Michael Ruhlman has started to receive entries for the “BLT from scratch” challenge. He’s even started experimenting with his own BLT.
Rachael of La Fuji Mama hosted a BLT dinner for her Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24.
So how’s it looking for ELTW’s BLT from scratch dinner on September 12th??
Well much to my delight on Sunday, I discovered that (some of) our tomatoes are finally turning a nice shade of red!!! All might not be lost for our dinner after all!
Here they are in all their glory:
Errr and in case you are wondering, yes, that’s all we got right now!! I am thinking it’s going to have to be a VERY creative interpretation of the “T” part of the BLT to feed the hungry masses…
Meanwhile, we all know the bacon is ready to go in whatever form we choose…. But what about the pancetta, last seen… well, hanging in the cellar and loking vaguely louche???
Today we decided to check out the basque one and remove it from its cheesecloth to see if it was ready….
Oh yeah, it was SO ready. Mold and all! I didn’t take pictures of the removal of the moldy bits, though Neil thought I should have, because it was kind of gross. But look what’s in store for our guests (cooked, obviously!!!):
(and those are peppercorns, not mold in case you are wondering!)
Now, about that bread then….
Oooh, can't wait for the next installment! Thanks for the shout out!
No problem – I am starting to feel much more hopeful that we will be able to pull this off… Though we seem to have our chef from culinary school and her executive chef husband attending on the 12th now. No pressure! 😉
I think not showing all parts of the process was (is) a bit of a cop-out for delicate supermarketified [sic] sensibilities.
Show them the mold. If they cannot handle it…heck, more for me and Cleo! 🙂
So says Mr. Neil, Master Butcher.
To be serious…while I was a bit worried about how to clean off the mold (did not want to cut away the nice pancetta), the first slab smelled glorious. Given the last piee I saw in a store, I reckon the one we just put in the freezer had a retail value of about $40!
The other one was rolled, which I will bring up later this week.
P.S. I think we have an idea to use the few tomatoes…
what a challenge! I've never even thought of trying such a self-sustaining dish before but I bet you are learning so much. Can't wait to see the final result 😀
It's been fun, yes!
What a cool idea! I can almost taste it.
geee! I will like to be able to do this as well. Can't wait to see the final product!
Well I wasn't around during the curing process but from what I can see and what Neil tells me, it was pretty easy. The tomatoes, well that's another story!
Beautiful pictures — you ARE getting good. And the B and T are looking good. (Funny, I read an article (NY Times?) about using plums instead of tomatoes when the tomatoes weren't up to the task. So maybe that'd be a way to stretch things? Black plums are a secret ingredient in a bunch of salads I make, and they are always a big hit. Cheating, I suppose, esp. since they're not homegrown.
Thanks Kablooey! And errr… yes, don't think we quite have the time to grow plums in 11 days!!!! 😉 But an interesting concept….
That's awesome. Can't wait to see the final product too.
Thanks Divina – me neither!!!
I LOVE that you are doing Ruhlman's BLT challenge and wish you all the best! Huge Ruhlman fan here.
I also want to hear how you use all that wonderful pancetta.
Maria – well the thinking caps are on re: the actual meal we serve to our friends… And I am sure you will see the pancetta featuring on ELTW a lot over the next few months!
Next step: getting a whole leg in and doing prosciutto for Christmas.
Oh, and DUCK BELLY pancetta.
i continue to be fascinated by the whole bacon process. and i am all about that duck belly pancetta, neil. maybe next summer if we're in toronto . . .