Oh My Ham, Again!

CASSEROLE

macaroni

cheddar cheese

swiss cheese

jack cheese

broccoli

yellow onion

milk

half and half

cream

asparagus

corn

black pepper

peas

lemon juice

jalapeno

tortilla chips

butter

flour

egg yolk

salt

HAM

Solstice Haiku, Winter 2009

Cook, therefor' we eat.

We do not discriminate.

Addicted to food.

chef john notes: haiku is a three line japanese poem of unryhmed lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, respectfully.

GMO-bama

Obama nominated former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack to become the next Secretary of Agriculture. Who cares, you may say. I really didn't know much about this guy either, but after a little reading, this nomination seems more significant. As with many of Obama's other nominees, Vilsack has strong ties to corporate interests, in this case, agribusinesses such as Conagra and Monsanto. While Vilsack has been praised for his views on biofuels and biotech, his support for delicious, sustainable food, is doubtful (More here and here). Though disappointed that John was not nominated for this position, we remain hopefully that Obama is saving the strategically important position of White House chef for him.


chef john notes: i accept any and all nominations. thank you.

Who We Arghhh...

Cooking With John is geared towards people who require food to live.

Chef-at-Large John Skaggs cooks with and against two line cooks and a wanna-be librarian – John Croke, Mark Stursa, and Kevin Bauer – as well as a guest personality that changes each week. John and his friends tackle everything from local organics to greasy-spoon diner recipes in a format that is more dinner party than cooking show. John's connections with local farmers and the food community of Columbus ensure nothing but the finest ingredients; whether the topic be filet mingot or filet-o-fish. If you're looking for current news on local organics and are interested in recipes from guys who think gourmet means using a fork, then Cooking with John is for you.

Cooking with John began – unwittingly – a few years ago, when we all ended up working at the same restaurant in Columbus. Since then we have collaborated on a few projects, including a five episode Sit-Com filmed live in a local -- now defunct -- theatre. We all like to cook and enjoy cooking together. Soon, we were recording these sessions and called it “Cooking with John.” We meet weekly to create food and comedy, with and without recipes, that would make Rachel Ray rue the day and force Alton Brown to leave town. Emeril Lagasse would probably join our posse.

We all enjoy cooking; some of us are even paid to do so. None of us are paid to eat, but we like that too. Though the cooking show is a new medium for all of us, we do have performance experience including: cooking demonstrations/competitions, theatre, spontaneous street miming and musical performance.

The idea for our show is simple. Each week we will highlight different foods prepared with an emphasis on fresh, local ingredients. The goal is to promote this type of cooking, and cooking in general. We have not attended culinary school; all of our training is either in restaurants or at home. We will visit with others in the community who share the same passion and discover how they are keeping it fresh and local.


John - John understands food. He has cooked a lot of eggs, planted a few potatoes, harvested tons of tomatoes and can start a fire pretty much anywhere. John is no stranger to a knife either; turning raw ingredients into special occasions right before your taste buds. His first kitchen job: dish washer at Lil' Abner's in Tucson, AZ. He combines deep roots in the organic community and an expertise in cross ethnic food preparation with dedication to our community's health and food supply. Chef John is an award winning chef, radio and TV guest with several published recipes. His product consulting and development has led to changes within the local organic food industry.

Croke - John Croke is one of those surly line cooks you see scowling from the back of your favorite restaurant. His hobbies include diner hopping, thinking about the word "organic", staring into his fridge, and harnessing the awesome power of bacon fat.

Mark - Of the many creative outlets that Mark Stursa has latched onto over the years, cooking is the only one that has kept him alive. As a line cook for many years and a hungry person for even longer, cooking is both an occupation and a passion. While being kept alive by food, Mark has ventured into sculpture, writing, film and theatre.

Kevin – With a grand total of two weeks spent in a professional kitchen, Kevin has followed his mother’s mantra of “if you can read, you can cook.” Currently, he enjoys preparing Korean dishes like Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi stew), baking baguettes on a pizza stone, and any dishes he can sneak some hot sauce into. Kevin wants to be a librarian when he grows up, but would prefer to accomplish this without growing up.

Ham Stock

chef john notes: use real pork, a.k.a. pig. simmer slow and
low with carrot, celery, yellow onion, fresh bay leaf and
black peppercorns. oink. oink!

Turkey Stock Part One

Mark writes-

I flipped the opaque plastic container over into our largest silver pot, already on the stove vegetables sizzling oranges, yellows and greens. I took a step back. Before me a jiggly, brown, gelatinous square sitting on stilts of bone like a house on a colorful vegetable bayou.

"I am wishing I had flipped it in the other way around, John."

"It would probably look a lot cooler."

I decided to save it and plunged my fingers into the pot, hooking gingerly into the squishy, bony underworld that I was determined to get a better look at. Flipping the mass over was easy enough, revealing a dark scene of dead turkey swamp. Moist, picked over turkey meat falling off bones like moss off of scraggly trees on a jiggly earth cube. We marveled at the scene dripping slowly out from between our slimy fingers. (see picture)

Into the pot with you!

So much for the 22 pound beast that Croke had sitting freshly plucked in a five gallon pickle bucket full of brine a few days prior. Thanksgiving had come and gone, we now had a smaller bucket full of turkey parts (in the pot, see above), a bag of organs, and a neck sitting wrapped in plastic by itself, red and fleshy in the fridge.

Put em in there and crank that dial. Crank it nice and low.

chef john notes: using a crock pot for stock is awesome. set it low and let it simmer overnight... a mirepoix (mihr-PWAH)is "fancy" french term for diced carrot, celery and onion sauteed in butter or other fat with herbs and spices. for turkey or other fowl I like bay leaf, fresh thyme, parsley stems and peppercorns. add a splash of white wine to enhance the flavors. gobble. gobble!