Offally Good Cooking

Actually cooking organ meats week after week

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Blood Meatloaf with Porcini Mushrooms (and Beef, Pork, and Liver)

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Folding blood into meatloaf

Last night I went to McCullough‘s for a class on aspic and working with blood. But they only sell blood by the gallon, and we needed a scant 1/4 cup for the terrine we were making.  It seemed the rest was going unused, so I asked if I could take some home.  You know, just for fun.

Among the gems I learned there: blood is a great binder for meat and, in this case, a great substitute for eggs.  I happened to be making porcini meatloaf today anyway, was short on eggs, and had a quart of blood in my fridge… why not give it a try!? Blood Meatloaf with Porcini Mushrooms for dinner….

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Grilled Chicken Hearts and Artichoke Hearts with Homemade Mayonnaise

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With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, show some love for yourself and your besties with hearts and hearts! Grilled chicken hearts and artichoke hearts are a perfect appetizer or main course.  Of course, we can’t give what we don’t have. So first, take a moment to feel the love. An easy way to start is to acknowledge and appreciate your own magnificence – all 37 trillion cells, in perfect concert….

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Deviled Kidneys (and Other Innards) for Breakfast

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Deviled Kidneys with Leftover Brussel Sprouts and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Fergus Henderson has a recipe for Deviled Kidneys in his book, The Whole Beast. He introduces it as “The perfect breakfast on your birthday, with a glass of Black Velvet (half Guiness and half Champagne).”  If this dish is good enough for a birthday breakfast, it was definitely something we needed to try.  And wait, did that say breakfast? Should we be eating kidney for breakfast?! Yes, we should.  See, it says ‘breakfast’ right there in the book.

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Italian liver piccata and how I learned to love liver

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It wasn’t always this way.  In the beginning, I had to force myself to finish a serving of liver.  Week after week, I’d lovingly prepare this Italian Liver Piccata (adapted from Marcella Hazan in Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking), if not with some trepidation.  Then I would serve it with confidence – if not a ‘fake it til you make it’ kind of confidence – to my family.

I had learned that organ meats are the foundation of a healthful diet, with liver being the most important.  And I wanted a healthy family.  But I didn’t grow up eating organ meats, and my mom had not said kind things about her own experience.  Yet, my 100-year old grandmother (my best barometer of ‘food’ and food quality) served liver every week and still loves it.  I knew it was the best way to fortify myself and my family; I had to get on board.

Here’s how it would go down:

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Organ meats as an alternative to marijuana?

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Fat-soluble vitamins available in organ meats activate the same cannabinoid receptors as active compounds in marijuana. Is this a good alternative?

Background

I recently read an article titled The Pursuit of Happiness by Chris Masterjohn.  He’s an academic researcher and his work elaborates on the importance of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K.  In this article, he explains how vitamins A and D, along with arachidonic acid are precursors to the internal production of endocannabinoids.  The endocannabinoids are the natural compounds that activate the cannabinoid receptors.

These receptors are responsible for the regulation of both dopamine (needed for long-term goal-oriented behavior) and cortisol (the stress hormone).  As he notes, “by curbing the excess production of cortisol and supporting adequate production of dopamine, endocannabinoids help prevent excess tension, anxiety, burnout, and feelings of self-defeat and help support the confrontation of challenges with the attitudes necessary for success.”…

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