Category Archives: pork

Dark Days: Christmas Limas with Caramelized Onions & Bacon

30 March 2010 by local kitchen

Something a little special for the last Dark Days Challenge of the season: local heirloom lima beans! “Local” because I smuggled them home in my luggage after my trip to San Francisco last spring. “Dark” because it’s been raining for three days straight and the sun is a distant, fond memory. “Challenge” because, well – they’re lima beans. Let’s face it, the lima bean gets no love. I’m not even sure why. I can’t remember a single time that I even tried a […]

Categories: beans, Dark Days Local, heirloom beans, main course, parsley, pork, side dish, vegetarian, winter, year round • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Chile Verde Carnitas

8 March 2010 by local kitchen

Sad to say, this recipe was pretty disappointing, so if you are looking for a great, authentic Mexican carnitas recipe, stop reading now. The recipe does have it’s benefits: it was easy, if lengthy, to prepare; it was not the cholesterol-and-fat-laden traditional carnitas preparartion; and, you did not have to go out and buy 3 pounds of lard. However… next time, I will probably buy 3 lbs of lard. I’ve never attempted carnitas before, and hadn’t really thought about it; […]

Categories: 100% local, cilantro, main course, pork, summer, tomatillos, year round • Tags: carnitas, cooking, food, local, Mexican, pork, recipes, summer

Locavirgin: Thick Cut Pork Chops with Simple Pan Sauce

19 February 2010 by local kitchen

Pork chops can be frustrating. In my opinion, few things are as simply, wonderfully good as a pan-fried pork chop. Simple, she says? Ah, therein lies the rub. As with so many “simple” recipes, it is all about the quality of the ingredients and the execution of the technique. When a recipe has only 3 or 4 ingredients, each of those ingredients really needs to shine. And, when the whole point of the recipe is to allow those beautiful ingredients to shine, there will be […]

Categories: 100% local, fall, herbs, Locavirgin, main course, pork, thyme, wine, beer & liquor, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes

Dark Days: Thick Cut Pork Chops with Roasted Vegetables

16 February 2010 by local kitchen

For Valentine’s Day dinner, I had planned to use the last of our Flying Pigs pork; two thick pork chops that have been in our chest freezer since our last delivery of Flying Pigs back in the Fall. I realized, after reading Sophie’s post on her Dark Days meal of the week, that 1) I had also had local pork chops, and 2) I had forgotten to post my DDC Meal of the Week. As so often happens, when 90% […]

Categories: 100% local, Dark Days Local, main course, pork, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, pork, recipes

Spicy Mexican Red Beans & Rice

1 February 2010 by local kitchen

My girlfriend Christina gave me the best Christmas present – Rancho Gordo beans and popcorn. She lives in San Francisco now, so while I don’t get to see her very often these days, the (albeit tiny) silver lining is that she is local to the fabulous Ferry Market and when she comes home to visit, she can bring me Rancho Gordo goodies and I can consider them ‘local.’ Because it’s local to her. And she flew to me. And just happened […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, celery, heirloom beans, hot chile peppers, main course, pork, rice, sausage, stew, year round • Tags: beans, chorizo, cooking, food, local, Mexican, pork, recipes, red beans and rice

Dark Days: Roasted Green Beans with Potatoes & Bacon

31 January 2010 by local kitchen

I discovered last week that I am on my last bag of frozen kale, which shocks me; I feel like all I did last summer was blanch and freeze kale. As I uncovered things in the chest freezer (that had been buried under the avalanche of kale) I realized that I have a lot of frozen green beans. After calling for some green bean inspiration from my fellow Dark Dayers, I got a lot of great recipe ideas, and have […]

Categories: 100% local, chickpeas, Dark Days Local, green beans, main course, pork, potato, roasting, side dish, spring, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes

Dark Days: Rhubarb Rosemary Pork Cutlets with Onion & Beet Sauce

4 December 2009 by local kitchen

Some meals are a revelation. Strangely enough, I often find that when I’m not really thinking about it, throwing something together from the contents of my fridge on a busy weeknight, is when I make my most startling discoveries. This meal fits the bill. I had those pork cutlets, of the not-cutlets-but-scones fame. They were thawed a couple of days ago and really needed to be cooked. (Not only am I completely obsessive about not wasting food, there has got to […]

Categories: Dark Days Local, jellies, main course, pork, rhubarb, roasting, rosemary, sage, spring, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, pork, recipes

Winter Greens Risotto with Heirloom Pork Sausage

5 November 2009 by local kitchen

We had some friends over for dinner last weekend: cheeses from Plums Plums in Pound Ridge, bread from Wave Hill Bread in Wilton, curried apple chutney, roasted pumpkin soup, winter greens risotto and an apple tart. Phew! You can tell what kind of week I’ve had that I’ve only just managed to get one of these recipes up by Thursday night. Risotto is a wonderfully versatile dish and easy to make, despite its rather terrifying reputation. Yes, you have to stir […]

