Bacon Makes Everything Better

What is better than a perfectly crispy potato hash, the nice aromatics of garlic and shallots, topped with easy over eggs and truffle oil?

Add ham...

But if you got it, use a nice thick cut artisianal bacon instead.

The dish today was awesome, but to totally quote my wife..."Everything is just better with bacon". And as Meghan raved in between bites saying, "Oh my God Matty, I'm so spoiled"...I kept thinking, "The caramelized ham adds such a salty savory quality...the truffle oil and fresh chives from the garden really makes this pop...I could bathe in a vat full of this runny yolk from the eggs...but something's missing".

That something was bacon...

It adds such a meaty, smokey, and chewy mouth feel (that's what she said) that elevates the dish to four star food porn. Like when Tom Cruise says to Rene Zellwegger in "Jerry Maguire"...."You complete me".

Bacon, you complete me.

Stay or Leave

The Title is one of my favorite songs by "Dave Mathews". And listening to it has got me thinking about a soon departing friend.

Tonight, I want nothing more than to go out and enjoy someone else's toil in the kitchen. But what does one do when the invitation to stay home on your sun kissed deck seems more appealing? Do I just order pizza in?

Truthfully, it's deeper than that. I sit here torn due to nostalgia, to the thought of actually saying a painful goodbye to an old friend.

Remember the show "Cheers"? Go where everybody knows your name. We all have those places, those dive bars with sometimes really good food, or generally some kind of snack. They are the local speakeasies, the Towney places...and tonight we were dead set to head to a place that is now changing venues within the month.

The name: "The Mexican Cafe" Is it Mexican? Nope, it's mostly the bastardization of Mexican, it's what I abhor...

However, it's like crack...more specifically, the Margaritas are like crack. Rumored to be made with grain alcohol, they are the reason people go to this little dive. In the infamous words by Dave Chappelle playing "Samuel Jackson's" character in a spoof of "Samuel Jackson's Beer"..."It'll Get You Drunk"! And that's that. It's a place where you eat a wheelbarrow's full of chips and salsa, get shit faced, and proceed to eat that fatty greasy cheesy Meximerican goodness saying, "Holy Shit, this is so good!"

The owner's lease is running out and they are now relocating to a different place in town. A place you cannot walk to...cause seriously, no one should drive from it. Case in point, I once saw a 70ish year old lady so tanked she was crying after falling off the step. Literally she sat down on the pavement, and balled her little eyes out like an overdrunk sorority girl(I know because I used to see this in college)...her family members quickly carried her to the car. I'm sure none of them were driving sober.

The new locale is not a hole in the wall adjacent to a "Duck and Dive Bar" called the "Ebb Tide"...it's in an upper scale part of town. In many ways for the business it actually might be commercially better...but it will probably no longer be that old dive, that place that was like an adult "Disneyland", or a poor man's Vegas.

I guess I just don't like change...

Yet I sit, contemplating do I even want to say hello and goodbye to this old friend one more time? Or do I just ignore that old friend and act like I was too busy to stop in...it deadens the hurt you know? But so do those Margaritas.

Pizza

That's it, I'm done with ordering Pizza out...okay, well, I guess not because there is nothing like that salty yet savory lazy day New York Pizza after a long day of traveling. Or a long day of work paired with a nice glass of wine or beer.

But C'mon, America has Bastardized good pizza just like they have fucked up "Italian" or "Mexican". If you live in small town America you know what I"m talking about. "Real Italian" and "Mexican" in Middle America is just smothered with cheese and sauce. Thank you to the "TGI McFunsters" and "SchnappleBEAS" all over the planet advertising cheap eats, drowned with frosty mugs of domestic beer...ahhh, I abhor you, this is why we are so goddamned fat!

Excuse my digression, but this is why we cook. Why pay for overpriced meals that constantly fall short (Exceptions are of course excellent chefs)? Aha...yes, further digression would be nonconstructive...to the Pizza

First admission, we cheated, we have the recipe for dough...but we haven't yet made it fresh. Instead we snitch our dough from the local Italian Delicatessen, Fresh Market, Whole Foods, Pizza Shop, or Grocery Store. Now heaven forbid you get those Boboli pre-made pre-baked crusts...yechh! You have to get the ball of dough, frozen or fresh...it works, and it works well.

The type of Pizza we generally make is in emulation of the Classic Neopolitan originated in Naples.

