As with most of you, we do a roasted chicken of some ilk nearly every week. It’s just too darned easy, tasty and inexpensive. Wednesday night was our roasted chicken night and I decided to do another 450 degree roast for an hour. It’s just too bullet proof, too tasty. Wash & dry the chicky, rub with kosher salt, truss and roast. Done. The meat was juicy, even the breast. The skin was everything you love about roasted chicken skin, thin, salty and goes down like wine. Leaving only a smile, makes going through Wednesday that much nicer, don’t you think?
Scream, YAY for Guinea Hen Crepinettes with walnuts! If you haven’t been down the Guinea Hen path yet, it’s time. The meat is a bit sweeter than your chickenny fowl. A very nice change for your daily happenings. And the weather around here is at least sunny if not exactly warm, so this would be an excellent time to get the grill out and make it go. If you wanted a few NEW items to toss on to the grill, I see Calabrese listed this week. The other new sausage I see is something called a Chipolatas. Googled it comes up as, “chipolatas are small Italian sausages made of coarsely ground pork and flavored with thyme, chives, coriander, and cloves, and sometimes red pepper flakes.” YEAH !!! That sounds wonderful. So, between the Crepinettes, Calabrese & Chipolatas, your grilling session for this coming weekend is SET.
Under the Pates, Confits & Terrines headings you’ll find Taylor’s Pate de Maison. I had some 3 weeks ago or so and found it very tasty and quite different from the Pate de Campagne. Had some zing to it, very nice. Taylor also has some Duck Confit going, oh man. You may want to pick some up for Tuesday, Confit is always good on a Tuesday.
Hey, have you tried the Mortadella yet? If not, give it a try. You will not be disapointed. It’s a good sized portion, enough for more than 3 or 4 days of the best sammiches you’ve had in a long time.
Now I find myself at the bottom of their newsletter, Other Meaty Goods. It brings to mind a load of cookbooks, from Mr. Pepin to Bourdain. They all talk about making your own stock, chicken stock, brown stock, veal stock, demi-glace & Glace Viande. Basic stocks are easy enough, but getting the Demi and Glace version down takes some time and concentration. So, many of us end up not following the recipe as it was meant to be. Well, Taylor & his crew have put together these delectable concoctions for you. So, when you’re at the Fatted Calf stall this coming Saturday morning, don’t forget to pick up a little jar of “Demi”. You deserve the best.
Xo Xo

Well, it’s finally going to warm up this weekend, or so they say. Yeah, this chilly, breezy, classical-type springtime weather is OK, (for awhile), but why do we pay all the high California rent for anyway, if it isn’t for super-sunny, deliciously warm fake summer as soon as Easter is over? Some of us spent a little time in Taylor and Toponia’s backyard last weekend, and got a little taste of what summer is going to be all about: Mr. Grill and Mrs. Antipasto Platter. T & T have that really neat kind of backyard that just traps the heat and holds it. A couple of glasses of Gris de Gris and we were blah blah blahing to everyone about god-knows-what, and partaking of an incredible spread of vegetables, aioli, charcuterie, cheeses, and, yeah, sausage. Being the perfect hosts, T & T are just as much about the veg as they are the meat. Which is really nice for those of us who love to love equally and without prejudice. The ubiquitous IPod was crank ing, the (enormous) grill was aflame, Taylors’ newest ink was fairly glowing, everyone was more than happy, and we made a vow: We will not let our grill go idle this summer. We will not have a backyard or courtyard or kitchen empty of friends for long. We will fill the ice buckets, chill the wine, pick up the phone, and share the joy. With T & T as inspiration, and The Fatted Calf filling our fridge, we’re hoping it’s going to be a long, hot summer.
Check it out: Guinea Hen Crepinettes. Super juicy, savory, that G-Hen has some really sweet meat. Shell some English Peas (mmm, butter, mint) for having along side, and there’s dinner.
See you at the market!
Sausage
Guinea Hen Crepinettes with walnuts
Merguez
Calabrese
Sweet Italian
Toulouse
Mexican Style Chorizo
Breakfast Sausage
Wieners
Bordelaise
Cotechino
Chipolatas
Pates, Confits & Terrines
Pate de Maison
Duck Pate
Duck Confit
Duck Rillettes
Rabbit Rillettes
Duck Liver Mousse
Salumi
Cacciatorini
Fegatelli
Chorizo
Mortadella
Pancetta
Petit Sale
Other Meaty Goods
Bacon
Duck Demi
Glace de Viande
Sugo di Carne
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