Day: December 26, 2003

I am literally chewing on a big-ass slab of raw meat right now.

For my Xmas present my brother bought me a 2.5 pound slab of prosciutto for me to gnaw on.

At Molinari’s they called in the veteran butchers to estimate how much 2 pounds was, because you can’t mess something like that up. Since you usually slice it with a machine, the butt-ends are harder to sell.

2 pound is like a brick-sized block of raw meat. Part of the deal was I had to have photos of me gnawing on the thing, so I took care of that right away…

When prosciutto is uncut, the sinews are so chewy you can chew on them forever. I’m been spitting them out… Diane says I can use this to rationalize that it is better for me, because I am eating less fat!

What am I going to do with this? At least it won’t spoil!

Notes:

• The restaurant Bourdain cooks for is “Les Halles“
• In “From Our Kitchen to Your Table” he talks about what things not to order from restaurants at different points of the week, and why table bread is safer than you think.
• In the chapter “How to Cook Like the Pros” he describes what he considers essential cooking gear for the home chef… he mentions “Global” knives, made in Japan, including the basic chef’s knife, a flexible boning knife, a paring knife, and an “offset serrated knife”
• He rants about how amazing Scott Bryan / Gino Diaferia’s restaurants are- specifically “Luma” and “Indigo.” (“Veritas” also)
• Other restaurants, references I totally missed, not being a “Foodie”-
  • Bob Kinkead’s “Harvest” in Cambridge, “21 Federal” in Nantucket.
  • Eric Ripert’s “Le Bernardin“
  • Richard Leach, patissier, at “Mondrian”
  • Brendon Walsh (not the character from 90210) – “Arizona 206”
  • “Lespinasse”- Scott Bryan and Grey Kunz
  • “The Gotham” Alfred Portale
  • “La Riviere” in Tokyo, owned by the publisher of Bourdain’s book

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