First Round: Taste of Atlanta Barcraft Competition

Thats me and Shanna from Leon's Full Service behind the bar. It appears from this photo that I was looking pretty confident! Now, I just need to make up another batch of Crabapple Shrub...

Imported Double Cream

Imported Double Cream, originally uploaded by jekemp.

Yep,

Living the good life down in Hapeville. Nothing better than some imported brie and American apple brandy.

Organic Egg Producing Chickens being raised improperly.

A grassfed burger cooked at home

A grassfed burger cooked at home, originally uploaded by jekemp.

If you are willing to put in the work, a high quality organic grassfed burger can be made for half the price of dining out at home. An added benefit of this is the ability to personally control all aspects of the ingredients and preparation.

This burger features a half pound hand formed organic grass-fed beef patty with homemade pimento cheese, home-made bacon "jam", and red onions with a touch of Duke's mayonnaise. The burger is shown with a side of hand cut sweet potato fries cooked in peanut oil.

Empire State South

Empire State South Bar, originally uploaded by jekemp.

Chef Hugh Acheson's Empire State South will be opening August 30th for breakfast, lunch, & dinner. The approachable food menu from the Chef De Cuisine, Nick Melvin, is local/regionally sourced and served in a southern and traditional meat and three format. You can choose your protein, then pick your two sides and bread.

Some of my favorite items tried over the past week were the succotash made from locally raised pink lady peas, the heirloom tomato & cucumber salad, and the fried green tomatoes.

The Bar is big, spacious, and bold. One of the standout features is a robust granite top sourced from nearby Elberton Georgia and seating for over twenty. The wine list from partner Steven Grubbs will more than likely prove to be one of the more approachable in the city featuring many selections from the old world and a few from the new.

If you are into well crafted cocktails made from the freshest of juices, I will be manning the bar here a few nights a week and will be bringing along all of my time honored tricks of the trade.

Look forward to authentic Sazerac cocktails, innovative champagne cocktails, and an extensive list of Bourbons for sipping.



Jason E Kemp

Murray's Cheese in Atlanta?!

Murray's Cheese?!, originally uploaded by jekemp.

Ok, so, interesting news, one of the Kroger Grocery stores here in Atlanta has apparently teamed up with NYC's Murray's Cheese to market high end cheeses from around the world.

Having been to the original(before they expanded and moved across the street..), I must report that unfortunately its not the Murray's logo or the cheese selection that makes the place interesting, It was the surly employees that really made the place stand out.

So, even though they have small wheels of Muenster from Alsace, I don't know how this is going to pan out in Atlanta. Overall, I am happy that I can find and try some great cheese here. In the end, I just hope that they will do the right thing and throw out the stuff that does not move and not pull the Whole Foods Market scheme of scraping off the mold, re-wrapping the cheese and changing the sell dates.

Here is a link to their press release:

http://www.murrayscheese.com/kroger_press.asp

Angora Goats Graze on Roan Mountain to Control Invasive Blackberry Bramble

Goats on Roan Mountain, originally uploaded by jekemp.

On our recent trip up into the high country of North Carolina, Katherine and I could not resist the urge to hike to the top of something, that something turned out to be Roan Mountain. The top of Roan Mountain is a grassy bald that affords limitless views of the surrounding mountains and countryside.

As we hiked higher, an amazing discovery! Angora goats grazing on the mountainside. We learned that the goats are there to naturally control an invasive species of Canadian Blackberry. This blackberry bramble if left unchecked would eventually eliminate the rare and beautiful plant diversity on the balds.

Katherine, decided to get close to them and discovered that a few of these goats turned out to be quite friendly. Its amazing what a shared granola bar can do to break the ice.

Further investigation found that these goats need our help to continue their meaningful and valuable work on the mountain. For a low monthly donation, these goats will be able to continue to maintain and beautify the top of Roan Mountain for many summers to come. You may adopt a goat for 1 month, the entire 3 month summer season, or for this year's season.

$20 per month

$50 for 3 months in 2010

$100 for 3 months in 2010 and 3 months in 2011


Here is an example of what a $20.00 donation will get:

1) At least one card, picture and lock of hair from your goat letting you know how much it likes blackberries and spending time on the Grassy Balds

2) The chance to name your goat

3) The satisfaction of knowing you are helping save the unique ecosystem by helping us further develop and refine a model protocol for using goats as a management tool in Grassy Bald restoration.

