And the Winner Is…

I received an email from my sister, Andrea, who has been an enthusiastic supporter of my various creative ventures dating all the way back to when my pal Sanford and I launched a curbside “Indian Chewing Gum” stand outside our house sometime back in the late 70s, in which we soaked the chewy pith of the inside of a dried wild mustard stalk — “Indian chewing gum” — in either of two flavors, fruit punch or maple syrup, and tried to sell the soggy mess to the rare passerby.

I believe Andrea may have been the only person who purchased one.

SAV_15_SBA_LOGO_final

She had received an email to nominate blogs for the 2015 Saveur Blog Awards. Her email, to me and several other family members, was as follows:

“I nominated Sean.  Dude, you should do a quick post about this Saveur nomination thing!  You’ve got so many followers who would want to nominate you!  DONT BE SHY, this could be a really lucky break!!”

So fair enough — here it is, my gentle attempt at self promotion. If you would like to nominate Skinny Girls & Mayonnaise for a Saveur 2015 Blog Award, click here. Only takes a few seconds.

If not, I encourage you to go check out said sister Andrea’s very funny blog detailing her life as an “accidental Texan”.

And in the meantime, wherever you may be, enjoy!

Mexico’s Answer to Parmesan

My friend, Saul, who grew up one of nearly a dozen children without electricity or running water on a farm some 45 minutes from the nearest village in Mexico, once brought me back from a visit with his parents a chunk of cheese his mother had made. Of course it was raw, of course it was artisanal — not in the self-congratulatory way of the contemporary foodie, but in the “what other way is there?” way of the peasant farmer.

"Mr. Chicharron, we're ready for your close up."

“Mr. Chicharron, we’re ready for your close up.”

Not only was it a thoughtful and generous gift — it was delicious, with a grassy freshness pairing with a slightly tart complexity reminiscent of bufala mozzarella, a characteristic more often more evident in raw cheeses. More

A Tamalada of One

We were sitting around on New Year’s Day drinking bloody marys, when my pal Don showed up with caviar, creme fraiche and blinis.

New Years Day in the Colgin kitchen

New Years Day in the Colgin kitchen

His timing was impeccable — it was late morning, we’d eaten nothing yet, the drinks were beginning to take away the edge of nausea, and we had nothing planned. The only thing on my agenda for the day was culinary — I was going to make tamales. More

Dinner with My New iPhone 6

My Ham

It was late on a Tuesday morning recently when I received a text from my friend, Melissa.

“A client gave us an Iberico ham,” she said. Problem was, she has two young vegetarian daughters who were going to be mortified at the sight of a whole pig leg with a hoof. “Are you interested in it?”

I was.

Jamon guitar with Curtis

Jamon guitar with Curtis

She suggested her husband, Paul, wanted to get a little something for it. I offered him $300, he said, “Great!” And I had myself a whole Iberico bellota ham. More

Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries