Brandon Eats

Aziza's on Main

Some might think I must have had a traumatic brain injury I don't remember over the holidays, because I just wrote another glowing review. This time it's for Aziza's on Main and is in today's Style Weekly. Here's the link.

Commentary

Guess what? I'm not going to publish comments that are actually personal attacks. On me or anybody else. You can disagree with my or another commentator's opinion, but once you cross the line, baby, I hit the delete key.

Go google ad hominem right this minute and memorize what it means.

Whole Hog

My refrigerator stopped working last night. I put my newly acquired milk on the porch and threw everything else out because I suspected the fridge had died sometime during the day, and I just noticed it at dinnertime. Re-reading all my old links regarding salmonella online didn't help much, mentally.

So, off to the store on a quick run, and I returned home with boneless chicken breasts. I was intrigued by the ease of the recipe in the video above because just recently I bought a whole Jamon Serrano. That's right, a WHOLE ham. It was an incredible deal, at the low, low, ultra-low price of $150.00. That's not a price you're going to see for a long time, my little piglets, no way, no how. I'm sorry you missed it. I'll try to be a better blogger friend next time.

I had to clean out a cupboard to keep it in (you don't need to refrigerate the bone-in hams), and although the instructions say to eat it the jamon in 6-7 weeks, I know for a fact that these things last a lot, lot longer than that. Chris's great-aunt in Spain whipped out one from her cupboard for us (hand-cured by her from a pig that used to live under her house--probably hand-slaughtered by her too, but I didn't ask) and she shrugged her shoulders when I asked about how long she usually keeps it. That generally means indefinitely in Spain. You just scrape off the mold and slice away.

I once wrote an essay for Belle about it, but since none of the Belle stuff is online, there's no way for anyone to read it. I'm not bitter; I just don't know how to link to a PDF. But I digress . . . 

This recipe is insanely easy and my only substitution was the type of ham--but the two really are interchangeable, and I would argue jamon is far, far superior. I'd also recommend brining the breasts if you have time. It makes a big difference with a type of meat like this that can be so dry and tasteless if you leave it in the pan even a minute or so too long. Just throw them in a plastic bag with a quart of water, 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/2 cup of sugar, and take them out in about 30 minutes. Dry well, extremely well, and then make the recipe just like sweet Jamie does.

The result is a flavor-packed burst of smokiness from the ham, lemony bright herbal notes, and a deep background of earthy Parmesan. It took all of fifteen minutes and the bashing was the very best part for someone so enraged at an appliance. A little couscous and garlicky zucchini rounded out the meal, and suddenly I was in a place where I could actually gaze at the two-and-a-half year old fridge without feeling compelled to rent my garments and give it a good, swift kick in the freezer.

And that, my friends, is really saying something.

Mamma 'Zu

I shamelessly give Mamma 'Zu the best review I've ever written about a restaurant in today's Style. Here's a link .