David Ross

I did one of my favorites last night, 'Broasted Chicken.' It's the same technique that Colonel Sanders perfected when he was selling chicken out of the back of his gas station in Kentucky and before he found fame with KFC. It's a combination of deep-frying and pressure cooking. The chicken gets nice and crispy on the outside with very moist meat. It cooks in about 15 minutes. Then for dessert I made an individual Blackberry Cobbler served with whipped cream. Sorry, a little shaky with the camera and not in focus as much as I like.

"We both thought the menu was a bit strange--they have stuff like Vietnamese fried calamari, Asian "Shaking Beef" and French bistro-style stuff like steak frites and beef bourguinon on the same menu. They also had cherries as a component on no fewer than four of the dishes...I'm all about supporting local produce, but that seemed kind of excessive, no?" Ling-I totally agree with you that the menu items you noted don't seem to fit together. I get really frustrated when chefs try to get 'fancy' and go overboard by stuffing their menu with so many dishes from different cuisines. It's especially frustrating for those of us who live in the Northwest, and especially Washingtonians. Walla Walla is literally the home to three of the world's most precious vegetables-fresh peas, asparagus and Walla Walla sweet onions. Combine that with lentils, strawberries, raspberries, huckleberries, corn, tomatoes, natural beef, lamb and pork, the list of Northwest ingredients is unending. I'd like to see local chefs realize that getting fussy with a menu is actually not the answer. Just keep things simple and look in your own backyard. Great, great report-especially your insight into the wines. I'm planning a drive down to Walla Walla this Fall during the harvest. Thanks.

Hi everyone. Ahh, homemade mashed potatoes. Like bread or chili, there are literally hundreds of recipes for mashed potatoes. So while I can't tell you that my mashed potato recipe is 'the best' or 'the only one' out there, it sure is my favorite recipe for creamy, smooth mashed potatoes. The trick with my recipe is to use Russet potatoes-not Yukon Golds, Baby Red's or Fingerlings. I like the starch and the strong potato flavor of the Russet. The second important thing to consider is that in order to get creamy mashed potatoes without lumps, if you don't want lumps, is to use an old-fashioned potato ricer. I posted a photo of a ricer for you to see if you aren't familiar with what it looks like. Using a ricer allows you to force the chunks of cooked potatoes through tiny holes in the ricer. The bits of potato end up looking like 'rice' and it breaks down the starch and creates a creamy potato texture. You can find a potato ricer in the kitchen tool section of large variety stores or kitchen shops. I think I spent about $15 on the one I use. Here's the recipe. You can vary the amount of milk and butter to suit your own tastes. 2 russet potatoes, left whole and unpeeled 3 tbsp. butter 1 tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped 1/4 cup whole milk Salt Fresh ground black pepper Place potatoes in a heavy saucepan. Add enough water to cover. Heat water to a gentle boil and cook potatoes until tender, about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are very soft. Drain the potatoes from the water and let them cool slightly. Gently peel the skins off the potatoes and cut the potatoes in large chunks. (Note: I boil the potatoes with the skins on so that the water doesn't soak into the potato meat. If you peel the potatoes and then boil them, the potato will soak up water and the finished mashed potatoes will have a watered-down taste). Combine the butter and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Let the butter melt in the milk. (It's important to use melted butter and warm milk in the mashed potatoes. Cold butter and cold milk will 'shock' the potatoes and the finished mashed potatoes won't be as creamy if you use cold butter and milk). Using a potato ricer, push the chunks of potato through the ricer into a large bowl. Add the melted butter and milk mixture, chopped thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Mix the potatoes using a spatula. Add additional melted butter and milk to desired consistency. You can make the mashed potatoes ahead of time. Before serving, just place the bowl of mashed potatoes over boiling water and stir to reheat.

While I knew that beef had to be inspected, I thought it was a given that meat had to also show the grade. I am lucky in that regard because the butcher shop where I bought the Prime Ribeye I used in the taste test gives his customers 'full disclosure' with nothing to hide-thus, my 'USDA Prime' Ribeye. Too bad that the loophole exists that gives some vendors the ability to not honestly report the grade of meat to the customer.

