It occurred to me, as I looked over the last month of Charcutepalooza challenges, that I had the opportunity for some extra credit, to sort of prove the point of the whole experience you might say. I knew I had to prepare for the grand finale, the December challenge, which for me was going to be to prepare that mixed bag of meats and beans, a cassoulet. But I also had, hanging out there, the challenge from the very beginning of the year,…
I don’t know for certain that I don’t like chicken sausage, but I assume I don’t because I really don’t like chicken all that much. So, faced with the task of producing a poultry based sausage, I immediately went looking for alternatives to chicken. One simple Google search later I was overjoyed to find several mentions of an Italian sausage made with duck and pancetta- whoo hoo! Fat, flavor and spiciness! The first step in the process had to…
You would think that after more than 40 years of cooking, I would have learned by now that it is imperative that one read through the recipe thoroughly before committing to the project. This is not, however, the case. On hearing the Charcutepalooza challenge to “smoke”, I immediately announced to the family that we would be having Lox and Bagels this month! Then life got in the way- job change, medical issues, normal business, Spring Break for the little ones,…