Green Olive Perks

What's great about our job? The fact that you can walk in to the office and someone's left a big slab of pork belly on your desk.

Hooray For Hatch Show Print

See below for the posters we had letterpressed by the good people at Hatch Show Print for our fantastic design client, Collared Greens:

Polaroid Rescued!

An Austrian businessman, Florian Kaps, purchased the Polaroid factory in Amsterdam. An effort called The Impossible Project, Kaps is working with photography company Ilfort to develop new (old school) Polaroid film, which will reportedly hit retail under the Impossible label by December.

Hurry, take the cameras off EBAY!

Good News For Beer Geeks

Chefs such as Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller and Eric Ripert are hopping on the beer bandwagon:

Cochon 555

We love Patrick Martins -- and Heritage Foods...from the Heritage Foods Newsletter today:

COCHON 555
New York, January 25

COCHON 555 is the only heritage pig and chef competition in the U.S. The event is a premier culinary showcase of 5 chefs, 5 pigs and 5 winemakers in a friendly competition for a cause. On January 25th at 4pm, a group of top New York City chefs (Ladner, Kave, Hellen, Clampffer and Cuevas) will each prepare a heritage breed hog from head to toe at the Hiro Ballroom. The event is raising awareness for Farms for City Kids, a unique educational program combining classroom study with first-hand farming experience.

List Price:$125
Your Price:$100
(promo code: baconbits)

The participating wineries include: Miura Vineyards, Pax Wine Cellars, Bonny Doon, Channing Daughters, Vina Sastre. Chef and Judges beer sponsor: Dogfish Head Beer. VIP Guests will enjoy reserve wines from Meander, Kosta Browne, Shane, Slaughterhouse, Hill Family Estate and Auteur with over 150 pounds of artisan cheese.

The judges include: Joshua Ozersky, Lesley Townsend, Patrick Martins, Chris McBride, Benjamin Wallace, Christopher Papagni, Steven Rinella, Emmanuel Kemiji, Heather Hyman, Isabella Wojcik, Matthew Jennings, Carlo Mirarchi, Burke Owens, Brandon Hoy, Hunter Boon, Chris Parachini, Rolando Robledo, Matthew Jennings and Christine Quinlan.

Advertising Takes a New Form in Video Games

With an evolving population of online and video gamers—not the old fashioned, computer nerd or shy teenager, but now the interactive, ahead of the curve , social generation—marketing takes on a new medium. Target market: males, 18-34.

"For years, marketers have aligned themselves with sports to get to those males, he says. More recently they've moved into music and entertainment. These were things millions of young men could relate to; gaming now represents the same thing…The gamer demographic is especially attractive to marketers in the quick-service space because of gamers' on-the-go lifestyle, aversion to cooking at home, and affinity for cheap, fast eats. To that end, KFC has also established a presence inside the Guitar Hero universe. When players choose the game's Times Square background, KFC ads appear on the jumbotron screens; when the venue takes a fraternity house theme, there are KFC buckets on the pool table.” For the entire story visit.

http://www.qsrmagazine.com/articles/exclusives/1208/video_games.phtml?microsite=bytopic_marketing


And on another note…for those of you who missed the NY Times Today and are looking for a job in this economy…

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Position: island caretaker. Duties: lazing around the Great Barrier Reef for six months. Salary: $100,000.
It sounds too good to be true, but the position is real. Calling it the “best job in the world,” Australian tourism officials say they are seeking someone to spend six months relaxing on Hamilton Island, part of the country’s Whitsunday Islands, while promoting the destination on a blog….the employee will be required to stroll the island’s white sand beaches, snorkel, maybe take a dip in the pool — and post photographs and videos of the experience on a weekly blog.

Anthropologie Craft Workshops!!!!!!!

Fellow Crafters ( & Eaters):

Oh my gosh while reading the Trend Central Newspaper this morning, I almost choked on my fried chicken (courtesy of the fine folks at Star Provisions) when this jumped out at me:

What: Anthropologie recently launched free in store “reinvention” (aka craft) workshops in select stores nationwide.

