Arroyo Grande Meat Company

Are you looking for a specialty cut of beef?  Maybe interested in learning more about where your food comes from?  Or just want to get a high quality product to cook at home?  Then I would suggest visiting your local butcher shop.  These days it is getting hard to find a butcher shop, but here on the Central Coast we are very fortunate to have the Arroyo Grande Meat Company.  They have a very friendly, knowledgeable staff that is more than willing to help you find the cut of meat you are looking for. They have a great selection of products ranging from high quality beef, poultry, game meats, house made sausages, seafood, pork, and even local grass fed beef.  If you haven't tried grass fed beef I would definitely recommend it.  It has a long list of health benefits compared to grain fed beef.  If you are interested in learning more about grass fed beef check out www.eatwild.com or www.americangrassfedbeef.com.  

If you don't see what you are looking for in the front counter, ask if they have it in the back.  They have also done special orders for me in the past. 

The refrigerator is full of their house made sausages, ground meats, burger patties, seafood, and more.

If you haven't been yet to the Meat Company I would definitely recommend it, I don't think you will be disappointed.  Finding a butcher nearby wherever you live and developing a relationship with the people who supply you with great food, while also supporting local business, is a great thing.  

Community Supported Agriculture

My wife and I joined a local CSA (community supported agriculture) almost a year ago.  We joined up with Babe Farms, we get a bi-weekly box of fruits and vegetables for $20.  There are many benefits with getting involved with your local CSA.  You are supporting local farmers in your community, you are getting the freshest produce possible, it is healthy, and it exposes you to different seasonal ingredients that you may not have cooked with before.  Each box of produce we get comes with a newsletter with a list of what's in our box, and suggestions and recipes on how to you use our fresh ingredients.  If you are interested in finding participating farms near you, checkout www.localharvest.org.  If you are in the Central Coast area and are interested in using Babe Farms, you can reach them at (805) 925-4144.

Our box this week included beets, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, fennel, leaf lettuces, parsley root, purple and yellow beans, and strawberries.  

Cookout Side Dishes

With summer finally here, thought we would share three side dishes to go along with your summer barbecues and family get together's.  Stove top pinto beans, penne pasta salad, and roasted garlic potatoes.  These side dishes are easy to prepare and will go great with barbecue chicken, tri-tip, or anything you want to put on the grill this summer.  First up is the stove top pinto beans.

STOVE TOP PINTO BEANS

INGREDIENTS

·         1 pound bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces

·         5 cloves garlic, minced

·         2 yellow onions, diced

·         1 ¼ pounds pinto beans

·         1 tbsp mustard powder

·         1 tbsp paprika

·         1 tbsp chili powder

·         1 tbsp onion powder

·         1tbsp garlic powder

·         ½ tsp cayenne

·         2 tbsp kosher salt

·         1 tbsp ground pepper

·         ¼ cup brown sugar

·         ¼ cup molasses

·         1 bay leaf

·         1 – 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

DIRECTIONS

1.       Put beans in large stockpot, cover with water by 2 inches and soak overnight.  Drain and rinse.

2.       In a large sauté pan set over medium heat, cook bacon, stirring often, until fat has rendered and bacon is crispy.  Reserve fat.  Place cooked bacon on paper towel lined tray to drain.  Set aside.

3.       In a stock pot over medium high heat add reserved bacon fat.  When the bacon fat is hot add the diced onion and minced garlic.  Cook, stirring often, until the onions start to soften, about 7-8 minutes.

4.       Add mustard powder, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, paprika, salt, pepper, brown sugar, and molasses.  Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring everything together.

5.       Add pinto beans,  fill the stockpot with water till just covering the beans.  Add the tomatoes and bay leaf.

6.       Turn the heat to high and bring to a simmer, lower heat and let simmer uncovered for 1 hour and fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Make sure to use enough water so the beans stay submerged while they soak.

All ready to eat.  Feel free to experiment with different spices and quantities.  Enjoy.

Next up is our penne pasta salad.  You can make this the day ahead or day of your barbecue.

PENNE PASTA SALAD

INGREDIENTS

·         2 pounds penne pasta

·         4 bell peppers, assorted colors, small dice

·         4 cloves garlic, minced

·         4 ounces olive oil

·         2 ounces red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar

·         4 ounces crumbled feta cheese

·         1 bunch parsley, chopped

·         Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1.       In a large stockpot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil.  Add a couple pinches of salt and a little drizzle of olive oil to the boiling water.  Add pasta, boil 9 minutes.  Drain in colander and pour cold water over pasta to stop cooking.  Put cooled pasta in a large bowl or large platter and set aside.

2.       Whisk together oil and vinegar in a small bowl and toss with the pasta.  Add bell peppers, garlic, feta cheese,  and parsley to the pasta and toss.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve at room temperature.

yNow onto the roasted garlic potatoes.

ROASTED RED POTATOES

  INGREDIENTS

·         5 pounds  red potatoes

·         10 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

·         ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

·         1 tbsp Italian seasoning (could also use fresh parsley or thyme instead of seasoning)

·         Salt and pepper to taste

  DIRECTIONS

1.       Heat oven to 400 degree F. 

2.       Peel potatoes and cut into 8 parts.  Put potatoes into large bowl with olive oil and toss to coat all the potatoes.  Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper.  Pour onto a sheet pan and roast in oven for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring potatoes around about every 10 minutes.  Potatoes are done when easily pierced with a fork.

  

Santa Barbara Getaway

For my birthday this year my wife and I decided that we would take a quick getaway to Santa Barbara.  Only about an hour from where we live, but a beautiful city, with nice beaches and great places to eat.  For the night we decided to stay at Fess Parker's Doubletree resort.  It is a nice hotel with comfortable, clean rooms, nice pool, bar with places to sit indoors and outdoors, and from what I hear a very good steak house ( we haven't eaten at their restaurant yet).  Also, you can't beat the location being right across the street from the beach, and only about a mile from State Street.  www.fessparkersantabarbarahotel.com

View of the pool from our room.

