Who's Hungry? Magazine | No 11

kathryn o’malley | Editor

Kathryn’s love of food is matched only by her passion for writing about it; as part of the Who’s Hungry?™ magazine editorial team, she indulges in a bit of both. Her popular food blog, dramaticpancake.com, garners more than 40,000 unique viewers per month and highlights the people and stories behind great recipes.

judith mara | Editor

Judith has worked with Stephen for almost seven years and helps to lead the editorial concept and execution of Who’s Hungry?™ magazine. An award-winning former creative director for major ad agencies such as Leo Burnett and J. Walter Thompson, Judith sweats the details, pens Weather Permitting and literally hand writes How We Did It.

dannielle kyrillos | Writer and Lifestyle Expert

As a mom with a decade of experience as a lifestyle writer and editor, television commentator and cooking show judge, Dannielle Kyrillos offers perspective on entertaining, food, style and parenting with humor, practicality and relatable charm. For Who’s Hungry?™ magazine, she shares her top five barbecue side dishes. Get ready to dig in.

elizabeth karmel | Chef, Author and Media Personality

Elizabeth Karmel is the founder of GirlsattheGrill. com and a nationally respected authority on grilling, barbecue and Southern food. She is the Executive Chef of Hill Country Barbecue Market in NYC and Washington, DC, and NYC’s and Brooklyn’s Hill Country Chicken. In addition to making frequent national television appearances, Elizabeth contributes regularly to top magazines and is the author of three cookbooks. For Who’s Hungry?™ magazine, she shares her sexiest summer pizzas.

stephen gerike | Writer

As the director of foodservice marketing at the National Pork Board, Stephen oversees pork marketing, advertising and culinary education for the restaurant trade nationally. In addition to food service public relations efforts, he also hosts the annual Pork Summit and Pork Crawl events. He lives on a small farm in the town of Price on Maryland’s Eastern Shore raising pigs, vegetables, fruits and his family. For Who’s Hungry?™ magazine, he recounts the most delicious Napa Valley potluck.

deirdre o’shea | Studio Director

If you have worked with Stephen Hamilton, you’ve worked with Deirdre. Drawing on 15 years of experience in managing photography studios, Deirdre has a hand in nearly every aspect of Stephen’s business. She’s been instrumental in organizing the magazine’s shoots, sourcing ingredients, and always keeping production on schedule.

ian law | Design

Ian designed every aspect of Who’s Hungry?™ magazine with meticulous attention to detail and typography, and helped turn static images into an interactive experience. His award-winning design work has been featured in the pages of Print, Creativity, How, PDN and Graphic Design USA

ian knauer | Writer, Author and TV Personality

A former editor for Gourmet magazine, Ian develops recipes for Food Network and contributes regularly to Bon Appetit. His own PBS show, The Farm, brings to life the stories and recipes from his celebrated cookbook of the same name. For Who’s Hungry?™ magazine, he tells the secrets of summer’s sweetest vegetable.

jared rouben | President and Brewmaster of Moody Tongue Brewing Company

Jared Rouben is responsible for the creative and technical development of Moody Tongue Brewing Company’s portfolio of beers. Following culinary school, he worked as a cook at the highly regarded Martini House in Napa and as Expeditor at Thomas Keller’s renowned Per Se in NYC. For Who’s Hungry?™ magazine, Jared writes about beer and barbecue and all the ways that they’re a match made in heaven.

cece campise | Chef

Cece discovered her passion for pastry while working at a German bakery in high school, eventually going on to work at some of the country’s most acclaimed restaurants. A former pastry chef at Spiaggia, she honed her skills at Table Fifty-Two, The French Hound, The Metropolitan Club and more. At Who’s Hungry?™ magazine, she ensures that every culinary detail is both delicious and beautiful.

LETTER FROM STEVE

a special thanks to: Greg Laketek, Rob Levitt, Scott Buer, Karen Bell, Missy Corey, Jackie Doran, Josephine Orba, David Raine, Juan Palomino, Tom Hamilton, Amy Cesta, Eleanor Martin, Andrew Burkle, Cece Campise, Elizabeth Fife, Melanie Moss, Josh Gripper, Lauren Busch, Caroline Wright, Josh Newton, Powell Jordano, Kaitlyn McQuaid, Justin Paris, Paula Walters

Soon we will make our way, once again, to the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, where we’re thrilled to help sponsor the Pork & Co. Industry Nights event with chef Justin Brunson of Rappahannock River Oysters, Buffalo Trace and Old Major in Denver. Stop by and say hello!

There is no more sensational side dish than freshly picked, sweet corn. Ian Knauer, host of “The Farm” on PBS, passionately describes his ritual of tasting that first ear of summer corn in “Summer’s Sweetest Vegetable.” And from chef Elizabeth Karmel, we learn all about making pizza on the grill in “A Different Kind of BBQ.” According to Jared Rouben of Moody Tongue Brewing Company, having your face slathered in barbecue sauce and then taking a swig of ice-cold beer is what summer is all about—and we certainly wouldn’t argue. In “High Spirits,” he gives his personal recommendations for pairing the two together.

And our best-loved picnics require nothing more than a jaunt to the local store, butcher or sausage maker, plus a sharp knife and a bottle of fine wine. In “In Season: Old World. New World,” we show you ways to create a sensational charcuterie and cheese picnic.

Now, Who’s Hungry™ for summer?

Stephen Hamilton

We’ve had a particularly brutal winter this year, even for Chicago standards, so our summer issue was especially fun to put together. We were able to dig into all the pleasures of BBQ, festivals, picnics and grilling just a little bit ahead of Mother Nature’s schedule.

by DANNIELLE KYRILLOS

Dannielle Kyrillos, a series judge on Bravo’s Top Chef Just Desserts and expert on all things food and entertaining, shares her five favorite BBQ sides.

In barbecue as in the rest of life, it’s important to be familiar with—but not overwhelmed by—the backstory. The epic and dramatic family saga surrounding the Muellers and their various smoky enterprises is vaguely interesting but best gingerly stepped over on the way to John Mueller’s baked squash. The mercurial and masterful cook, known for the peppercrusted brisket and ribs he coaxes out of a smoker by a trailer in a chain-linksurrounded yard behind an old bar, turns squash into a decadence that transcends its spot on the menu under “Sides.” Most every meat-seeking customer also orders, with omnivorous pride, the cheesy, melty, gooey but not mushy black-pepper-specked yellow squash. Maybe more cheese than squash, infused with meaty smoke through osmosis, it weighs heavily in John Mueller’s column when considering where to plop down to get your hands dirty in Austin.

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It’s a safe bet that many Northerners first discover the vinegary surprise that is Eastern Carolina barbecue at something called a pig pickin’. If you didn’t grow up around this almost clear-sauced BBQ style, it’s hard to imagine it exists, in all its tomato-less glory, until you watch this glorious native party unfold. Strong, prototypical pit masters hop out of a dusty old pickup truck and load the box trailing

it with hickory wood charcoal and a pig on a spit that cooks slowly all day. The meat gets so tender you pick it off the animal with a fork, and what plays off the tangy tenderness best are baked then fried balls of cornmeal called hush puppies. Allen & Son’s are light and fluffy on the inside, crunchy on the outside, and coated in a heavenly veil of honey: art from corn mush.

