Prime Cuts

When most people go on vacation they hunt for postcards, key chains, shot glasses or other small trinkets to bring home as mementos of where they have been. While those things are nice, I have never been one to much care for spending money on postcards and key chains. I usually like the photos that I take better than the postcards and the fact that the photos are digital means that I can edit and publish them instead of having to hang on to a piece of card stock. I’m not a key chain person. Just give me the keys necessary to get through the day and I’m fine. Shot glasses and other small trinkets can be fun, especially if they’re a bit funky and fun. So, what do I hunt for when on vacations or look forward to when family or friends head away to foreign lands? Hot sauces, spices and oils.

Growing up with a Jamaican step-father I have a deep passion for spicy foods. When I was young I wasn’t allowed to get up from the table until my plate was cleared no matter how spicy it was. As I grew up I became intrigued by the different layers that hot sauces, curries, jerk seasonings and peppers presented to my palette. Some immediately sent excruciating stinging pain through my lips and the tip of my tongue while others had a deep smoky spice accompanied by a light burn minutes after eating and in the deep regions of my throat. I began experimenting and researching different types of sauces, spices and peppers with the goal of educating myself on all things spicy.  No, this is not to say that everything must be over-sauced in mouth-scorching hot sauce or so much spice that you need an ice-scraper to get it off. I appreciate properly seasoned and sauced foods and have grown my range to not be so simple as to think that Red Hot is the only sauce available.

Once I began to travel more for business trips and vacations, especially to the Carribean islands, I started to seek out collecting different hot sauces, seasonings and oils from around the world. Now when family or friends travel they know what will put a big smile on my face when they come back. I’ve had jerk sauces and seasonings that I bought from women who were cooking it in their kitchens and then selling their concoctions in the open markets the next day and have tried spicy oils where a drop into a vat of chili turns it spicy throughout, among many other experiences. What always amazes me is the variety of combinations and different flavor layers that are created by using, in general, the same ingredients. It’s simply incredible.

Being fellow foodies, I wonder if, when you travel, do you hunt for unique spices, oils or sauces to bring home with you, even if they’re not spicy?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to receive future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Photo Credit: ASurroca

When we launched Prime Cuts it was our goal to provide you with content around all things cooking including information, techniques, tips and recipes. Of course, since our name is “Prime Cuts” and we own an argentinean steakhouse we wanted a primary focus of our content to be on proteins, and specifically, steak, as well as the dishes, sauces, beverages and techniques associated with them. As our restaurant continued to grow and get busier we sought out help from a diverse group of contributors to keep new content flowing into your RSS readers or inbox. While this strayed away from the focus on steaks that we had originally intended, it allowed us the ability to focus on the restaurant, which demanded a lot of our attention, while still keeping up with the blog. Our contributors provided mouth-watering recipes, the joys of a French press and tons more.

But, as 2010 set in, the restaurant continued to grow and was growing, at times, at an even faster rate than we had anticipated. Along with that we had a lot of other things that demanded our time both personally and professionally. This perfect storm of circumstances led us to put this blog on the back burner. Sure, we created some content during 2010, but not nearly as much as we wanted to and not on a regular basis.

As we spent the better part of December planning out what 2011 would look like for us at Caminito, we made dusting off and refreshing Prime Cuts a priority for the two of us. We decided that we wanted to bring the blog back to its roots with no other contributors besides the two of us. This forces us to keep it a priority since we’re solely responsible for producing content. If we don’t write, then you don’t get anything new to read. This will put pressure on us, especially once Summer comes around and the restaurant picks up a lot. We’ll definitely have guest posts along the way and may even open our arms again to regular contributors later in the year.

We’re really excited at digging back in around here. We both have some recipes, techniques and tips that we can’t wait to share with you! To help us stay on a regular schedule and also not to suddenly start flooding you with new posts, we’re going to stick to 2 posts per week, one from each of us. Some weeks we may have more than that, especially if we put together a series or have a few guest posts and some weeks we’ll probably only have a single post. We’ll call it an average of 2 posts per week. Deal?

We hope that you had a wonderful holiday season and that 2011 is off to a great start! We hope that you’ll forgive us for not writing enough during 2010 and will pop back in and say hello during 2011.

