Pig

For more than thirty years, James Villas has devote his life to food. It's a tough job but someone has to do it. Twenty-seven years of his career were as Food and Wine Editor of Town & Country. He has also written about his food endeavors for a slew of other publications including Esquire, Saveur, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Life, The New York Times, and don't forget the cookbooks, two of my favorites with his mother, Martha Pearl Villas, who died several years ago. Miss Martha Pearl always traveled with her White Lily Flour, a custom I understand, but I digress...

Usually, when writing books one moves from the general to the specific. James Villas, who wrote the ever popular book, Bacon, moved from this particular cut of pork to whole hog in his book Pig. Leave it to a good old Southern boy to call his book simply Pig. Really, does one need further info? There are, of course, a few bacon recipes and standards like ham steak and red eye gravy. There is a traditional spiced stuffed hams seen on every buffet South of the Mason-Dixon, and some fancier fare. Still, no one can give a better explanation of how to make a great fried pig's ear.

Recently I made some great double-fried french fries for a cookout. A guest went on and on about how good they were. He never got his fries to taste like that. I told him to double fry them and he looked a bit stunned. "You made these?" he said. "you cut them and everything?" Well duh! Why do think they were so good!

For the next few days, I got e-mails from "friends" outlining how bad potatoes were for one's diet. I got potato chip, french fries and just plain old baked potato warnings. Let me just say that if I have the choice of living to be a hundred without fries or living to eighty with a big bowl of cheese fries covered in bacon and ranch dressing... no contest...but I digress.

Back to Pig.


So I decided to share a recipe featuring pork AND potatoes. And not just pork but Virginia Ham, with a salt content that blows the USDA standards right out of the water. Here is Villas' take on such a dish.

"Scalloped potatoes with lots of butter and cheese have been a staple in Southern homes for centuries, but only in Virginia have I encountered the dish made with the state's incomparable country-cured ham -- simply called "Virginia ham" in the Old Dominion. Do remember that you need to use dry russet potatoes for any gratin, and if the potatoes seem to be drying out after 35 or 40 minutes, just add a little whole milk, basting them slightly to produce a golden crust."

Old Dominion Scalloped Potatoes with Country Ham

4 medium russet potatoes (about 2 pounds), peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 cup finely diced cooked country ham
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 cup half-and-half

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Butter a 1 1/2 to 2-quart gratin or baking dish and arrange alternate layers of overlapping potato slices and ham, sprinkling a few chives over each layer and seasoning with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheese over the top, dot with the butter, pour the half-and-half over the top, and bake till the potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes, basting from time to time with the liquid. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and bake till golden brown, about 10 minutes longer.

3. Serve piping hot directly from the dish.

Ham and potatoes. I'm ready to meet my maker or my Maker's Mark, which ever comes first.

A Culinary Journey in Gascony

So Kate Ratliffe lives on a 75-year-old barge that is 85-feet long and sails through Gascony, stopping at nifty little restaurants and markets and drags the fresh produce onto her barge and cooks and sails. We do, indeed, hate her.

The good news is she shares her recipes with us. The bad news is that we are in West Virginia and not on a 75-year-old barge that is 85- feet long sailing up and down the canals of Gascony.

Yeah, yeah, lovely recipes, great pictures of places we are not current AT (what bad grammar!), food, food, food. OK, maybe I'm just a bit jealous. For good reason.

"In late spring as the first of the new potatoes arrive in the markets with the black dirt of the river valley still clinging to them, Patrick (the husband) gets a sort of "potato fever." The symptoms appear as soon as we arrive at the market at Tonneins or La Reole. Patrick immediately disappears. within half an hour he returns... he holds out a lumpy plastic sack and I peer inside to find three or four dozen perfect, tiny, round potatoes the size of marbles. "Lunch!" he declares."

See, you might just be jealous, too.

Les Petites Billes

2 lb very small new potatoes, red- or white-skinned
1 to 2 tablespoons duck fat, olive oil or butter
1 tablespoon herbed sea salt (in her description she says they are' "encrusted with a layer of sea crystals from Île de Ré. Clearly, Morton's will not do, but I digress...
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1. Wash the potatoes but leave their skins on. In a heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium-high heat, place the potatoes, one-half of the fat and 1/2 cup water. cover tightly.
2. Shake the pan as if you were making popcorn and continue to cook until all the water has evaporated and the potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Lower the heat and continue cooking with the lid on, shaking the pan from time to time to prevent burning.
4. When the potatoes are done (test by sticking a skewer or fork into one of the largest), toss with the rest of the fat, the sea salt, pepper and parsley. With the lid off, shake the pan until the potatoes are well covered with herbs and spices. Use the flat of a large wooden spoon to help the salt adhere to the potato skins if necessary. Keep in a hot oven until ready to serve , or serve immediately.

I am pretty sure these taste better in France, but go ahead, give them a try wherever you are... pretend you are in Gascony.

In The Pink

Santa Fe in the 1940’s was one of those magical bohemian confluences of artist and writers. Roaming through the dusty streets one might see Freda Lawrence, Mabel Dodge Luhan, or Dorothy Brett. Some of the artists were flush, but many struggled to make ends meet and Santa Fe held little industry.

Luhan, Lawrence and Brett, New Mexico in the 1940's

One such artist, Rosalea Murphy, found a small pink adobe building and began serving food to support her art. Soon, The Pink Adobe became a gathering place for artists and diners alike. Georgia O’Keeffe was a frequent visitor and Harry Partch washed dishes in exchange for room and board.

Fifty years later, The Pink Adobe was still thriving with Rosalea Murphy still at the helm.

Rosalea Murphy who died in 2000 at age 88

In the Pink was written as a celebration of that 50th anniversary. The recipes are divided into menus for outing like picnics and barbeque's. The recipes are reflective of Southwestern cuisine and a retro 1950’s aesthetic. There are lots of peppers and avocados and beans and there are the retro entries like Smoked Salmon Wheels and Three Bean Salad. The book is illustrated with color reproductions of Murphy’s vibrant paintings, many, food inspired.

In the Elton John song, Levon, there is the following line:

“Levon wears his war wounds like a crown,
Calls his child Jesus, cause he like the name”

Occasionally, I find recipes I try, as with Levon, “cause I like the name.” How can one resist a potato salad that would make a poet happy.

To Please A Poet Potato Salad

1 to 1 1/2 pounds unpeeled new potatoes (6 to 8 potatoes)
1 small green onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Anchovy and Mustard Dressing

Boil potatoes in water to cover until easily pierced by a fork (15 to 20 minutes). While potatoes are cooking, prepare the dressing.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and slice thin. Toss with the green onions, salt, and pepper. With a rubber spatula, gently combine the dressing with the potatoes until nicely coated.

Anchovy and Mustard Dressing

1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons mild cider vinegar
2 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon anchovy paste

Place all ingredients in a food processor and, with on-and-off movement, process until thoroughly blended.

Stir up a big bowl, grab your D. H. Lawrence and invite a poet to lunch.

Harry Partch And On The Seventh Day, Petals Fell In Petaluma.mp3