The Hungry Hoosier

Berkshire Porterhouse

Last night for dinner my family and I had not just pork chops but "Berkshire Porterhouse" chops. These amazing chunks of meat came from Flora Berkshire Pork from Carroll County, Indiana (574-967-3484) via Goose The Market. These may just be the most amazing pork chops I have ever had. I had Chris cut them extra thick - a generous 1-1/2 inches. I dusted them with some seasoned flour, pan seared them, and then moved them to a 375 degree oven to finish.

I bought three of these giant things thinking it would certainly be enough for the family. My boys (6 and 3) usually eat like little birds but they could not get enough of the pork, eating the chop I cut up for them to share and a good portion of mom's and dad's.

If you would like to learn more about the Berkshire breed, check out this link. This is not "the other white meat" most of us are used to. This is the way pork once was, well-marbled, flavorful, and juicy.

A "Home Grown Indiana" Five-Course Dinner Menu

A couple of times each year, I auction off a dinner party. Last night, I made dinner for six for the winner of last year's Witham Health Services Gala Auction. Witham is my community hospital and I try to support them in any way I can. My donated auction item was a dinner for six using as many fresh, seasonal, and local ingredients as possible. The dinner is prepared in the winner's home and I even clean up.

This is a way to double my contribution to the hospital. I buy the ingredients for two or three hundred bucks (including wine) and the auction item usually goes for $600-$700 bucks - the hospital gets the proceeds. By the way, if you are planning to go to this years gala (May 17), I'll be auctioning off another dinner party for this year. Here is the menu from last night.

• Appetizer - Crostini with Chevre, Caramelized Onions, and Mission Fig Marmalade
• First Course - Salad of Endive, Fennel, and Blood Oranges
• Second Course - Mini Shrimp Scampi Pizza
• Intermezzo - Limoncello Granita
• Third Course -Beef Tenderloin Marsala with Roasted Asparagus and a Gratin of Potatoes and Artisan Cheeses
• Dessert - Flourless Chocolate Torte with Mint-Infused Ganache

Ingredients for the evening’s dinner came from the following Indiana farmers, artisans, and shopkeepers:

Cheeses from Capriole Farm, Rockville and Traders Point Creamery, Zionsville
Asparagus from Melon Acres, Oaktown
Beef from Fischer Farms, Kenya
Herbs and Spices from Terra Spice Company, Walkerton
Eggs from Stout’s Melody Acres, Franklin
Chocolate from David Alan Chocolatier, Lebanon
Mint Oil from Wappel Farm, San Pierre
Wines from Grapevine Cottage, Zionsville
Coffee from Hubbard & Cravens, Indianapolis

Each time I do this I get asked if I would ever do this sort of thing for non-charitable purposes - i.e., do it as a paid gig. I've always said no. I got asked again last night and I said "maybe." This is not the way I would want to spend every Saturday night, but I might do it a few times each year. If you're interested, let me know and we can talk.

City Market Frittata

This month's Indianapolis Monthly Hungry Hoosier column includes a recipe for a City Market Frittata using ingredients found at the Indianapolis City Market - farm fresh eggs from Moody Meats, Italian sausage, vegetables, and imported provolone from Constantino’s Market Place. Constantino's Executive Chef Concetta Mascari has the sausage made using her grandfather's recipe. Moody makes it for her, but it is only available from Constantino's. Pick up a copy of the magazine to get the recipe and then stop by City Market to pick up the ingredients!

A Shrimp's-Eye View

There is perhaps no better-known Indianapolis food icon than the St. Elmo's Shrimp Cocktail, with its trademark make-you-cry cocktail sauce. As I travel, and inevitably strike up conversations about food with complete strangers, often St. Elmo's comes up and especially their shrimp cocktail. You may or may not have ever noticed this neon sign on a second floor window above the restaurant. I love it. I mentioned the sign to a friend of mine and he snapped this photo for me (thanks Lee!)from the third-floor of a parking garage across the street. So, next time your near St. Elmo's, look up!

