Belm Blog

Son of Sam I Am

David — Fri, 18 May 2012 01:47:23 +0000

I wanted to try a simpler menu for She Who Must Be Obeyed’s birthday dinner, especially after I remembered all of the work that went into last year’s affair. Still, I knew our guests would be expecting something with a modernist twist, which led to my unearthing this recipe that I had filed away last year. I [...]

Seventh Annual Birthday Dinner: Menu

David — Sat, 12 May 2012 16:00:13 +0000

I‘ve been busy, preparing to host the seventh annual birthday dinner for She Who Must Be Obeyed. I’m trying something different this year, focusing on a “whole hog” dinner theme instead of a longer series of smaller, labor-intensive courses. Here’s the menu: Charcuterie Green Eggs & Ham Primevo Lambrusco di Sorbara Pig Kidneys, sage, leeks, potatoes [...]

It’s All Gouda

David — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 01:18:01 +0000

Things have been busy here at Chez Belm. I’ve spent a lot of time putting my house in order (literally) and dealing with the freshly-minted moody teenager who has suddenly replaced He Who Will Not Be Ignored. I also realized I was suffering from charcuterie burnout, but I have new projects in the works. As part [...]

The Joys of Reverse Engineering

David — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:21:25 +0000

Two years ago I attended José Andrés’ Harvard lecture on hydrocolloids. He showed this video from his research kitchen as an example of the practical applications of various gelling agents: That video has remained stuck in my head, due both to the clever ideas presented as well as the food porn quality. It came to mind [...]

Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo*

David — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:37:41 +0000

Every now and then He Who Will Not Be Ignored surprises me by saying something that proves not only that he does listen to me, but also that he is capable of formulating new ideas. The latest instance of this occurred while we watched the Boston episode of Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods America (although I’m pretty sure [...]

Piquant Machins

David — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 01:09:07 +0000

I was recently invited to a “hot foods” party, which is not to be confused with a cold dish supper. Attendees were asked to contribute a spicy dish, either hot or cold. I expected to find chili, various dips, and chocolate-chili dessert combinations, but I wanted to bring something unique. Knowing that our hosts and [...]

Raising the Steaks

David — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 02:30:39 +0000

There’s nothing like a database crash to make you appreciate automated blog backups. I spent the beginning of the week elbows deep in SQL tables and WordPress documentation, and am happy to report that I was able to bring the blog back to life without having to sell my soul to a UNIX geek. I made [...]

No Poach, Chorizo

David — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 02:27:29 +0000

I was looking for a recipe that incorporated the Spanish chorizo I had made when I noticed a feature in Food and Wine about “iconic chefs.” It’s hard to argue with the list, one chef chosen for each decade of age (including Achatz, Flay, Keller, Puck, Jaffrey), but the recipes associated with each chef are [...]

Spanish Chorizo

David — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:31:03 +0000

Even though Charcutepalooza ended in December, the momentum carried me beyond the conclusion. Once you have a house full of casings, curing ingredients, and a finely-tuned curing chamber, it’s hard to stop making more charcuterie. Since I finally managed to make decent salami, and I had enjoyed the first batch of chorizo I had made, [...]

Waffling About

David — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:22:12 +0000

I was shamed into doing the cooking for this meal after being gently reminded by a London reader that I had promised to make this recipe more than a year ago. This time around I used challah instead of white bread, but the rest of the assembly was the same: Cook’s Illustrated French toast batter [...]