You bring up a good point regarding 'lesser cuts' of beef. I don't think I would buy prime grade beef if I was doing a pot roast. But if it is mid-January and we've got a foot of snow on the ground where I live and a group of friends want a hearty, winter beef dish, I might buy prime grade beef short ribs for a slow braise just to impress my friends. In terms of steak I don't think I will always buy prime grade from my butcher, but I will always buy steak from his shop, it may be choice, may be prime. After my taste test I just can't buy supermarket, pre-packaged steak anymore.

I think that our discussion about the differences between supermarket steaks and butcher shop steaks has demonstrated to all of us that the changes that have taken place in the way America eats are slowly being reversed. At least I hope so. Somewhere over the past 40 years or so we seem to have gotten away from patronizing the old fashioned butcher shop, at least we have in the Northwest. It's been a sign of the larger problem that has befallen our food industry-consumers want cheap, they want big quantities, and they want convenience-i.e., pre-cut steaks that are wrapped and stuck in the meat case and marketed as 'Blue Ribbon.' Along the way we (as in the mass consumer market), forgot to stop and smell the roses-is that really a good steak from a good cow cut by a good butcher? But I think our discussion has shown that there is a resurgence in getting back to nature and the way Americans used to eat-whether it's Angus cattle raised on a natural diet or a sweet carrot grown in organic soil, we seem to be experiencing a renewed growth in farmer's markets and an emphasis on seasonal, fresh, locally grown products. You see it happening across the country and on restaurant menus. Think of this comparison in our discussion about supermarket steaks vs. butcher shop steaks. Go to a good Northwest cuisine restaurant in Seattle like the Dahlia Lounge and you might see "Painted Hills Natural Beef from Oregon" on the menu. Go to a cheap, chain steakhouse with 56 locations throughout the West and you probably won't be told where the beef came from, the breed of cattle, how it was fed, maybe not even the grade of the steak. Given that choice, wouldn't you want to spend a bit more to have a better restaurant experience? Or at least save up so you could? I'm not so naive as to think we'll see a return to Main Street USA where the butcher shop was next door to the produce market, next door to the bakery with the fishmonger on the corner. But I do think we are slowly bringing some of those traditions back. And after the recent scares about tainted beef and rotten spinach, I think consumers will continue to demand higher standards from the producers and the government, both in terms of food safety and quality. Maybe we should all make a sign that says "support your local butcher shop" and stick it on the neighbors lawns. Instead of a local political campaign we'll have a local 'meat' campaign. Have you ever actually seen cattle grazing in a field? If you have, you know that it is a picture of America's cattle tradition that goes back centuries. That is the picture I think of everytime I walk into a traditional butcher shop. It isn't what I think of as I push my shopping cart past the pre-packed steaks in the supermarket. If you've never seen cattle grazing in a fresh meadow of alfalfa in Central Oregon, I challenge you to come out West someday and do just that. The alfalfa first comes up in the Spring. The scent of fresh-cut alfalfa hay in June is unmistakeable-it smells like sweet, herbal grasses. Pair the scent of alfalfa with a panoramic scene of pure-bred black Angus and stout Herefords grazing in a lush, green, misty meadow of alfalfa as the sun comes up out West and you can visualize what I mean. Think of that image of cattle on the range when you stoop down to take that pre-cut supermarket steak and put it in your cart. I think you may catch yourself and put that packaged steak back in the cold case and say, "Hmm, maybe I just better go over to the butcher shop and get a really good steak." One other example I'll give you that applies to our discussion of 'new' (supermarket steak) vs. 'old' (butcher shop) is a story I tell about my Mother and bacon. I mentioned earlier today about the wonderful bacon I bought at the butcher shop where I bought the Prime Ribeye and how it was thick and smoky and fried up into juicy strips of pork. And I also mentioned that poor little sick streaky supermarket bacon that ended up as wisps of pork fat. Well when I was a kid in the 60's my Mother always bought bacon from the butcher. We certainly were by no means rich, in fact we were probably on the lower edge of the middle-class scale. Even so, Mother found the pennies somewhere to buy meat from a butcher. The 'old' way was to buy your bacon from a butcher who butchered the hog himself and smoked the bacon out back of the shop. After Mother fried bacon she poured the grease in a 'bacon grease can.' Yes folks, we actually had a small tin can that held our luscious bacon drippings. There was a small mesh cap on the top of the can that caught the bacon bits topped off with a tin lid. You stuck your grease can on the counter and just kept adding bacon fat to it. You had a ready supply of bacon fat for other uses, both in the kitchen and the household. I add that story about the days of bacon past because it also relates to our discussion about steaks-sometimes getting back to how we ate years ago is a good thing, whether it is properly raised cattle fed a good diet to produce a good steak or a fat little piggy that gives us good bacon-sometimes the vastness and speed of supermarket meats isn't good for us. If we get back to the basics we are supporting locally owned butchers and farmers and ranchers and we are feeding ourselves and our families good beef.

