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(cured) MEAT + 3 Newsletter Archive

(cured) MEAT + 3 From Charlito's Cocina - Progress, Perfection, and Chorizo 7/1/20

(cured) MEAT + 3 From Charlito's Cocina - Progress, Perfection, and Chorizo 7/1/20

"Perfectionism has nothing to do with getting it right. It has nothing to do with fixing things. It has nothing to do with standards. Perfectionism is a refusal to let yourself move ahead. It is a loop an obsessive, debilitating closed system that causes you to get stuck in the details of what you are writing or painting or making and to lose sight of the whole.  Instead of creating freely and allowing errors to reveal them selves later as insights, we often get mired in getting the details right. We correct our originality into a uniformity that lacks passion and spontaneity."

From The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron

 

This passage is helping me to shift my thinking to something far more productive than the seemingly endless brain freeze I've experienced over the last few weeks.  It’s been one internal conversation after another of “How about this? No, not that.  Well how about this?  No, no that either?” Etc. etc, over and over.  The unfortunate and seemingly conventional wisdom appears to be that tragedy needs to strike in order for needed change to occur.  Tragedy has certainly struck, and continues to every day, and so much of what can be better about the world, our communities, and ourselves, lays bare before us.  From my end anyway, it has been an anxiety provoking and intense accelerator of a non-linear and jagged visioning process for what kind of world I’d like to live in.  President Obama once said “We zig and zag and sometimes we move in ways that some people think is forward and others think is moving back, and that’s O.K.”  For me, one question that helps keep it in perspective, that my 3 year old daughter helps me ask, that keeps me aware of what “the whole” even is, is what kind of world I’d like for her to live in and how can I contribute to it?  Some parts of that answer?  One in which people are uplifted by one another, not torn down by one another.  One in which the value and inherent potential of every person is respected, far more than it has been in the past.  One in which every individual feel their inherent agency over their own life and don't feel bound to a pre-determined future.  The answer to this question and the achieving of this ideal might come in the form of a dizzying amount of zigging and zagging, but reminding myself that that’s part of the process, makes overcoming the anxiety of the question, a bit more manageable.  
 
The (cured) MEAT + 3 is just a vehicle, like food itself, to start or continue a conversation and, hopefully, provide nourishment in the process. 

Thanks for reading! 

Cheers,
Charlito
THE MEAT

This week, I’ve got the first salami I even made on my mind – Chorizo Seco. Our version is inspired by the flavor profiles and simplicity of the Chorizo’s from Spain.  With countless interpretations worldwide, Chorizo is almost as diverse in Queens, with thousands of renditions around the world  Our version is made simply solar evaporated sea saltwith a lightly smoked paprika from the La Vera region of Spain, as well as a hint of garlic.  It is supremely versatile and great fun to cook with.  Having some on hand means a quick and easy way to accent a whole host of dishes.  
 
 
THE 3

1) Chorizos and Garbanzos
Cube about 3 oz of Chorizo.  Saute with a couple cloves of garlic, and half an onion.  Add garbanzos, and ½ cup of chicken stock if you have it (don’t worry if not).  Simmer for about 15 or 20 minutes.  Salt to taste.  
 
2) Soft Scrambled Huevos con chorizo
Cube an ounce or so of Chorizo, mix it in with 2 or 3 eggs, along with a dash of cold water and a dash of olive oil.  Cook it over low eat, stirring constantly until the eggs are your desired texture.  Serve with warm bread!  (or on its own!) 
 
variation: render some Sobrasada in the pan and cook the eggs in the heated, slightly rendered, Sobrasada
 
3) Charlito’s ChoriPan version #62
Slice a Ciabatta in half, or grab two slices of your favorite bread. Make a sandwich with a few slices of Chorizo, a few slices of Manchego (as your cheesemonger for the Essex Street Manchego if possible.  Toast on a cast iron skillet, pressing down the sandwich as much as possible.  Add some chopped hazelnuts for texture of you'd like!   Toast until golden toasted. Flip.  Repeat.  Enjoy!