Here is a link to the project's blog to follow for more information on this interesting project.

Blackberry Chipotle Smoked Ribs

Blackberry Chipotle Ribs, originally uploaded by jekemp.

Nothing is better than cooking up some ribs on the smoker to celebrate the fourth. This year was no different but something big was stumbled upon while prepping a rack for the smoker.

Blackberries are currently in season and what better way than to celebrate their sweet summer flavor than to mop it onto slow cooked pork ribs?

Here's how to do it:

Start with a few racks of pork ribs. I personally prefer the St. Louis cut but baby back or whole slabs will work great as well. If you can get your hands on some ribs from Riverview Farms, that would be even better.

Select your dry rub:

We ended up going with a blend of dry Chipotle powder, Ancho Chili, Sea Salt, White Pepper, Cumin, and granulated Garlic. We then liberally coated the suface with the mixture and then added a puree of fresh blackberries over the top while smoking the meat on applewood at around 225° for about 4 hours. This created a tender, smoky rib that you simply cannot find at your local BBQ joint.

Cans of Ghee

Cans of Ghee, originally uploaded by jekemp.

If the one on the right is clarified butter from a cow, is the one on the left gazelle butter?

Don Pepino Spaghetti Sauce Can

Don Pepino Spaghetti Sauce, originally uploaded by jekemp.

More from my series of unusual cans of food. The Don Pepino's old-school ridged can seems to harken back to the the days of more classic designs. An illustration of a rotund chef on a bright yellow can holding the same can with what appears to be a a stylised multi color script that probably did not originally emerge from some 20 something's font collection on their Apple but instead was carefully drawn by hand and executed the old way. I believe that this interesting discovery on the grocer's shelves was fantastic. Its great to see a small brand that has stuck to tradition.

Cheese Tortellini Pizza with Garlic & Basil.

Vinny's Pizza-Rama, originally uploaded by jekemp.

Have been touring the old school pizza parlors in New Jersey and discovering some pretty interesting slices. This particular slice was found at Vinny's PizzaRama and proved to be a meal unto itself. Cheese filled Tortellini with garlic, basil, and Vodka sauce topped this slice.

Vinny's Pizza-Rama
1025 Hamburg Tpke
Wayne, NJ 07470
(973) 628-1510

Gruyere oven toasts

Gruyere oven toasts, originally uploaded by jekemp.

Image taken right before they entered the toaster oven.

A visit to Country Gardens Farm & Nursery

A baby calf, originally uploaded by jekemp.

Last week I took some time to visit Country Gardens Farm & Nursery outside of Newnan. It is a quaint little farm and nursery that sells among other things, Raw Milk!

This milk is straight from the farm. (Read-Grass fed cows) and of course, is labelled for pet consumption only. I picked up a $4.00 half gallon and brought it home for my two cats to sample. This milk was not what one would expect to see down at the local super market. First, there were two distinct layers within the container and the color was more of a cream than the more familiar stark white.

After watching the cats go to town on this treat, I went ahead and shook the carton and poured myself a tall cold glass. All I can say is that this milk is truly amazing. Did I get sick from drinking it? No.

I am not going to say that Raw milk is safe to drink. Unfortunately, we live in a time of great fear with regards to food borne illness. Bacteria can be harbored in the milk and cause a litany of problems from diarea to vomiting. The FDAstates that consuming raw milk is dangerous and I believe them to a point. If we did not live in the time of the factory farm, I doubt that that e coli, Salmonella, or listeria would nearly be as bad as they potentially are these days.

The FDA also claims that more than 800 people in the United States have gotten sick from drinking raw milk or eating cheese made from raw milk since 1998. That really is not that many people when one thinks of the millions of people that call the United States home.

Conical Fermentation Tanks

Conical Fermentation Tanks, originally uploaded by jekemp.

This is where all the great beer from Terrapin comes from.

My plan to have Farm Fresh Eggs: The Backyard Barnyard Part One.

Cuckoo Marans Chicks, originally uploaded by jekemp.

Two years ago, I became interested in finding a way to get better eggs. What better way, I thought than by raising some day old chicks into egg laying hens?