As my mom would say, the idea of noodles, let alone noodles drenched in barbecue sauce, at a place you visit expressly to enjoy barbecue-sauce-drenched meats seems like gilding the lily. Sorry Mom, but especially in Memphis, you would be entirely wrong. BBQ spaghetti is as a natural addition to a meaty meal to Memphians as it is weirdsounding to the rest of us, and the beloved Cozy Corner is the place to open your mind

and your mouth to it. Even today it’s notable that a woman, Desiree Robinson, runs Cozy, and in each bite of anything, you can taste the decades of history she’s preserving. But the spaghetti! Overcooked in a good way, to make the strands big, fat and plump like worms so they soak up tons of the sauce, the spaghetti is without any meat—unlike many other versions—and immediately explains itself as absolutely necessary.

Leave no meat unused! The longtime battle cry of pit masters throughout history, but nowhere more masterfully heeded than in colonial South Carolina, where a succulent, stew-y hash made from less desirable cuts of pork stewed for countless hours in a cast iron kettle was the result. Virtually unknown outside the state, hash these days is usually made from pork shoulder. Other variables depend on the region and the family, so of

course variations are endless. Wise BarB-Q House is in the middle of nowhere, is open just a few days a week, and the proprietor concocts his mustardy vinegary masterpiece in a more than forty-year-old family kettle. The hash is served over white rice, and while it is hard to believe it’s a side dish rather than the main attraction, it’s clear it’s a badge of distinction.

It is a million times easier to think about the best barbecue side dishes than the best barbecue. Meat and its fat and how it is sliced and spiced and sauced and smoked are topics so nuanced and personal that you can’t win trying to pick a winner. But when you consider what that meat is served with, you make progress into the mind of the proprietor. Is a side utilitarian like sauce-sopping bread, an afterthought from someone thinking his ribs stand alone, or an

intentional delight that plays smartly off the main event? Among KC barbecue institutions, L C’s ambience is considered nonexistent, its meat has raving fans, and its fried green beans are snappy sentinels whose cornmeal coating can’t help but get saucy and whose inner green crispness contrasts beautifully with the surrounding tender mess. They’re spicy and for a second let you fool yourself into feeling you’re eating healthily.

A juicy, sizzling hot burger is a low-effort, high-payoff summer classic. But capturing the delicious taste appeal on camera is not quite so easy; it requires a well-seasoned stylist, careful timing, a complex rig set-up and just the right amount of special effects. Click the buttons to the right for a peek into our process.

THE FLAME

THE SMOKE

No special effects here—just an all-natural by-product of the flame and the spark that hints at a wonderfully smoky, char-grilled flavor.

THE SPARK

A second custom rig pushes flammable powder through a small tube that opens up just below the grill grates. When the powder hits the flame, it ignites into a brief flurry of sparks that imitates what happens naturally when a burger is flipped.

Special effects man Geoff Binns-Calvey uses a custom flame rig to control the exact placement, timing and size of the flames. In this case, a light, almost translucent flare helps to keep the look realistic and doesn’t steal focus from the patty.

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Short of moving to Naples, Italy, nothing can elevate the quality of your pizza-eating existence more than learning how to make pizza on your own backyard grill. Grilling solves the age-old problem of a soggy pizza. The dough is grilled first and the toppings are placed on the grilled crust so that every slice will always be crispy, crunchy, slightly charred and smoky.

We are so addicted that a few years ago we co-wrote the cookbook, Pizza on the Grill, and this spring we released a new expanded version of the book with more recipes, more step-by-step photos and

a recipe for a gluten-free dough. It is interesting to note that the toppings are almost all intrinsically gluten-free, so the only barrier between pizza and a glutenfree lifestyle is the crust.

What makes grilled pizza so mind-blowing is that it takes so little effort and so few tools to produce. The essence of grilled pizza is its life-changing crust. Because the rustic texture and bold flavor of a grilled pizza crust is bigger and more textural than that of a traditionally baked pizza, it’s a perfect base for a wide variety of nontraditional ingredients and flavors.

PHOTOGRAPHY STEPHEN HAMILTON

FIRE ROASTED VEGGIE PIZZA

View recipe on page 72 »

There are a few tricks of the trade that will help you to perfect pizza on the grill. It is not essential that you make your own dough—you can buy it from the refrigerator section of the grocery store or from your favorite pizzeria. But it is essential that you take the dough out of the refrigerator an hour before you want to use it. This will warm the dough and allow it to “relax,” making it much easier to work with. While you are waiting for the dough, it’s a good time to prep all of the other ingredients.

And, don’t worry about rolling the dough in a perfect circle. In fact, we prefer a more organic and “odd” shape. It goes with the rustic nature of grilled pizza. Be sure to use grits or polenta and not cornmeal unless you don’t like the rough texture that the coarse ground corn gives the crust. Liberally coat the dough with olive oil, which will help the dough crisp up and prevent sticking. Keep the dough thin, about 1/4 inch or thinner, as it will puff up as it rises and cooks on the grill.

View recipe on page 74 »

fire roasted tomato & cabrales pizza

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON

The key to grilled pizza is using a combination of direct and indirect heat.

SMOKIN’ SALMON PIZZA

View recipe on page 76 »

Finally, the key to grilled pizza is using a combination of direct and indirect heat. First you grill the crust over direct heat, and then you warm the toppings and melt the cheese over indirect heat.

Once you have mastered the basic steps of grilling the crust and have knocked out a few simple pies, you can unleash

your inner pizza artist and create your own masterpiece. Think of a pizza crust as a blank canvas ready to hold all of your favorite flavors and favorite ingredients. In the summer, we love to create lighter pizzas that highlight our favorite warmweather foods, and lobster tops the list! But before you start dreaming of your toppings, let’s review the basics.

Grilled pizza can be broken into four key components: dough, sauce, toppings and cheese. Paradoxically, even though grilling the dough is the most crucial step in making grilled pizza, just about any pizza dough can be transformed into a heavenly crust. All you need is a generous splash of olive oil, a dusting of coarsely ground polenta (a.k.a. grits) and the heat of your

grill. Sure, you can make dough from scratch, but a buck or two will buy you a ball at your local pizza joint or grocery store. This will leave you with plenty of time to seek out fresh, flavorful ingredients for your sauce and toppings, and robust artisanal cheeses that will make you melt. Now that’s amore! STEPHEN HAMILTON

View recipe on page 77 » maine event lobster & corn pizza

GRILLED PIZZA BOOT CAMP

Before getting started, assess your burner configuration and figure out how to set your grill for indirect heat. There are three common burner configurations for gas grills:

Two burner grills: Turn one burner off in step 7. This configuration is found mostly in older grills. Because the heat source is coming from just one side, you may need to rotate the pizza 180 degrees halfway through the cooking process of both the dough and the topped pizza.

Three burner grills: Turn the middle burner off in step 7. For this style grill, you should stretch your dough so that it is twice as long as it is wide.

Four burner grills: Turn the middle two burners off in step 7.

