Running Out of Dates!

Wow! It has been less than a week since announcing The Northwest Farm & Table Project and the schedule is starting to look pretty full! The project runs for the next four weeks and a few weekends are already booked solid!

No worries, midweek dinner parties are fun, too. Make a Tuesday less boring, get the weekend started on Thursday or enjoy a nice meal after a rough Monday. There are still plenty of weeknights and one weekend left open just a few days into this project. Check out the post below and then schedule your dinner for The Northwest Farm & Table Project before the calendar is full!

The Northwest Farm & Table Project

As local produce begins to fill our farmer’s markets and grocery stores once again, I am announcing a brand new project! Both the Bacon Gospel and Heritage Breed Supper Club will continue to preach the local meats truth later this year, but The Northwest Farm & Table Project drives the message home in a whole new way!

Some of you may recall those raging community dinners I was doing last summer with Tressa Yellig of Salt, Fire & Time. One plate dinners overflowing with local meats and produce had people lining up all the way to the sidewalk! Others have attended my more formal dinners and bacon tastings or that big bash last fall for Primal Cuts. My style is about making this amazing, local food accessible to more people. So, as the farm season gets going, I have been planning this year’s list of events and could think of no better way to take the conversation to another level than to bring the message home! To your home, that is.

The Northwest Farm & Table Project runs from April 22nd (Earth Day) to May 20th!

We’re taking a full month to highlight the special early season produce that gets us excited for summer by bringing a fancy feeling to the kitchens and dining rooms of Portland through a month of home feasts with local foods. That’s right, for one month, I am private chef’ing it up for the lucky omnivores of Stumptown, and documenting the ingredients, menus and magical meals to be shared over the course of the project. Ramps, fiddleheads, garlic scapes, and even pastured chickens- the season is here! This is a thrilling new experiment for The Ethical Butcher projects and a perfect way to bring the special atmosphere of my dinners to homes all over Portland. These intimate and familial dinners will surely hold some great conversations and will be a great educational exchange for all involved. I am interested in hearing directly from consumers about the obstacles and challenges and rewards of buying foods they trust. As with The Bacon Gospel, I am also intrigued by working with many palates. Developing menus for family dinners, romantic evenings and friendly gatherings is a candid way of mapping the tastes and preferences of an entire range of people, an element that gets my chef mind jumping up and down!

Think you can’t afford to eat local foods, or doubt the culinary superiority of fresh food from local farms? Want to learn a new butchery or cooking technique, hear stories from my travels, chat about the evils of large agribusiness or debate the relevance of Micheal Pollan? Perhaps it’s just time to skip the restaurant and have a luxurious meal with friends at home without any of the work?

Just open your home and kitchen to take part in The Northwest Farm & Table Project!!

Your dinner will begin well ahead of time with a private menu consultation. Using the menu we create together, I will then source all of the local ingredients for your meal from local farms and markets. The day of your dinner, simply have your dining table cleared, kitchen free and clean and ready to be taken over at the predetermined time. Then sit back, wait for your guests to arrive and savor the aromas wafting in the air as a three-course dinner brimming with the early season’s best ingredients is lovingly prepared in your own home. Or head out for the day and come home to a spread of decadence! Local meats and produce will, as always, will be the highlight of the meal. Expect to see breads, jams, ice creams and other local foods featured as well.

The Northwest Farm & Table Project feasts are 3 courses:

an appetizer or small plate, main course and dessert.

Feast for 2-$60

Feast for 4-$100

Feast for 8-$160

Feast for 12- $210

Not small print: Dates are open from April 22nd through May 20th, 2011. Full payment is due at consultation. All dinners are 3 courses (1st, main, dessert). No beverages are included in meal and should be provided by host. Soy-, nut- & gluten-free diets are easily accommodated. While main courses will surely be a carnivore’s dream, most side dishes are vegetarian or vegan. Vegetarian entree can be added to the menu for small fee. Dinner price includes consultation, ingredient sourcing, set-up, preparation, kitchen clean up and table service for up to 12 people. Table service for larger parties and the addition of courses can be arranged at an additional charge.

Contact at theethicalbutcher@gmail.com to schedule consultation and dinner or inquire about rates for larger parties.

Notes on North Carolina.

Please head over to Butcher's Guild Bulletin to read all about my trip to North Carolina for the Carolina Meat Conference!

http://thebutchersguild.blogspot.com/

One More Day!!!

BCN/PDX Spring Slabs & Slices ends TOMORROW!!!

