The Wind Attack

As the midnight hour rolled around, my three lovely dinner guests, exhausted from the epic meal motioned towards leaving.

Before their departure, I asked if we could all do a group self-timer photo. Fears of a food blogger that the next morning I would find my camera filled with nothing but food porn, I wanted to ensure I had a portrait of the company as well.

The memories of the evening were captured in candlelight, hugs were given all around and my friends departed into the surprisingly rainy California night.

I stood in my kitchen alone, backlit by the under-cabinet lights and a distant flicker of candlelight from the dining table. I listened to the rain drops falling outside. I stared at my dutch oven sitting on the stove. The smell of beer-braised pork was still in the air. I breathed deep and felt an overwhelming joy from the success of the preceding meal.

A meal that started with one idea: I wanted to make grits.

However, I can never do anything simple; it has to be done special.

Inspired by the “Poutine” at Animal and a dish of braised pork over grits I had at Salt’s Cure, I decided to create a dish which ended up looking like the most gourmet chili-cheese fries you’ve ever seen.

I started with a piece of pasture-raised, bone-in pork shoulder that I bought at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. I rubbed it with chilies and spices, seared it, then braised in homemade chicken stock and beer.

Bear Republic’s Racer 5 IPA has a yeasty and floral aroma that filled my apartment with the smell of magic when it combined with the rich pork. The meat slowly cooked for over 8 hours, letting the smell linger throughout the house all day long.

Meanwhile, I prepared my vegetable dishes. A crisp slaw made of savoy cabbage and pink carrots seemed like a refreshing accompaniment to the rich, tender pork.

I steamed a whole head of cauliflower, roasted it with whole elephant garlic cloves and then topped it with garlic-butter breadcrumbs. The result was as light and creamy as whipped potatoes, accented with crunchy, toasty breadcrumbs.

As the pork began to fall off the bone, I started reducing the braising liquid down to a gravy.

Cooked and set grits were sliced into fry lengths. Yet another deep frying experiment…

Yet another that exceeded my expectations. The grits fries had a beautiful crunchy exterior and soft creamy interior; better than any ordinary potato fry! What more, they had a lovely caramelized milk note, almost like fried cheese.

I generously ladled the pork and gravy over the warm fries, then topped it with crumbled Hook’s 10 year aged Wisconsin Cheddar and a generous sprinkle of cilantro.

Resulting in one big plate of seductive mess.

As a dinner party of four, we all decided that we would all eat from the same plate. It only seemed appropriate with fries anyways, as if we were four friends at a diner sharing a basket of fries.

However these were so much more than diner fries; these were special. The sharp cheddar slowly melted into pork, offering a welcomed bitterness to the sweet meat. The flavor was simultaneously complex and comforting.

One might think there would be no need for dessert after such an indulgent savory treat. But what would Xmas dinner be without dessert?

In a moment of creative inspiration, Mick and Arica and I (previously known for our emu egg frittata!) invented a recipe for Jolokia Ghost Blondies. Rich cocoa butter blondies, loaded with chopped cashews, and spiked with ground Jolokia Ghost Pepper.

Served warm, the blondies started with the most beautiful caramel notes, tropical cocoa butter aroma and then from out of nowhere, a fire that climbed from the back of our throats up through our whole mouths.

This isn’t a mild effect; Jolokia Ghost Peppers are among the spiciest chilies in the world. Topped with homemade salted caramel ice cream, there was a wonderful false sensation that the cold was putting out the fire.

However, long after the ice cream melted away, the fire kept going. It was a pleasurable burn that lingered and slowly diminished, leaving a tingling sensation on our palates.

Sweet, salty and spicy. It was a dessert that intrigued and excited our senses: an exciting end to an epic meal.