Cooking With Tony – November

Ragu di Costatine di Maiale

Pork: The Other White Meat. Most of us have heard that expression from the commercial. I’ve slowly weaned myself off of meat for the most part. Starting with pork a few years ago, then beef and now chicken is on its way out. (fish is still on the menu). Tony, from Il Capriccio, made a pork ragu for this issue of Suburban Essex magazine and as always, it’s a pleasure to watch a master chef at his craft. When it comes to taste, you can’t go wrong with tomatoes, garlic, and pork. Ok, pure vegetarians and vegans are probably in complete disagreement and disgust with this, so I’ll address the carnivores in this post.

As I was photographing Tony in the kitchen during the cooking process, the aroma was wafting my way as a sinister tease. My internal drool mechanism kicked in and I had to leave both for my sanity and to get the lights set for the final image. Fast-forward 18 minutes when the pasta and ragu were ready to be plated is when the fragrance of this creation was paired with the presentation for me to shoot. Adjusting the mirrors and the back light to get the right look for my image, I got my shot before the basil became something that would’ve resembled just another dead leaf. After Tony’s approval, the true test of will power appeared. Tony asked if I wanted to take the food home. My knee-jerk response was: “I appreciate it Tony, but I haven’t had pork in at least three years, so I’ll have to pass”. It all seemed to be in slow-motion from that point on. He offered the plate to me, stretched an ear-to-ear grin like the Cheshire Cat and in his Italian accent spoke the unthinkable: “Here David, just smell it.” One hit of his culinary art and my will power was gone. I was transported to my grandmother’s kitchen! Down the rabbit hole… (It’s amazing the sense of smell’s power and how it works on the memory.) I lost all control and consumed it only a few etiquette levels above a tree-dwelling savage. Alright, I exaggerate, but you get the picture.  I actually tasted my late grandmother’s cooking again after 19 years. I went back in time and reveled in the experience. I’ve got to say that it was worth the slip-up.

As for Tony, he has a section in every issue of Suburban Essex magazine called “Cooking With Tony”, where he shares his own recipes with the how-to’s, some prep images and an image of the completed dish.

Until next time, thanks for reading and stay well…