Podcast #42: Bacon, Lettuce and TomatoCAST

Back by popular demand and Saveur.com is our Ultimate BLT post from 2007!

My dear friend Christine Nunn, who helped me with this project has since opened her own restaurant in Fair Lawn, New Jersey — Picnic, The Restaurant, where you can get the Ultimate BLT as an appetizer for a limited time or while summer Jersey tomatoes run out!

Click Here To Listen to the Bacon, Lettuce and TomatoCAST!

Click Here for a Hi-Res Slide Show with More Photos!

Related OTB Post: No Bacon? “P”, L and T

Ah, the BLT. In many ways, it is the ultimate and perfect expression of the sandwich, simple and yet one of the best possible sandwiches that you can eat. Still, the perfect BLT can be elusive, as most restaurants and people do not take the exacting level of care in order to construct the best BLT possible. Skimp on any of the ingredients, or use a component that is substandard in any way, and the entire sandwich fails.

In order to build the Ultimate BLT, one must be committed in Zen-like fashion to go to great lengths to source pristine ingredients. Indeed, an entire afternoon could be spent in trying to get all the right components, at considerable expense. It is neither a cheap nor an efficient affair, but it is well worth the effort.

To build the Ultimate BLT, I collaborated with CIA-trained chef Christine Nunn of Picnic Caterers in Emerson, New Jersey, who came up with some great ideas, sourced some fantastic bread and tomatoes for us and assembled the incredible sandwiches you’re about to see.

Do you want to see how the Ultimate BLT is constructed? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Pizza for a Rainy Sunday

This last Sunday in New Jersey was not what I would call optimal weather for outdoor cooking. For most of the day it was gloomy, with dark overcast skies, and we got hit with a decent amount of rain. This was a nice respite from several weekends of brutally hot July and August temperature, but if you’re the grilling type, it’s not particularly motivational.

But lousy weather doesn’t apply to hardcore foodies. Not when they are really committed.

So when my friend Doug Keiles hit me on Instant Messenger and asked me if I wanted to drive down to his house in Central Jersey and help him come up with some “practice pizzas” to throw on his Big Green Egg, I said… OF COURSE!

Grilled “Monkball” Pizza, Sicilian pan style. This is topped with grilled bacon wrapped meatballs that have been simmered in a marinara sauce, with fresh Mozzarella.

Rainy days are for… Pizza Grilling! Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

What to do with a really big tomato

This weekend I was finally able to get a hold of some really MASSIVE Jersey tomatoes. The last couple of weeks have been on the medium to small size, but still excellent. However, I come from the school of “size is everything” when it comes to tomatoes — if they’re big, and they’re ripe, then they’re usually going to blow your socks off in terms of juicyness and flavor.

These three massive tomatoes came from the Tenafly Farmers Market, specifically from Lani’s Farm, in Bordentown.The one front and center weighs 2.23lbs, which is over a Kilogram. It’s a naturally yellow-green tomato when fully ripe. The others in the back are around a pound to a pound and a half each.

There’s more tomato action after the jump. Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.