Pork recipe (clearer version)

I have a new food fancy... the pork belly :) The stuff just crossed my mind a week ago and I proposed a purchase to the department manager and he was like, "sure." So now we have some. i really had big ideas for the fresh and lovely, fat-laced indulgence of a muscle cut, but those expectations are proving difficult to fulfill. Regardless, it's delicious and we have some. It may shortly make its way into sausage. anyway, check out the great looking stuff in this video and tell me you're not curious....Secondly, I remade the Green Chorizo but this time around, used chicken for the meat, all natural boneless thigh meat... lovely stuff for making sausage. The thigh doesn't dry out very easily, stays juicy and has a firm but giving texture. The sausage has a fair amount cilantro, green onion, chopped jalapeno lime zest and garlic, with a bit of cumin in the background and cayenne knocking up the heat level. It's got a tingle of heat, but I would not call this an especially aggressive sausage.. perhaps a 1 out of 5 stars. Delicious and sort of refreshing in a spring-ish inspired meat dish manner.

les croissants, les croissants!!

  Yesterday I attempted the previously unachievable croissant-from-scratch.  They really are a royal pain to make, BUT WORTH EVERY BIT OF TROUBLE!!!  I got the book "Tartine" by Chad Robertson, for Christmas and was impressed by the author's approach to teaching the method for his own country loaf.  The book has really changed my understanding of the process and given me a greater appreciation for a great loaf of bread.  I've gotten close to his model a few times but I'm still a step aside.
   Regardless, the latter part of the book describes his croissant method and it really works beautifully.  This is as much a book review as a show-and-tell for my breakfast.  Check it out if you love super crunchy crusts with a springy interior... the author's method is grounded in very old fashioned methods of leavening by basing his breads on wild yeasts in a young, low-acid leaven and sometimes bolstering the rise with a "poolish" of lab grown yeast ripened for hours before innoculating them into the early dough.  The book was written for bread fanatics but is easy to follow for the novice (like me.) 

Here's my croissants from the AM.

Gameday Chili Sausage

  I have to admit off the bat that I don't watch sports.  It's just not my thing.  Don't have a problem with sports, I promise, just never got into watching.  I feel better. 
   Moving on, the news in Sausage Land it the "Gameday Chili Sausage" which was created today to appease the Super Bowl fanatic who obviously cannot throw a good party without a delicious sausage option for snacking.  This chow-dog is an all-pork link laced with the classic chili spices of... well: chili, cumin and tomato (not really a spice, I know.)  There's a touch of garlic, and liquid smoke, salt and pepper and a bundle of paprika for color and spice.  We then threw in a few good fistfuls of green pepper, yellow onion, corn and black beans.  It's authentic, delicious and satisfying.  Big "yum" factor here. 
  Don't hold back with this one... boil and broil them, or pan fry with onions, and toast a good bun.  These are aching to be topped with a pile of grated all-American Cheddar and underlaid with coarse and spicy mustard.  Make it look like a dream, then sit back and enjoy the Big Game!!