I can certainly understand that it isn't always possible for people to pay the extra money to buy a prime ribeye steak from a traditional butcher. But if you look at the the prices of the ribeye steaks I tested, you'll see that the difference between the low-grade, poorer quality supermarket steaks vs. the prime butcher shop steak is not as much as you might think. The prime ribeye from the butcher cost me $6.00 more than the cheapest ribeye I tasted. Trust me, I realize and respect the fact that for many people a $6 difference is a lot of extra money just for one steak. Add on to that the time and the cost of extra gas in the car to drive out of the way to the butcher shop may not add up to being an added expense that someone can justify. Speaking only for myself, I find the extra money worth it in order to get a good tasting steak. I don't have a family budget that I have to consider, but on the other hand I don't have a high-level of income that would allow me to buy prime grade meat every week. But my butcher also sells very good quality choice grade meat that is virtually the same cost as the select grade meat the supermarket sells-and the butcher's meat is locally raised and he cuts the steaks fresh, which results in a far better cooking and tasting steak than what I would find at the supermarket. So for me to be able to spend more money on steak, I have to find a balance in my food budget to justify buying higher quality products that are often more expensive than the basic supermarket fare. Instead of spending that $6 on a frozen pizza and a 6-pack of Squirt, I would rather have the prime ribeye. When I went to Egger's meats to buy the prime ribeye I tested, I also bought a pound of their hand-cut, hand-cured and home-smoked 'Maple Bacon.' It was $5.49 for a pound of this deliciously smoky, thick-sliced bacon. The cheaper bacon at my supermarket is as cheap as $2.99 a pound, but the cheap bacon is basically thin slices of pork fat with little meat, fake smoke flavor added and it shrivels up into ribbons of fat when it is fried. The more expensive bacon in my supermarket sells for up to $6.00 a pound, a bit more expensive than the butcher shop bacon. In general I think butcher shop meat is more expensive, but it may surprise you to find out that in some cases, the butcher shop meat is not that much more expensive than supermarket meat, yet the butcher shop meat is better quality. I could buy a package of cheap Oscar Mayer Bologna in the supermarket, but if I really wanted a delicious, old-fashioned tasting bologna sandwich, I would probably drive up to the butcher and ask him to cut precisely two slices of his home-made bologna for my sandwich. While I would pay more per pound for the butcher shop bologna, I only need a couple of slices for one scrumptious sandwich. I'd say everyone should do a test similar to the one I did, then if you do discover the butcher shop steak cooks better and tastes better than your supermarket steak, sit down with a pencil and paper to see if you can justify the cost. I'm not suggesting you buy prime ribeye and then grind it up when you are making tacos. But in the case of steak, steak, steak, I'd recommend buying it from a butcher or at the least at a market that has a reliable meat counter. Try to avoid the the pre-packaged steaks in the supermarket meat case if you can.

