It’s less than a month to Father’s Day. If you’re looking for something special and Dad is a pork lover, we love this idea:

Consider a gourmet combination plate—a pork version of a pu pu platter*.

This idea was inspired by steakhouse Rare Steak and Seafood in Washington, D.C. (photo #1).

Executive Chef Marc Hennessy serves a Pork Tasting charcuterie board that highlights nose-to-tail cuisine. He turns heritage pork from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia into a pork-four-ways plate, celebrating some of the different textures and flavors of pork cuisine:

 
The combination provides four different texture and flavor experiences.
 
 
CREATE YOUR OWN PORK EXPERIENCE

You can serve a pork variety plate as a first or second course, depending on the size of the portions. You can also purchase some of the ingredients, such as bacon jam, dumplings, fried pork rinds, meatballs pork sausage and pulled pork, among others, can be purchased.

While there are many, many pork dishes, select four or five that can easily be served in neat portions on a combination plate. Pulled pork sliders work, pork stew doesn’t, unless you serve it in a ramekin to hold in the juices.

Here are some ideas for your combination plate.

 
 
PORK RECIPES

 
 
CHECK OUT OUR PORK CUTS GLOSSARY.
 
 

________________

*A pu pu platter is an assortment of Chinese restaurant appetizers, is fun—and sounds so much more interesting than “assorted appetizers.” Here’s more about it.

†Pork loin and pork tenderloin are not cut from the same part of the animal, and in fact, look really different — pork tenderloin is thin and small, while a pork loin is wide enough that you can cut steak-like pieces from it.

[1] Gourmet pork combination plate from Rare Steak and Seafood in D.C.: pork pâté, slow-cooked pork belly, chicharrón and lardo.

[2] Pork skewers (photo courtesy National Pork Board).

[3] BBQ Pork Sliders (photo courtesy Pig Of The Month).

[4] Pork meatballs (photo courtesy Frontier Fiesta).

[4] Pork belly on spicy tomatillo salad (photo courtesy Chef Eric B. LeVine).

[5] Bacon or pork belly potato skins (here’s the recipe from Idaho Potato Commission)

[6] Ham croquettes (photo courtesy Kyle Books).

[2] A more traditional poke bowl. Here’s how to customize your own from Kirbie Cravings.

Poke is a raw fish and vegetable dish served as an appetizer or salad course in Hawaiian cuisine.

A relative of ceviche, crudo, tartare and tataki, poke is a combination of raw fish and vegetables, served as a light lunch or appetizer.

Poke is Hawaiian for “to section” or “to slice or cut.” The most popular recipe, ahi poke, is made with yellowfin tuna marinated in sea salt, plus soy sauce, roasted crushed candlenut (inamona), sesame oil, limu seaweed and chopped chili pepper.

You can customize poke however you like, using local or seasonal ingredients. For vegetarians, here’s a tofu poke recipe.
 
HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE POKE?

Actually pronounced poe-KEH, it is mis-pronounced POE-key or POE-kay by enough people that the latter pronunciation is becoming an accepted alternative outside of the Hawaiian Islands.

Poke is Hawaiian for “to section” or “to slice or cut.” Here’s more about it.
 
HOW DO YOU RIFF ON POKE?

Sujan Sarkar, Executive Chef at Indian bistro Rooh in San Francisco, re-shapes poke as Tuna Bhel, an Indian-seasoned version of the dish.

Inspired by bhel puri, a traditional Indian chaat* made from puffed rice, vegetables and tamarind sauce, Chef Sarkar took the traditional poke base of ahi tuna and mixed it with puffed black rice, crunchy chickpea snack, boiled potatoes, red onion, green apple and green mango, baby radish and avocado.

He then seasoned the medley with seasoned with chaat masala, chutney, and a sprinkle of the Japanese chile-based spice mix, shichimi togarashi, on the plate.

You, too can create a designer poke dish (or apply the lesson to any other conventional food preparation).

Take this poke recipe from Kirbie Cravings (photo #2) and think of what flavors you’d like to add.

