excellent. This was maybe one of the top ten best pasta dishes I've ever hastily thrown together.



We were in Montreal, briefly, for the weekend. On our way out of town we stopped off and picked up a dozen Montreal bagels and all of this beer. I asked the woman at the border what the maximum amount of beer you could bring across the border legally was. I had no intention of actually purchasing the maximum until I saw how truly cheap these beers were. That left me little choice but to purchase 4 12-packs of Canadian beer. After all, these aren't available in the United States (at least the part I live in) so why not go for broke? Besides, the exchange rate was at a perfect 1:1 and how often do you get a chance to take advantage of that?

Even though that's not actually an advantage at all.



The first beer we tried was the white ale from Rickard's. I'm not sure if white ale from Canada is considered a perfect accompaniment for Cajun-Italian food but this worked out well at any rate.

Of course, I don't really believe in the pairing of drink and food so I'm the wrong person to ask.

Stay tuned over the coming weeks (or months) while I find ways to inexpertly pair the remaining nine Canadian beers with food!