October 2009 Archives

As I've suggested in a recent post, I'm a dyed in the wool country man, but I live a few minutes outside of the largest city in the US!  You must be thinking: how paradoxical that this guy loves nature yet lives so close to a major urban area?  Well the truth of the matter is I value the rural life in small doses at this stage of my life (given the associations I make with urban/suburban living: family, friends, work, activities, food, etc.).  I am convinced, however, that at some point in my life I'd like to make a go at living the rural life.  Sure, my thoughts of life in the country are more romantic than pragmatic, but there are certain country activities that I sometimes crave like raising animals, tending a large scale garden, building a barn, listening to silence, feeling isolated, walking in the woods, etc.  

(Photo: mushroom prep: first cutting into larger chunks)

The walking in the woods part got me thinking about an activity that I watched my grandfathers and father (along with his friends) take part in each and every Fall; that is, foraging for wild mushrooms.  My grandfather foraged in the forests of Calabria, while my father and his buddies strolled through the Palisades in northern New Jersey to find edible mushrooms for pickling and frying (the preferred methods of consumption amongst the people of Pellegrina).

Foraging for wild mushrooms can be a dangerous proposition and, like learning a trade, it takes years to get it right and the help of an experienced technician is mandatory.  You can find wild mushrooms in large cities next to shade trees, suburban lawns, and the remote woods.  The best season to look for wild mushrooms is in the Fall and preferably a day or two after a large rainfall.  Identifying edible wild mushrooms can be tricky and that's why you should forage only with an experienced picker (they don't have to have Mediterranean blood, however!).

Many non poisonous mushroom varieties are easy to identify, such as Morel, Chanterelle, Oyster, Puffballs, and Coral Fungus (click here for some pics). You should assume that other varieties are poisonous as your safest bet is to stick with the type you've confirmed are edible and look for new types only with an expert.  My father, for example, is an expert only in the wild mushrooms that he's consumed and identified here in the US and in Italy (that is to say, he sticks to looking for 2-3 basic varieties of wild mushrooms).  

Picking mushrooms is fairly easy, but you'll want to bring along a good quality knife to remove and clean the 'shrooms.  You'll also want to bring along a few plastic bags to store the items along with a backpack if you're taking a day hike.  

(Photo: mushroom prep: cutting into finer pieces)

Cleaning wild mushrooms is straightforward but you'll want to keep the following tips in mind:

1. Use a clean rag or small brush to remove all the dirt.

2. Look for bugs and other creatures before bringing any mushrooms into your home.

3. Mushrooms can spoil quickly so after cleaning the items store them in your refrigerator until you're ready to prepare your newfound delicacies.  

Cooking your mushrooms is where the fun begins!  Like any store bought mushroom, wild mushrooms can be prepared in many different ways, including fried, baked, boiled/pickled, in pasta and risotto, etc.  Personally, I'm a sucker for pan fried mushrooms with lots of garlic and parsley.  My mother pickles a few different varieties of wild mushrooms (especially the varieties that contain lots of water).  If the family happens to find wild porcini they are excellent with penne and a quick pan tomato sauce. 

My advice on how to start finding wild mushrooms: ask around and see if you have any old world Europeans living in your neighborhood, my hunch is that they have a secret mushroom foraging fetish.  So, be nice to your German or Italian neighbor (maybe buy him a bottle of wine) and he'll take you mushroom picking in the Fall (I swear you'll be hooked!). 

Here are some other excellent resources:

North American Mycological Association 
NJ North American Mycological Association 

One of the highlights of my summer trips to Calabria as a small child included spending time on my grandfather's working farm.  Nonno Vincenzo's farm was a 10 minute drive north of the small village of Pellegrina on Via Nazionale.  Nonno would wake me up early in the morning and we'd jump into his white Fiat 500; while sitting in the passenger seat I anticipated a ride on his red tractor, visiting with the many roaming goats, and running through the olive tree orchards.  However, I was secretly looking forward to one thing above all else: lunch!  