Cheers!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to receive future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Photo Credit: elmada

Recently I saw in the New York Times a story of Thomas Keller’s last meal with his father. The article was fascinating, and captured exactly how I feel about food. Food is a way to show affection, share life experiences and create memories. And it got me thinking, what would I have as my last meal? Out of the thousands of meals I’ve had in my life, and the hundreds of thousands of meals I haven’t, what would be the ultimate? Would I go for an exquisite meal at El Bulli or stick with the simple comforts of home cuisine?

Having no idea which direction to turn, I asked my friends.  The response was overwhelming. Each answer was incredibly personal, unique and most were linked to a story.

My friend Justin said “anything cooked by my grandma I would spend my last meal surrounded by my family at grandma’s table. Yup. For sure.” Spending time with family, you know I back that.

A peer, who I served with on PRSSA’s National Committee, surprised me with his thoughtful response. “French onion soup to start. For an appetizer, go for an avian theme and serve foie gras with a cinnamon rub atop two pieces of buttered cinnamon toast and scrambled quail eggs. For the main course, a veal and crab leg medley with sides of asparagus and potatoes au gratin. Warm blackberry cobbler topped with strawberries for dessert. Finish with black coffee.” Okay, I’ll admit, that sounds pretty incredible.

Two friends said they’d delve into their food allergies. Kayley would brush aside her gluten allergy to indulge in a loaf of fresh baked bread, and Lisa would head straight for the dairy aisle with nothing but thoughts of cheese on her mind.

But after hearing from so many of my friends, I still couldn’t answer my own question. So I turned to My Last Supper by Melanie Dunea (I highly recommend for its beautiful pictures), which features 50 top chefs and each of their last meal’s recipes.

But the book only confused me more. I was complicating the process. And then it occurred to me — the one thing I ALWAYS ask for when I go home. This is going to sound ridiculous…so drum roll please…

…..My mom’s toast

Allow me to explain. For every meal my mother prepares, she takes my likes and dislikes into consideration. And as silly and/or sweet as it may sound, she prepares even the smallest meals that way. Every dish is full of love, even if it’s just bread and butter.

Now that’s a last supper I can toast to.

What would your last supper be?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to receive future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Photo by: basheertome

We’re very happy to announce the newest version of Prime Cuts.  With this update comes both a completely new logo and blog design.  Both the logo and blog were designed by Coffee House Ideas.  We worked really hard with Eric and Justin Rasmussen to ensure that the logo and new design matched what you’ve come to love about Prime Cuts.

Realizing that most of you connect with us via an RSS reader, we wanted to call your attention to the updated design.  If you haven’t stopped by the actual website in a while, head on over and take a peek.  We’re really proud of the updates and are still continuing to make several tweaks and other updates.

I really like the changes and was getting bored staring at the same blog day in and day out.  I’m curious to know what you think.  Do you like it?  What’s ONE thing you want to see around here?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to receive future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Today Joseph explains what we’ve been up to over the past few weeks as well as sharing another passion he has besides cooking – ice fishing.

You have probably noticed that recently we haven’t been posting as frequently, well Justin has been involved with a lot recently… even for him.  He is transitioning to a new job where he will be working more than ever before in addition to all of his responsibilities at the steakhouse; planning a move to Boston; planning a wedding; and oh yeah, working as much as ever every day.  For me, I have been working the steakhouse as I always do, throughout the craziness of the Holiday season, and now that the holidays are over and the cold of winter has begun to set in I have been involved in another passion of mine… ice fishing, yeah that’s right.

I will start off with a quote from myself sometimes found posted on the front door of the restaurant in wintertime “Caminito Argentinean Steakhouse will be closed Mondays Jan, Feb, and March to observe the 2009 ice fishing season.”  The date changes, as does the accompanying picture of whichever staff member, and a freshly caught fish.  I began ice fishing when I was in college about 6-7 years ago.  I had always wanted to ice fish but never knew anybody else who did, or could teach me how, until I met up with an old friend from my high school days.  We began the season with a bang, catching loads of trout bass and pickerel.  I loved it right away! I knew I would because I don’t mind the cold.  I don’t ski or snowboard, I love fishing, and I usually have more time off in the winter, its perfect!