Funny aside - as I typed this post I accidentally keyed in "Chimp" Cocktail. That would be a whole different dish!

Tallent Show

Originally published in light and refreshing newspapers on April 17, 2008

There was a time, a few years ago, when this little newspaper column we know as the Hungry Hoosier had a lot more restaurant coverage. That was when it was only a local column in my home town. In those early days I covered it all - from the town’s high-end dining to the greasy spoons (I mean that in a good way). After a couple of years, the column began running in other papers and its in a total of five now, in various parts of our great state.

With readers from such a broad geographic area, I don’t write as much about restaurants unless they are what we call “destination” restaurants. These are the places that are so good that you’ll get in your car on a Friday or Saturday night and make the drive just to go to dinner. Restaurant Tallent in Bloomington is just such a place.

Dave and Krissy Tallent are a husband-and-wife culinary dynamic duo. The story of their relationship is also the story of the restaurant. They are Hoosiers who met when they were both working college jobs in a Bloomington restaurant. They fell in love with each other and with food, deciding to pack up and head to New York to both study at the Culinary Institute of American. After graduating, they picked up some experience at some of the best restaurants in the U.S. before deciding to head back to Bloomington in 2004 to open a restaurant.

Last week I had the delicious fortune to dine at Restaurant Tallent twice. I went down on a Monday evening to have business dinner with a colleague and found it so enjoyable I retuned on Saturday night my wife. If I’m willing to spring for both dinner and I babysitter, it has to be someplace special, and this is.

If I gave tines on a fork or stars in my restaurant reviews, Tallent would get my highest rating. They hit homeruns in every category - taste, service, ambiance. Apparently I’m not the only one who things so. They have received a number of accolades over the last four years and Dave Tallent is currently on the short list for a James Beard Nomination and Krissy’s wine list is being considered for a Wine Spectator award. These are like the Academy Awards and Golden Globes of the restaurant world.

The menu at Tallent is seasonal and primarily reflects what is seasonal in the Hoosier state. They work closely with Indiana farmers and artisan food producers creating a menu anchored with sophisticated versions of Midwest cuisine. They pay just as much attention to procuring ingredients we don’t have here in the landlocked Midwest. They have recently begun working directly with fishermen in Apalachicola, Florida to supply them with great Gulf seafood.

Some of the standouts from my recent visits were an Arugula Salad served with crispy artichoke, goat cheese, chow chow, and banyuls vinaigrette ($10). Another first-course offerings that looked tempting was something called Breakfast for Dinner, a buttermilk biscuit with house-made bacon, quail eggs, and hollandaise ($13). My favorite entrée of the two visits was the Flora Farms Pork ($25) which included three different pork tastes - a moist and flavorful tenderloin, a portion of braised pork belly, and a serving of melt-in-my-mouth scrapple. This was accompanied by a cider-braised cabbage and served with natural jus. This hog trio was one of the most remarkable pork entrée I have ever had. Other entrees included beef, poultry, seafood, and a vegetarian selection. Entrees ranged from $21-34.

Desserts at Tallent are no afterthought. Between my own selections and tasting those of my dinner companions, I’ve tried nearly all of them. The Poppy Seed Angel Food French Toast ($8) and the S’more Trifle ($10) made with house-made marshmallows and graham crackers were among my favorites.

The Tallent wine list is extensive and helpfully organized by price. They have one of the largest by-the-glass selections I’ve ever seen. The mood at the restaurant is casual yet elegant and the service is top-notch. This is the kind of place that can work well for both a business dinner or a special occasion. Restaurant Tallent is open from 5 to 10 pm Monday through Saturday and reservations are recommended. They are located at 208 N. Walnut in Bloomington. They can be reached at 812-330-9801 and more information, including the full menu, is available here.

Easter Ham: Dueling Legends

Originally published in candy-coated newspapers on March 20, 2008

Christian holidays are a mixed bag of biblical tradition and pagan rituals. For the most part, I don’t get too concerned about that sort of thing. I grew up with both Santa and baby Jesus as key figures in the Christmas story and the resurrection of Easter was told to me in tandem with tales of an egg-hiding rabbit. This flirtation with paganism has not, so far, caused me to sacrificing any goats or pray to the goddess of the whippoorwills. 