For charcoal grills: Let the coals get red hot, then gray-ashed. Move them to one side and follow directions for a two-burner gas grill.

1. Remove the dough from refrigerator and let it warm to room temperature, about an hour.

2. Prepare your toppings. The short time it takes to grill the pizza will only warm the toppings. Therefore, all toppings must either be edible raw—i.e., cured meats or olives—or be precooked. Set all your toppings on a tray so that you can have them at your fingertips when you start grilling.

3. Sprinkle your work surface with a handful of coarsely ground grits or polenta. Use a rolling pin, a wine bottle or your hands to roll out the dough thinly (3/16 to 1/4 inch thick). Embrace the resulting organic shape. Brush both sides very generously with olive oil.

4. Preheat the grill with all the burners on high for approximately 10 minutes with the lid down, or until the internal temperature of the grill is at least 500°F. While the grill is preheating, roll out your dough. Make sure the cooking grates are clean.

5. Reset the grill to medium direct heat by turning all the burners to medium. Pick up the dough by the two corners closest to you. In one motion, lay it down flat— directly onto the cooking grate—from back to front as you would lay a tablecloth on a table. I promise you the dough won’t fall between the grates. Immediately close the lid and grill for 3 minutes (no peeking!). Then check the crust. If necessary, continue grilling until the bottom of the crust is well marked and nicely browned. And if it is browning unevenly, rotate the crust before continuing to grill.

6. Use tongs to transfer the crust from the grill to a peel or rimless baking sheet. Close the lid to maintain the heat. Flip the crust to reveal the grilled side. Spread the entire surface with the sauce, add the toppings and sprinkle with the cheese.

7. Reset the grill to high indirect heat by turning off the appropriate burners (see burner configurations to the left) and increasing all remaining burners to high. Re turn the pizza to the grate over the unlit (indirect heat) section, close the lid, and grill for approximately 7 to 10 minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. Remove from the grill and serve immediately.

HIGH SPIRITS

BY JARED ROUBEN

This past year, I checked off a barbecue trip to Texas that has been at the top of my bucket list for far too long.

I was born in Georgia, where I originally cultivated my love for outdoor barbecues.

I have childhood memories replete with pulled pork sandwiches, baby back ribs and Brunswick stew. The experience was about eating with your hands, getting sauce on your face, sharing with family, and finishing meals with sweets like freshly baked blackberry cobbler or a slice of peach pie.

So when I headed down to new barbecue territory, I had high hopes. I marked my Texas barbecue map with every pit from the Hill Country to Austin to San Antonio to Houston. My goal was to explore the region’s smoked fare and to find the best beers to wash it all down.

The layers of flavors and aromatics across different cuts and treatments of meat naturally lend themselves to the variety and flexibility found in various beer styles. For example, fully smoked, thick-cut, fatty beef brisket slathered in sweet, tomatobased barbecue sauce might call for a cold Texas Pilsner like the local favorite, Lone Star. Or, take the same brisket and, for another layer of flavor, pair it with Moody Tongue’s Crushed Green Coriander Wit, which matches the same light body with a layer of fruity crushed green coriander.

So I tossed all greens to the side and focused exclusively on eating smoked meats and drinking beer for the next week. Here are a few of my pairing takeaways with several of Texas’ finest offerings:

Beef Brisket: A cold, light lager cuts through the fattiness of beef brisket without overshadowing the complexity of its rub.

Beef Ribs: The residual sugars which sweeten a Bock beer complement the caramelized sugars often found coating beef ribs.

Pork Sausage: The fruit-forward hops and carbonation of an American Pale Ale help cleanse the palate of the richness and fattiness in each bite of pork sausage.

Pork Ribs: The molasses flavor found in the amber malts of a Scotch Ale complement the brown sugar flavor found in many barbecue sauces and rubs used on pork ribs.

Smoked Turkey: The light body and touch of smoke found in a Smoked Helles complement the lighter body and smokiness of a barbecued turkey.

In general, the best barbecues always take place outside, under the sun and with a lighter style beer—say, a pilsner, wit or pale ale—in hand. With barbecue in my blood, I enjoy brewing these styles to complement many of my favorite dishes. Pair the sweet, citrus notes of Moody Tongue’s Crushed Green Coriander Wit with smoky beef brisket, or the tropical flavors in our Cold-Pressed Paw Paw Belgian with smoked turkey to add a layer of fruitiness to the dish, the same way you might pair cranberry sauce with turkey on Thanksgiving.

With this recent trip in mind, I look forward to creating culinary beers that can stand up to the complexities found in the smoke, rubs and sauces across the great state of Texas.

Each spring, a group of like-minded chefs gathers together in St Helena, California, at the Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone Campus for Pork Summit. The three-day educational workshop is an invitation that can’t be purchased and is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. A large part of the experience is the opportunity to spend the weekend meeting, watching, hanging out and cooking with some of the top chefs in the country.

On Sunday evening, after the last of the work has been completed, kitchens are cleaned, and before the attending chefs prepare to return to their own restaurants, everyone gathers for what can only be described as a true Stone Soup supper.

The setting this year was the old Spring Mountain Road farmhouse overlooking the vineyard behind Beringer Brothers. It was built in the late 19th century and is run by the family of a local tavern owner known as Gee Gee. It was a beautiful, early spring evening with the sun sliding behind the Vaca Mountains to the east across the northern Napa valley floor, and reflecting off of the Mayacamas Mountains to the west.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON, ANDREW BURKLE AND DAVID RAINE

First to arrive was chef, author and sausage maker Bruce Aidells. After a long weekend of sharing his incredible knowledge of all things pork, it didn’t take long for Bruce to find a comfortable spot in the sunshine where, with a glass of rosé in hand, he began to mix an amazing ground elk and pork sausage to put on the wood fire that was just starting to

catch. Chefs David Bottagaro and Neel Sahni from the National Pork Board began preparing the outdoor cooking area for the evening. Allison Waddell from Barn Raiser showed up with baskets of produce from the farmer’s market and began making a seasonal crudité to share while folks arrived, plus a beautiful mixed greens and herb salad for dinner later in the evening. sahNI

Brewmaster Jared Rouben, from Moody Tongue in Chicago, taught a beer and food pairing class during the summit and brought along five incredible beers from around the world. The beers were buried in ice in a large, galvanized watering trough. The selections of Scotch ale, IPA, Weiss, Pilsner and Saison paired well with the sweet, fatty and spicy dishes that eventually came together to become our supper.

Some of the dishes that arrived took days of advance preparation. A Filipino-style, adobobraised pig’s head with fresh, bright herbs, citrus and hot peppers took center stage on the kitchen table and was picked clean by the end of the night.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON, ANDREW BURKLE AND DAVID RAINE

Chef Tom Pizzica of BCT Belly Burger in San Francisco brought a Peking duck that he started at home several days earlier. It was served with Cantonese pancakes and hoisin sauce. Chef Robert Danhi used the carcass to create a flavorful duck soup.