What is funny about this decadent term 'beef porn' is that three women in my office have all seen some of my recent steak photos-the good steaks-and they all said the same thing 'beef porn.' These are not food people, they don't know about eGullet and their cooking ability is limited to opening bags of 'Caesar' salad. They didn't know I had shared the steak photos with their officemates. But the first thing all three women said to me when I showed them the photos of the prime grade ribeye was "it's like beef porn." In a weird sort of way, I kind of took their remarks as a compliment. All the more reason to cook more butcher shop steaks I guess.

Your juicy, red, hand-cut steaks have the supermarkets beat hands-down. Did you mention that your beef is purely grass-fed? Do you notice a taste difference with the grass-fed beef? I chose the ribeye because it happens to be the popular steak of choice in Eastern Washington. I personally prefer the rib as a prime rib roast and not a steak. My first choice for steak is New York and Tenderloin second. It was really intriguing doing the actual taste test and I just knew the photos would tell a good tale of the tape so to speak.

I know, I thought the same thing about the Walmart steak, i.e. 'marinating it in an herbed balsamic vinaigrette.' Hmm, a poor grade steak doused with vinegar? I actually thought it was funny when I saw that cooking suggestion printed on the label of the Walmart steak. Do most people who buy steaks at Wal-Mart also buy fresh herbs and balsamic vinegar? Do they know what balsamic vinegar is and how to use it in cooking? It's sort of like asking a guy who welds pipes if he wants a Bud Lite or a vintage, first-growth red wine from Bordeaux with his cheeseburger. I shop at Walmart for certain things so I'm certainly not a Walmart snob, I just won't buy a steak there again.