Ok, so, the hunt was on. I wanted some really beautiful eggs and decided on a breed that lays dark, rich, almost chocolate colored eggs.

These chickens were known as marans. I found a breeder in Ohio called Meyer's Hatchery to order the chicks. I was able to select a straight run of females but their was a minimum order of 22 chicks.

I felt that I could raise them into healthy chickens and maybe find some like minded people who would not mind a hen or two in their backyard as well. Then the day came when the chickens were delivered by the post office, of the 22 that were ordered, only 11 ended up surviving the trip and I suspect that the box probably sat around in the post office for an extra day to have caused this small tragedy.

The remaining chicks lived on a round plastic table that I had surrounded with a ring of cardboard in my basement. Here, with their heat lamp, they ran in circles and ate and drank to their hearts content. Oddly enough, one of the chickens was different, somehow, bigger, meaner in its disposition. It was not until much later that we where able to make the determination that this was no chicken...It was a rooster.

We ended up calling this mighty bird Cap'n Redcomb.

25 pound Smoked Turkey

25 pound Smoked Turkey, originally uploaded by jekemp.

Brined the turkey for 12 hours beforehand and started the mesquite charcoal at 7:00am. Loaded the bird around 7:30am and finished at 2:00pm. The BGE never got over 260 degrees. During the smoking process, I added water soaked apple wood chips along at various intervals to make a nice thick pink smoke ring in the meat.

shittake & Green pepper

shittake & Green pepper, originally uploaded by jekemp.

Special Pizza Fundraiser for Georgia Flooded Farms Relief Fund

On Saturday November 14 at 10:00am
The Peachtree Road Farmer's Market
Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers will be on site with their mobile pizza oven preparing some very special pizzas to sell by the slice and as whole pies. All proceeds will be going directly to the Georgia Flooded Farm Relief Fund.

~What makes these Pizzas so special?

I went ahead and spoke with the farmers who participate at the market and will be sourcing the ingredients for the toppings directly from from them on the day of the market!
These pizzas are going to be a unique and limited offering to say the least.

Special Mellow Locavore Pizzas:

#1~Cheese,Spinach, Bacon, Mushrooms, Olive oil, Black pepper, Salt
#2~Assorted local Peppers, River-view Farms Sausage, Cheese, Tomatoes
#3~Georgia Coastal Shrimp, Garlic,Olive Oil, Peanut-Cilantro Sauce, Cilantro
#4~Sweet potato,Parmesan,Kale,Rosemary,Olive oil.
#5~Cheese,Pesto, Tomato,Eggplant,Basil,Arugula,Black Pepper,Salt

*Pizzas will be subject to ingredient availability on the day of the market and may not be served exactly as shown above.

A simple mayonnaise recipe

Mayonnaise

2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 cup peanut oil

1. Place egg yolks, salt, mustard, lemon juice, and vinegar into food processor. combine well by pulsing 4 or 5 times.

2. Pour oil through the feed tube slowly in a thin stream until fully incorporated. The mixture thickens up as the oil gets worked in.

Antico's Marinara with White Anchovy Pizza

Antico's Marinara, originally uploaded by jekemp.

Ok, so I went to Antico and got a pie. The bill of $20.00 seemed a bit steep for a pizza with no cheese and a smattering of white anchovies and basil leaves. I feel that I have been keeping myself informed as to what is going on with these so called "pizza wars" here in Atlanta and personally believe that it's all hype generated by a small but elite group of foodies. Was this pizza good? Yes, it was but then I wonder, why did I end up taking 80% of it home and adding shredded cheese to it which in turn, and to be fair, made it much better. Then I started to feel weird about it and began to wonder why I had to doctor up a pizza that just cost me $20 bucks? After some thought on the matter, I came to the conclusion that I just don't care that much about places like Antica. Great, authentic Neopolitan pizza with all the appropriate credentials. A staff of Italians to make you feel like you actually might have been teleported to Naples. This whole place, despite the fast, almost eager friendly service, still reeks of elitism. Maybe this was in part to the inside out folding of the not so environmentally friendly pizza box. Should pizza be this pompous? Or should it be a good, simple comfort food? Those who rave have declared Antico Pizza the best in town. But is it really true? I suggest that you make your own decision.