Saturday, October 21, 2006

Rock n' (Pork) Roll

Have you ever wondered what pork roll is? Have you ever wondered what a hot dog is made out of? Let's stop there, before things get too far too soon. You see, pork roll may technically be pork, but it also may contain something else entirely: magic!

The words mystery and meat often go together with a negative connotation, but in pork roll's case, it's a tantalizing delight! On many breakfast tables, bacon and sausage rule the roost; occasionally a steak may rear its head against some fried eggs, and scrapple does make the cut now and again. But let pork roll poke its snout in there once in a while, and before long you'll be hooked.

Pork roll is a fascination to watch. Out of the package, it bears a resemblance to Canadian bacon: round, sliced, and bologna-like. But watch it cook! Throw it in a greased pan or in a microwave on HIGH, and it bells up like the bottom of a plunger, sizzling and smelling like a slice of heaven. I tend to make an radial incision to prevent too much belling; I like my pork roll flat!

Just one bite makes one experience sweet, salty goodness; much milder than that of bacon, more subtle than sausage or scrapple, more succulent than steak - you've got the fever: Pork Roll Fever!

(While it is not the policy of BM to endorse any one product over another, this reporter does enjoy Taylor's Pork Roll as his pork roll of choice - it's my czjauhn!)

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Goat Cheese Omelette

submitted by Jeff Wolfe, King of Prussia, PA

A recipe for the kind of omelette that you make for breakfast or brunch on a Sunday morning or early afternoon, and you end up not having to eat anything the rest of the day 'cause it’s so rich n' satisfying!

When I thought about writing this down, I immediately got discouraged; all I know how to do is to throw the ingredients together and make a couple of omelettes from it.

First, I hesitate to put exact measurements in this recipe. I give a basic guideline, then you get to do your own thing, and put more or less of a certain thing, whatever that may be, in or out of the mix. Clear? Good!

Second, I make no claims of dietary benefit/damage/excess in regards to the recipe. It does have some healthy stuff in it, but who knows if it’s still healthy when you combine it with other not-so-healthy stuff!

Finally, I didn’t learn this recipe from anyone - I made it up. I may have been hung over when I did. I’m not sure. I encourage you to add, subtract, omit, etc. anything you want in the preparation/presentation/seasoning/combination of this dish. Hopefully, if you do decide to experiment with this particular dish in such a fashion, it may even inspire you to make up your own recipe. Or not. Whatever. Isn’t that what America is all about?

Peace in the Middle East,

Jeff

Ingredients (for approximately two omelettes):

- 6 eggs or so
- A splash of milk per omelette
- 1/2 red onion
- 1/2 Vidalia or sweet, white type onion
- 1 shallot bulb
- 1-2 garlic bulbs (or some pre-chopped garlic that comes in a jar or something)
- 1-2 vine-ripened tomatoes (Roma or Hothouse are good)
- Handful of fresh basil (or oregano)
- Teaspoon or so of olive oil
- 4 oz. or so smoked salmon
- One of those logs of goat cheese

Preparation:

Chop, dice, or cut up the onions, garlic and shallots. In a pan over medium heat, sauté with olive oil until translucent (a little clear, not browned). Set aside.

While this cooks, dice tomato and pluck basil from stem and chop lightly.

In a bowl, whisk up 2-3 eggs, using a splash of milk to fluffify. Add tomato and basil to mixture.

In omelette pan, use a non-stick vegetable spray on the surface. Over medium heat (important - you don’t wanna burn the son of a gun!), pour egg, tomato and basil mixture in pan. Use a spatula to continuously poke at the egg surface, creating holes for the runny parts to fill up. This insures your omelette isn’t too undercooked on the inside.

When egg mixture is nearly cooked (barely any runny stuff on top), then place the onion, shallot and garlic mixture on one half of omelette, along with the smoked salmon (slightly torn apart in pieces) and the goat cheese.

Use spatula to fold omelette over in half, let cook for additional 30 seconds on each side. Put directly on plate and feast on my brother, feast on.

Serve with coffee and try to watch some football or something. This is food for the weekend, my friend!