Since I started this topic, I figured I had an obligation to everyone by following through to answer my initial question of "Supermarket Steaks vs. Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe" with an actual taste test. A taste test is subjective because it only reflects the personal tastes of the person eating the steak-two people might take bites out of the same steak and come up with totally opposite remarks about the texture and flavor of the steak. John may like the supermarket steak and Jane may prefer the butcher shop steak. And as we've discussed here, John may prefer grain finished cattle while Jane prefers the earthy taste and texture of cattle fed a pure diet of meadow grass. But in order to at least resolve in my own mind where I should buy steak and the grade of steak I should buy, last Friday I set out on a shopping trip to two supermarkets and one traditional butcher shop with the intent of buying 4 Ribeye Steaks and then taking them home, cooking them exactly the same, then tasting each steak. I'll have to leave the questions of animal husbandry, (how the cattle are raised) and the issue of grass-fed vs. corn-finished, on the "to do in the kitchen" shelf. The first supermarket I went to was Albertson's. Albertson's markets their beef as "Blue Ribbon." Their website says that "Albertson's Blue Ribbon Beef is hand-selected and trimmed to be juicy and delicious.....Our expert butchers will be delighted to cut it your way." Well, not exactly. I saw a customer approach the teenager who was unpacking boxes of packaged steaks and asked him if he could cut a steak for him. The poor kid was very apologetic to the customer, but he couldn't oblige because he wasn't able to cut meat. The guy who cuts meat apparently doesn't work on Friday mornings at 10am, although it's a busy time at the store. Albertson's website goes on to say that "all of our Blue Ribbon steaks are carefully naturally aged using our exclusive aging process so they're the most tender, mouth-watering steaks you've ever had." OK, but what exactly is your exclusive aging process? And by the way, if your beef is so good, why don't you tell the customer what grade it is? Is your beef USDA choice? I didn't seem to find that on your website or on the package of the steak I bought. Here's the Albertson's "Blue Ribbon" Beef Ribeye Steak, Bone-In. It was only $5.49 per pound, by far the cheapest of the 4 steaks I tested: Here is the Albertson's steak unwrapped. It had an odd smell, like the smell of hamburger past its 'best before' date. There were grayish brown spots running throughout the steak. Next up was a trip to Walmart. Now Walmart doesn't seem to post information on their website about the beef they sell. And one of the 'beefs' I have with Walmart is the same 'beef' I have with Albertson's in terms of the labeling of their meats. Walmart, like Albertson's, doesn't always put the grade of steak on the label. Shouldn't that be law? I couldn't tell if the Ribeye I was buying was USDA Choice or Select. The only indication that the meat had been inspected by the USDA was a small circle that said "inspected and passed by Department of Agriculture." That's it. No indication on any label of the USDA grade of meat.Here is the basic Walmart Ribeye at $8.38 a pound. Here is the basic Walmart Ribeye unwrapped. It was a beautiful red and smelled of nothing, which is good. Now if you are so inclined, Walmart also sells "Genuine Steak House Choice Beef." These are steaks that are "hand-selected, hand-trimmed and packaged using our signature fresh-sealed process to give you the ultimate steak house restaurant experience." Not exactly. I don't work for Walmart so I can't argue that these steaks are or aren't hand-selected and hand-trimmed. I know they aren't hand-trimmed at my store. I bet they are trimmed and packed back at the home-base in Arkansas but I really don't know. What I do know is that the "fresh-sealed process" did not give the finished cooked steak a "ultimate steak house experience." More on that later. This Ribeye sold for $10.15 a pound. Here is the second, supposedly 'better,' Walmart steak unwrapped. It had a clean smell but wasn't as red as the other steak. Maybe the other Walmart steak got more 'gas' before it was packaged. Most supermarket meat is 'gassed' before it is packaged so that it has staying power in the meat case. The "fresh-sealed process" that Walmart used on this steak seemd to shape it into a softball of meat-it didn't have clean, sharp edges or streaks of fat running through the steak. Finally, I took a drive up to the 'South Hill' area of Spokane. The South Hill was traditionally the home of the old-money families of Spokane. And while the character of the area has slowly changed to a more general demographic, some of the traditional shops and stores have remained-including Egger's Better Meats-one of the few traditional butcher shops in Spokane. I had not been up to Egger's in about seven years-a horrible mistake on my part and one that I will only get over in the coming years when I regularly patronize Egger's for my meat. Their website gives you a glimpse into the history of this traditional butcher shop: "Started by our uncle John, Egger’s Better Meats has been family owned/ran since 1935. There are currently four Egger’s meat markets in Spokane and Deer Park. Each individually owned and operated, and each having its own unique characteristics. All the Egger’s meat markets strive for the best in customer service, quality meat, and the best smoked products, home made the old fashioned way in our own smoke houses. Egger’s Better Meats and Seafood was started by our father (Bob Egger) in 1962, and is located on the South Hill in Spokane, Washington. Today dad still owns the market, however, I, Jeff Egger (smoker, sausage maker), and my brother Steve Egger (butcher), still run the show with the rest of our family." When I walked into Egger's I was immediately greeted by Steve Egger who was behind the counter cutting up meat on a huge wooden