From Anthropologie: “We wanted to share something really personal, which is our creative side, on a one-on-one level,” said Anthropologie’s chief merchandising officer, Wendy Wurtzburger. "...Anthropologie will debut a special series of craft workshops that will tug at customers’ heartstrings, as well as those of their family and friends. Given the current state of the economy, customers will be thrilled to discover how extraordinary and meaningful a hand-crafted, remade gift can be. They will find that their work possesses more of their true self and sentiment and helps to convey crucial messages regarding the needs for reinvention and reuse from economic to environmental."

I am putting down my Orange Crush right now and calling the Lenox Store.


-- Elizabeth

Lunch At JOEL

The beef burger, available on the lunch menu at JOEL:

The Tiny Kitchen

Recently debuted on the New York Times website is a video blog called The Tiny Kitchen. New York Times recipe tester Jill Santopietro demonstrates how she makes do in her petite 11-square-foot kitchen. What's interesting about the Tiny Kitchen is the host and NYT's ability to edit. Good editing is a given in the design and PR world, but what we forget is that it is just as important in the kitchen and in our lifestyles as a whole. We hear, 'smaller footprint' from environmental advocates, 'recession savings' from economists, but in a way it's all just recognizing and embracing good editing.

See here:

And the debut from November:

Tom The Butcher

See below for a couple of choice articles about Tom Mylan, hysterical butcher for Brooklyn's Marlow & Sons:

Grub Street

Strong Buzz

Tom The Butcher Blog

Bacon Of The Month - January

Vande Rose Farms Applewood Smoked Bacon. Made from heritage Duroc hogs. Grateful Palate says: "Lovely appearance, exquisite balance, remarkable meat. All this needs is a fork and knife. One of the best bacons ever! Taste and balance are tremendous. It all starts with with a great pig, man."

Cajun Squirrel Chips

If anybody in England is reading this, can you send us a bag?

A Quick Trip To East Tennessee

First stop: 4 Way Lunch, in Cartersville, GA. The burger is a recipe for disaster - a pre-cooked patty, slapped on a cold bun and topped with cold American cheese, but they somehow make it work. Bonus points for only having about eight seats in the place.























When driving through Madisonville, TN, a stop at the smokiest place on earth is mandatory:

























One of the greatest things about east Tennessee is the convenience store Weigel's. Not only for the 'Jug O' Milk,' but also the corn dogs. Its always a crapshoot as to whether or not you'll get a fresh one, but this was spot-on:












Various salumi from Sean Brock, bacon and prosciutto (salty!) from Allan Benton, and beer from Tyler Brown:











What to do with all that grease from the bacon? Make gravy.

If You Fail to Plan...Plan to Fail...

Jeff and I have a modest garden in our backyard (see earlier post about my Silver Queen Corn disaster). Every year on Good Friday, I plant my garden...pretty basic stuff. Until last year I hadn't really thought too much about where my seeds came from...I selected the prettiest packaging from Pike's, Lowe's, Hoe Depot -- I had no brand loyalty when it came to seeds.

This January, I am under the influence of my good friend Chef Sean Brock, the kind folks at Anson Mills (shout out to Catherine), and of course my family of farmers who saved seeds out of sheer economic necessity in Greenwood and Marianna, Florida.

I am so happy to check the mail around this time of year because the box is filled with seed catalogs! My new go-to source for heritage seeds will be the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog. It combines my love of great design and more importantly, respect for the traditional ways of doing things:

Heirloom Seeds
"Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company's 2009 catalog offers 1275 unique heirloom varieties.
We only offer open-pollinated seeds: pure, natural and non-GMO! We offer heirloom seeds from 70 countries, including many that we collected ourselves. Started in 1998 by Jere Gettle, as a means to preserve rare seeds."

Other sources of inspiration:

Heirloom Seedsmen
"The online museum of heirloom seed companies!
Our new site about the history of the seed industry and the people behind it. Learn what seed companies in the 1800s said about heirloom varieties, read historic catalogs and magazines, and more, on the site dedicated to the history of heirloom seeds and gardening." www.HeirloomSeedsmen.com

The Heirloom Gardener
The magazine for heritage gardeners!
"Now entering its 7th year, The Heirloom Gardener features America's foremost garden writers, who write on topics like seed saving, garden history, gene-altered foods, organic growing and more." www.TheHeirloomGardener.com

Happy Gardening!!!

