"salumi" news and stories

You won't find many titles that contain both the words "vice president" and "shop manager," and you won't find many salumi shops like Boccalone either. The salumeria in San Francisco's Ferry Building is one of the best places in the country to experience the sheer joy of chowing down on high-quality, slow-cured pork. We recently caught up with Executive Vice President Tatiana Graf and asked her about her day-to-day routine working in a pig lover's paradise.

One day about a month after we had opened the shop, an older woman came in and started looking around. When I greeted her, she asked in a slightly gruff way, "You don't make head cheese, do you?" I said, "Of course we do. We call it Coppa di Testa. Would you like to try some?" She was surprised and said "Sure." I could tell she wasn't convinced that I knew what I was talking about. I got a sample and brought it over for her to try. While she tasted it, I explained a little about our company and how we make make everything in the traditional, old-world style. She considered for a minute and then a smile grew across her face. She looked me in the eye and told me she hadn't tasted any head cheese that good since her father, who was a butcher, had made it when she was a kid. She said the flavor took her right back to her childhood. All the gruffness in her voice was gone. She was happy and so was I.

'Salumi: Savory Recipes and Serving Ideas for Salame, Prosciutto and More'
John Piccetti and Francois Vecchio with Joyce Goldstein
Chronicle Books -- 2009
Buy it at Amazon

A couple years ago Slashfood sat before a monstrous plate of strange Italian salumi in Milan, blindly eating items that we only knew by the name "delicious." In hindsight, we wish we had had this book to learn the actual names.

"Salumi," co-written by the owner of San Francisco's cured-meat giant Columbus Foods, is one part history, one part encyclopedia and three parts cookbook with recipes for antipasti, snacks, first and main courses, and salads and vegetables.

Can't tell your cotechino from your sopressata? Consult the book. Not sure if you should eat that moldy casing? Consult the book. Need a way to dress up a lonely cucumber and carrot with salame? You guessed it ... the book.

SIV gives newcomer Hatfield's two-and-a-half stars (**½), calling it a restaurant "just like those little places in France that win everyone's heart."

Russ Parsons dishes out the ABCs of salumi: what they are, where to get it in LA, and how to serve it. End of summer is the season for preserving, pickling and canning: plum preserves, achar, and hot pickles. It's also a time to take advantage of end-of-summer vegetables: Heirloom Tomatoes Stuffed with Salt Cod and Potato Puree, Peppers Stuffed with Bulgur and Feta Salad, and Eggplant Stuffed with Kale and Walnuts.

In wine, the Tasting Panel does a selection that pairs well with salumi. The Wine of the Week is 2005 Curran Grenache Blanc that "tastes startlingly alive, with a distinct minerally finish."