Categories: arugula, cheese, fall, grains & legumes, kale & leafy greens, main course, pork, rice, sausage, side dish, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, pork, recipes

Linguica Pizza

29 October 2009 by local kitchen

I grew up in Gloucester, MA, at the tip of Cape Ann on Massachusetts’ North Shore, then mostly a commercial fishing town and a summertime escape for wealthy Bostonians. Like many fishing towns or villages in New England, Gloucester had, and still has, a large community of Portuguese immigrants and their Portuguese-American descendants. If you grew up in Gloucester, or New Bedford, Fall River or even East Cambridge, you already know the wonder that is linguica (pronounced “lin-GWEE-sa”). If you did […]

Categories: basil, cheese, main course, pizza, pork, sausage, tomatoes, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, pizza, pork, recipes, whole grain breads

Sausage Bread Redux

14 August 2009 by local kitchen

OK, seriously, I know it’s hard to believe, but this bread tastes better than it looks. Scout’s honor. Spicy Italian sausages, sauteed onions & garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, all wrapped inside herb-filled whole wheat bread. I’m drooling, but I can’t have any yet, because this bread is destined for a Very Special Occasion: my bachelorette party up in the Catskills this weekend. A dozen girls, (at least) a dozen bottles of champagne, a hot tub and sausage bread. And […]

Categories: baking, basil, breads, cheese, herbs, pork, sausage, tarragon, thyme, tomatoes, year round • Tags: baking, bread, cooking, food, local, recipes

Pork Tenderloin on the Grill

30 June 2009 by local kitchen

It’s amazing what a few days of sun can do; my tomato plants and nasturtiums have burst into bloom, wild black raspberries are ripening in the backyard, and I am feeling motivated and productive. Could it be that summer is here at last? In celebration of summer-like temperatures and the complete lack of any sort of precipitation, Tai fired up the grill last night and we cooked some tiny little pork tenderloins from New England Farms. Although I often put […]

Categories: 100% local, grill, main course, pork, sauces, summer • Tags: cooking, food, grilling, local, pork, recipes

Pork Chop Heaven

19 May 2009 by local kitchen

I’ve found Pork Chop Heaven. This is one of those meals; one of those meals that made me start this blog, so I wouldn’t longingly remember Pork Chop Heaven, yet have no memory of how to get back there. One of those meals that makes me think I can never go totally vegetarian. One of those meals that makes me bless the noble pig: a magical, wonderful animal. One of those meals that makes Tai say “How do you do […]

Categories: chutneys, cranberries, garlic, jellies, main course, pork, quick & easy, rhubarb, spring • Tags: cooking, food, local, pork, recipes

Caldo Verde

20 April 2009 by local kitchen

Ten years ago, I spent three weeks in Portugal, tooling about the countryside in a rented Suzuki (the “A” car for the “E” price), sight-seeing, visiting family & friends, and watching a whole lot of football (soccer, in our football-heathen country). I still remember having caldo verde, literally “green soup,” nearly every day. It’s a traditional dish in Portugal, and on the menu pretty much everywhere you go, with a broth as light as air but full of flavor, bright […]

Categories: 100% local, fall, kale & leafy greens, pork, potato, sausage, soup, spring, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, soup

Sunday Spring Cleaning: Smoky Black Bean Dip

6 April 2009 by local kitchen

In the grand tradition of Spring, I’ve been doing some spring cleaning of late. Since the weather has not been optimal for cleaning windows, and it hasn’t yet been warm enough to transition to the summer wardrobe, I’ve been concentrating on cleaning out the larder: using up canned goods that are approaching one year old, making room in the freezer for a new season’s bounty, and digging way back into the recesses of the food cabinet for those long-forgotten items; […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, cilantro, hot chile peppers, pork, side dish, year round • Tags: black bean, cooking, food, local, recipes

Jacob’s Cattle Beans with Bacon & Sage

21 March 2009 by local kitchen

12 April 2013: The perfect lunch on a grey & rainy April afternoon, this simple pot of beans is elevated by plenty of aromatics, crumbled dried sage, and good-quality local bacon. Always a pleasure to have some in the fridge! Why, yes, the Great Dried Bean Experiment 2009 is still ongoing, thank you very much! This week’s beans are Jacob’s Cattle, a lovely, variegated bean, originally cultivated by the Passamaquoddy Indians in Maine, and the old standard for classic New England […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, heirloom beans, pork, winter, year round • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, pork, recipes