Hamming It Up
We like holidays and the holidays we like best are those identified with certain foods… like baked ham for Easter. So we went there.
I’ve mentioned in recent issues of Local Food Forum that I’ve subscribed with 99 Counties, an Iowa-based company that aggregates meat products from regenerative farmers (mostly in Iowa but expanding) and delivers them around Chicagoland as well as their home state. We purchased a small boneless ham from them a few weeks ago and found it delicious, so I decided to get this 5-1/2 pound bone-in ham for Easter.
I prioritize locally and sustainably produced meat because it accords with my values about protecting our environment and treating livestock humanely. But people do not live by values alone, so I’m happy to say that — to me, at least — meat raised on pasture as nature intended just simply tastes better than conventionally produced meat.
And this ham is just delicious (I say “is” because our two-person household will be working through a lot of leftovers). I used the honey glaze 99 Counties recommends and maybe made it a little better by using some marvelous raw local honey produced by Westside Bee Boyz.
Here’s the ham with last night’s dinner portions sliced down.
And a simple comfort food plate that included buttery smashed potatoes (German butterballs from Nichols Farm & Orchard in Marengo, Illinois and gold potatoes from Wholesome Harvest in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin).
Have any photos of Easter or Passover dinners you’d like to share? Send ‘em along to bob@localfoodforum.com and you can brag to your family and friends that your cooking was featured in a Good Food e-newsletter.
A Thirst for Craft Beer Knowledge
I was a very early adopter of craft beer back in the 1970s, and I have been to many, many (many, many….) beer tasting events over the years. I became a bit of a stranger for a while as my opportunities to write about beer got crimped and then there were no events because of COVID. So I’ve committed myself to making this my Year of Beer, catching up with old friends and making new ones.
That brought me to the “New Beers Eve” tasting event produced by Koval Distillery last Thursday (April 6) at Artifact Events in the heart of Chicago’s Malt Row in Ravenswood. Here’s a little photo essay about a good night out.
Actually, I kicked things off by meeting a friend at Dovetail Brewery, also located in Malt Row. I really wasn’t a big fan of German beer styles until I tasted the excellent renditions by this brewery, which opened in 2016. One of their specialities is fruited, barrel-aged sour beer, such as the raspberry sour above.
Then I head to the Koval event. Attendees were handed these mini-steins, which are adorable and also help keep consumption in line with tolerance.
All of the beers I sampled were very good. My favorite was the blood orange sour by Old Irving Brewing, located in Chicago’s Old Irving Park neighborhood. It is one of the dining and drinking establishments owned by Chef Matthias Merges, who is a farm-to-table leader, an advocate for local craft brewers, and co-founder of the Pilot Light food education non-profit.
Ørkenoy, which makes beer in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood, is advancing the cause of women-owned breweries. I sampled and enjoyed both of these beers.
LaGrow, based in Chicago, is one of a handful of organic breweries in Illinois. That’s co-founder Sam LeGrow behind the table.
Double Clutch Brewing Company, located in suburban Evanston, is one of a number of breweries that are reviving interest in traditional German beer styles, maintaining a tradition that dates to early Chicago in the mid 19th century, when Germans made up the city’s predominant immigrant group.