Cookbooks for the Scrapbook Lover

Looking for a creative and organized solution to a cluttered box of index cards, papers, magazine clippings, and hand written recipes? Tastebook.com has a unique and crafty solution with their personalized cookbooks. Upload photos and roam the internet for your favorite recipes to include in your hardcover, spiral-bound cookbook complete with colored tabs and a funky cover ($25 for 20 recipes & $35 for 100).

Green Olive Is Reading Up on Culture

Culture, The Word On Cheese, debuted recently and celebrates all things cheese. Not just another gourmet magazine, this one pays homage to the shift in consumer choices by combining luxury with a back-to-the-farm approach. For those who want to eat well, eat local, and know where their food comes from, cheese is a great choice. Besides, it's cheese and we love our cheese. See culturecheesemag.com.

Meat!

First up, today's haul included this incredible bresaola from our pals over at Star Provisions. Funky & sweet:












Next, just a plug for one of our favorite magazines of late - Meatpaper:


















And finally, Weird Meat.

Coca-Cola Infused with Bacon, Heaven in a 12 oz. can

Two favorite items for any southerner, Coca-Cola and Bacon, have been combined for carbonated salty- sweet-goodness. For all of those worrying each day since the New Year about your diet and calorie intake; the fine folks at Coke have created this beverage for you! Diet Coke and Bacon, what more could you want?

Has Absinthe Already Jumped The Shark?

"If absinthe were a band, it would be Interpol, third-hand piffle masquerading as transgressive pop culture. If absinthe were sneakers, it would be a pair of laceless Chuck Taylors designed by John Varvatos for Converse."

See here for more from the NY Times.

Jeff's Top Ten Meals of 2008

Crispy Pig's Head Terrine
Momofuku - New York, NY
A hockey puck of pig's head, deep-fried until the fat nearly liquifies. This was the best thing I ate all year.

Brisket and Sausage
Smitty's Market - Lockhart, TX
I finally get what all the fuss is about with beef brisket. The atmosphere only adds to the meal. I guarantee I'll come up with an excuse to get back here in '09.

Whole Meal
Yakitori Totto - New York, NY
We got there right when they opened at 5:30, only to be told that there was already an hour wait. When we finally got a table, they were already out of:
Chicken knee
Chicken tail
Chicken skin
But we did manage to get some chicken hearts, some of the squidiest squid on the planet, and I think we had some fried fish bones. The whole thing was slightly disorienting, and an absolute blast.

Spoonbread Stuffed Quail
Local 11 Ten - Savannah, GA
Just what it sounds like. God knows how much butter they managed to get into that spoonbread.

Tasting Menu
Capitol Grille - Nashville, TN
Another meal where the individual parts are a blur, but everything was spectacular. I remember an egg-topped short rib...

Chili Cheese Slaw Dog
Nu-Way Weiners - Macon, GA
I've never really been a slaw person, but everything I'd read insisted that I get the slaw on top of my usual chili dog order. The slice of American cheese was the kicker. This is worth the 80-mile drive from Atlanta.

Whole Meal
The Modern - New York, NY
A total surprise. I'd heard about the Modern for a couple of years but had not paid much attention, and never gotten around to trying it. Kudos to the friendly bartender as well. Highlights:
Arctic Char Tartare with basil and trout caviar
Slow Poached Farm Egg In a Jar with Maine lobster, crosnes and sea urchin froth
Liverwurst with pickled vegetables

Octopus Salad
Cakes & Ale - Decatur, GA
Not the least bit rubbery, as lesser cooks usually turn it out.

Cheeseburger
JG Melon - New York, NY
Nothing fancy here, just a perfectly-cooked, medium rare burger with American cheese on a plain bun. Perfect.

Whole Hog Pork Sandwiches
Ed Mitchell - Franklin, TN and New York, NY
Mr. Mitchell runs The Pit in Raleigh, NC, but thanks to his hectic barbecue festival schedule, we were able to sample his sandwiches at various events around the country this year. He's known for his 'whole-hog' barbecue, and there are few sandwiches that compare.