25 May 2012 5 Comments
in Pork, Recipes Tags: bar food, cooking, gastropub, hamburger, pig candy, popcorn, Pork, porkcorn, recipes
I was sitting at one of the many new gastropubs that seem to pop up in Los Angeles every week, having lunch with my friend and sometime Skinny Girls sidekick, Greg. We browsed the brews and burgers, trying to narrow our choices, when we noticed “Pig Candy” on the menu.
Skinny Girls porkcorn & a pale ale
“What do you suppose that is?” I pondered.
“Something sweet and salty and fatty and crunchy,” Greg replied.
18 May 2012 8 Comments
in Observations, Pork, Recipes Tags: Animal, cooking, food, Lazy Ox, pig, pig roast, Pork, pork shoulder, Spanish cuisine, Umamicatessen
Pork season is almost here!
What is pork season, you may reasonably ask?? Is it the time when the young wild piglets sprout up from the earth after a spring rain? Is it the brief window when the pig molts its old skin, and is tender and new beneath before the new skin hardens?
Henri, napping amidst the rosemary
No, no… nothing like that. It is the time when the weather grows warm, and I begin noticing the racks of baby back ribs in the grocery store. More
30 Mar 2012 13 Comments
in Pork, Recipes Tags: Dominican cuisine, Dominican Republic, Latin America, pernil, Pork, pork shoulder, recipes, roast
As you may know from various previous posts, I am a fan of the pork shoulder. It’s the biggest, least expensive cut of the pig — and the best. I’ve featured it slow smoked North Carolina-style by my neighbor Chris; I’ve featured it wrapped in banana leaves and slow roasted in the Yucatan Mexican style; and I’ve rubbed it with fennel and done my own Italian take on the grill. And here it is yet again, a glorious new guise, this preparation courtesy of my friend, Monica Schneider.
Monica tending her octopus.
Monica and her husband Don are full of life. They eat, drink and love with an unhinged abandon that I admire and enjoy having in my life. Monica is the product of two islands that share the commonality of living life with a certain unrestrained passion — the Dominican Republic and Ireland. More
03 Feb 2012 4 Comments
in Observations, Pork Tags: bacon, chickens, guanciale, Henri Toulouse Cochon, pig, Pork, proscuitto, Topanga
I often get asked a tough question, in regard to either our pig Henri, or one of our dozen or so chickens. “So,” the person will begin… “Are you going to… you know…” In the beginning I didn’t know, and was aghast when they would finish their query.
“Eat them!??” I would wince. “They trust me.”
With the chickens it makes more sense. They’re not very smart. And after a couple years, they stop laying and then live another 7 or 8. But I wouldn’t be able to slaughter them, and even if I had someone else do it, I’d be wondering which one I was eating. More
23 Aug 2011 20 Comments
in Observations, Pork Tags: cochon, Henri Toulouse, mascot, pig, Pork, pork shoulder, Skinny Girls, teacup pig
What to get for a 10th anniversary gift for the wife who has everything? Well, sure … I picked up a nice watch and some diamond bling… but was looking for something a little unique. How about a pig! It’s certainly original…
Henri sunbathing
Many things go through your head when you buy your wife a new pet pig as a surprise anniversary gift. The first, after the money has changed hands and the pig is now yours, is, “My god, what have I done??” More
skinny girls & mayonnaise 