Happy Valentines Day!

Today I want to share with you a wonderful meal you can make…

Pork Roast and Spinach Salad

Saute a pork roast in a covered pot with a little butter.  I prefer  Le Creuset.  Add some garlic, shallots, rosemary, sliced apples(peeled) and dates.  After it is sautéed on both sides, add some white wine. cover and cook on a very low flame.  Simmer it for a few hours, depending on size.  Right before you serve you can pop it in to the oven to roast for 5 minutes if you like.

I served this with fresh spinach, sauté  red onions and balsamic vinegar together, put some on top of the spinach, add some crumbled blue cheese and walnuts…

Simple and what a lovely dinner!  My Valentine loved it!

Easy Great Flank Steak

marinate a flank steak

1/2 honey

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup of vermouth

garlic

scallions

grill and it will be amazing…remember, the longer you marinate, the stronger the flavor.  If you have more than one steak, simply adjust your measurements.

Flash from the Past!!!

My daughter and I were talking about when I had my stores and taught..She asked me if I had any photos and I was able to find these two..One of them is years ago in my first store in NJ, the other is me with my very first class from the CIA on a field trip to my store.

I had such an amazing time teaching these students about how to be chef’s, cut their own meat, save money and become profitable…I am a huge fan of buying  in bulk, not pre-cut and learning how to make the most of what you have.  My father, back in the 30’s and 40’s used to ask me to look at a cow, decide how to cut it and what the profit margin would be in it before we ever started.  He was able to do that almost to the penny.  That was amazing to me.  Years, ok age,  has given me an opportunity to learn by trial and error. I hope that I was able to teach my students from some of my mistakes as well as the things I did right…

I am always available to any chef if they ever have a question about how to buy, what to cut and to salvage and sell to make the most for your money.  I liken it to purchasing onions in the store.  Should we buy a whole onion or the ones that are already diced up.  Yes it probably saves us time but does it save money.  The answer is absolutely not.! Meat is the same way.

I also told my chefs at school,  “remember, being a chef is hard work, in fact you will work while others are off but remember you are also off when others work…”Take the time, learn to buy smart, learn to chop up your “preverbal” onions..

My first class from the CIA, field trip to my store

A very young me, one of my first stores

Meat and Motorcycles

My passion for the meat business has always been there but wanted to share a photo of me on my second love.  Motorcycles.  At 80 I bought my first one and now I have graduated to a larger one.  While my family gets nervous when I hit the road, they totally understand that I really love everything about the bike and where it takes me.

Osso Buco

A terrific Italian meal, see Judy’s question and my answer under shopping tips. Bueno Appetito!

Fridays shopping tip

Please note Anne’s question on how to purchase a nice steak without breaking the bank!  See her question and answer under Shopping Tips.

Welcome

My name is Joe and at the ripe old age of 82 my daughter has talked me into starting a blog.  The first thing I asked her was, “what on earth is a blog”. Now that she has carefully explained it to me I believe I am ready.

I have been married for 52 years to the love of my life, Janet and gratefully raised only daughters.  I have been a butcher from as far back as I can remember and since the age of 20 have owned and operated over 5 stores in the NY area.  Since my “retirement” I taught at the CIA (The Culinary Institute), Johnson and Wales and the NY Cooking school. For the past 3 years I have been living in Al near one of my daughters and her family.  I spend my days shopping, cooking, shopping, cooking oh and yes riding my motorcycle that I purchased when I turned 80.

Since I have decided to do a blog, I plan on teaching about how to shop for meat, cutting, cooking and sharing personal lessons I learned in life.  I welcome questions and comments.  Hopefully you will find this fun and entertaining and even learn some new tricks.  This is not only for others to read but for my family, a piece of me, my life, and my art.  So with that welcome to “The Gourmet Butchers Blog”