How to Make Jack’s Beef Stroganoff with Wild Mushrooms
Chris Czarnecki, a fourth generation restaurateur and chef, demonstrates one of his signature dishes at The Joel Palmer House in Dayton, Oregon. He shares their secret on how to infuse beef tenderloin with the unique flavor of the fresh Oregon White Truffle. Since 2008, Chris has taken over the restaurant from his father, Jack, and as he says in the video, this is their one dish that will always remain on the menu. You can find the recipe from this video at the bottom of the permalink post.
Oregon White Truffle Hunting with Jack Czarnecki
For Jack Czarnecki, his lifelong fascination with wild mushrooms can be distilled down to one factor: genetics. His father, Joe Czarnecki, who of European Polish descent, created quite a stir in his day with his cutting-edge restaurant ‘Joe’s’ in Reading, Pennsylvania. In the 1950’s, Joe Czarnecki was among the first chefs to use wild mushrooms, drawing culinary notables from afar, including Craig Clayborn, James Beard, and Julia Child, who wanted “to find out about this guy.” Now Jack hunts for Oregon White Truffles and makes his own truffle-infused oils.
Capturing the True Truffle Flavor in a Bottle
Jack Czarnecki explains the best way to enjoy the full taste of a truffle is by infusing truffle oil into a variety of foods (those with a higher fat content) like butter, cheese, and meats. Surprisingly, by contrast, eating a fresh truffle will often be a tasteless experience except when during digestion the gases emitted in the stomach are brought back up through the process of burping.
Next Week: U-Pick
- Tuesday – Homemade School Lunch Ideas for Young Children
As kids anticipate their first days of school, many parents begin wondering what to pack for a healthy lunch. Dr. Betty Izumi demonstrates three ideas for a homemade lunch for young children. The ideas range from time-tested egg salad sandwiches to something new and different. And it’s not only what is inside the sack lunch that counts, but also how it is put together. Healthy, fresh, and fun is key! - Wednesday – A Visit to a U-Pick Farm. Theresa Draper took over her parents farm and renamed it Draper Girls Country Farm to reflect the fact that her three daughters were part of the new operation. In the 1990’s, Draper expanded the farm stand into a U-Pick farm, offering cherries, peaches, pears, and apples to be picked by the public. There are many challenges facing such an endeavor, as Draper explains in the video.
- Thursday – Importance of Diversified Marketing Outlets to Farmers.
Farmer Theresa Draper has many people relying on her for their income and she has found that by diversifying, she has been able to carry herself and her employees throughout the year. From added-value products to opening the old farm house to vacationers, Draper is always looking for new ways to keep her farm afloat.
The Weekly Roundup
- You plan, I’ll cook: Leaving the menu to others (NY Times) Growing popularity of websites and weekly emails that tell you what to buy and how to cook it.
- Canola stakeholders file suit (Good Stuff NW) “The Oregon Department of Agriculture steamrolled producers and have rushed to open 1.7 million acres in the Willamette Valley to canola, a low-value crop with a huge, adverse impact on several high-value industries. This could mean disaster for Oregon’s seed and organic industries.”
- Henry VIII’s Kingly Diet (Diet Today) Copious amounts of bread, meats, sweet dishes and of course watered-down alcohol. Lovely! In this short video, the diet of Henry VIII is recreated in a modern day weekly supermarket shop.
- How to make a wooden spoon (Mother Earth News) This article is from 1978.
- New program connects young farmers with older ones, to make sure they don’t give up (Civil Eats)
- Not healthy enough: Program that connected students with chefs axed (Eater)
- The secret to germinating pineapples from seeds (The Frugal Gardener) She can show you how to germinate and grow all kinds of tropical fruits, even in colder climates.
- What’s driving higher food prices? It’s not just the drought (Spiegel) It’s also because 76% of corn grown in the US is not meant for human consumption. It goes to animal feed and biofuels.
- Petition demands President Obama’s organic White House Honey Ale Recipe (White House)
- Get bees back in your garden (Work With Nature) Secrets of an Irish beekeeper.
- Recipe for Ethiopian Spiced Clarified Butter (The Kitchn) This is the basis for many Ethiopian dishes, and it’s also good on popcorn and in other recipes.
- Do you eat ethically? (Behind the Kitchen Door) Trailer for a new book about the lives of restaurant workers points out low pay, lack of health benefits, and harsh working conditions.
- Food safety police might have an eye on your kitchen (Cooking Up a Story) “The whole food regulation thing becomes especially messy when the initiatives inevitably move into people’s homes. In school sugar bans, children are increasingly coming home with instructions about what is permitted in the meals or snacks they bring in from home.”
- Farming without water? (Civil Eats) Little Organic Farm in California leads the way.
- Ice Cubes Recipe (Food) Simple, easy-to-follow steps on making a family’s most challenging dish, along with hilarious comments from folks who tried it.
Don’t miss our journeys of discovery connecting the dots between the earth, the farmers, and the food we eat. Join us throughout the week as we travel in the Kitchen, to the Field, and deep into Food Wisdoms on the “road to find out’ more about food, and the people behind our food. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for meaningful curated content.