Andrew Mark Veety

There Has To Be A Post In Here Somewhere, Right?

There is no getting around it; I’ve really neglected this site in the past few months. As I have a gap between projects, I figure today is as good as any to share what I’ve been up to and what I have planned for the rest of the year.

The Personal:

At the peak of this summer’s heat I shaved my beard, to lackluster reviews from friends, my son and my wife. Therefore this summer I grew a beard, providing comfort and solace to all who know me. My apologies to those who were taken aback by my shaven visage, rest assured I didn’t want you to see my gobbler - heretofore known as my “second” and “third” chin – I was honestly tired of sweating and looking to do something about it. Hopefully we can forget this happened until next summer, when I decide to shave it off again.

My son recently turned two and is justifiably taking up more of my personal time. While I am a dad and a blogger, this is not a “daddy blog” so when I’m busy with my son, I’m usually not creating content for this site. 

My wife has been busy running her interior design business, and besides being supportive of her, I’m exceedingly proud. This summer she completed one space, is putting the finishing touches on two kitchens and was rehired by an existing client to redesign their living room, bedrooms and bathrooms. She also spent two months designing the space and hand-made all the decorations for this year’s Art of Food, a yearly fundraiser for our chapter of Slow Food. Personally I thought the space looked as great as the food and I’m really happy we got the chance to participate.

All in all, our family is a busy one.

Lastly, with it being fall, I’m back to my regular job helping to organize the Tour de Moose, a biking pub crawl in its seventh year. It goes without saying that if you are in St. Louis; I think you should register to ride in it.

The Podcast:

Along with my co-hosts, we’ve completed seven episodes of StewedSTL, a podcast we started to document the food and drink scene in St. Louis. Truth be told, it is so much easier to talk for 90 minutes than write, so much of my blogging energy finds its way on the show. Hopefully you have gotten a chance to check Stewed out. Past episodes included interviews with Evan Benn of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Adam Tilford of Milagro Modern Mexican, Eric Scholle from Farmhaus and Ian Froeb from the Riverfront Times. With respect to each of our guests, each show we’ve done has been great, but the show with Ian has been my personal favorite to date. Please check it out if you are looking for someplace to start listening.

What I've Been Up To:

The Church of Burger project opened the door to multiple writing opportunities that I’m still working though and on. This fall I’ll be on assignment (and traveling) for St. Louis Magazine’s on-line blog Relish and I’ll have two pieces in an upcoming issue of Feast Magazine. Also, I was asked to judge a hot wing competion, which was an awesome (and hot) experience. Lastly I’ve got a few more projects in the planning stage that I’m pretty excited about as well. Details hopefully to follow.

So What About This Blog?

True, my posts have become less frequent; however I have no intention of abandoning this site. I will readily admit that I’m having trouble figuring out how to make it fit into all the things I have going on – without it becoming a collection of links to work I’m doing in other places. 

I spent 2010 writing about restaurants – mostly burgers – and I wanted to roll that momentum into a new topic, pizza. The idea didn’t work the way I envisioned and I ended up wandering away from project. At the same time I found myself writing more about cooking, which is where this blog started back in 2008.

While I’m sure I’ll continue to write about the food that I make at home, I don’t want to have a blog dedicated to it. My goal is to rehab what this site “is” and how I’ll use it to complement all the other things I have going on, with content that is strong enough to stand on its own. After all, without trying to do good work here, in my own space, I’d never have had the chance to do good work for others.

And there friends, is the rub. I know I have to do something; I’m just not sure what that something is. I do know that the day I feel like I’m tossing a bunch of shit up here for the sake of posting something is the day I should probably shut it down.

Thankfully, this is not that day. More to follow, I hope you check back in.

Cheers.

amv

Assorted Minutia: 4/30-5/06/2011

I've started to keep a tumblr diary for all the little things that I find, read or eat during the week. With any luck the quick thoughts, dishes I ate and pictures I accumulated along the way will make for a a disjointed yet interesting weekly post.

Porter's Fried Chicken

Depending on who you talk to, Porter's is serving up the best fried chicken in St. Louis. I'd suggest listening to the folks who will tell you it's not to be missed. Skip the sides (or even eating at Porter's) and focus on crisp and flavorful chicken, perfect eaten warm from the box or cold from the fridge. My preference is to alternate between Crystal's hot sauce and honey between pieces.