Chef Stephen Barber and his family, who came from Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch, arrived with a whole, 400-day aged “Surry-ano” ham from Sam Edwards in Surry, VA. It was added to the beer table and chefs took turns practicing their skills at shaving the buttery, sweet and salty slices from this dark, rich ham.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON

Chefs Brad Farmerie and Jonathan Waxman, both from New York City, joined the fun and jumped into the mix before heading back to the East coast later that night. Chef Tony Incontro, salumist and sous chef at a local winery, began slicing some of his housemade culatello, coppa and salumi to add to the table, along with some fresh bread and a bagna cauda of salt-cured anchovy, garlic, sweet butter and olive oil.

Chef Lars Kronmark from the Culinary Institute of America pulled up in his 1960’s Austin Healey convertible with a large, cast iron cauldron for his Mock Turtle Soup: an old English recipe for a rich, thick and velvety soup using pork bones and offal, garnished with Danish “meatballs” called frekedeller, hard-cooked eggs and sherry wine. He assembled the soup over the wood fire as he fought off the army of curious spoons until supper.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON, ANDREW BURKLE AND DAVID RAINE

Chef Bill Briwa, also from the Culinary Institute of America, arrived with an interesting and unique device from Germany that he used to serve spicy sausages over flaming brandy. The sausages were then sliced and paired with rich sheep’s milk cheese and crusty bread.

Chef Jose Enrique Montes—of Jose Enrique, Miel and Capital in San Juan, Puerto Rico— manned the wood-fire grill with his friend and once sous chef, Pedro Alvarez, the coowner of Alcor, an artisan sausage company in Puerto Rico. Together they cooked and served a large platter of chorizo and linguica sausages for the table.

Local meat broker and rabbit farmer Eric Alegria arrived with a cured and ready-tocook ham from a local Mangalitsa pig. It snapped, crackled and popped on the grill until it was ready to be served.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON

As the evening faded to nighttime and the stars began to emerge in the sky, we all moved to the backside of the house, overlooking the vineyards and among the trees strung with a warm, orange glow. Large harvest tables were adorned with candles, flowers from the garden and beautifully set china from the family home. The buffet table swelled with delicious scents, sights and flavors. Inevitably, as we all began to relax and enjoy the end of another great summit, talk turned to plans for the year ahead.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON, ANDREW BURKLE AND DAVID RAINE

by KATHRYN O’MALLEY

Chef Stephen Gerike has two tattoos: one of a clam and one of a pig.

The former, he says, is emblematic of his first true food passion, and the latter represents where his zeal has ultimately led. As the National Pork Board’s foodservice marketing director, Gerike is now intimately involved in the most rapidly growing protein in foodservice today—and he can butcher a whole hog faster than it takes most of us to fry a piece of bacon.

if not pork, what protein would you be passionate about?

I began my food career working in a cheesemonger’s shop. I learned to appreciate new, unusual and subtle flavors. I also worked in the fisheries business, where I found my first and true food passion that has stayed with me until today: a cold, briny, firm, Eastern hard-shell clam on the half shell. In my family we have a saying that “clams is good.” And I have two food tattoos—a pig and a clam.

who would you want to cook for? cook with? and have cook for you?

I like to cook for chefs. Chefs appreciate good, simple and humble food if it’s cooked correctly. They appreciate it more than anyone else and will eat just about anything.

There is nothing better than cooking with a group of chefs that are as passionate about food and eating as I am. And the camaraderie in a working kitchen, on a deadline, is one of the most fulfilling experiences you can share. I have friends all over the country and they are almost all chefs with whom I have cooked.

Like most chefs, I love to eat anything that someone else took the time and care to prepare. A simple cut of meat on a wood fire, a handmade sausage, a thin slice of salami, a clam or oyster shucked in a parking lot—it’s all good, all good.

your “last supper” would be consist of what?

Eight raw clams from Barnegat, NJ, on the half shell, plus an ear of sweet, white corn from the Wallkill Valley in NY, a few slices of warm garden tomato, and a sea water and buckwheat honey-brined, pork shoulder chop—about 1 inch thick—cooked on a wood fire. That, and a cold bottle of Miller High Life.

what do you think the challenges are for chefs today versus 10-15 years ago?

Without a doubt it has to be the shallow labor pool of young people who truly love food and want to work. Kitchens need young cooks. Some cities are different than others, for sure, but we need cooks who actually enjoy eating and understand hospitality. There are so many amazing foods available to kitchens today and a growing movement to learn the basic crafts of cooking. Yet there are still so many places that disrespect those ingredients or just plain don’t know how to make food taste good. Keep it simple and pay attention to what you’re doing.

what do you want to do in 5 years?

The same thing as I’m doing now—but smarter, more thoughtful, with a continued open mind, with even more great cooks, artisans, professionals and friends surrounding me.

Learn more about the evolution of Gerike’s career, his ideal “last supper” and the camaraderie of professional cooking in this exclusive interview led by our previously featured chef, Rodelio Aglibot.

View recipe on page 81 »

dan dan pig skin noodles with szechuan numbing sauce

by JUDITH MARA

Old World. New World.

THE ARTFULNESS OF THE CHARCUTERIE PLATTER

In the early summer, with days getting longer and nights getting shorter, lazy alfresco dining is no longer something to fantasize about. It is a welcome pleasure to savor charcuterie and cheese laid out picnic style with a glass of something cool in hand.

Long before there was refrigeration, people had to be clever about the conservation of food. This included the preservation of meat: sausages, hams, bacon, pâtés, rillettes and terrines that are all part of this historic culinary art called charcuterie.

It was the fifteenth century French charcutier (derived from the term “chair cuit,” which means “cooked flesh”) shop owners who brought ingenuity to how we enjoy charcuterie today. By law they were not allowed to sell uncooked pork, so they created all manners of cooked, salted, smoked and dried dishes which sparked creativity and competitiveness.

Skip ahead to Chicago and the upper Midwest which took on the U.S. leadership of hog (and cattle) butchering over 150 years ago. With readily available meat and a vast European immigrant population, local butchers became famous for their sausages and cured meats––traditions that are still carried on today.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON

Cheese, the other lovely ancient artisan indulgence, reflects similar ingenuity with a salty, savory, made-from-the-earth honesty. Farmstead and artisan cheeses made from the milk of cows, sheep, goats or water buffalo in late summer should now be aged to sharp perfection. Together, cured meat and aged cheese are the foundations of the perfectly indulgent early summer charcuterie platter.

It is a fun yet brutal challenge to stand in front of a charcuterie counter and figure out how to select the right combination. Publican Quality Meats in Chicago offers both artisan charcuterie and cheese,

and Sous Chef Missy Corey recommends diversification. “Pick one cured item (a salami or a cured whole muscle like coppa), choose a pâté or terrine and a ham, as well as a pork pie, a pâté en croute or rillette. That would be a great diversified plate.”

As far as selecting the right cheese for the platter, Chef Corey added, “I really enjoy semi-firm cheeses for charcuterie—softer cheeses or blues are better left to cheese plates. Cabot Clothbound Cheddar is great with meat, so is Pleasant Ridge Reserve. Queso iberico, manchego, pecorino pepato are all great options for charcuterie plates.”

