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My college buddy and I huddled in darkness beside an old wooden fence, shivering and cursing the farmer who had put us up to this. A sliver of moon shone thin light upon a stone farmhouse where the farmer and his wife sat, no doubt in the glow of a roaring fire. The same trickle of [...]
Most woodfired oven owners only use the oven once a week or so to bake pizza or bread at fairly high temperatures. There’s another level of cooking available, at lower and constant temperatures, which requires pulsing the oven with small fires. This is useful knowing about both to protect the oven from unnecessary cracking from cold firing [...]
‘I don’t want to go bowling!’ My son stamped his foot.
‘When you’re in France,’ I said in my best, all-knowing fatherly voice, ‘you do what French people do.’ I ruffled his hair and he pulled away.
‘But bowling?’ he howled. ‘Who goes to France to go bowling?’
Well, I guess he had a point. When the Bullhogs [...]
I left the East Coast 30 years ago and, except for sporadic family visits, I’ve hardly been back since. The man can leave the East Coast but the East Coast doesn’t leave the man. One yearns for corner delis with fistfuls of amazing sandwiches, serious pizzas from pizza joints whose recipes have bridged generations. And [...]
Here at Chez Bullhog, we love our beans. As a delicious comfort food, a hearty alternative to meat, or tender nuggets that suck up all kinds of exotic flavoring, they never fail to satisfy. And so when we learned that we could cook them the way people used to do it, with the bean pot right in [...]
I’ve always liked bread that comes with a good story behind it, so when my friend Posy turned up at Chez Bullhog one rainy Saturday with a little book under her arm and a bright gleam in her eye, I perked up straight away. ‘Bialys,’ she said, excitedly poking at the book with her finger. [...]
It’s dark by 5 p.m., and wintry but not too cold, an evening that could be medieval as easily as it is modern. Just the kind of night that’s perfect for a bright fire and a big pan of oven-roasted root veggies. All that’s needed to complete the scene are potatoes, parsnips, onions, a few [...]
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Welcome Aboard At Woodfiredkitchen.com, Sortachef takes you on adventures in the kitchen and beyond, with tales to suit. Many of his offerings are woodfired - a flaming good recipe for pizza, bread, or something different. All recipes are original and tasty. Enjoy!
Sortachef Adventures Early this summer, Sortachef took his trusty steed down to California for two weeks, camping and cooking with fire along the way. In Arcata, Lodi and Mt. Shasta City, he visited with owners and operators of woodfired ovens.
The trip opened new avenues for woodfired ideas. See ‘Camping Clam Spaghetti in the Redwoods’ and ‘Beautifully Barbecued Baby Back Ribs’ for two of his stories.
In mid summer, Sortachef spent several weeks collecting material in the U.K., where he followed leads on bakers using specialty ovens and sampled a variety of pizzas. See 'The State of British Pizza: 2010' for an overview; it just might change your views on British food.
Sortachef and the Salad Queen will be heading to Puebla, Mexico in October to visit the birthplace of Mole. Stay tuned for more, Amigos!
Flame On!
Got a good campfire cooking story? In his quest for the perfect camping food, Sortachef talked to many folk from Grants Pass, Oregon to Yosemite. Almost everybody had a tale to tell. If you’ve got a good one, send it to Sortachef@gmail.com, and he’ll try to use it in an upcoming entry.
Kudos “Do you know those days when it feels like a hot chocolate day? That’s what Don’s site makes me feel like.”
“Sortachef on Woodfiredkitchen.com includes an eclectic mix of travel, food memories and photographs to accompany his recipes. Since we believe food, wine and travel are the best geography lesson you can have to understand and appreciate various cultures, his style of sharing his message is what we enjoy.
"(Don) may not be a chef, but he is a great cook and a good writer which shines through on his blog.”
“You have two very special gifts, one your love of cooking and the other, one with words.”
"Sortachef's woodfired chicken is not just a recipe to try, but his writing is just as savory. Part travelogue and part rambling joke, you'll enjoy the introductory anecdote just as much as the cooking."
“Reading your post nearly brought me to happy tears remembering how (my mother) prepared this masterpiece with such loving care. I didn’t have a copy of her method so I think I will bridge the gap with yours.
Thank you so much for jogging a jovial food memory for me.”
“The bread is as beautiful as your writing.”
“One of my favorite things is when people blog for themselves and the people they connect with, not to make money or to get a book deal. That being said, I think Don should make money and get a book deal”
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