Lunch included the typical pasta starter, green, roasted meat, and tons of figs, peaches, wild berries, and cactus pears, but it was the cured meats that we ate before lunch that I enjoyed most. You see, Nonno was an expert salumi maker and he kept his best products hidden the entire year for his American grandkids to enjoy (at least that's what he told me though my Italian cousins Vice, Maria, Vincenzo, and Giuseppe all had that "salumi glow" about them!).

Nonno produced wonderful cacciatore, capocollo, salt pork, and Soppressata.  The cured meats represented the ideal combination of salt, red pepper, herbs, wine, and intoxicating flavor and I often filled up on the meat and homemade bread and had no use for lunch.  Salumi antipasto equaled lunch for me and a bit of frustration for my grandmother who didn't appreciate the fact that nonno tempted his grandson with some "vile" salted pork!

My love of cured meats continues to this day, but nonno has stopped running his farm and there are no pigs left to make capicollo, so we're left to buying our cured meats from a salumeria (an insult and something that is looked down upon if you're used to producing your own meats; Rhulman makes his own cured meats and has a wonderful book called  Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing).  It's even harder to find good cured meats in the US, but the situation is changing with many local, artisan, salami makers sprouting up in places like California (see my recommended online shops below).  It's also technically illegal to import Italian cured meats into the US, so outside of Prosciutto di Parma (which is allowed) finding good Italian cured meats can be a challenge outside of large, ethnic, cities like New York, Boston, Chicago, etc.  

What follows are my personal favorites in terms of salumi and a small description of how to consume and enjoy the cured meats.  Look for a more detailed review on specific salumi makers in US, here's my recent review/article on Columbus Artisan and Creminelli (both companies are making excellent, artisan, salami).

Capicola or Capocollo



My all time favorite cured meat and apparently Tony Soprano enjoyed it as well (though his pronunciation of the delicacy wasn't exactly grammatically correct).  Capo means head in Italian and the capicola is made from the neck or shoulder of a pig.   Capicola has a tender texture and usually smoked and prepared with a variety of spices, herbs, and sometimes wine.  I enjoy capicola in a sandwich made from fresh baguette.  I usually don't include any condiment or cheese as I don't want to mess with the flavor of the meat.  

Cacciatore



Literally means hunter and the folklore states that hunters used to carry this small salami in their pack and eat several pieces for sustenance during the hunt.  Cacciatore is usually 6-7 inches in length and cured with the usual spices, wine, and herbs.  Cacciatore tends to be a bit tougher than Capicola or Prosciutto.  I love cacciatore with sharp Provolone and good bread.  You could use the meat for a sandwich but the small pieces aren't ideal.  

Soppressata



Like cacciatore, Soppressota is made from pressed pork belly, tongue, stomach and other parts of the pig.  Again, spices and herbs vary by region and preference.  Soppressota can be spicy and is an excellent meat for sandwiches.  If you want to try and make your own see Michael Rhulman's recipe on his exceptional food blog.  Soppressata is less chewy and compacted than cacciatore and has the consistency of sausage. Generally speaking it's important to note that most salumi are either categorized into products made from ground pig parts or from whole sections of the pig (for example, sopresseta versus prosciutto).  

 

Salt Pork



Most salumi affeciondads have a love hate relationship with salt pork; I happen to love this fatty, bacon like, salumi but it tends to be very salty.  Moreover, I don't particularly like cooking with salt pork, thought most folks use it as a fat for sautéing.  I enjoy salt pork cut very thin with chunks of parmiggiano reggiano and a glass of homemade wine (I think the juxtaposition of the complex and creamy parmiggiano goes will with the simple, salty, and earthy flavors of homemade wine and salt pork).   Salt pork is made from the pig's belly and is not smoked.

