Pilgrimage

Santo and I were talking about butchering pigs and about how we wanted to learn to do it. Just as we found out that the class we hoped to take in Minneapolis was sold out, my good friend Jonny--of Underground Food Collective fame--let me know about a similar class he was teaching in Madison. The weekend the class was scheduled also happened to be the same weekend that my brother was hosting his first supper club dinner. It didn't take much conferring to decide that we would cancel our Monday classes, jump in the car and head back across the Mississippi. Good food and good times were calling. This is how it went down.

Starting things off proper. I picked up Santo early Saturday afternoon and was so rushed getting my bar application in the mail before we left that I didn't have time for lunch. This turned out just fine since the two of us share a soft spot for the occasional McDonalds indulgence justified by limited interstate dining options.

Holsteins.

We stayed with Josh, Jill, and Ruby Makoutz--good friends. When we walked in the house, Jill had some stew simmering and this soda bread coming out of the oven. It was a welcome sight and an even better smell.

Josh and Ruby. Not only is Ruby beautiful on the outside, she has a deep and abiding love for butter--a woman after my own heart.

After Josh and Jill fed us, they let us crash a party. Normally when I think about spending an evening with strangers, I get squirmy. But these people were real nice and they had bourbon. Very nice bourbon. It's a good thing that Jill's pregnant, cause I definitely was in no shape to drive away. Also on the menu: Mobay, chocolate torte, and pizza bombs--deep-fried margherita donuts. This is how I like to get down.

When we sobered up the next morning, we went to Josh and Jill's amazing coffeeshop--Bradbury's. Jill served us up some excellent espresso and we soaked up the sun.

Prosciutto, chevre, and fig preserves.

After a late breakfast, we headed to the Weary Traveler to help my brother prep for his dinner. Here Santo was crisping up some pork shoulder for a buckwheat crepe with a sunchoke puree.

Radish, pinenut and serrano vinaigrette. Served over pork dumplings, which appear below.


Coworkers.


Simmering.


Santo and the radishes.


Mushrooms.


Pork dumplings.

After a few hours of prep, we went to the butchering class. Jonny and Ben start things off by showing us the power of teamwork.

Pig parts. After the class was over, I took home some fresh sage and ginger sausages, a belly that's becoming pancetta and jowl that's now guanciale.

Greg plating desert. The meal was quite special. My favorite dishes included tuna loin with anchovy puree and truffle vinaigrette, the pork trio (the dumpling and crepe mentioned above as well as a beautiful piece of sous vide tenderloin atop chicken liver mousse) and this dessert--vanilla panna cotta, poached rhubarb, cherries, and pie crust.

Three guys, four bottles. Not a bad ratio.

Dad came to the early seating and was mostly to blame for our wine ratio.

We were knackered after a long day and crashed promptly after returning to the Makoutz household. We packed and left early in the morning, but not before Santo caught Josh and Ruby in the morning sun.