DePalma Gemma - The meat club cookbook : for gals who love their meat!

The Meat Club Cookbook

[GIRLS ONLY]

For Gals Who Love Their Meat!

By Vanessa Dina, Kristina Fuller, and Gemma DePalma with Leslie Jonath

Illustrations by Caroline Hwang

Text copyright 2006 by Vanessa Dina, Kristina Fuller, and Gemma DePalma.
Illustrations copyright 2006 by Caroline Hwang.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.

ISBN 978-1-4521-2626-5

Designed by Vanessa Dina

Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107

www.chroniclebooks.com

To Mom and Gretta, my favorite girls!
Vanessa

To my Dad, for his steadfast support,
encouragement, and belief in the Meat Club.
Kristina

To Mom, Grams, and Marie Three of the
most important ingredients in my life.
Gemma

The Meat Club would like to thank Chronicle Books for believing in us. Special thanks to Bill LeBlond, our editor, for his constant support and encouragment; to Leslie Jonath, for her wicked way with words. Amy Treadwell, Jan Hughes, Doug Ogan, and Donna Linden a fabulous team. Thanks also to Caroline Hwang, for her wonderous talents with a needle and thread and her ability to make meat look oh-so-cute! A big thanks to Frankie Whitman and Niman Ranch for their meaty support recipe testing was a culinary delight using Niman beef, pork, and lamb! Thank you to Erica Holland-Toll, our gal-chef at Americano, for all of her tasty tips and recipes. And finally, a great big thanks to our mothers, sisters, aunties, grannies, and friends who have taught us to navigate through our kitchens and enjoy the beauty of good food, and who have contributed to our Meat Club in so many wonderful ways. We love you.

Introduction
Welcome to the Club!

Chapter One
Meet Your Meat

Chapter Two
Beef it Up!

Chapter Three
Pretty in Pork

Chapter Four
Love Your Lamb!

Are you a girl who lusts after big steaks, succulent ribs, and juicy burgers? Do you find yourself full of desire for braised lamb shanks and fork-tender pork loin? Are you usually the only girl cutting into a rare rib-eye in a sea of salad eaters? Do you long to find other women who feel the way you do? If your answer is yes, you are the ideal candidate for

Before starting the club, we didnt know many women who admitted to craving meat. A lunch with the girls meant a Caesar salad or a poached chicken breast. Our dinner parties were inundated with vegetarians and finicky eaters; at restaurants, we were embarrassed to order meat for fear of offending someone. Despite our enormous appetites for life, we were starved for meaty culinary adventures!

Contrary to popular opinion, meat isnt just for men. So, we decided to found a girls meat club to reclaim possession of what is rightfully oursguilt-free meat eating. We were three girls at different stages in our lives: one new mother, one swinging single, and one recent divorce. The idea came to us over dinner one night when we realized our mutual secret passion. Since then, weve met once a week to share our favorite meat dishes and dish about our lives. What started as a fun idea has evolved into a relished ritual.

The rules governing membership
in the Meat Club are simple:

You have to be a girl.

You have to love to cook and eat meat.

You have to love to talk about meat (any kind).

Whats said in the Meat Club stays in the Meat Club!

As members, weve learned more about meat than we ever imagined possible. Weve debriefed our butchers. Weve experimented with sauces, rubs, and marinades. Weve tried out new recipes, researched other peoples favorites, and made up some of our own.

Meat has also led to juicy conversations. Indeed, there is nothing better to talk about than meat, whether its the kind you roast, braise, or even date. Weve had succulent successes, but weve also been burned a few times! The Meat Club has become a sisterhooda place to share our lives and our meaty tales.

Meat is healthyespecially for gals. We Meat Club gals strive to make healthful choices when it comes to our bodies. Grass-finished, natural, and organic meats purchased from local artisan butchers or specialty grocers have lower fat content, no preservatives or artificial ingredients, and contain essential vitamins and minerals like vitamin E and iron. In fact, the iron in beef is easier for the body to absorb than the iron present in most other foods. Like all good things in life, meat is healthiest when consumed in moderation. Once we started eating meat without guilt, we felt stronger and happier.

The Meat Club Cookbook is a collection of tried-and-true recipes culled from our best mealsmany of them easy updated classics from our mothers and grandmothers and from other girls like us who relish good home cooking. We have divided it into chapters by type of meat, with basic information on how to choose and prepare the most popular cuts of beef, lamb, and pork. Simply put, this is a book for all you girls who want to have your meat and eat it, too.

We didnt grow up eating filet mignon topped with creamy Gorgonzola sauce, pork tenderloin marinated in red wine, or citrus-scented Moroccan lamb tagine. We grew up at a time when bland 70s cuisine ruled the popular American culinary palate and the possibilities of meat seemed limited to pot roast and well-done steaks. Kristinas childhood version of a stir-fry included ground beef , onions, and American cheese, while Vanessa remembers making hotdog goulash for her family using powdered garlic. When we started the Meat Club, we thought butterflies only flew in the garden and the adjective frenched only described an intimate kiss. In short, we were new to meat.