Charcuterie Primer

Charcuterie covers a gamut of dry-cured, fermented and smoked meat, fowl and game. Pâté, terrine, rillette and confit that are preserved in their own fat are also included. The most popular charcuterie in the U.S. is made in the European style, but all old-world food cultures offer some form. The biggest difference in what is made by Americans is that our artisans tend to be more creative and less bound by tradition. Plus, locally made charcuterie is unique in flavor simply because it comes from our land, our pastures and our terrain.

Dry-Cured, Fermented and Smoked Charcuterie

The most important difference to note is that artisan salumi is not like commercially cured salami. Each portion is hung and naturally fermented (natural yeast develops similar to a good bread starter) and then is dry-cured for months. It is a very time-consuming process, but each bite is well worth the wait.

Passion, Italy and a grandfather who was a butcher are what drove Greg Laketek to open West Loop Salumi last year. Laketek became an authority on Italianstyle salumi after studying in Italy under Massimo Spigaroli, a master salumiere.

All of Laketek’s world-class salumi and salami is gently fermented in one chamber, then slowly dry-cured in another chamber on site. (All of his pork is 100% milk-fed Berkshire heritage hogs.) Understanding the difference between salumi and salami is a charcuterie tongue-twister. Laketek explains it this way, “All salami is salumi, but not all salumi is salami.” Got it?

spreadable salami made in the tradition of the Ascoli Piceno, a province of Italy. Then add ultra thin slices of a whole muscle salumi such as coppa or bresaola, and to spice things up, add some peppery capocollo.

Laketek also offers a great tip for cutting and serving salumi. Instead of slicing and laying the slices flat, pinch, roll or fold the slices to make it easier for people to pick up. Also, slice your salami (cured sausage) about as thick as a black peppercorn. Whole muscle salumi, such as coppa, should be sliced as thin as possible so you can taste the whole piece at once and feel the silky texture.

When asked how he likes to build a charcuterie platter, Laketek suggests beginning with ciauscolo. This is a Instead of slicing and laying the slices flat, pinch, roll or fold the slices to make it easier for people to pick up.

Pâté, Rillette, Terrine and Confit

To round out a charcuterie platter, include French-style or country-style pâtés, terrines, rillettes or confit. Figuring out which to choose can be confusing can be confusing without a garde manger diploma, so we asked Rob Levitt, a former chef and now co-owner of The Butcher & Larder in Chicago, to give us brief definitions.

“Traditionally, a pâté was baked in a pastry crust and a terrine was layered in a dish called a terrine,” Levitt explains. “The terms are used interchangeably now with pâté usually indicating ground meat versus a terrine indicating larger pieces of meat. A confit is anything cooked in its own renderings, i.e., duck cooked in duck fat or tomatoes cooked at a very low temperature in their own juices. A rillette is meat that has been cooked confit-style, then separated from its cooking juices and finally whipped into a paste with the juices (mainly fat) emulsified back in.”

Most popular at butcher and charcuterie counters are pâtés and terrines. They are typically made of veal, duck, pork or their livers, salmon or vegetables. In higher-end stores and restaurants you’ll also find pâtés made from pheasant, rabbit and venison. However, Levitt says they still sell quite a bit of good oldfashioned chicken liver pâté.

Ways to Pair Cheese with Charcuterie

Typically charcuterie is selected first and then cheese is paired to that selection. There are a few ways to think about selecting cheese, but understand that it’s different from how you would create a cheese platter with salumi on the side.

Style and Origin

Pair the country of origin, or style, of charcuterie with cheese from the same country of origin or style. For example, a local handmade air-dried chorizo is made in the Spanish style of using sweet paprika, pairs well with salty Spanish-style manchego cheese. Pair an Italian-style soppressata with aged Fiore Sardo.

Aged

Dry-cured and smoked sausages are aged (preserved) and pair magnificently with aged cheeses. But don’t limit yourself to the expected Parmigiano-Reggiano and pecorino. Try aged (3 month +) cheeses made from different types of milk such as a cow’s milk aged blue, a cave-aged Cheddar or a Gruyère-style Wisconsin cheese. Or try an aged sheep’s or goat’s milk cheese. For example, Laketek suggests pairing an Italian-style soppressata with an 11-month aged Giunco Gran Ducco.

Typically charcuterie is selected first and then cheese is paired to that selection.

Smooth and Assertive Pâtés, rillettes and terrines are not cured or smoked; they are preserved primarily by a high ratio of fat. Most are soft enough to spread on bread and work well with smooth, assertive cheeses. The most common choice would be a ripe brie, but other semi-soft cheeses such as Chaumes, Boursault, Taleggio and aged farmstead goat cheese are divine.

Accoutre ments

All of our experts agree on one thing, and that is a charcuterie platter needs accoutrements. Traditional garnishes served with charcuterie include capers, caperberries, cornichons, dates, figs, fig paste, lingonberries, lightly dressed microgreens, olives, pink peppercorns, honeycomb, toast points, garlic toasts and toasted nuts. Laketek also suggests lightly seasoned tomatoes, torta fritta and aged balsamic vinegar. None recommend juicy fruits such as peaches, melon, oranges or grapes.

Rather than serving a charcuterie platter for survival, we now eat and think about it as a way to start a meal, entertain at parties, be served as a snack, added to a sandwich, munched on alfresco, or enjoyed at a picnic. It’s a completely new world to think of these old world ways as simply delicious and more than just preserving food and tradition.

WHERE TO BUY

The charcuterie for this story was supplied by four businesses that are known for working to the highest standards. Publican Quality Meats and The Butcher & Larder are traditional local whole animal butchers who make their own fresh sausage but also sell dry-cured salumi made by West Loop Salumi or Bolzano Artisan Meats. Both Bolzano and West Loop Salumi have online stores and nationally supply fine restaurants and specialty retailers. West Loop Salumi has a small retail operation where you can drop in, taste and take home––kind of like a wine tasting room for salumi.

The Butcher & Larder (and meal carry-out) thebutcherandlarder.com 1026 N. Milwaukee Ave. Chicago, IL 60642 773.687.8280

West Loop Salumi (and tasting room) westloopsalumi.com 1111 W. Randolph St. Chicago, IL 60607 312.255.7004

Publican Quality Meats (and restaurant) publicanqualitymeats.com 825 W. Fulton Market Street Chicago, IL 60607 312.445.8977

Bolzano Artisan Meats bolzanomeats.com Milwaukee, WI 53212 414.426.6380

PHOTOGRAPHY

BY STEPHEN HAMILTON

BY IAN KNAUER

My grandfather was famous for his vegetable garden

His rows of beets seemed to glow burgundy at their base and furl upward into green. The summer squash was a well-tucked blanket or comforter with flecks of sun-gold yellow that sparked from underneath when the breeze fluffed the leaves back and forth.

His corn stood at soldier-like attention in perfectly straight, weedless columns—a platoon of light green feathered uniforms clutching tightly wrapped grenades of sweet corn.

It was the corn that I looked so forward to at the end of June, when the first ears were ripped from the stalk. I can still hear the tear of the husk, paper-like and creaky. We ate it raw in the field. Those kernels popped like caviar. Their juice was as sweet as punch. This is what I look for when I buy the season’s first sweet corn. You have to be able to eat it without cooking. The longer an ear of corn spends off the stalk the less sweet it becomes. Its sugars immediately begin to convert to starch. Sweet corn is made to be eaten right away. It waits for no meal.