I am finally back in Portland and ready to hit you waterlovers with a nice bunch of springtime flavor! Check out these flavors and place you order today!!

Just $30/slab or all five for $125, orders for BCN/PDX Spring Slabs and Slices can be placed until March 31st. Slabs will be ready to cheer you up on that dreaded day, Friday, April 15th. Pay Ceasar and then make the best salad ever, or try one of the other recipes included in your order!

Gift certificates available! Email for detailed order info: theethicalbutcher@gmail.com

BCN/PDX Spring Slabs & Slices

Blooms & Boom!

St. Germain, Gin, Roses, Lavender, Juniper Berries, Chamomile, Jasmine

The floral flavors in this one will surprise you with their depth! Fragrant and full of beautiful edible flowers, this one stands out in the field!

Sweet Beets

Beets, Dill, Caraway Seeds, Caramelized Onions with Rye Crust

This gorgeously rose-colored savory slab is a dream on a bacon cheeseburger with a creamy blue. Its earthy flavor is ready for big weekend brunches and heavenly BLTs!

In Like a Lion

Cocoa Nibs, Lavender and Meyer Lemon Zest

Deep and dark, but far from dreary, this slab will blow you away! This subtle slab is great for a classic breakfast or for experimenting with the wonders of candied bacon!

Fits & Starts

Tequila, Intelligentsia Single-Origin Coffee, Candied Citrus and Serrano Chiles

This one is daaaangerous! Tequila and coffee combine with serrano chiles for a bacon that will perk you up any day, and just when you thought it might get out of hand, sweet candied Meyer lemons and blood oranges.

Persian Nights

Intelligentsia Single-Origin Espresso, Pomegranate Molasses, Cardamom,

Ground Cumin-roasted Almonds and Pistachios

Inspired by one of my favorite beverages, Turkish coffee, this slab has warm spices like cumin and cardamom backed up by tart pomegranate molasses and roasted nuts. If you are looking for the most decadent BLT you can make, this is the one for you!

Only $30/slab or try all 5 flavors for $125!!

Each slab of bacon begins as a 2.5 lb slab of fresh local pork belly and gets cured in any number of ingredients ranging from gin and roses to special single-origin coffees and blood oranges.

Orders for Spring Slabs & Slices can be placed by contacting: theethicalbutcher@gmail.com

Place your orders by March 31st to get your slabs on April 15th!

BCN/PDX Spring Slabs & Slices!! Catch the bacon train!

Calling all Portland Bacon Fans! There's still some time to get in on the action by picking up a slab, or five. This is a great chance for those not lucky enough to be in the bacon club to try these slabs of meaty gold! 5 new spring flavors are ready to knock your socks off. At just $30/slab or all five for $125, orders for BCN/PDX Spring Slabs and Slices can be placed until March 31st. Slabs will be ready to cheer you up on that dreaded day, Friday, April 15th. Pay Ceasar and then make the best salad ever, or try one of the other recipes included in your order!

Gift certificates available! Email for order info: theethicalbutcher@gmail.com

BCN/PDX Spring Slabs & Slices

Blooms & Boom!

St. Germain, Gin, Roses, Lavender, Juniper Berries, Chamomile, Jasmine

The floral flavors in this one will surprise you with their depth! Fragrant and full of beautiful edible flowers, this one stands out in the field!

Sweet Beets

Beets, Dill, Caraway Seeds, Caramelized Onions with Rye Crust

This gorgeously rose-colored savory slab is a dream on a bacon cheeseburger with a creamy blue. Its earthy flavor is ready for big weekend brunches and heavenly BLTs!

In Like a Lion

Cocoa Nibs, Lavender and Meyer Lemon Zest

Deep and dark, but far from dreary, this slab will blow you away! This subtle slab is great for a classic breakfast or for experimenting with the wonders of candied bacon!

Fits & Starts

Tequila, Intelligentsia Single-Origin Coffee, Candied Citrus and Serrano Chiles

This one is daaaangerous! Tequila and coffee combine with serrano chiles for a bacon that will perk you up any day, and just when you thought it might get out of hand, sweet candied Meyer lemons and blood oranges.

Persian Nights

Intelligentsia Single-Origin Espresso, Pomegranate Molasses, Cardamom,

Ground Cumin-roasted Almonds and Pistachios

Inspired by one of my favorite beverages, Turkish coffee, this slab has warm spices like cumin and cardamom backed up by tart pomegranate molasses and roasted nuts. If you are looking for the most decadent BLT you can make, this is the one for you!

