Weekend Breakfast-at-Camont. Asparagus & HAM
It begins here, with two good ingredients.
Ham- Eric Ospital’s Ibaiona brand from the Basque Country.
Asparagus- local, just picked and carried to the market so fresh it snaps.
This week, my Kitchen Godmother, Vétou Pompele, came by for weekend breakfast (a decidedly not French event) and asked me what I would make for her.
I grabbed a copy of my first cookbook that chronicled my early days sailing on the Julia Hoyt and said,
“Your Asparagus and Ham dish, of course”.
She had forgotten about what was long one of my favorite dishes. It’s easy. When you cook everyday, EVERY DAY, that’s a lot of recipes under the bridge. We have both forgotten half of the wonderful dishes we cooked together over years of sailing the canals and rivers of France on the Julia Hoyt. This was always one of my Spring favorites, because unlike my life BF (Before France), asparagus is a once a year event, a few scant weeks of spear-ful delight. Read More
Wednesdays at Welbeck: Charcuter-ish! Committed or Involved?
You know that old Chicken and the Pig joke?
What is the difference between involved and committed?
In a ham and egg breakfast, the chicken was involved, the pig was committed.
I love that joke. It conjures up the very differences that help define ‘artisan’ to me.
So in my capacity as Head of Butchery & Charcuterie at the School of Artisan Food on the Welbeck Estate, I sent out that joke as an invitation to several involved and committed British Charcuterie companies to join us here at SAF for a day of meaty talks about “the emerging state of British Charcuterie.” At least that’s how I described it. The response was strong, the turn out was epic and as 18 people (with a few special guests dropping by) came together around our Butcher’s Table, it was clear that there is indeed a new British Charcuterie movement strongly afoot. Look who showed up…
Jambon de Bayonne en fête! A Basque Country road trip with Kate.
What’s red and green and red and white… and ham all over?
The Foire au Jambon in the colorful Basque port of Bayonne.
A memory of a Bayonne surfaces from a long ago road trip looking for marine goods along the Atlantic coast for my barge, the Julia Hoyt. Rope, cord, and lines I was searching. I drove along the river port of the Adour outside of Bayonne in the very southwest of Southwest France looking for some fishermen, a working boat or chandlery. The newly fitted nose of wooden fishing boat peeked out of an over-sized hanger; I braked for a quick look inside. Yes. Men working with wood and fiber glass, paint and canvas. Ocean going small fishing boats. Sturdy, serious and hard-working. The boats and the men. I knew they would know. I have a nose for these things.
I thanked them for the directions to the Co-op Maritime in St. Jean de Luz, I turned to say au revoir and stopped dead in my foodie tracks. Although the Captain in me was looking for cord, the Cook in me spotted a treasure trove of maturing hams hanging from every square foot of rafter space. A boat yard/charcuterie shed? Welcome to Baiona!
Happy Easter from the Critters-at-Camont
Friday roars with Thunderstorms that strip the Cherry Tree and carpets the grass in pale petals.
Bacon left his latest love bunny out in the storm.
The Easter Pig heralds ham for chocolate and the four coqs crow a rainy morning.
Saturday south we drive to Bayonne and the fresh salt breeze that dries mountain hams.
Sunday will be sunny and warming through Espelette and the Pyrenees homelands.
Spring beginnings for new month long Charcuterie-at-Camont courses, limited spaces available for October.
here chick, chick, chick… they’ve flown the coop!
The mother hen in me is clucking around the Internet, pecking over at Twitter, and flying over the Wire as my SAF chicklets leave their nest for the first time to work in real life farms and butcher shops across the UK and here in France. Here in France over at the Chapolard farm, Matt joins newly arrived AB&C student Hilary for an early 6 am call to start work butchering the newly arrived pig carcasses. Today they’ll be making saucisson, saucisse seche, chorizo, pate de tete, noix de jambon, coppa and saucisse de toulouse. Welcome to our meaty worlds!
In the UK, Sally and Mat will be tweeting from Forest Pig in the Wyre forest; Struan with Ruth and James at Trealy Farm; Nick is with Northfield Farm; Jane in Norfolk Diet Country with Blakeney Deli, De-lish and Brays Cottage Pork Pies.
How will we stay in touch? By Twitter, of course-t he official meaty communication darling of the whole darn Charcutepalooza Charcuterie world! For a list of the SAF meaty tweeters see my new list at @KatedeCamont/saf-uk.