Avocado and scallions are popular, but how about:

 
Let the sky be your limit: orange zest, castelvetrano olives, rice sticks. We might hold the line at potato chips and pretzels, but you don’t have to.

In his presentation, Chef Sarkar garnishes with watermelon radishes and edible flowers. Here, you can use something fun and crunchy (freeze-dried edamame?).

________________

*Chaat are savory snacks that originated as Indian street food. They are now served as hors d’oeuvres or first courses in Indian restaurants. The word derives from Hindi for tasting. More about chaat.

Once every five or ten years we see a product innovation that we would be delighted to consume regularly.

Some never make it commercially.

We still lament the pizza cone, made from pizza crust shaped like an ice cream cone. You could stuff with your favorite pizza ingredients—mozzarella, pepperoni, sauce, etc.—and eat your cone on the go.

The latest innovation that we hope will be a big success:

Folios Cheese Wraps. The Gourmet Retailer awarded them the 2017 Editor’s Pick for Best New Products.

You can take the 100% cheese wraps and use them to wrap, roll, melt, crisp, or crisp and shape. See their versatility in the photos.
 
 
WHAT ARE FOLIOS CHEESE WRAPS?

Folios Cheese Wraps (photo #7) are all natural, 100% cheese circles/slices.

They are used instead of bread, flour-based wraps or corn-based tortillas; and can be shaped into bowls, pockets and taco shells.

They have no fillers or additives and are rBST free and gluten free (all cheese is gluten-free; gluten only occurs in certain cereal grains).

And, they are also lactose free. That takes an extra step in production, for which lactose-sensitive cheese lovers will be grateful.

The wraps are 7 inches in diameter, but are not simply sliced from a block of cheese.

Rather, a lot of research and development went into a process involving baking the slices (that’s the only secret divulged), to end up with a slice a cheese that looks like…a slice of cheese.

They are made in three varieties: Cheddar, Jarlsberg and Parmesan.

Each slice has 13g of protein, plus just 1g of carbs and 150 calories per slice.
 
 
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE CHEESE WRAPS?

Use them instead of bread, wraps, tortillas and other carb-laden bread substitutes. You can:

 
You can shape, bake, microwave or enjoy them in their natural state.

Some ideas:
 
For The Cheddar Wraps

In addition to the uses above, substitute in Tex-Mex dishes:

 
You can get even more creative by, for example, pressing jalapeño slices into the Folios (photo #6).
 
For The Jarlsberg Wraps

 
For The Parmesan Wraps

 
A natural pairing is with foods that typically contain Parmesan cheese.

 
Experiment to your heart’s desire. For recipes and videos, head to CheeseFolios.com.
 
 
ABOUT LOTITO FOODS

Folios Cheese Wraps are made by Lotito Foods, a fourth-generation family business that sells retail, consumer and private label food product lines.

Their products are available nationwide.

[1] Jarlsberg Folios Cheese Wrap with roast beef and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. You can make it or buy balsamic glaze (all photos courtesy Lotito Foods).

[2] A Parmesan Folios Cheese Wrap is turned into a bowl for a Caesar salad. Just heat it and shape it over a bowl.

[3] A Cheddar Folios Cheese Wrap becomes a taco shell. Heat it and shape it over a form.

[4] Fold up into a tart or galette.

[5] Cut a wrap into pinwheels.

[6] Press in slices of jalapeño.

[7] The varieties of Folios Cheese Wraps: Cheddar, Jarlsberg and Parmesan.

Folios Cheese Wraps are made by Lotito Foods, a fourth-generation family business that sells retail, consumer and private label food product lines.

Their products are available nationwide.

[2] A mix to bake your own (both photos courtesy Simple Mills).

Simple Mills sent me their vegan, gluten-free and paleo-friendly Soft Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies (photo #1) and their Chocolate Chip Cookie Almond Flour Mix (photo #2), along with the promise of something revolutionary.

The use of almond flour in both products piqued my interest. I ate the ready-made cookies from the box, and I baked a batch from the other.