Those kernels popped like caviar. their juice was as sweet as punch.

Today I stand at the farmer’s market and spend an uncomfortable amount of time hovering over the bins of corn before I choose a test ear. The wrapping of the husk has to be just so. It is tightly layered and hugs itself, guarding the golden candy-sweet treasure.

The silk is a pale verdant, almost translucent, and moist—never dry. I peel back the top to see the kernels that are plump with sugars, ready to burst under the slightest pressure. I dig my thumbnail in and feel how they pop. I rub the juice between my fingers, feeling for even a little starch. I buy the ear and rip it open.

I eat it in front of the farmer. I can tell it was picked that morning and give the early-rising grower a knowing look of approval and pleasure. I buy enough for lunch and head home. If the corn is not just so, I change the menu.

It is tightly layered and hugs itself,

guarding the golden candy-sweet treasure.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON

Raw corn salad is a wonder to behold. Stripped from the cob and tossed with a simple olive oil and cider vinegar dressing and a handful of fresh basil and dill, the kernels become balanced with acid and salt and herbs. Their sweetness is made complex, even sophisticated in the farmy-est of ways. The salad is my mark of summer’s start when the garden work of spring begins to yield for the season. It is when those perfectly straight, weedless rows of the garden all seem worth it.

PHOTOGRAPHY STEPHEN

STYLIST’S CORNER

BY KATHRYN O’MALLEY

In Japan, yakitori restaurants are the antidotes to long, taxing days at the office: smoke-filled joints offering sticks of juicy meat and bottles of ice-cold sake and beer.

These are places to wash away stress, and just as the food is fuss-free, so too is the décor. “It’s all very casual and laid-back,” says prop stylist Tom Hamilton, who returned from a recent trip to Kyoto with new food memories and 30 antique plates he picked up along the way—a few of which are pictured here.

To recreate the effortless beauty of a yakitori restaurant table involves a certain degree of controlled chaos. You want to mix and match a variety of colors, textures and patterns, but unite them with a common theme or color palette (in this case it’s red, blue and green). And, “Be patient,” advises Tom. “Trust your eye, and experiment with different options until you’re satisfied with the final result.”

TOM HAMILTON

BY KATHRYN O’MALLEY

There’s something magical about a casual summer soirée, even if all you’re eating is a simple potato salad, some char-grilled burgers and a last-minute bowl of the ripest, juiciest fruits you can find. Great weather, after all, is meant to be enjoyed and celebrated, so the more time you can spend outdoors with family and friends—and the less of it indoors cooking—the better.

And, like everything else you eat this time of year, summer desserts should hold up well over lingering conversation and plenty of carefree fun. You want treats that are fresh, easy to serve and portable—or simply so delicious you’ll want to savor every bite. Here are a handful of favorites.

These delicious, warm-weather desserts are perfect for all your summer picnics and backyard parties.

Pastry chef Cece Campise wondered how she could improve upon her recipe for ten der, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread. Lucky for us, she found the answer in a layer of fudgy brownies.

Pastry Chef & Food Stylist Campise

Recipe Wright

Founder & Owner of Batter & Cream Bakery Elizabeth Fife

Josh Gripper

“Key lime pie is a Miami favorite but tends to be on the tart side,” says chef Josh Gripper, who makes his version with just a hint of sweet orange liqueur, plus a dash of salt to balance the flavor. You can serve the cool, creamy dessert à la mode, or with fresh fruit salad and homemade whipped cream.

Pastry Chef at The Dutch, Miami, FL

View

SALTED

HOW WE DID IT

Deconstructing a shot from Stephen Hamilton’s Who’s Hungry? blog Cream Scoop Aragaki Walters

by JUDITH MARA

fire roasted veggie pizza

from “Pizza on the Grill: 100+ Feisty Fire-Roasted Recipes for Pizza & More” by Elizabeth Karmel and Bob Blumer

serves 2-4

ingredients for pizza:

1 small red onion, cut into 4 slices

6 tablespoons olive oil, divided Kosher salt to taste

2 large portabella mushrooms, stems removed and caps cut into ½-inch-thick slices

3 Japanese eggplants, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and quartered

1/4 cup uncooked grits or polenta, for rolling the dough

1 ball prepared pizza dough, at room temperature

· 1 cup Basil or Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto (see below or use store-bought)

20 Fire-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes (see below)

6 ounces aged goat cheese (chevre) or Brie, rind removed if preferred, and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices

B&E Sprinkle-icious Spice Blend (see below) or your favorite spice blend freshly ground black pepper to taste

ingredients for sun-dried tomato pesto:

1 cup pine nuts or walnuts, lightly toasted

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

2/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (one 8.5-ounce jar), plus 1/3 cup of the oil (top off with olive oil if necessary)

2/3 cup olive oil

1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

ingredients for fire-roasted cherry tomatoes:

· 40 cherry tomatoes (we like those sold on the vine)

1 teaspoon olive oil or as needed to coat

1 cup Kosher salt

ingredients for b&e sprinkle-icious spice blend:

1 tablespoon dehydrated onion

· 1 tablespoon roasted dehydrated garlic

2 teaspoons dried lemon peel

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon dried thyme 2 tablespoons Kosher salt 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

to make sun-dried tomato pesto:

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper, if necessary.

This will keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

to make fire-roasted cherry tomatoes:

Preheat a gas grill, build a charcoal fire, or preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

Lightly coat the tomatoes with the oil. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with the salt to form a “salt bed.” Place the tomatoes closely together bottom side down on the salt bed. Place the baking sheet on the grill on the cooking grate over low indirect

heat or in the oven. Slowly roast until the tomatoes are shriveled and soft, about 2 hours. Remove from the grill or oven and let cool.

They will keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

to make b&e sprinkle-icious spice blend:

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

to make pizza:

Preheat the grill per the master instructions for gas or charcoal.

Soak 4 bamboo skewers in warm water for 10 minutes. Thread each skewer through the center of one onion slice so it resembles a lollipop. Brush them with 1 tablespoon of the oil and season with salt.

Place the onions, mushrooms, eggplant, and bell pepper on the cooking grate directly over the heat and grill until well marked and tender, about 4 minutes per side. Let cool, then slice the bell pepper into thin strips, pull the skewers out of the onions, and separate into rings. Reserve for topping.

Roll out and shape the dough, then grill the first side of the curst per the master instructions. Use tongs to transfer it from the grill to a peel or rimless baking sheet. Flip the crust to reveal the grilled side.

Spread the surface with the pesto and artfully arrange the grilled veggies and tomatoes over the top. Sprinkle with cheese.

Finish grilling the pizza per the master instructions.

Remove from the grill and season with the spice blend, salt, and pepper. Slice and serve immediately.

