Cuchifrito means "small fried things" in Spanish. Usually it consists of the less desirable parts of the pig (ears, nose, etc.). I have had it as a menu section title for a while, but I think most of my customers do not know what it announces. We fry up lots of stuff (onions, okra, pickles, mac'n cheese, eggplant, peas, haricot vert, zucchini, shrimp, chicken), but they are not as popular as they should be. Up until now this has been fine because we never learned how to cook them really well. But Mara figured it out — dip frozen sliced okra in hot water for a bit. Drain and put it in a bowl of bread crumbs, add half an egg, and mix; put the mixture in another bowl and coat the exposed okra with flour. Pan fry in peanut oil. Serve with "come-back-sauce" (Russian, clarified butter, capers, Frank's hot sauce). So I am changing the name to
kuchi-koo in the hopes that people will know they have figured out what each item is. In the next couple of days I am going to try to add some explanations to help people visualize the more obscure items.
Monday is my day off, but I was at the shop anyway and was hungry. No fresh bread! Took a frozen ciabatta, nuked it for 15 seconds, cut it in half, buttered it, and gently pressed it in a hot sauté pan, on both sides. Nuked some pulled pork, added bbq sauce, and made myself a nice lunch. Decided to stop using really good ciabattas for hamburgers and switch to Martin's "Big Marty" buns. They are softer and more hamburger-friendly. We will butter-toast them and also toast the sesame seeded top of the bun. The toasted seeds, butter, and softness should make the burgers better to eat. Chewing and swallowing are the most important pleasures of eating. Texture and mouth feel can be the introduction to satisfying meals.
Today, Tuesday, is the one time during the week Zack and I run the shop by ourselves. He cooks, schleps, shops, cleans, and washes dishes. I cook, take the orders, add them up, and sit down. Lately we have been considering not working Tuesdays ever again. Zack loves the idea, but I do not really have anything I like to do better.