You need a few other things to make your life easier:

1) Pizza Stone...they are pretty ubiquitous now, google it, or go to a kitchen store, it's essential for getting that nice crusty part to your pizza

2) Pizza Paddle: Another easy find...get it, make your pizza on it, but make sure to cover it with a generous amount of flour thus helping the dough not stick. Transfer to hot pizza stone in oven, cook till golden brown, spatula it back to pizza paddle (Meg and I first started with pan spatulas and cookie sheets and had a hell of a hard time, the right tools are essential).

3) Warm your oven to 500 degrees. Theory is, you're simulating those brick ovens from Italy...hot hot hot gets the dough to a crispy outer texture while keeping the inside insulated to that chewy almost half underdone mouth feel...melding with the ingredients.

4) Dough...and you don't have to try to spin it on your fists to a perfect disc. Just try and make it as circular as possible. Honestly, look at the pictures in Italy, the pizza turns out how it turns out...quite simply, it's bread with stuff on top, make it taste good to your liking.

5) Simple Simple Simple: We don't need all that horseshit "Meatlover Onionlover, Mushroom, Extra Ranch Dressing Topped Pizza" Start with some Crushed Red Tomatoes (Preferably from San Marzano...the best sauce tomatoes around, and they are easy to find, just something you don't know to look for), fresh Mozzarella (It comes in a ball, slice the ball and top on the pizza, dont' use the shredded kind), and Fresh Basil...done, that's it.

If you're feeling fancy, add some Meatballs. Find your favorite Meatball recipe. We do simple and fresh. The meatballs you're seeing on our Pizza were from "Molto Mario" Here's a simple recipe from a tried and true source as well:

http://lacucinaitalianamagazine.com/recipe/red-bean-meatballs-with-spicy-sauce

6) Wine: If you imbibe, grab something to pair. Now pairing isn't that hard. If you feel something is easy drinking and you like it, grab a glass of it and accessorize with Pizza. We consider ourselves simple wine snobs. That means, If we like it we drink it.

7) Don't forget: For this type Pizza (The Margherita), when it comes out of the oven, sprinkle fresh Basil on top, Parmigiano Reggiano, and good Olive Oil. Most Importantly, do NOT forget a healthy dosing of freshly ground Sea Salt or Kosher Salt with freshly ground Black Pepper (We prefer Baleine Sea Salt and Tellicherry Black Peppercorns...these are easy to find).

Let it rest for a few minutes, cut to your desired slice, and enjoy.

Last night we enjoyed this with a great and overlooked movie called, "Bottle Shock", an entertaining history of how the Napa Valley came to the forefront of wine (overtaking the French in a blind tasting) in 1976. Cute movie, simple story, a little bit of drama. Grab a nice bottle of wine and thank your heavens you aren't killing your body with the preservative laden Middle American Bastardized Diet of "Real Italian Food".

Recipes

I have heard you all would like me to share our recipes for our dishes. Aha, graciously noted. Please click on the links below for the recipes to the corresponding dishes. Starting from now on I will include the recipe for each dish I write about (unless we didn't cook it (Seared Foie Gras topped with Cotton Candy...I don't know how to make that one yet, but L2O in Chicago does...God bless Laurent Gras).

Banana Bread

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/banana-nut-bread

Roasted Split Chicken with Mustard Crust

http://www.kqed.org/w/morefastfoodmyway/episode204.html

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/baked-shrimp-with-tomatoes-and-feta-recipe/index.html

Spaghetti with Artichokes and Pancetta

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/spaghetti-with-artichokes-and-pancetta

Buon Appetito

I'm A Total Egg Slut

Uttered by my personal food hero Anthony Bourdain, my wife and I are enchanted by the simple yet complex nature of the egg. Morning, noon, or night, I can always whip up something...sandwiches, hash, seared duck breasts, and it is enhanced with an easy over egg on top. Nothing beats a beautifully cooked egg with that runny yolk contributing it's flavor, texture, and vitamins to your food.

Today's breakfast inspired me to write because Meg decided to make banana bread. The hour baking time wait with those sweet yet savory smells made us say, "Gotta make something to hold us over".

Get some leftover ham cold cuts, brown em nice and good with a quality olive oil, add some scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese (the sharpness of the cheddar cuts the richness of the eggs), I also add the simple ingredient of "Season All". Cook the scrambled eggs to your liking(we prefer a little bit undercooked as we abhor dry eggs...yechhh)...