Both products are Certified Gluten-Free and Non GMO Project Verified.
 
Simple Mills Soft Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies

That first tender bite, still firm enough and not over-chipped, got my attention. But the cookie simply disappeared before I had a chance to process all of its various gifts.

So I reached for another, and another…and it pretty much went on like this until the box was half gone.

My first impression was the yielding softness of the cookie, followed soon after by an appreciation of the its almost amaretti-like airiness: a moist delicacy balanced by hearty almond undertones.

But this is not an esoteric cookie experience. It’s a cookie that will appeal to young and old; accessible enough for the Cookie Monster in all of us, but dimensional and subtle enough for a foodie.

As it wins your heart with its tenderness, its flavor and slightly lower sugar content will appeal to your reason. The Soft Baked cookies contain 6 grams of sugar per 2-inch-diameter cookie. That’s 25% less sugar than in natural cookie counterparts
 
Simple Mills Chocolate Chip Cookie Almond Flour Mix

Want to bake? The Cookie Mix, with a very quick assembly and bake time, resulted in a slightly crunchier outer rim and a softer middle.

The advantage of the mix is its ability to customize crunchy-to-soft ratios and include enhancements. I made half of my mixture chips-only and tossed a handful of chopped pecans into the rest. Future plans include ground coffee and dried apricot add-ins.

Simple Mills cookie products (which are also soy-free and dairy-free) are available via the Simple Mills website as well as at stores nationwide (store locator).
 
—by Georgi Page-Smithr

This year, American Craft Beer Week is celebrated from May 14th through 20th. It’s about celebrating the artisan ingredients, and techniques, that make a craft beer so much more tasty and special than a mass brew.

There are more than 6,000 breweries in the U.S., and 99% of them are defined by the Brewers Association as small*, traditional and independent.

One of the problems in Beerland is that the huge global beer companies purchase hot independent beer brands†, and then apply their corporate protocols to chip away at the quality. Two we once enjoyed, Blue Point and Goose Island, simply aren’t as exciting as they used to be.

How can you tell if a beer is made by an independent U.S. craft brewer or is part of a global conglomerate? Look for the independent craft brewer seal on the packaging (photo #2).

The independent craft brewer seal was launched in June 2017 by the Brewers Association, the membership organization dedicated to promoting and protecting small and independent craft brewers in the U.S., and publishers of CraftBeer.com.
 
 
7 WAYS TO CELEBRATE CRAFT BEER WEEK

1. Try a new beer style. See if you can find one of the new coffee beers or tea beers, which add coffee or tea to the brew.

2. Get a growler to go and invite some friends.

3. Try new beer and food pairings.

 
4. Take a brewery tour. More than 80% of drinking-age Americans live within 10 miles of a brewery, according to the Craft Brewers Association. Find one with their interactive guide to breweries. Or, try a simple browser search for “craft breweries near me.”

5. Check out how to make a homebrew. It could become your new hobby.

6. Give a shout-out to your favorite craft beer in social media.

7. Plan a summer beercation.

[1] Craft lager (photo courtesy Uno).

[2] This seal establishes that the beer was made by an independent craft brewer (image courtesy Craft Brewers Association).

If you want to receive communications from the American Craft Beer association, send them your email.
 
 
BRUSH UP YOUR BEER KNOWLEDGE WITH OUR BEER GLOSSARY.
________________

*There are four different category classifications. A regional brewery is defined by an annual production of 15,000 to 6,000,000 barrels. A microbrewery is one that produces less than 15,000 barrels. The other two categories are brewpubs, which produce the smallest amount, and contract brewing companies, which producer beer for companies that don’t have their own facilities [more].

†In the space of four years, for example, Anheuser-Busch InBev purchased beloved local breweries like Chicago’s Goose Island, Patchogue, New York’s Blue Point Brewing Co., Bend, Oregon’s 10 Barrel and Seattle’s Elysian Brewing [more].
 

The beer taps at West End Hall, a beer garden in New York City that sells craft beers on tap and in bottles (photo courtesy West End Hall).