Searing hot Lasagna, it was as good as it looks. That, right there is comfort food.
A gift that keeps on giving, a 350 pound piggy delivers another weekend of luscious gifts. Taylor, Toponia & the fine staff at Fatted Calf have decided to offer us Hoffman Farm quail stuffed with savory pork sausage & Riverdog Farm greens. These brined quail have been deboned and stuffed with fresh savory sausage. I’ve had the sausage in link form and it’s delightful, rich & bright. These little guys are a meal worth smoking, roasting or grilling. If you’re going to grill the little darlings, make darned sure you oil your grill so they don’t stick. They’re delicate creatures and take care when on the grill. Figger one quail per person.
Hee hee, I haven’t seen the small cold smoked hams in a while. These little bundles are fresh and succulent. They aren’t cooked, they raw. Keep this in mind when timing yer meal, foo. Since they’re already smoky, you don’t necessarily need to smoke or grill them. But I do, you bet. These are a nice small size, perfect for a Sunday’s supper. Get yourself to Berkeley’s Farmers Market this Saturday, starts at 10am and should not be missed. I hope to see you there!
So. We were at Meat Headquarters yesterday, taking care of a little business. MH is where the Magic happens, where the sausages are born, where the Fegatelli and Salametti hang like crepe paper streamers at the meat party of your dreams, where the grinder is never still, and I-Pod is never silent. Queens of the Stoneage anyone? (We understand it enhances the flavor of the Sugo di Carne.) Casings are stuffed with care, big piles of parts are sorted into smaller piles of parts, spices are weighed out and lovingly scattered hither and yon, stocks simmer, and Taylor does impressions of Will Ferrell doing an impression of Robert Goulet. Smells? Smoky, yummy, and a little funky. We got to thinking; most Friends of Fatted Calf have never been to MH, and seen the 6 day a week, 10 hour a day care and love that goes into the neatly wrapped little packages that they buy on a Saturday or a Tuesday. We thought you’d like to know that MH is a really happy place, where Taylor, Toponia and their helpers are surrounded by a bevy of other food makers, everything from one of San Francisco’s finest caterers to a –get this–vegan bakery. It’s calm, peaceful, happy atmosphere that the sausages are born into, where everything is in its’ place and no one ever puts their stuff on a shelf in the walk-in that isn’t theirs. Right, except for that last thing. So, next time you enjoy some fine FC goodies, think about T & T and their helpers, happily cranking the grinder and blasting the tunes. They’re sure thinking of you.
See you at the Market!
Saturday, March 12, 2005
SPECIAL
Hoffman Farm Quail stuffed with Savory Pork Sausage & Riverdog Greens
Petit Jambon little cold smoked hams
Sausage
Duck Crepinettes with Picholine Olives
Merguez
Hot Italian
Sweet Italian
Toulouse
Mexican Style Chorizo
Breakfast Sausage
Andouille
Bordelaise
Pates, Confits & Terrines
Pate de Maison
Duck Pate
Duck Confit
Duck Rillette
Pork Rillette
Duck Liver Mousse
Salumi
Pepperoni
Sicilian al’ Arancia
Saucisson Sec
Pancetta
Fegatelli
Other Meaty Goods
Bacon
Ham Hocks
Duck Demi
Glace de Viande
Sugo di Carne
Fatted Calf
Phone/Fax (510)653-4327
I wanna here more about that lasagna. DAMN.
Cheesey goodness.
SHAW !!!
Lasagna and heaps of really buttery cheesey bread with smooshed garlic action. CRUNCH.
I was at the FC today, just after 10, I was hoping to see you, but we missed each other again. So there I was, with a thudding hangover, Fred at home fast asleep. Why was I at the FC so early on a Saturday by myself? – in an act of pure love, I rushed there to get Fred some Saucisson Sec.(He dreams of the stuff) I was rumbled by Taylor. He asked me “Are you the one with that Becks & Posh blog?” I guess it’s not too hard to work out when, with my English accent, I mention my French boyfriend when purchasing said saucisson. Oh well, it was nice to meet him and he said my FC write-up was one of the most flattering things he’s read about FC. (Apart from you of course) Can’t wait to see what Fred thinks of the saucisson. + we have crepinettes and duck prune pate too.
Expect to see some meaty pics on my blog in the future.
Cheers!
Sam
HEY SAM !!!
No kiddding !??!? Dangit. I was there just at 10 or a bit after, talking a few minutes. I grabbed two of his hams, then the last one sold as I left. POW. Not before I had some BBC tho’.
There’s always next Saturday, hey.
Biggles
Holy Cow! That’s a pan of pure-D goodness if I ever saw one.
That lasagna was I dish I made for the Junior Rangers potluck dinner last fall. (There was only one piece left when dinner was over.)
As for what ingredients I used, that’s a good question, because I don’t follow any one recipe when making lasagna, and I don’t use the same ingredients every time. This is hardly helpful – I know.
But let me think about it a minute…
Okay, my basic ingredients are: fresh ground beef (browned first of course), a few sauteed vegetables like onions, garlic, mushrooms, and something green and leafy like spinach, chard or basil (I don’t sautee the basil). I carefully layer these (It’s gotta looked like I cared) over non-cook lasagna noodles. I submerge each layer in a nice sauce.
(For the lasagna in the photo above, I use Mario Batali’s sugo pomodoro jarred sauce – that’s right, I said JARRED sauce. For a wonderful in-home family dinner, making my own sauce is peachy and wonderful, but I’m pressed for time, I’m gonna open a flippin’ jarred sauce every time.)
Finally, I crown the dish with fresh, happy cheese, and a dash of beef broth ’cause I don’t want the top noodle layer to get dry and crispy. Then, I throw it in the oven (350 degrees maybe?) and bake until it’s bubbly and the color I like. If the lasagna gets dark before it’s bubbly, I get out the tinfoil and arch it over the pan (I don’t want it touching the cheese and ruining the top). …and I think, that’s it.