On your plate...Cheesy Scrambled Ham and Eggs...it's incredible, edible, it's the Egg...

And they're not just for eating...last weekend my parents and I dyed Easter Eggs. Dad and I upped the ante with shots of Makers Mark and Beer to supplement the experience. The results were damn creative as we etched sketches of "Happy Easter", the police call box from my mom and dad's favorite Sci Fi show "Dr. Who" (fell asleep mid way through that show, still don't understand the appeal), and my favorite, "Hope =Crap" (my dad's distaste for Obama is more than palpable).

Point is, I love being part of a dynamic and wildly hand gesturing life loving Swedish/Irish family who makes some kind of excuse every day to celebrate life.

A Good Glass of Wine...

My wife is my best friend, and lately I've seen very little of her. Over the weekend I was back home in North Carolina gorging on pork, and several days before that we were on opposite day/night shifts. So, our first night together we decided to celebrate with a simple little dish from Ellie Kreiger (A really crunchy nutritionist/cook) and a bottle of yummy (and exquisitely cheap Merlot).

The meal: "Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta". Despite my dislike of crunchy healthy tofu loving nutritionists, this really is a yummy creamy tomato dish with the briney/salty bite of fresh feta. Pair it with a fresh toasted baguette and you can sop the sauce while diving into the baked prawns. A velvety Merlot goes down nicely and paired quite well with the acid in the sauce.

It had been a long 14 hours of work, and opening the door to an ecstatic puppy, good tunes on the stereo, and inviting smells wafting though my brainpiece soothed my soul. After exchanging manic jumps, twirls, kisses, and snorts with Fenway(our pup), kissing my wife hello, and sitting down next to that glass of grapey liquid gold I thought..."Nothing like being home with a good glass of wine, great eats, and my wife (Fenway and Manny too)." Who needs more than that to make them happy?

Pork, Pork, Pork

Growing up, pork was forbidden. Reading my earlier entries you will see I was somewhat of a Christian Orthodox/Jew/Muslim/Seventh Day Adventist/Jehovah's Witness identified as a member of "The Worldwide Church of God". Summarizing: We kept a Sabbath, No Pork, No Christmas, No Birthdays, and in hindsight..."No Fun".

Our religion changed to something a bit more sane...less "Acts of Faith" and more, "God kinda knows what's in your heart, so it's okay to eat pork, He wont smite you", and voila...I started eating everything I could...pork being one of my most favorite new friends.

Recalling briefly on using "Five Guys" as "Chicken Soup for the Soul" for life changing decisions, I recently used Pork as my newest aide. Actually, I headed home for the weekend to visit my folks, and dad was into making "Pulled Pork Tacos".

As a side regarding my father, he has always self-identified as a "Grilling Man", but his prowess in the kitchen has often been undermined by his enthusiasm to toss everything into the kitchen sink. I too had the same problem until I started reading about food, and then the tumblers started to click into place.

Recognizing his passion and need for honing I got him a book by Rick Bayless, a known American expert on Mexican cuisine. The proposed menu? Pulled Pork Tacos,(rubbed in a savory adobo, smoked, and slow cooked) and Guacamole.

Dad eyes gleamed like a kid's on Christmas morning as he carefully thought out each meticulous step. Step 1: Rub the Pork Shoulder (Boston Butt) down with a savory adobo. Step 2: Smoke the Butt with White Oak. Step 3: Cook that sucker slow and low in the "Crock Pot". Step 4: Make some guacamole. Step 5: Have his son (the sous chef in this case) prep the taco fixins and imbibe some beers to enhance the experience.

The end result: A succulent sexy hunk of pulled pork enveloped in a double corn tortilla with some basting juices, radishes, spritz of lime, and pinch of cilantro. Add the tortilla chips with fresh guac on the side and a few more beers and you had some kind of magic. I was asleep by 8pm dreaming of little piggies flying through buttery flaming hoops after swimming in a basting vat...oh you succulent crispy skinned porker.

Such opulent dining was simple, cheap (the roast cost about 11 bucks for 7 pounds), and exquisite. Making argument against the thousand dollar dinners of Thomas Keller's "French Laundry" and more for the lip smacking dopamine indulgences of pleasure via simple family style dining. Overdosing on a simple pulled pork...I tried, I failed, I slept 12 hours of peaceful sleep.

As for my life changing decision? I think I made it, with aide of pork, libation, and family.