We had a small gathering of friends over for New Year's Eve and a few of us actually managed to stay up and toast the new year! The menu was very simple: a few fine cheeses, vegetarian chili with corn served with lime wedges, ciabatta, a beautiful bowl of fresh, bright vegetables, apples and clementines scattered acrosss the table, Rustichella d'Abruzzo panettone for desssert (classically served with sparkling wine, so that's what we did!).
But the star of the show was a bone-in, hoof-on Acorn Edition IV Berkshire spallacia. So delicate and sumptuous at the same time, savory yet sweet, truly succulent, and wonderful food theatre! Here's a picture of Herb starting to slice it up. This particular pig came from B & B Farms near Grinnell, Iowa. I'm doing a new post soon on this season's Acorn Edition pigs from Barney, Suzanne, and Gabe.
We also had some wonderful cheeses from The Cheese Shop of Des Moines: Zingerman's Creamery Lincoln Log, Parmigiano Reggiano, Stichelton from Neal's Yard Dairy, and Bayley Hazen Blue from Jasper Hill Farm. Seriously delicious. Thank you for the great assortment, CJ and Kari!
This time of year, winter vegetables are great crisp, raw, and unadorned. The radishes were amazing!
And here's the table in the early stages of preparation.
What do you do when you get to the hoof end?
Posted by: laura h | January 07, 2012 at 07:24 AM
It really isn't edible - all bone and sinew and skin. It helps preserve the integrity of the leg as it ages. You could throw it it in the stock pot!
Posted by: Kathy | January 08, 2012 at 07:00 AM