The House of Marinara

I was a vegetarian for 2 years, then I said “life is too short”. I realized I didn’t have a problem with meat, just the the way it was produced.

Those words were uttered from the person I commonly refer to as the “Sausage King of Richmond”. His name is Chris Mattera, and you can find him slinging a knife at Richmond’s own Belmont Butchery.

Artisanal gastronomy is something you think you might find in San Fransico, Seattle, or Brooklyn. We are extremely fortunate to have it here in Richmond with Chris. Chris was trained at Le Courdon Blue in Paris. He started to perfect his gastronomy training at an early age and honed his skills by working in a butcher shop, studying in Iowa and apprenticing in San Miniato, Italy. Whether it is curing salami, smoking bacon, forming rabbit terrine, grinding sausage, or breaking-down a side of beef, he can do it all and do it well.

Based on his unofficial title, it is safe to imagine that he makes some amazing sausages, whether they be fresh or dry cured. I remember first trying his Della Nonna (named for his grandmother) about 3 years ago and it changed my view of sausage. I also have a special place for the San Miniato (recipe from Italy), Brats (with their addictive seasoning), and the smoked beef hot dogs. What is fun about Chris, is that he will engage you about the sausages. He did a test batch of a buffalo chicken sausage, and we spent a good 45 minutes going back and forth about what would make it better. He is also willing to try new stuff. My current project is convincing him to try a Texas Rope Sausage.

What I think makes Chris unique is that he is on a mission.

I am personally invested into the whole local foods movement. [Food] is not just any commodity. its the only product that the consumer literally consumes into part of their bodies.

Chris spent some significant time this year helping a small eatery get off the ground in the East End of Richmond. He wants to see local, fresh, healthy food get into the hands of not only the wealthy but also the poor. In his mind, until the less fortunate are able to get better access to ethically raised food, factory farming will continue to flourish.

Chris is also letting his voice be heard. You can read his stuff on RVA News, the Edible Chesapeake, Richmond Magazine, and several newspapers.

In the end, Chris is just trying to make a difference whether its helping me enjoy the delights of cured meats or with the larger community and helping them understand the importance of responsible eating.

Wow…. Polyface Farm products at Ellwood Thompson (ET)! What a good move by ET!

I always wondered how ET would adapt when Whole Foods and other quasi-organic stores moved into the area. I thought that bringing in products from the place that helped define the responsible farming movement was a brilliant idea. Staunton is only 90 miles away so it can be considered local. We can thank Omnivore’s Dilemma in helping us understand the ethical practices that go on there. It’s a winner. We know it. We can feel good about it. It’s safe.

There is something nagging at me about this and I’ve only started to put my finger on it. It’s this idea in branding and our societies comfort in it. It’s the idea that Applebees can survive worldwide because Americans find comfort in them and will go there no matter what. It’s the idea that something says lowfat and therefor we should buy it because it is suddenly healthy. Our world lives and thrives on branding and marketing. I think I saw myself being suckered into spending $4+ for a dozen of really small but good eggs.

I don’t blame Polyface for this. I don’t think they begged for the attention. I don’t want to put down ET for carrying their products. I am just disappointed that I was so quick to purchase something because I was brand aware. Truth is that Central VA is full of farmers trying to do things the right way. They just don’t have the reputation thanks to a extremely popular book.

Am I alone here? Does this bother any of you?

I recently smoked a nice brisket and decided to put a little spin on it. I tried using Bourbon Peat as my smoking agent and main flavoring. I have talked about using peat before on this blog and the Bourbon Peat is just another product that my buddy Peter Baker sells.

The Bourbon Peat that is shown above is processed into a very fine strands. It almost reminds me of some smokeless tobacco. What Peter has done here has combined peat and the char from oak bourbon barrels for a new wonderful flavor. Read more »

This is the first year that I will actually be cooking a Thanksgiving Dinner. As such, I want to buy a decent turkey. So my question is:

Where will you be buying your turkey this year?

“It is like the smell of a rotting peach on a tree in the backyard”

I think anytime I hear quotes like that I am in trouble, but fortunately that was Julia talking and I was eating a glorious, semi-soft cheese from Portugal called Amanteigado Sera. This was one of the six different cheeses I tried as part of a cheese class called “Holy Sheep”.

The class is part of a series of fromage classes put on by River City Cellars (RCC) located in Carytown. The class was held next door to the wine and cheese shop in the old Urban Artifacts storefront (this will be soon be a wine bar that will be run by Julia, the owner of RCC). There were about 25 students crammed in there and the information was presented by Julia and the Cheese Goddess Sara.

This is my second class with them, and I was anxious to get into this one specifically because I have fallen in love with sheep’s milk cheese. One of the biggest reason is that sheep’s milk cheese has a higher fat content than either goat or cow’s milk cheese. This is because sheep produce limited amounts of milk, but it is full of fat and vitamins and wonderful stuff. On top of that, most sheep’s milk cheese is pressed condensing all together.

Anyway we tried 6 different cheeses. They were from different regions. We had a blue, a brie, two semi-firm, one semi-soft, and a fresh cheese. Of the six cheeses, I really liked four of them. They are listed below with the basic information and the location on the cheese plate

Manouri- pasteurized, fresh, Greece, 12 o’clock
Casa Madaio Cinerino- pasteurized, semi-firm, Italy, 4 o’clock
Amanteigado Sera- raw milk, semi-soft, Portugal, 8 o’clock
Bleu de Basque- thermalized, blue, France, 10 o’clock

In the end it was hard to pick a favorite. I ended up buying 3 of those 4 varieties. Overall, it was a great way to spend 2 hours: eating cheese, drinking sparkling stuff, and learning about all the cool stuff that surrounds cheese.

I’ve had mixed feelings since Penzey’s came to town a few months back. On the positive side, it is 5 blocks away and it’s nice not having pay $6 for a spice when you only need $3 worth of it. On the negative side, the hours are a bit restrictive, the staff know the spices but don’t seem to be creative cooks, and my secret mail order place is now exposed to everyone.