cutting table. Steve was directing four or five other guys around the shop. The first clue that Egger's was going to be the answer to my quandary over supermarket steak vs. ye old butcher shoppe were the hand-written signs hanging from the ceiling-"we cut and wrap your wild game, venison, elk and other game." And I especially liked the sign that said "we make our own bologna, salami and three kinds of bacon-regular, pepper and maple." Now trust me when I tell you any butcher who still cuts and wraps a mule deer harvested in the hills out of Spokane probably knows what he's doing when he makes his own bologna, smokes sides of pork belly or cuts you a ribeye steak. The moment I saw the 'Prime' label on the steaks in the meat case Mr. Egger piped up to tell me he was the "only guy in town who carries Prime steaks." He went on to tell me that he doesn't even have to advertise he carries prime beef. His customers instinctively know it's always available and he never has to worry about selling his prime cuts. I didn't ask him where the prime beef was raised, what breed of cattle it was or how it was fed. One look told me it was probably a great steak. I bought a prime ribeye for $16.99 a pound. So for just under twenty bucks I got a prime ribeye. That's actually a value compared to what prime steaks cost in one of the high-end steakhouses in Las Vegas. Expect to pay about $50 for a prime ribeye at Craftsteak at the MGM. A beauty for sure. It was a deep red color with clean white fat. There wasn't a hint of odor in the meat. My God-doesn't it just look delicious? The picture of this perfect steak makes me think back to those days in the 60's when I would go with my Dad to the 'Red Steer' steakhouse at the Portland Stockyards. They served delicious, fresh steaks on sizzling platters and I especially liked the little wooden stake in the shape of a steer that told you your steak was 'medium-rare.' This is the Albertson's ribeye in the skillet. The four steaks were all prepped and cooked exactly the same: 1-rubbed with olive oil and seasoned with sea salt, fresh ground black pepper and a dusting of Cajun seasoning. 2-seared for exactly 4 minutes per side in a hot, old-fashioned cast iron skillet. 3-the skillet with the steak put in a hot, 550 degree oven and the steak roasted for an additional 2 minutes per side. 4-the steak taken out of the skillet and rested on a rack for 2 minutes before tasting. Here is the Albertson's ribeye on the plate. It got a nice, crusty char on the outside. The steak was only about an inch thick so it cooked a bit beyond my desired medium-rare doneness (emphasis on the rarer side of medium-rare). Here is a close-up of the Albertson's ribeye. It was juicy and beefy but the off-putting odor I had smelled when I opened the package remained after the steak was cooked. I'd give it a grade of B-. Here is a photo of the Walmart ribeye #1, the cheaper of the two ribeye's from Walmart. Even though this steak was seared in a cast iron pan and cooked exactly the same as the Albertson's steak, look at the results-the steak is grey and there is barely a hint of a nice, black char on the outside of the steak. Maybe the 'gas' treatment on pre-packaged steaks prevents them from getting a good sear? This is Walmart #1 cut. Oh God that looks awful-grey, yellowish, sick, sick. The steak was actually tender and juicy and had a fair amount of beef flavor. It just looked sick. Grade C-. This is Walmart #2, the steak they call "Genuine Steak House Choice." Yes, believe it or not this steak was cooked using the exact same method as the two previous steaks. It was by far the worst of all 4 steaks I tested. It looks like globs of beef muscle from a chuck roast. Like it's Walmart brother #2, #2 did not come close to getting a nice crusty outer char. #2 cut. The taste was pretty much the same as Walmart #1, tender, juicy and decent beef flavor. You just had to take each glob of meat separately. Both Walmart steaks had a soft, almost gel-like texture, not the strong fibers you'd find in a good steak. Both Walmart steaks left about 2 tablespoons of what I'd call 'juices' in the pan. I imagine it is that 'nine percent solution' I read on the label that was drained into the pan. Sorry Walmart, another C-. This is the prime ribeye from 'Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe.' The prime grade steak cooked the best-it got an incredibly crusty char on the outside very quickly and didn't leave any accumulated juices in the cast iron skillet. The prime steak proclaimed "Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up now!" (excuse me Ms. Gloria Swanson for stealing your line). And what a closeup-a juicy, peppered, prime ribeye that looks so delicious you can't stand it. The cut prime ribeye. This was by far the best of the 4 steaks-it cooked better than the other 3 steaks and got a nice, black crust the quickest. The prime ribeye didn't leave behind a cloud of yellowish juices in the skillet like the Walmart steaks. The prime steak had a stand-up, firm texture and fiber, yet the meat was juicy and tender. And finally, the flavor. It was that same flavor that I remember from steaks my Grandmother used to grill on the family ranch in Prineville, Oregon-steak that tasted like beef. It's hard to describe a good steak like a fine wine. If steak can be rated like a fine Merlot and it has 'bouquet' and the taste of 'chocolate and spice,' then this steak would rate in the 90's. I'd give the prime ribeye from the traditional butcher shop an A+. And so it goes. If I buy steak, I go to the old-fashioned butcher shop. Will I ever buy a supermarket steak again? Maybe. I cooked a fine choice grade New York a week ago that I bought at the meat counter at a nice supermarket in town. But I certainly won't be buying any pre-cut and pre-wrapped supermarket steaks again. If I want bacon that tastes like it came from jolly old fat pig, sliced bologna to slather with mustard on white bread or a prime New York strip, I'll go vist Egger's Meats on the South Hill.

