BACON: It's Meat Candy...

I am putting the finishing touches on the pics......get ready

Making Vinegar.....Time....Time...Time

Anyone can make vinegar....anyone. All you need is wine, or juice, a vessel and time...and lots of it. I have many vinegars started, red wine, apple cider, rose, quince, white wine....and more to come. It really is a simple recipe to follow and I will include the way to "jump start" your vinegars.


You will need a crock, something that is non-reactive, that has a loose fitting lid. Wash it really well and allow to air dry. Next, decide what kind of vinegar you want to make. We will make apple cider and red wine vinegar in these recipes.

Take the apple cider, preferably fresh and non-pasteurized, and pour it into the dry crock. Cover with a lid...and place in a warm place to start the fermentation process. On top of the fridge is a good place. The juice will start bubble, foam, etc, ...all you need to do is let it go. It will form what is called a "mother" on top. This IS what you want. The mother is the "mold" that is turning that juice into vinegar. You can eventually harvest the mothers and stir them into other juice and wine to jump start them going toward vinegar.

The mother is starting to form

For red wine vinegar take any red wine you have, new bottles, partial bottles, "old bottles" and place it in a clean crock. Now you can cover this wine and allow to sit in a warm area, just like the apple cider. But a way to help jump start your red wine is to stir in a little white wine vinegar to the juice. For 2 quarts of wine you can stir in 1/2 cup white wine vinegar. This will aid in speeding up the process. Cover the wine and allow to sit in a warm place. Again look for the "mother" to form. Whenever you have left over wine pour it into the crock and continue to age your vinegar.

The mother fully formed

Your vinegar will continue to mature and develop in flavor over time. You will smell odors of "nail polish remover" or something like that. Don't worry. Let it keep going. Unless you vinegar grows green mold all over it, let it keep going. You can keep straining out the mothers and the vinegar will continue to produce them. Keep tasting your vinegar. This is important. After the viengar has produced a few mothers, place the vinegar in a cool place and continue to age. When the flavor is where you want it, start using it. It is still 'alive' but it is fine. If this freaks you out place vinegar in a pot and bring to 140F. DO NOT BOIL. From here you can bottle it and enjoy it.

Blood Orange Sherbet

With the coming and going of winter comes the abundance of rich, beautiful citrus fruit. I love all citrus, Meyer Lemons, Bearss Limes, Cara Cara Oranges and of course Blood Oranges. I love them raw, cooked, juiced, in Sauce Maltaise, in salads and most of all Sorbet and Sherbet. I have posted the following recipe for a glorious blood orange sherbet.

Blood Orange Sherbet

1 Cup Sugar
3 Tablespoons Blood Orange Zest
2 Cups Blood Orange Juice
Pinch Of Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice
1 1/2 Cups Whole Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla (optional)



Directions:

Place sugar in a bowl a bowl and mix in the zest. Rub zest into sugar to until it looks like west sand. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for at least 1 hour. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT STEP. It should look like this:

Next, Place sugar mixture, both juices, and vanilla into a bowl. Whish until sugar is dissolved. Place the mix in the refrigerator until well chilled. Once cold, add the whole milk and stir well. It will become a beautiful pink color.

From here place in an ice cream freezer and process until smooth and semi-frozen. Place in containers, cover and allow to freezer for a few hours. If you don't have an ice cream freezer place in cake pans, place in freezer, stir every half hour until set. When ready to eat, break up into pieces and place in a mixer with paddle attachment. Beat until smooth. ENJOY!!!

Welcome to Piggies, Pinots and Pain

There is art all over the place you just need to look. One man's beauty may not be another's. I tend to find beauty and art in some places that others will not. To me there is nothing like the look, feel and smell of raspberries at the peak of season. Fresh from the shrub there is nothing like them. There is something to say about a well marlbed piece of meat, the smell of duck fat and duck confit, the sheen of fresh scallops. The thrill of being able to create dishes with some of the best cultivated, humanely raised items is art in iteself too. You need to be able to respect them, where they came from, where they are going, and what they need to be. Nothing should be wasted.

Pop the cork of a bottle of wine and you again find art. From the art of the label to the art of the taste on your palatte. From the soil, to vine, to press, to cask, to bottle, to mouth. All of it is art. The ability to taste the nuances that each batch bring and has. The ability to understand what the juice will do a year from now, is art. Sit back, enjoy a glass of wine, be it Two Buck Chuck or something high dollar and drink in the art.

I also can enjoy the beauty of the human body especially when used as a canavas. There is something to say about someone giving up their body to fill it with ink. From angels to skulls, butterfiles to ogres, food to whatever. From the simple "MOM" tattooed arm to the well tattooed Suicide Girls. It is all art. Again, one person's tattoo may not fit another person's persona. Don't look at at the object look at the detail and time it took to put that on their skin.

The love of food, wine and tattoos has brought me to this blog. They all take blood, sweat and tears. They all are art in my eyes. I will be sharing photos, reviews, recipes and sometimes rants and raves about all three. Please enjoy and WELCOME TO PIGGIES, PINOTS AND PAIN!!!