Weekly Menu 4/20 - 4/26/09 & a Big Pig Lunch

I have to tell you all a little about an amazing meal Matt & I got to experience yesterday. It was the 15th Anniversary Dinner for Broder's Pasta Bar here in Minneapolis. Each of the eight courses featured part of a La Quercia Acorn Fed Pig.

Sixty-six people, including Broder's each subscribed last year for one "pig's worth" of meat. La Quercia in Iowa organically raises the herd of Berkshire & Berkshire/Chester White Pigs feeding them only acorns for the last three months of their lives, as they do in Italy and Spain. Subscribers get the cuts of pig that are best eaten fresh first & then cured bits come on throughout the next two years. Our meal featured lots of different parts of the pig including many we had never had before. 
We started with some passed appetizers featuring coppa, lardo & more
A lollypop of grilled pork liver. The sauce here was amazing.
Porchetta Di Testa - pig's head that is boned out then marinated for 2 days with rosemary and garlic rolled and tied then braised for 14 hours in a sous vide bag at 200 degrees to keep it all together. Thought I'd be squeamish about this but it was really tasty with the fennel & greens.
Green & white asparagus wrapped in Guanciale, an unsmoked Italian bacon prepared with pig's jowl or cheeks, served with a sunnyside up quail's egg. This was amazing & might have been my favorite course.
A pork & truffle broth with agnolloti filled with pork & chicken (I think there might have been a third meat too but I wasn't taking notes.)
Roasted Loin, Braised Rib & Grilled Sausage. An amazing trio for the entree here. The pork loin was so wonderful & we loved the pistachios in the sausage.
The cheese course featured a natural gorgonzola served with a strawberry gelatin & cracklings. The gelatin went so well with this cheese!
Our last course was the Fig & Pig. Oh, that crisp bacon with the vanilla bean ice creams was sooooo good!
Finally, we were given a box of cookies & chocolate made by Molly Border to take home with us.
What an amazing way to spend a chilly, rainy Sunday afternoon, especially when each course was paired with a great Italian wine. Boy, is my weekly menu going to look pale in comparison.

Oh well, on to Menu Planning Monday anyway...

Risotto with Sausage & Mustard Greens - Was supposed to make this last week but it was so nice we grilled burgers.

Moroccan Chicken with Olives & Lemon

Pork Ribs with Pomegrate BBQ Sauce & Potatoes Au Gratin

Chicken & Corn Chowder

Vietnamese BBQed Pork & Noodles

Crockpot Shredded Beef