Czerw's Kielbasy

So my friend gave me a pile of "Polish hot dogs" from what looks like the most amazing place in the world. Czerw's does everything old-school Polish style which is why people wait in line for hours for their Kielbasy and homemade pierogies - including a not-so old school but incredible sounding cheesesteak pierogi. Everything is made fresh & smoked right there on a side street in Port Richmond.


I haven't been there yet but every time I look at these photos I want to (thanks Tim). The "Polish Hot Dogs" were nothing like hot dogs, but amazing and reminded me of the smoked sausage my Pennsylvania Dutch grandparents always had on the dinner table.

Gigantic, spicy and super smoky, great for breakfast or cooked with saurkraut. If you wanted to break the rules of regional cuisine these would be great in gumbo, beans & rice, garnish for potato soup, basically anything that calls for sausage or smoked meat.

Czerw's Kielbasy
3370 Tilton Street
Philadelphia, PA 19134

biscuits & gravy

the best hangover breakfast of all time - except maybe creamed chipped beef on toast, which is basically a philadelphia version of biscuits and gravy. It's really easy, all you need is sausage, flour, and milk or cream and some butter, maybe some hot sauce or garlic powder if you want to get fancy.

Bacon Explosion

The article on the Bacon Explosion hit the NY Times last week.

So of course right before Super Bowl Sunday it was perfect timing. GO STEELERS!
I wavered back and forth on making this horrendous ode to all that is swine. I nearly caved to restraint, but then a challenge was brought forth by our pigskin watching host for last night's game. The Explosion must come!

This is not at all a hard thing to make. You just need to be comfortable with the feeling of immense amounts of pork fat between your fingers. Start by latice weaving an entire package of bacon. I added a spice rub once I finished. Then smear on top two packages or tubes of breakfast sausage. Don't go for italian, I just can't sanction it, the sage and sweetness of your normal tube of Jimmy Dean will suit just fine. Once that is done, sprinkle a large handful of crispy bacon bits on top. Then roll into your cylinder of hog.

I seared off the sides before finishing for about an hour in a 325 degree oven. I then glazed in Vermont Maple Syrup.

You can add any variation to this and as long as you dont sit down and eat the entire thing, you aren't doing any more damage than a couple of sausage patties.
It shouldn't be a regular thing, but it was worth doing once.

la meuniere

Earlier this spring I was in france for the first time and had some of the best meals of my life.

Walking into La Meuniere (lyon, france) and seeing a 5 foot tall little old frenchman with a bushy moustache slicing saucisson (who turned out to be the chef) I knew I was in the right place. We tried everything from cold lentil salad and salad lyonnaise to lamb's brains, skate wing with capers, steak frites. All while slugging down bottles of cote d' rhone in an incredibly unpretentious setting more like a corner dive bar than a french restaurant in America.

Even more mind blowing was Lyon's outdoor market, everything from truffles to mountains of fresh produce and sausage, wheels of goat cheese sold by the actual goat farmers that made them, and everything was cheap.

See more photos on my flickr page