Pancetta



As you probably guessed, Pancetta is another salt cured and spiced salumi.  Most folks know pancetta and fry it to use in varied dishes.  Pancetta when done is small batches is usually produced in a flat manner with the fat located on one side (unlike the rolled kind you will find in most shops in US).  I've had both varities and it's not one of my favorites.   See Rhulman's recipe if you want to try and make pancetta at home: 

Speck



Speck is a type of Prosciutto made with the hind leg of a pig, however the bone is usually removed with this kind of salumi.  Speck is usually cut thin and served with bread.  The flavor is robust and the texture a bit chewy.  Speck is also a smoked product.  I'm not a big consumer of this cured meat, but it is tasty.

Culatello



Culatello is a special type of Prosciutto made via larger pigs.  Culatello is a prized cured meat and extremely flavorful.  Here's a nice write up on Culatello as I don't have too much experience with the product (it's a bit expensive).

Also, see La Cucina Italiana's salumi FAQ as well as their Oct, 2009 article on artisinal salumi makers in the US.

Finally, here's a list of where to purchase artisanal meats online (also, if you're looking to buy me a Christmas present a couple of pounds of soppressata would do nicely!):

We've had a cold and wet summer in the Northeast this year, so I'm not sure what the Fall and Winter seasons will bring us in terms of temperature, snow, wind, and rain.  However, I do know that a good looking garden (including grass, shrubs, and flowers) starts as soon as everything begins to die or go dormant.  Here are some basic Fall gardening tips that will make your green space look great come the first couple of warm days in the Spring:

1. If your garden includes a lawn then the early Fall time period is the best time to re-seed, fertilize, and add lime.  I tend to fertilize in the early Fall and early Spring time periods and I usually use my soil sample numbers to guide the type of fertilizer I buy.  A soil sample analysis will tell you how to amend your lawn's soil and whether it needs more or less potassium, nitrogen, etc. I like to test my soil every 5-8 years.  It's important that you follow the instruction on your spreader when adding fertilizer and lime and amend your soil according to whatever nutrients you need to put back into the ground.  Re-seeding your lawn with new grass seed is fairly simple and can be done by hand if your lawn is not too large.  I re-seed any bare spots in my lawn every October.  

2. Don't forget that your plants, shrubs, and bushes can also benefit from an application of fertilizer.  Use a slow release fertilizer and apply the correct amount according to the bag instruction.  Over fertilizing can be an issue for any plant, so it's always best to under fertilize if you're unsure.  

3. October is a good time to prune shrubs and bushes and ensure that the plants will come back healthier and fuller in the Spring.  Every bush or shrub has a slightly different pruning method so it's best to do a little research on how much material to cut off and where in the branch formation you should cut.  October is also the best time to plant new shrubs and bushes.  Visit the GardenWeb forums for specific advice on trees, shrubs, and just about any plant.

4. If you have any hardscapes in your garden such as pavers, natural stone, etc. the Fall is a good time to apply a sealer to help protect your surfaces.   For example, I seal my concrete paver walkway every other year so that the pavers do not shift or come loose.  I also add new play sand in between the pavers to keep water from reaching underneath the walkway (you'll want to add your sand first, with a large broom, and thereafter add your sealer to bind the sand).  While not necessarily tied to your garden, resealing your asphalt driveway is also a good idea if the current surface is cracked, crumbling, or is in general disrepair.  I'll be applying a blacktop sealer for the first time this Fall and I'll let you know how involved the process after the project is complete.

5. I happen to live in a town with an active Shade Tree Commission and a recognized Tree City USA program - this means our community takes maintaining and planting new trees pretty seriously.  The commission prunes street trees, plants new trees in the Fall, and removes any dead or almost dead trees.  The Fall is a great time to plant a new street tree!  Planting a tree near your home increases property value, shades your home during the summer months, and just makes for a better quality of life.  Most plant centers have crews available to plant street trees, but you can plant your own tree with a little bit muscle and a few friends on a crisp Fall weekend.