Drunken Swine Nettle Ale is GO!!!!

Finally bottling the 1st batch of nettle ale tonight. It almost tastes like Oberon, which I find kinda weird. I'm gonna tweak the recipe and make it just a tad more bitter. In a week or so, we'll see how it tastes after bottling. I hope that it doesn't explode!

Pig's Head Madness

Last week we got in a pig's head from Niman ranch, because I haven't made headcheese(or brawn if you're British) since culinary school. The head was extremely fresh and Dave Treaster and I tackled that thang with mucho gusto!!









For the headcheese I used capers, cornichons, citrus zest/juice, lots of parsley, and lots of salt and pepper. I then reduced the gelatin and we assembled the terrine. After cutting into the terrine, I wish I would've added more of the liquid. It was kind of hard to slice and fell apart slightly. We even got to serve some to Michael Ruhlman and family when they came in to eat.


In the end, I was pretty happy with my 2nd attempt ever at headcheesery. I even thanked the piggy, before we started, for the opportunity.
Thank you, my delicious friend.

Meddling with Nettles

Today, after hours of research, I decided to finally make some nettle beer. I adapted recipes that I read from several places and set of to make a batch of brew. I wouldn't have even attempted this if it wasn't for Hugh Whittingstall and an episode from one of his shows.

The brew needs to ferment for 10 days before I can bottle it. Hopefully, in a month, it will be ready to taste.

Randomness

I went out and bought some cool stuff today. I finally got some beer from Indigo Imp brewery. I can't wait to try it. As usual, I seem to be a day late and about 5 bucks short. Hopefully, in the future, I will be more informed of great things like this before everyone else knows about them.

I also purchased Michael Ruhlman's new book : Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind The Craft of Everyday Cooking.


I have actually been looking forward to this book for awhile. I think the image on the cover would make a sweet, functional tattoo. What do you think? Never again would you have to look up recipes, you could just look at your arm or leg!!

I noticed a post on Cage Free Tomatoes blog as well today. The post was about raising your own chickens. I want to do this really bad, but don't know if it is possible in Cleveland Heights. Anyone know if this is possible?

I'm also extremely pleased with the new Spring menu at Fire. Food is fun, simple, and clean. If you haven't checked it out, you should give it a try.

I'm also working on some pretty cool stuff that I hope to be able to share in the near future. Now, I finally got all of the random thoughts out of my head and it's time to enjoy some Indigo Imp!!