Only $30/slab or try all 5 flavors for $125!!

Each slab of bacon begins as a 2.5 lb slab of fresh local pork belly and gets cured in any number of ingredients ranging from gin and roses to special single-origin coffees and blood oranges.

Orders for Spring Slabs & Slices can be placed by contacting: theethicalbutcher@gmail.com

Place your orders by March 31st to get your slabs on April 15th!

Dub and Grub

Last night's Dub Taco dinner went swimmingly. We worked it out with some tender, slow roasted carnitas, homemade tortillas and chips, 4 spicy salsas, beans, rice, the whole nine yards! I've been having a blast here in NYC and as I start turning the helm west, a night like last night reminds me of how lucky I am to be doing this work.

As I prepare to head down to the Carolina Meat Conference next week, I've been introducing Butcher's Guild charter members over on the BG Bulletin. Head over and meet the faces that are changing the meat world!

Also, as announced last week, the bacon train is making its way back to Portland! Get in on the action by picking up a slab, or five. This is a great chance for those not lucky enough to be in the bacon club to try these slabs of meaty gold! I did a winter version back around the holidays and now I am coming back with 5 new spring flavors. At just $30/slab or all five for $125, orders for BCN/PDX Spring Slabs and Slices can be placed until March 31st. Slabs will be ready to cheer you up on that dreaded day, Friday, April 15th. Pay Ceasar and then make the best salad ever, or try one of the other recipes included in your order!

Gift certificates available! Email for order info: theethicalbutcher@gmail.com

Spring Slabs & Slices

Blooms & Boom!

St. Germain, Gin, Roses, Lavender, Juniper Berries, Chamomile, Jasmine

The floral flavors in this one will surprise you with their depth! Fragrant and full of beautiful edible flowers, this one stands out in the field!

Sweet Beets

Beets, Dill, Caraway Seeds, Caramelized Onions with Rye Crust

This gorgeously rose-colored savory slab is a dream on a bacon cheeseburger with a creamy blue. Its earthy flavor is ready for big weekend brunches and heavenly BLTs!

In Like a Lion

Cocoa Nibs, Lavender and Meyer Lemon Zest

Deep and dark, but far from dreary, this slab will blow you away! This subtle slab is great for a classic breakfast or for experimenting with the wonders of candied bacon!

Fits & Starts

Tequila, Intelligentsia Single-Origin Coffee, Candied Citrus and Serrano Chiles

This one is daaaangerous! Tequila and coffee combine with serrano chiles for a bacon that will perk you up any day, and just when you thought it might get out of hand, sweet candied Meyer lemons and blood oranges.

Persian Nights

Intelligentsia Single-Origin Espresso, Pomegranate Molasses, Cardamom,

Ground Cumin-roasted Almonds and Pistachios

Inspired by one of my favorite beverages, Turkish coffee, this slab has warm spices like cumin and cardamom backed up by tart pomegranate molasses and roasted nuts. If you are looking for the most decadent BLT you can make, this is the one for you!

Only $30/slab or try all 5 flavors for $125!!

Each slab of bacon begins as a 2.5 lb slab of fresh local pork belly and gets cured in any number of ingredients ranging from gin and roses to special single-origin coffees and blood oranges.

Orders for Spring Slabs & Slices can be placed by contacting: theethicalbutcher@gmail.com

Place your orders by March 31st to get your slabs on April 15th!

Dub Taco Sunday!!!

I have hopped on board to help some friends with a big community feast THIS SUNDAY at VPC in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. $20 will get you a plate of tacos carnitas with handmade tortillas, sides and a margarita to wash it all down with!! That's more than a steal by NYC standards! To keep your feet moving before and after your meal, there are also a bunch of DJs playing new and old dub all night. I can think of no better way to spend a Sunday night! NO RSVP needed, just show up with a hungry belly and dancing shoes! Food starts at 8pm and goes til it's gone!!

Dub Taco

Sunday March 13

^{serving from 8p-12a}

· CARNITAS TACOS (w/veggie option)

· HOMEMADE TORTILLAS

· FRESH SALSAS AND ENSALADA

· BEANS AND RICE

· FRESH MARGARITAS

DJs SPINNING TOP RANKING

JAMAICAN TUNES

$20 for dinner + 1 drink

Veronica People’s Club

105 Franklin st, Greenpoint BKLN