I find that some of the 'staples' of Asian cooking are the items that are far cheaper than the same type of items in the supermarket, and those are the items I go for. The best example I can find is Toasted Sesame Oil. My Asian market sells about 4 different brands, all imported from different countries in Asia. I can buy a large bottle for under $5. But the local supermarkets usually only offer one brand of toasted sesame oil for about $3.50 for a small bottle. The quality, quantity and price of the larger bottle in the Asian market is the better buy for me. A few of our supermarkets also offer an upscale, organic toasted sesame oil from a US producer, but it is really expensive. So while many US cooks are buying sesame oil today, it is still probably not a big seller in the supermarket and as such, the price is pretty high. In terms of fresh foods-I can only buy Pork Belly at my Asian market. It is so cheap I just think I'm stealing it from the market-only $1.99 a pound. I can buy fresh duck leg quarters for $1.69 a pound which I use to make duck confit. Again, a steal in terms of price and the supermarkets don't even sell pork belly or duck legs. But again, these meats are regularly used by Asian cooks and with the exception of foodies like us, I don't think many Americans would buy pork belly if it was in the meat case at the supermarket.

My oh my that duck looks delicious. I can just taste that crispy skin. Nice photo.

Right now I am in the midst of cooking 4 ribeye steaks. Tommorrow I will post some photos and give you a detailed recap on the results of my cooking and taste test of 'Supermarket Steaks vs. Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe Steaks.' I think you'll find the results interesting but not surprising.

Thank you so much. It is an easy recipe and very appropriate to the summer season. Here is my recipe: Pastry Crust Base 1 cup, all-purpose flour 1/3 cup, powdered sugar ½ cup, unsalted butter, melted Heat oven to 350°. Sift together flour and sugar in a large bowl. Add the melted butter and combine the mixture into a loose dough. Pat the mixture into a 9" square non-stick pan. Bake the pastry until just browned around the edges, about 10 minutes. Filling 2 eggs 1 tsp. fresh grated lemon peel 3 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice 1 cup granulated sugar 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour ¼ tsp. baking powder 1 cup fresh blackberries Whole fresh blackberries for garnish Powdered sugar for garnish Heat oven to 350° again. In a mixing bowl, add eggs, lemon peel, lemon juice and sugar. Beat at low speed until mixture is thick and smooth, about 5 minutes. Combine flour and baking powder in a bowl. With mixer running, add flour and baking powder and mix until well-blended, about 3 minutes. Pour the filling into the pre-baked pastry crust base. Place whole blackberries throughout the filling. Bake the lemon bar mixture in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the mixture is set. Remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Place whole fresh blackberries on top of the lemon bar base. Sift powdered sugar over the top. Cut the pastry into bars and serve with either chilled, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Last night I made Blackberry Lemon Bars. I used my standard lemon bar recipe but added fresh Oregon blackberries. During the summer I make these lemon bars with blackberries, raspberries and when I can get them-loganberries or Marionberries. I make a standard shortbread crust then pour a layer of lemon custard on top of the crust. I just add fresh whole blackberries to the custard layer. As the dish bakes, the blackberries soften into the custard base. After the dish cools, I add whole fresh blackberries on top and dust them with powdered sugar. It's a great way to use fresh summer berries.