Adventure Club: Add grilled seasonal veggies from your local farmers’ market.

fire roasted tomato & cabrales pizza from “Pizza on the Grill: 100+ Feisty Fire-Roasted Recipes for Pizza & More” by Elizabeth Karmel and Bob Blumer

serves 2-4

ingredients for pizza:

¼ cup uncooked grits or polenta, for rolling the dough

1 ball prepared pizza dough, at room temperature

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup Onion Marmalade (see below)

1¼ cups Fire-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes (see below)

4 ounces Cabrales or your favorite blue cheese, crumbled 1/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted and chopped freshly ground black pepper to taste

ingreidents for onion marmalde:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter (or salted and reduce the salt a bit)

3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced and roughly separated into strings 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

ingredients for fire-roased cherry tomatoes:

40 cherry tomatoes (we like those sold on the vine) 1 teaspoon olive oil or as needed to coat 1 cup Kosher salt

to make the onion marmalde:

Heat the oil and butter together in a large, heavy sauté pan over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the onion rings and salt and cook, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are all a deep golden color, about 20 more minutes.

This will keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

to make the fire-roasted cherry tomatoes:

Preheat a gas grill, build a charcoal fire, or preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

Lightly coat the tomatoes with the oil. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with the salt to form a “salt bed.” Place the tomatoes closely together bottom side down on the salt bed. Place the baking sheet on the grill on the cooking grate over low indirect heat or in the oven. Slowly roast until the tomatoes are shriveled and soft, about 2 hours. Remove from the grill or oven and let cool.

They will keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

to make the pizza:

Preheat the grill, roll out and shape the dough, and grill the first side of the crust per the master instructions for gas or charcoal. Use tongs to transfer it to a peel or rimless baking sheet. Flip the crust to reveal the grilled side.

Spread the entire surface with the onion marmalade. Top with the tomatoes and sprinkle with cheese.

Finish grilling the pizza per the master instructions.

Remove the pizza from the grill, garnish with the nuts, and season with pepper. Slice and serve immediately.

Adventure Club: Replace the cherry tomatoes with heirloom cherry tomatoes.

smokin’ salmon pizza

serves 2-4 ingredients:

1/4 cup uncooked grits or polenta, for rolling the dough

1 ball prepared pizza dough, at room temperature

· 2 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup boursin or other soft garlic cheese (one 5.2-ounce round)

1 small shallot, minced 4 slices smoked salmon (about 4 ounces), cut into strips zest of 1 lemon, finely grated with a Microplane or a zester 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or chives freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the grill, roll out and shape the dough, and grill the first side of the curst per the master instructions for gas or charcoal. Flip the crust and grill until the second side is well browned, 2 to 3 minutes. (Since you’re not melting cheese or warming toppings, you don’t need to switch to indirect heat for a gas grill).

Remove from the grill and immediately spread the entire surface with the boursin. Sprinkle with the shallot and top with the strips of salmon. Finish with the zest, dill, and pepper. Slice and serve immediately.

Adventure Club: Replace the salmon with pieces of smoked sturgeon.

from “Pizza on the Grill: 100+ Feisty Fire-Roasted Recipes for Pizza & More” by Elizabeth Karmel and Bob Blumer

maine event lobster & corn pizza

from “Pizza on the Grill: 100+ Feisty Fire-Roasted Recipes for Pizza & More” by Elizabeth Karmel and Bob Blumer

serves 2-4 ingredients:

2 ears corn, husked

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

· Kosher salt to taste

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (very little of this will be consumed)

1 cup crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream

1/4 cup uncooked grits or polenta, for rolling the dough

1 (4-inch) ball of prepared pizza dough, at room temperature

1 cup cooked lobster meat

4 ounces St. Andre cheese (a triple crème cheese)

4 fresh chives, thinly sliced

Kosher salt or Fleur de sel and Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Adventure Club: Grill your own lobster.

Poor Man’s Lobster: Substitute frozen, thawed and sautéed crayfish tails for an equally as delicious and slightly more economical pizza.

Preheat the grill per the master instructions for gas or charcoal.

Brush the corn with 1 tablespoon of the oil and season with salt and place on the cooking grate. Grill corn over direct medium heat, turning occasionally, until it begins to brown, about 8 minutes. Remove from the grill and let cool. To remove the kernels, stand the corn upright on bottom of cob. Grip the top of the cob, and slide your sharpest knife straight down between the cob and the kernels. Set aside and reserve for topping.

Just before making the pizza, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low or set it off to the side of the grill. In a medium-size bowl, combine the tomato sauce and crème fraîche. Set aside and reserve for topping.

Roll out and shape the dough, then grill the first side of the crust per the master instructions. Use tongs to transfer it from the grill to a peel or rimless baking sheet. Flip the crust to reveal the grilled side.

Spread the entire surface with the sauce. Top with the corn and cheese.

Set the pizza back on the cooking grate over the unlit section and grill, with the lid down, until the bottom is well browned and the cheese is melted, about 7 to 10 minutes.

While the pizza finishes cooking, add the lobster (or crayfish) meat to the butter. Cover and warm for 3 minutes, then remove saucepan from the heat and reserve. When the pizza is hot off the grill, remove the lobster from the butter and add to the pizza. Sprinkle with the chives and season with salt and pepper to taste. Slice and serve immediately.

serves 8 ingredients:

1½ pounds elk shoulder

1 pound pork butt

¾ pound pork back fat

1/2 pound slab bacon, rind removed

2 tablespoons brandy

4 teaspoons Kosher salt

2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper

2 teaspoons minced juniper berries

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced shallots

1 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary

2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

1/2 cup finely chopped green onion

Cut the meat, fat, and bacon into 2-inch strips. In a large bowl, mix the meat, fat, and bacon with the brandy, salt, black pepper, juniper berries, garlic, shallots, rosemary, sage and green onions. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate overnight.

The next day, grind the mixture through a ½-inch plate. Add any juices remaining in the bowl. Knead to blend all ingredients thoroughly. Form into 3-inch by 1-2-inch patties. The sausage will keep for three days in the refrigerator, or for two months in the freezer.

elk sausage patties

by Bruce Aidells; recipe adapted from “Bruce Aidell’s Complete Sausage Book”

pork chops by Neel Sahni, National Pork Board

serves 10 ingredients:

5 pounds of pork chops or pork of your choice

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Kosher salt

· 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

1 gallon water

1/2 gallon ice

1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

Optional: extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice

Cut pork rack into individual steaks, including the bone and belly sections. Set aside in refrigerator. On stovetop, bring salt, sugar and 1 cup water to a boil until salt and sugar are dissolved. In a large container, add the hot solution to remaining water, ice, and black pepper. Ad d pork chops and let brine for 1-2 hours. Remove meat from brine and rinse with cold water, placing in refrigerator until ready to use.