One aspect of holidays that are particularly interesting to me is the food, of course. Easter celebrations, for instance, usually have either lamb or ham at the center of the table. We were always a ham family when I was growing up. Lamb was a bit too exotic for us. I’ve continued that tradition with my own family, so an Easter ham will be our entrée on Sunday and we’ll all have ham sandwiches in our lunches a good part of the rest of the week.

Our ham will come from a locally-raised Indiana hog and it will be smoked by the good folks at Goose The Market in Indianapolis. The great thing about a smoked ham is that you don’t have to do much - just warm it up. I’ll be making a sweet and spicy Maple Chipotle Glaze using maple syrup from Burton Mapleview Farm in Medora, Indiana, home of the National Maple Syrup Festival. You should make plans to go next year - always the first two weekends in March.

So how did ham become one of the Easter meal mainstays? There are competing legends - one involving sex, tragedy and revenge and the another not nearly as salacious. Let’s get the boring one out of the way. Back in the day, hogs were butchered in the Fall and the meat had to cure during the Winter. Around Easter, the hams were ready so that is what was served for the Easter celebration. Not much excitement there.

The other story is a wild one. Here is the sort version. According to ancient folklore, a woman named Ishtar became pregnant, claiming the father of her child was a sunbeam. She declared herself a goddess and named her little son of a sunbeam Tammuz. He grew up to be a great hunter and one day while on a hunt Tammuz encountered a wild pig who ate him. Did you get that? The pig ate Tammuz, not the other way around.

Ishtar, as you might imagine, was devastated and to commemorate the anniversary of her son’s death, she established an annual 40-day period during which nobody could eat meat. At the end of the 40 days, she commanded everyone to eat the very beast that had eaten her son. Ishtar eventually became known as Easter, there’s a miraculous birth involved, the 40 days is known as Lent, and each year Tammuz is “resurrected” as we consume the beast that consumed him. Told you it was a wild story.

For some Easter has tremendous religious significance and for others it is a time to celebrate the first signs of Spring. For us, it is both. Regardless into which category you fall, you’ve got to eat something on Sunday and unless pork is off limits to you, ham is a pretty good choice. If you plan to have a ham, you might want to try this Chipotle Maple Glaze. 

Chipotle Maple Glaze

• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 chopped chipotle peppers
• 1 tablespoon of adobe sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

This glaze should be poured or brushed on the last 20 minutes of your ham’s warming time. Chipotle chilies can be found canned in the Mexican good isle of most grocery stores. They come in adobe sauce.

Place all ingredients in a medium sauce pan, stir with a whisk and bring to a simmer. Remove ham from the oven and turn over up to 400 degrees. Pour or brush on the glaze. Place back in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the ham from the oven and let stand for about 5 minutes.

St. Patrick's Day: Heritage Envy

Originally published in frothy newspapers on March 13, 2008

It happens to me each and every mid-March - heritage envy. I know you don’t have to be Irish to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. In my grad-school days I witnessed a United Nations of frat boys and sorority girls all getting drunk on green beer. That’s not what I mean. I’m envious of the people who are of genuine Irish decent and who have a still-strong connection to their heritage. Its not just the Irish that makes me green with envy but really anyone who is proudly aware of the places from which their families came.   

Don’t get me wrong. I’m proud of my own family history. My mother and father were both born in the same small town in the Arkansas Ozark Mountains and their respective families were among the first homesteaders in those parts. Prior to that, the Hutcheson’s were in Virginia. My great-great-great-great-great-grandfather Hutcheson was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses - the very first elected assembly of the New World. Best I can tell, the Hutchesons came here from Scotland. Carved into the other braches of my family tree are other surnames equally Anglo Saxon as my own.