Nice patio to relax on.

View of the hotel from across the street at the beach.

For dinner we had plans to meet two very good friends of ours at Restaurant Julienne.  We have been trying to eat here for the past year but something has always come up and we have had to reschedule.  We were excited that we were finally going to eat there.  Restaurant Julienne met and exceeded all expecations.  Nice comfortable atmosphere, along with attentive, personal service and great food.  We had a great time and would definitely like to go back again.  All 4 of us did the 5 course tasting menu which was $65 per person, with an optional wine pairing for each course for an additional $30.  www.restaurantjulienne.com

Charcuterie plate: Pork Pate, Chicken Liver Toast, Soppressata, Saucison d' Alsace, pickled beans.

Foie Gras and Donuts, Market Berries, Toasted Mustard.

Local Black Seabass, Artichoke, Kalamata Olive, Orzo, Sun Dried Tomato Tapenade.

Duck Breast, Smoked Sausage, Broccoli, Red Lentils, Plum Sauce.

Beef Cheek Bourguignon, English Peas, Mushrooms, Country Mashed Potato.

Earl Grey Ice Cream.  Not part of the tasting menu.

After dinner we said goodbye to our friends and decided to go have a nightcap.  We went to Santa Barbara's Urban Wine Trail and stopped at Municipal Winemakers.  A cool place with friendly staff, a bar to sit at or plenty of room for sitting inside or outside.  Their focus is mainly on local Rhone varietal grapes.  My wife had a glass of their 2011 Bright White, which is a Dry Riesling.  I had a glass of their 2010 Bright Red, a Rhone blend of Grenache, Cinsault, and Counoise.  www.municipalwinemakers.com

The next morning we had one more stop to make.  Chocolats du CaliBressan.  A chocolate shop right in the heart of State Street.  Neither of us had ever been there before, but I like chocolate, and my wife has an intense love for chocolate.  They have a wide selection of chocolates, truffles, and bonbons.  You can buy by the single piece, create a box to go, or purchase a sample of their chocolates already packaged.  www.chococalibressan.com

2007 Pauillac de Latour

I posted about our dinner at Addison a few weeks ago.  When we go to special dinners like Addison, that we plan out months in advance and save up for, we usually will also bring a special bottle of wine for the occasion. For the Addison dinner we brought a bottle of the 2007 Pauillac de Latour.  It is the 3rd label of Chateau Latour, one of Bordeaux's first growth's from the 1855 classification.  While this bottle definitely does not have the prestige of the Chateau Latour, it is often referred to as a baby Latour, and generally costs about a tenth of the price.  I have never tasted a Chateau Latour, so I don't know how the two would compare side by side, but we did really enjoy this bottle.  It is made up of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, and 7% Petit Verdot.  We purchased this bottle at www.klwines.com for $89.99.  That is generally quite a bit more than we would spend on a bottle of wine, but this was a special occasion and we felt it good reason for a bit of a splurge.

Daniel Boulud's Braised Pork Shoulder

Tonight we took a recipe out of Daniel Boulud's wonderful cookbook called Braise.  Pork shoulder with Guinness, dried cherries, and sweet potatoes.  I am a big fan of pork shoulder, and love to braise foods, but to be honest the dried cherries in the recipe didn't sound that good to me.  I am not a big fan of fruits in most of my savory dishes.  But thought that maybe it would be a good idea to expand my horizons and maybe try something out of my palates comfort zone.  In the end my wife and I both liked this dish quite a bit and would definitely make it again.  The recipe calls for Guinness, but I would think that you could substitute the Guinness with  Root Beer, Dr. Pepper, or Ginger Beer.  Hope you enjoy this recipe.

Ingredients

• 5 cups cups Guinness stout
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 (5 1/2 pound) pork shoulder roast
• Coarse sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 large red onions, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 5 whole allspice, crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
• 2 pounds sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and roughly chopped

Method

- Bring the stout, cherries, and vinegar to a simmer in a saucepan.  Transfer to a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let sit for at least 1 hour, or refrigerate overnight.

Guinness coming to a simmer with the balsamic and cherries.

- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300 F.

- Warm the oil in a large cast-iron or Dutch oven over high heat.  Season the pork shoulder with salt and ground black pepper and sear on all sides until golden brown, 12-15 minutes.  Transfer the pork shoulder to a platter.  Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the fat in the pot.

Pork shoulder being browned.

- Add the onion and crushed black pepper to the pot and saute for 7 minutes.

- Add the garlic and continue cooking until the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer.  Add the pork shoulder, the marinated cherries and liquid, allspice, bay leaves, molasses, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 cups water.  Bring the mixture to a simmer.

- Cover the pot, transfer it to the oven, and braise for 1 hour, turning the pork once during cooking.  Add the sweet potatoes and continue to braise for 2 more hours, turning two more times.

- If the sauce is too thin or is not flavored intensely enough, ladle most of it off into another pot and simmer it until it thickens and intensifies.  Then add it back to the first pot.

Sauce was a little thin coming out of the oven, had to reduce it down  in a separate pan on the stove top.

- Slice the pork and serve with the sauce on top.

All ready to eat.

Really enjoyed this recipes and I was surprised that the cherries were so good in it.  I did have to reduce down the sauce quite a bit after it came out of the oven, also added a bit of butter to the sauce when it was just about done reducing.  Other than that I followed this recipe to the letter.  Again, this is not my recipe but was taken from Braise, which was written by Daniel Boulud and Melissa Clark.  A great cookbook.