Last night I made Tandoori Prawns served with Basmati Rice and a Cucumber Salad. I made a tandoori paste with yogurt and a lot of spices including cardamom, ground coriander and cayenne pepper. Then I marinated the prawns in the paste and broiled them in the oven. I've gotten back to using the broiler in the past year and it gives meats and seafood that wonderful char. I added diced zuchinni and tomatoes and some fresh mint to the rice. I use a Japanese style slicer to cut the cucumber into ribbons and then dressed it with olive oil, dried dill, lemon juice and salt and pepper. I would do this dish again, but I let the prawns get a bit overdone and dry. I would probably thin out the tandoori paste with some milk or more lemon juice next time. The paste was a bit thick and sticky for my taste. For dessert I made what I call Blackberry Lemon Bars. I have my own standard lemon bar recipe and in the summer I change it up a bit by adding berries. In this case i added whole blackberries to the lemon custard so the berries would bake down into the custard. Then I added whole fresh blackberries on top of the finished lemon bars.

How delicious looking! You are off to a good start. Just reheat your oxtails, reduce the sauce and serve with some steamed rice. That looks very good.

I prepare oxtails like most of the other suggestions-slowly braised. The meat is deliciously beefy and tender when slow-braised, and if you have left-overs, which is rare, shred the meat and stuff it into little pockets of pasta and you have 'Oxtail Ravioli.' I start by choosing oxtail from the larger end of the tail so to speak. I dust them with flour and sear them in olive oil in a Le Cresuet pot to get them nice and brown on both sides. Then I remove the oxtails from the pot and add a bit more oil. I add carrots, celery, onions and garlic cloves. Let the vegetables saute for a few minutes, then deglaze with red wine. Then add whole peppercorns, fresh thyme sprigs, a bit of salt, some whole black peppercorns and I add some crushed juniper berries. If I am out of juniper berries I might add some whole cloves or a tangerine peel. Add some beef stock and cover the pot. Chuck the pot in a low oven at 250. Yes, that sounds low, but I let the oxtails braise for at least 6 hours on the low heat. Carefully take out the oxtails from the braising liquid, then drain the vegetables out of the liquid. I return the braising liquid to the stovepot and boil it down to reduce it to a gravy. I serve the braised oxtails with either mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles with poppy seeds. Serve the delicious braising gravy on the side. God I wish Fall was here. This is a classic cold-weather dish. By the way, I use the same basic recipe for Pot Roast. Delicious.

That sounds delicious. Can you share the recipe for the Salad with Mackeral? Do you use smoked mackeral? Do you think smoked eel would be an ok substitute in your salad?

Fantastic photos and thank you for the insight into the butchering of Mr. Beef. I've been searching some websites that sell purely grass-fed beef. I may break down and buy one of the beasts and do a bit of my own butchering. I may need to call you if I get to a part of the animal that I can't figure out how to cut!

What's so puzzling to me is why I have such a plethora of great meat markets here in Minnesota, most of them breaking down the carcasses by hand, and doing their own version of charcuterie (more on the order of smoked and raw sausages which are not cured, but all them with their own bacon). I drive the 258 miles to our cabin up north, or go 100 miles south, and if I wanted slight detours, I could visit more butcher shops than one could count on the digits on my hands and toes, plus the digits on my family's hands and toew. So, what's going on up here that isn't going on elsewhere? Oh, and everyone of these butcher shops are lively and bustling with customers. ← I'm wondering if it is because Minnesota and Wisconsin have a large Scandanavian and European population that supports so many good butcher shops and the tradition of sausages and wursts that go along with a good German shop?

If you get a chance, I would love to see a side by side comparison between your Angus steaks and a steak from on of the Welsh Black Beef Cattle that you refer to. That way we could see the difference in the marbling. Thanks for your insight into the issues of supermarket beef vs. butcher shop beef. Sounds like both the UK and US have seen a decline in traditional butcher shops. But I am glad that we both countries seem to be seeing a renewed interest in farmer's markets and good quality beef showing a resurgence. We may never see the old days of butcher shops with sawdust on the floor here in the US, but I do think we will see more and more good quality beef in our supermarkets and an increase in the profitability of the remaining traditional butcher shops.

How did you like the taste of the grass-fed beef? I've been writing a thread about supermarket steaks vs. butcher shop steaks over in Food Traditions and Culture and we've had quite a discussion about grass-fed beef.

Ted-I would love to have the recipe for your port wine reduction sauce.