Aigo Bouido, also known as Garlic Soup Vicki’s Veggies Blue Ribbon-winning Garlic
I’ver been procrastinating for a day or two now for the chore I’m really not looking forward to….cleaning sweetbreads for a recipe we’re photographing this week. I’m sure they’ll be delicious, but alas, they sure look some aweful. Not difficult to buy if you order ahead from your favourite butchers….mine being the best and always fabulous Vince Gasparro Meats at Bloor and Ossington in T.O.
As a piece of inspiration for myself, these are all images I food styled, with photographer James Tse (and prop stylist Catherine McFadyen), for Mark McEwan’s recently launched cookbook, Fabbricca. And yes, these sweetbreads WERE delicious when crisp-fried and served with chanterelles in a Marsala sauce, with a crispy parsley garnish. But Chef Drew Allerby and his crew at the restaurant (why yes, fabulous Fabbrrica) made it easy by bringing them (and most all the preparations, frankly) to the studio kitchen already prepped for the pan, when we worked on the book last year, and also for Mark McEwan’s Great Food at Home, the year earlier. (“Wow”, I get to work with some amazing people).
I shouldn’t be so squimish…offal cuisine is big these days with Jennifer McLagan’s latest cookbook , “Odd Bits” , proving itself another delicious addition to “Bones”, and “Fat”, her other titles. Congratulations to all the hard work it takes to get cookbooks published ! These books are all delicious, and help take away some of my hesitation to tackle the chore. Notice I’m still at my desk though?
Porcetta Roast & Crispy Pig Tails with Polenta