I fish for sport approximately 95% of the time, rarely keeping my catch.  When I go I am always respectful of my surroundings, leaving nothing but footprints wherever I fish.  When I get out, my favorite fish to catch are Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Pickerel, and Trout.  Trout are one of the few types of fish that I prefer to catch to eat and the type I fish for the least frequently.  Ice fishing and ice fishermen/women have a reputation for being a bunch of drunks who dirty up the ice and kill all their fish.  While this can be true I feel that the true fishermen, (there are a lot of them, myself included) respect the fish and their surrounding environment.   I belong to a fishing forum online called iceshanty.com and represent the Massachusetts team.  It is a great place for local ice fishermen to communicate about ice thickness, what’s biting and where, and to plan trips for groups to meet up and fish together. All of the guys I talk to and read posts from on the forum all share the same passion and respect for fishing and all that comes with it.

There are many great place to ice fish in Massachusetts.  I love fishing at the many lakes and ponds in the Berkshires, surrounding Hill towns, and right here in Northampton.  I would have to say that right now the Connecticut River Oxbow is my favorite place to go ice fishing.  It is also minutes from my home and restaurant.  Many a mornings in the wintertime I can be found cooking my breakfast on the ice, before work.  I love the peace and tranquility of it and I have a pretty good catch record to boot.  My largest catch through the ice was a 37” Northern pike that weighed 13 pounds, and I caught it on 6 pound test fishing line, through a six inch hole in the ice.

Over the last few years, I have gotten many of my friends and co-workers from the restaurant out on the ice with me.  Several of my prep cooks, my kitchen manager who is from Guatemala, and even a waitress!… once.  Many of them fish with me on a semi-regular basis, us having the same days off when the restaurant is closed and all. Ice fishing is one of those things that you just have to love, in order to do it on a regular basis.  I am glad that I discovered it when I did, and glad to pass it on to my friends and coworkers.  It’s an excellent, peaceful time to be outside, obviously you have to dress warmly, but the sun on your face, a couple friends, a portable grill, some camp chairs, and a few fish biting and you have yourself a recipe for a great winter day.  I just love ice fishing, it is something I was born to do, and while the wintertime can be a slow time for businesses, I stay busy and wake up earlier than I do any other time of year.

Oh, and by the way, many more posts are coming.  This is not an excuse to be slackers, we apologize, and are right back to grinding, with a great list of content coming.

To conclude I will use another quote from myself, also found on the front door of Caminito: “see you on the ice”….

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to receive future articles delivered to your feed reader.

We take a break from our regularly scheduled broadcast to bring you this special announcement:

I’m excited to announce that I will be speaking at the one-day Social Media Jungle conference taking place at CES in Las Vegas on Wednesday, January 7th at the Venetian.  The first Social Media Jungle was an amazing day and I hope that I will see a lot of you in Las Vegas for this event.  There is an all-star speaker list (below) with a bunch of topics all surrounding social media.

[viddler id=13d3a305&w=437&h=370]

The official description of Social Media Jungle on the CES event page is:

“The Social Media Jungle at the 2009 International CES brings to light how the advent of social media is changing the way we work and live. Sessions include state-of-the-industry updates and a candid look at how social media disrupts the workplace by empowering companies to lower burn rates. Plus, learn how companies can motivate consumers through social media to drive product sales without increasing costs.”

Here is a complete list of speakers and topics:

8:30 – 9:00: Real-Time Social Networking
9:00 – 9:20: Welcome to the Jungle, Jeff Pulver
9:20 – 9:40: Navigating the Social Media Seas, Chris Brogan
9:40 – 10:00 – Industry Perspective & Update
10:00 – 10:20 – Industry Perspective & Update
10:20 – 10:40 – What to Look for in Social Media Platforms in 2009, Robert Scoble
10:40 – 11:00 – Return on Social Media Investment, Ben Grossman
11:00 – 11:20 – [ break ]
11:20 – 11:40 – Learn, Baby, Learn: Turn Your Social Media Addiction Into An Asset!, Jeffrey Sass
11:40 – 12:00 – Social Media Principles, Chris Heuer
12:00 – 12:20 – Naked PR: What Marketers Need to Know in the Age of Social Media, Susan Etlinger
12:30 – 2:00 [Lunch Break]
2:00 – 2:30 – How Reporters Have to Think of Themselves as an Entrepreneur and a Publisher Using their Company as a Platform, Daniel Honigman
2:30 – 2:50 – New Media Strategy in Challenging Times: Conquering the 3 Screen World: Dean Landsman and Howard Greenstein
2:50 – 3:10 – How Small Business can use Inbound Marketing/Social Media to Help Increase Their Business, Justin Levy
3:10 – 3:30 – The Convergence of CE and Social Media, Jeremy Toeman
3:30 – 3:50 – Managing Your Reputation While Being Genuine and Authentic Online, Dave Taylor
3:50 – 4:10 – How to Botch an Agency Briefing (No Matter How Cool You Think Your Product Is), David Berkowitz
4:10 – 4:20 [break]
4:20 – 4:40 – How Trust Drives Transactions During a Down Economy, Eric Weaver
4:40 – 5:00 – Leveraging Social Media for the Social Good, Rebecca Bollwitt
5:00 – 5:20 – How New Media is Changing the World, Brian Reich
5:20 – 5:40 – Transforming Unemployed BabyBoomers via Social Media, Carlos Hernandez
5:40 – 5:45 – Wrap up

To signup to atted Social Media Jungle or for more information, please visit the Social Media Jungle at CES event page.  The cost of this event is $295 in advance and $395 on-site.  In addition to the actual event, there will also be a meetup later that night…and what better place to have a meetup then on the Las Vegas Trip!

If you are able to come, please please please let me know either in the comments below or on Twitter (@justinlevy)!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to receive future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Earlier this morning we noticed that the feed wasn’t updating properly and the last post showing was from October 30th.  Right after then was when we moved to our new theme and made a lot of changes to the site.  When we made the changes everything appeared to have been working fine.

There have been about 15 posts since then that haven’t dropped into your RSS readers.  The problem is fixed now and you should have everything from this month as well as everything new going forward.

We value all of our subscribers and apologize for the technical error.  Please take some time and check out all of the posts from this month which you may not have read yet and let us know what you think.

Enjoy!

No, no, neither one of us are looking for a new job (well, how much are you offering? )! One of the things that is envious of all those celebrities on Cribs is that most of them have personal chefs that whip up fantastic meals every night.  Wouldn’t it be great if you could have the same thing?!?!  What if it only cost you approximately $12/day for great menu options created by award winning chefs?  Cool huh?!?! 

Well, the other day we found just the service for you, thanks to our friend Chris Brogan when he posted a reviewof Personal Chef to Go.  Personal Chef to Go is a gourmet food service which ships freshly made meals directly to your home.  The concept was created by two award winning chefs, Chef Gene Castelluccio and Chef Blair Grossman.  Now I’m sure you’re thinking that this is probably just a glorified microwave dinner.  Wrong. Every meal is delivered fresh, yes fresh not frozen, directly from their kitchen to your home or office.  There is a weekly menu which is made by the chefs from scratch.  Chef Castelluccio and Chef Grossman cater their menus to 3 different types: Busy Singles, Couples on the Go and Family Favorites.  Make sure you check out those links to see the amazing menus they have up right now!

We can’t wait to try these meals and will be placing an order with Personal Chef to Go sometime within the next week or so.  As soon as we each get our meals we will post reviews for all of you.  We are going to plan on trying the Busy Singles (for Joe) and Couples on the Go (for Justin) menu options.  Stay tuned!

If you’ve tried Personal Chef to Go please leave a comment below and let us know what you thought of it.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to receive future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Notice anything different around here?  We hope you like the new changes.  We wanted to streamline all of our media and make it more accessible to you.  We are going to continue making improvements over the next couple weeks.  As we make these changes, please let us know what you think either in the comments, email us, or hit up Justin on one of his networks (listed on the right).

Oh yeah, and one more thing: we finally have a logo! Let us know what you think!

Thanks for the continued support.  We hope we keep bringing you quality content that is helpful and informative.