In an attempt to get in touch with my inner kilt-wearer, I visited Scotland a few years ago. On my first visit to a pub, I tried to take it in with all my senses - the ambient brogued chatter of the locals, the taste of my imperial pint of tepid beer, the cool smooth feel of the centuries-old wood beam that ran floor to ceiling beside my table. None of these things stirred a single ancestral yearning. When I make Scottish shortbread cookies for my boys, I pay close attention the work my hands are doing as they pinch the flour and butter together. The memories conjured are not of an Old-Country Grandmother but of the last time I performed the task. My family immigrated so long ago that all the cultural etchings of the British Isles have been long worn away.

So on holidays like St. Patrick’s Day I masquerade like so many others. I load my iPod with The Chieftain’s, I make a pot of Irish stew or slow cook some corned beef and cabbage, and drink a pint or two of beer, although I like mine chilled to a cool 40 degrees. Since becoming a parent, my wife and I use dinner-table conversations on occasions like St. Patrick’s Day to teach our kids a little something about anther time or place.

Whether or not you’re Irish, I hope you enjoy March 17 and get a little taste of the Emerald Isle. If you’ve not yet planned your menu, you might want to give this version of Irish Soda Bread a try. The traditional bread was often served with apples and an Irish Cheddar cheese on the side. I’ve incorporated both of these flavors right into this recipe. I’ve also called on my Arkansas heritage and prepared it in a cast-iron skillet, resulting in a thick and crispy bottom crust. This recipe is both sweet and savory and would be a terrific accompaniment to a stew or you could add some Scottish marmalade and pass it off as dessert.

Irish Soda Bread with Apples and Cheddar

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2-1/2 all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1 crisp apple, peeled and cut in small bite-size pieces
• 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put 2 tablespoons of butter into a cast-iron skillet and place in oven. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Cut in the butter and mix very thoroughly with your hands until the mixture resembles small gravel. Stir in apples and cheese. Add the buttermilk and egg to the flour mixture. Stir until well moistened. Remove skillet from oven and swirl butter to coat the bottom and sides of skillet. Place dough into pan and smooth to the edges. Place in oven and bake for one hour. Test with an inserted knife for doneness. Cool in the skillet for about five minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool. To serve slice into wedges. Serves about eight.

Hungry Hoosier Story on TV Wednesday, March 12

On Wednesday at 7:30 pm on WFYI Indianapolis there will be a Hungry Hoosier story about the National Maple Syrup Festival in Medora, Indiana. The crew and I (as well as my family) braved a blizzard to get down there in Saturday. We had a great time learning about the syrup-making process and meeting some friendly and colorful Jackson County folks. The show, Across Indiana, also runs in other areas on other Indiana PBS stations. Check local listing.   

The Gnaw Bone Tenderloin Is Alive and Well...Sort of

One of our favorite claim-to-fame Hoosier foods is the tenderloin and no tenderloin got more attention than did the Gnaw Bone version, available at the Gnaw Bone Food and Fuel, a run-of-the-mill gas station that just happened to serve an extraordinary tenderloin. National food magazines and websites pointed travelers to the Gnaw Bone for a taste of Hoosier goodness.

A couple of years ago the owner of the Gnaw Bone closed down shop but took over the clubhouse at the nearby Salt Creek Golf Course. He soon moved on but the tenderloin remains, prepared just the way it was at the Gnaw Bone. They offer a large version ($8.25) and a smaller option ($5.75). I sure to miss the old Gnaw Bone Food and Fuel and although the clubhouse (actually called the 19th Hole Sports Bar and Grill) is a more comfortable place to eat, not being at a gas station just doesn't seem right. Anyway, the tenderloin I had was terrific and I'll certainly go back the next time I'm in the area. The menu (available here) has a few other options, mostly what you would expect. The 19th hole is Monday through Thursday 11 am to 9 pm, Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 11 pm, and Sunday from noon to 8 pm.

Get Sticky this Weekend

If you're looking for something to do on Saturday you might want to consider the National Maple Syrup Festival in Medora, Indiana. There will be tons to do for the entire family. Check out the website for all the information. I'll be there with a camera crew shooting a story for WFYI's Public Television's Across Indiana. I'll also, of course, be eating pancakes. I hope to see you there.