I last wrote about Porters in August of 2008.

Pizza Toppings / Garnish / Relish

I make this topping a few hours before I begin tossing pizzas. Start with a base of sea salt, minced garlic, crushed red pepper and good olive oil. Add herbs like marjoram or oregano, always fresh and rough chopped to expose their natural oils to the mixture. Drizzle over your pizza before sending it into the oven.

Pizza Made With YellowTree Farm Fall Honey

On the topic of pizza, I used honey from my CSA this week to replace sugar in a pizza dough. Give it a read, then give it a go in your oven.

Garlic And Dill Quick Pickles

My two year old son seems to have my love of pickles in his DNA. Rather than serving up the erie green pickles found at the grocery store, I try to make a batch of quick pickles every few week or so. Dill, garlic, salt, onion powder, water and white wine vinegar make for a treat that quickly vanishes from the fridge.

Assorted Minutia: 4/22-4/29/2011

I've started to keep a tumblr diary for all the little things that I find, read or eat during the week. With any luck the quick thoughts, dishes I ate and pictures I accumulated along the way will make for a a disjointed yet interesting weekly post. I'd be interested in knowing what readers think of this new idea.

The Beast in a Box from Salume Beddu.

This sandwich was so good, I may have cried half way though eating it. Simply, it is the best sandwich I've had this year. Interestingly enough I enjoyed it at the best lunch I've had this year. You need to get to know this dish, sooner rather than later.

Salami Pizza at The Good Pie.

I was lured (again) into the ongoing conversation about the Good Pie in the STLBites forum. The quick and dirty of the issue is that many in our fair city believe that the Good Pie is actually a Bad Pie. I happen to believe it's an excellent example of the pizza style. This argument has gone on for over 21 pages and 300 replies. I continue to be on the right side of this argument. A good chunk of St. Louis continues to be on the wrong side. I anticipate this weeks conversation changed the minds of exactly zero people. Oh well. Here is to the next 21 pages of this argument.

Beef kabob and falafel from Cafe Natasha.

Cafe Natasha may have the best beef shish kabob in St. Louis. Even when temped rare to medium rare, the outside is crisp while  the inside remains moist, tender and flavorful. Simple advice for those getting their kabob to go, savor every last drop of the juice  thrown off on the trip from Natasha's kitchen to your table.

Natasha's falafel is usually a favorite of mine. Spice, sauce and fried balls of chick peas make for a sandwich that I consume so fast that several bites include bits of the paper that each falafel is wrapped in. Not so much this time, the sauce was lacking and falafel was dry, for me, the texture was decidedly off this week.

Yellow Tree Farm Quail Eggs

Rain has dominated the weather forecast for the last week and a half, but I made the best of it by heading out to the Maplewood Farmers Market to pick up my Yellow Tree Farm CSA. Besides bamboo shoots, quails and chicken eggs, I ended up with 37 quail eggs. The plan is to pickle them. It promises to be an adventure.

Pasta with asparagus, onions and roasted tomato.

For dinner this week I made this simple pasta dish of sautéed onions, asparagus and roasted tomatoes over linguine. Reserved liquid from the roasted tomatoes, a few ladle-fulls of pasta water and good olive oil make a sauce that does not overshadow spring asparagus, which should be showing up at the market soon, if it has not already. 

Farmers' Larder kielbasa

I am part Polish. My wife is part Polish. We have a ritual in our home called Polish night were we eat the foods that our families introduced us to when we were my son's age. Roasted potatoes, broccoli (most likely not Polish, but good for you) and sauerkraut are the supporting cast for kielbasa from the Farmers' Larder, a local charcuterie vendor at the Maplewood Farmer's Market. This is the kielbasa I remember from growing up. The snap of a natural casing, outstanding local beef and pork, just a hint of marjoram and a finish that is all garlic. A steal at $9.00 a package.

First Taste of Kool-aid

Kool-aid is not a big part of our lives and until this week, it was unknown to my son. However, some neighborhood kids were selling grape Kool-aid as a fund raiser for the victims of the recent weeks tornadoes here in Missouri. Who can say no to that?

Son, meet high fructose corn syrup. It tastes good, right? Don't get used to it.