Oh Holy Pork Belly!

Preparing pork belly was a first for me. David Chang's pork buns at Momofuku are what first turned me on to this most excellent cut of porky goodness. And it's become a standard at most of the new restaurants in town. So when I saw it in the display case on a recent trip to The Meathook, I thought, "why not?" 

I used David Chang's recipe as a guide (keep reading for my version) and served it up, dripping in sweet, salty, fatty, caramelized juiciness over cornbread smeared with kimchi butter (recipe also follows), kimchi, and topped with braised collard greens. It was a meal neither of us will soon forget.

look at that crust!

Easy Pork Belly

1-2 lb pork belly
kosher salt
sugar
ability to eat it all - because you'll want to

First, have your butcher remove the skin. If you want to make pork cracklin's, take the detached skin home with you. Otherwise, you don't need it for this recipe.

For every 1 lb of meat, mix up about 1/4 cup equal parts kosher salt and sugar. I prefer turbinado because of the similarity in granule size to the kosher salt, but you can use anything. Brown sugar would be the bomb, I'm sure. Rub the belly all over with the sugar-salt mix and "nestle it", as Chang says, into a roasting pan. This is important actually because the less space your belly has, the less likely it is to burn and dry out. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, but not more than 24. So if you wrap it up before work, this is an easy evening meal that takes very little time. Disgard remaining rub.

Pop your little pork baby into a 450 degree preheated oven and let it sizzle up for about 20-25 minutes. Baste with pan juices, and put it back in for another 20-25 minutes until it is glisteny golden on top and the smell of your kitchen makes you wish you were tiny enough to swim around in the liquid gold pool* that's rendered all around your pork belly.

Knock the heat down to 250 degrees and pop that little nugget back in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let it rest for 10 minutes per lb and start slicing**. Try not to eat each slice as it glides off the knife. Trust me, you'll be as sorry as the time you ate only deviled eggs and beer at the family picnic because you were 'dieting'.

*At David Chang the Great's suggestion, I kept that golden pool of goodness, letting the solids separate and pouring off only what was on top. I put it in a jar in my refrigerator to solidify. You can cook with it like you would bacon grease. This morning's eggs were fried in it. All I can say is: Damn!

**Chang also recommends letting the meat cool, wrapping it in cling wrap and cooling in the refrigerator for easy slicing. I didn't find much difference in slicing before and after refrigerating, but if you can wait, or need to for some gawd-awful reason, it does make nice slices when cold. Gently warm them in a fry pan, but don't actually cook any further.

Kimchi Butter over Pa Sanders' Cornbread

Kimchi Butter

1 stick of butter
1/2 cup kimchi

Blend in a food processor.

If you're really precious, press it through a strainer for a smoother consistency, but we really liked it flecked with kimchi pieces.

Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Best Summer Brewski

Christian discovered what has to be 2011's best summer beer, hands down. I'll admit, I was a little shocked to see my husband walk to the register carrying a 6-pack of watermelon beer. But he said it had gotten great reviews and at $12 for 6 cans of microbrew in a tidy little box adorned with a very appealing graphic artistry, it was hard to pass up. He proudly whipped them out at a friends cabana BBQ yesterday - to snickers, jokes and boy-ish comments from the Corona and IPA toting crew. But one-by-one the beers disappeared until all were gone. 

Hell or High Watermelon from 21st Amendment Brewery is a refreshing wheat beer that really does have a very subtle watermelon flavor, which is strongest at first sip, but mellows as you drink it. It has a wheat beer sweetness, but is not a sweet beer and doesn't even have that familiar fruit beer fruitiness. It's just smooth, summer excellence that makes you feel like you're sitting by the pool, even if sweat is rolling down your work suited back in the depths of the subway tunnels. 

On the way home last night from the BBQ, we stopped in our local grocery to see if they carry it. It's tight and well designed box packaging made it difficult to spot, but indeed it was there. Bonus! I predict this will be in our fridge until the first cool days of fall. 

Steak Night

If there's one thing my husband Christian and I can easily agree to, it is steak night. It's easy for me and for him, something to look forward to at the end of a long week. The guys at The Meathook cut this gorgeous 1.5" 1.4 lb ribeye for just for me. And after salting the hell out of it (and a little pepper), I seared it in a cast iron skillet for about 4 minutes on each side for a lusciously crispy fatty rare goodness.

It's important to mention that the meat was from a local farmer who uses humane and healthy practices. We agreed that this greatly impacted the beefy flavor, which was almost gamey - in just the best way you could imagine. Buy local grass-fed, grain finished if you can.