Before grilling, pat meat dry with paper towels. Season with fresh cracked black pepper but no salt. Once the meat has been grilled to an internal temperature of 145 degrees with a 3-minute rest, test the pork to see if more salt is needed. If so, add it just before serving. Drizzle very lightly with high-quality extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Grill the chorizo until it is cooked through and it takes on a little color. Transfer to a plate and bathe in a generous helping of bourbon. Set alight. Serve the sausage, sliced and still flaming, with the goat cheese and crusty bread.

serves: grill 1 sausage per person

ingredients: Chorizo de Bilbao (or other Spanish chorizo) bourbon Andante Dairy’s Acapella cheese (an ashed round goat) crusty bread

bartender’s chorizo with andante acapella goat cheese by Bill Briwa, The Culinary Institute of America

dan dan pig skin noodles with szechuan numbing sauce

by Stephen Gerike, National Pork Board

ingredients for pig skin “noodles”:

Skin from one large pork belly ingredients for pork topping:

1 tablespoon peanut oil

· 2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 cloves)

1 teaspoon minced ginger

2 scallions, white and green parts chopped

6 ounces ground pork

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 handful dry-roasted peanuts, finely chopped

to make the “noodles”:

Remove all lean and fat from the pork belly skin. Place the skin in a large stockpot, cover the skin with water and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about an hour or until the skin is tender but not falling apart. Remove the skin from the water and set it on a sheet pan to dry and cool. Reserve the liquid in the pot to reheat the noodles prior to serving. When the skin has cooled, roll it into a tight roll, like a jellyroll, and cut it crosswise into ¼-inch slices to create “noodles.” Set all the noodles aside.

to make the sauce:

serves 4 as part of a multi-course meal or 2 as a single dish ingredients for sauce:

1/4 cup pork stock or water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon Chinese sesame paste or tahini

1 tablespoon Chinese black rice vinegar, or substitute good quality balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons chili oil (adjust according to your tolerance of spiciness)

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground Szechuan pepper

In a medium bowl, whisk together all sauce ingredients. Reheat the noodles in the hot water for one minute and drain. Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss so the sauce is evenly distributed. Set aside.

to make the pork topping:

Heat a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat the base and sides. Add the garlic, ginger and the white parts of the scallions. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the meat and stir-fry until the meat is a little crispy on the outside and no longer pink. Add rice wine to deglaze the pan. Season with salt to taste. Spoon the cooked meat mixture over the noodles, sprinkle the chopped scallions greens and chopped peanuts on top, and serve.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON

to make shortbread base:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour and mix until just combined. Press dough into a 9x13 greased baking dish. Chill in fridge for 20 minutes, then bake for 20 minutes until the edges turn slightly golden. While that’s baking, prepare the brownie layer.

ingredients for brownie layer:

2 sticks (1/2 pound) high-quality butter. 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (Valrhona 66% Caribe is great)

2 cups sugar 4 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons vanilla 1¼ cups self-rising flour

to make brownie layer:

naughty brownies

by Cece Campise, Who’s Hungry? Test Kitchen

makes about 12-16 squares

ingredients for shortbread base:

1½ sticks high-quality butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups all purpose flour

Place the butter and chocolate over a double boiler and melt the two together. Remove from heat, add the sugar and stir until uniform. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring quickly with a spatula until combined. Mix in the salt and vanilla. Lastly, fold in the flour. Pour over the shortbread crust and bake an additional 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Baking time will vary depending on how hot the shortbread is when you add the brownie batter, so keep an eye on it.

substitutions:

Feel free to substitute the vanilla in the brownie layer for something more decadent, such as Grand Marnier or, my favorite, Frangelico. Grand Marnier brownies with orange zest in the shortbread would be delicious, as would Frangelico brownies with Hazelnut shortbread.

strawberry basil whoopie pies by Elizabeth Fife, Batter & Cream Bakery

to make cake:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease whoopie pie tin. Purée sour cream with fresh strawberries until smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and oil together.

Add the strawberry sour cream purée and whisk until fully combined. Gradually add the flour mixture to the strawberry mixture and whisk until evenly combined. Next add in the dried strawberries.

Use an ice cream scoop or carefully spoon equal amounts of dough into each tray on the tin, so that the whoopie cakes are all the same size. Bake for 4-5 minutes until the tops of the cakes are spring-like and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before adding the filling and assembling your whoopies.

ingredients for basil buttercream:

1 large bunch basil

1 cup granulated sugar

3 egg whites

pinch of cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cubed

makes 12 whoopie pies

ingredients for cake:

1/4 cup sour cream

1½ cups fresh strawberries

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

· 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

· 1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup vegetable oil

· 1/4 cup dried strawberries, roughly chopped

to make buttercream:

Remove basil leaves and wash them. Boil in water 1 minute, remove quickly and shock in cold water. Place basil, 172 grams water and sugar in saucepan, bring to boil and infuse for 20 minutes. Blend 2 minutes until puréed with immersion blender.

Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peaks. Cook the sugar-basil syrup to 238°F (115°C). Gradually pour the syrup down the side of the bowl, cool on medium speed about 8 minutes. Add in the salt and butter and mix until fluffy and emulsified, about 8 minutes.

ingredients for cupcakes:

1 cup cake flour, spooned and leveled

1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

· 1 teaspoon Kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1½ sticks softened, unsalted butter 3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup whole milk

teddy’s filled tres leches cupcakes by Caroline Wright, Author “of Twenty-Dollar, Twenty-Minute Meals”

ingredients for sauces:

1 (14-oz) can of sweetened condensed milk’s worth of dulce de leche (see below)

1/4 cup milk

pinch of Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

ingredients for meringue frosting:

1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water

3 large egg whites

ingredients for dulce de leche:

1 (8 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 1/8 cup heavy cream

to make dulce de leche:

Place the sweetened condensed milk in a large pot and cover with water by 1-inch. Cook over medium-low heat (with bubbles clinging to side of pan, but not simmering) for 4 hours. Let can cool before handling. Transfer dulce de leche to a large bowl; whisk in heavy cream to loosen.

to make cupcakes:

Whisk together first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar together using an electric mixer until light and fluffy; add eggs, then vanilla. Turn speed on low and alternately add flour and milk, beginning and ending with flour. Divide batter between 12, paper-lined muffin tins; bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

to make sauces:

Measure out 1/4 cup dulce de leche; reserve. Transfer remaining dulce de leche to a piping bag or plastic bag. Meanwhile, warm reserved dulce de leche in microwave or on stove; stir in remaining sauce ingredients and set aside. Meanwhile, using a small (1/2-inch) round cutter, cut into cooled cupcakes and pull out a small cylin der of cake without piercing through to the other side. Discard all but ¼-inch of the very top of the cupcake. Using your piping bag, fill the hollowed cupcakes with dulce de leche; replace tops.

to make frosting :

Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan; boil swiftly until temperature of syrup reaches 240 degrees. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form; in a thin stream, drizzle in hot syrup into the eggs while they’re being whisked. Continue to whisk until stiff peaks form and you’ve added all your syrup (the meringue will be glossy).

Frost cupcakes; if desired, torch the cupcakes with a blowtorch for added caramelization. Serve with re served dulce de leche/milk sauce.

salted lime pie by Joshua Gripper, The Dutch

4 egg yolks

1 lime, zested

14 ounces condensed milk

1 cup key lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon orange liqueur

2 gelatin sheets

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. At a high speed, whip together egg yolks and lime zest until light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, combine condensed milk, lime juice, salt and liqueur. Mix together with the egg yolk mixture. Melt gelatin sheets and whisk in. Pour into pre-baked pie crust. Bake for 20 minutes.

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