While the meat rested, I threw together a light salad of arugula, heirloom tomato, watermelon, feta and red onion. It's dressed with nothing more than lime and a basil-mint oil I made earlier in the day. Christian loved every bite!

for Basil-Mint Oil:

Throw a handfull of basil and a handful of mint and 1 small clove of garlic into your processor and pulse together with about 1/4 cup of olive oil. Press through a strainer so only the oil remains. Salt to your liking and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Post Race Reward: Snausages!

Sunday night after a long summer day on Governors Island full of great friends, good food, a 1920s lawn party, all kicked off by ungodly early ferry ride to our 10K, I made a simple dinner of sausages so expertly crafted by The Meat Hook, they needed nothing more than a little attention while they crisped up into golden deliciousness in the pan. When they were done, I threw some thin strips of collard greens in the pan with the sausage drippings and dinner was served. Damn it was good!

One was the Cougar and the other was the Ban Mi. We shared them and then tried to lick the plates. Woulda been worth the splinters.

GOGI 10K Pre-Race Dinner

On Sunday, I ran the Get Outside Governors Island 10K. If you're a runner in NY, you should do it. The island itself, an old military base is full of historic abandoned buildings which color the atmosphere eerie in the fall and winter months and almost ... during the Spring and Summer. And it's flat unlike Central Park so the race itself is easy, beautiful and lots of fun. It's sponsored by The North Face which provides great sweat wicking shirts, while other sponsors ensure plenty of food and great music.

Not wanting to "carbo-load" like Michael Scott during The Office's Fun Run for Rabies, I opted to get my carbs the night before. So I made Tagliatelle with Pancetta and Tomato Sauce. All of the ingredients were local, including an amazing hunk of pancetta from The Meat Hook - just the best thing ever to happen to meat!

Here's the how-to:

Saute 1//3 chopped pancetta or lardons on olive oil over medium heat until golden, 7-9 minutes. Add 1 chopped onion, 4 cloves of chopped garlic and as many pinches of red pepper flakes as you like. Saute another 5 minutes until softened. Pour in 1 28oz can of pureed tomatoes. You can use diced or whole, but there's something magical to the smoothness of the sauce when the pancetta fat mixes with the pureed tomato.  Let this simmer for at least 15 minutes while your pasta water boils and the past cooks.

Just before the pasta reaches al dente, about 2 minutes shy of the suggested cooking time, pull it out of it's water with tongs and transfer into the pan with your sauce, allowing some of the pasta water to tag along and loosen the sauce. Mix well, but gently and serve with grated parmesan or other hard cheese and fresh basil or parsley or both.

Because of the richness of the pancetta, I served this dish with sauteed bitter greens.

The recipe and clean-up were simple enough to allow me to dine early, relax and get to bed at a reasonable hour. And throughout the race, I felt strong and full of energy.

Cherry Almond Granola

While running with my running bestie, Jen, I discovered that she feasts on homemade granola with yogurt and berries after her morning runs. Protein, carbs, fresh fruit..."genius!" I thought. Her granola is based on an Alton Brown recipe. Here's my take on the same recipe:

This is our supply after 2 weeks of breakfasts!

3 cups rolled oats

• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup hazelnuts
• 3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 
  

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, cinnamon and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt, pour over dry ingredients and mix to coat well. Divide the mixture onto 2 large baking sheets lined with parchment. Stirring every 20-25 minutes, cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes until golden. Your kitchen will smell amazing!!

Stir in cherries with 30 minutes left in cooking time. Or if they seem very dry, wait until removing granola from the over and fold in. 

Remove from oven and allow to cool then transfer to airtight containers.

Serve 1/3 cup granola with 1/3 cup local yogurt and 1/3-1/2 cup fresh berries and feel satisfied until lunchtime!

Escabeche, aka Pickled Peppers

Have some leftover hot peppers (jalapeno, serrano, etc.) and 3-4 medium carrots laying around? Even if you don't, this recipe is worth the trip to the market for the following:

4-5 jalapeno or 8-9 serrano peppers
3-4 carrots
1/2 red onion
4-5 garlic cloves
1 1/2 cups vinegar
1/4 cup sugar

Simmer sugar in vinegar to dissolve. While the vinegar is heating up, slice carrots and peppers on a diagonal and slice onion into long half moons. Arrange peppers, carrots, onion and garlic to your liking inside a glass jar and pour pickling solution over top, covering all vegetables. Let stand for 1 hour and then seal tightly and chill for 4 hours. Enjoy as soon as you dare.