Ham: An Obsession With The Hindquarter

FINE COOKING calls it "a witty ode to pork's most primal cut." It's our hymn to backsides: American country ham, European dry-cured hams like prosciutto crudo or jamón ibérico, wet-cured hams like the ones from HoneyBaked, and even fresh hams, the best pork roast you'll ever eat. (Click on the cover to get your copy today.)

MARK (AKA The Writer)

 

BRUCE (AKA The Chef)

DREYDL (AKA The Dog)

The Ultimate Cook Book

Our big compendium cookbook--900 new recipes, tons of cooking tips. You'll be an ultimate cook in no time.

Want to see a video on this book. Check it out here.

Cooking Know-How

WINNER OF THE 2009 GOURMAND AWARD at the Paris cookbook show for the "BEST COOKBOOK IN THE WORLD" for "easy recipes." Also starred reviews in both Publisher's Weekly and Library Journal, a main selection of the Good Cook Book of the Month Club, a selection by NPR as one of the best cookbooks of 2009, and a favorite of the San Jose Mercury--that called us "culinary wonks."

Pizza: Grill It, Bake It, Love It!

Our brand-new pizza book. That's the squash, caramelized onion, and pine nut pie. And there are 89 more.

Cooking For Two

Every dish for just two--and no waste. Cut it, open it--and use it. It's a feast for twosomes.

The Ultimate Muffin Book

Get your muffins! The chocolate chip ones soon became a holiday tradition in our house.

The Ultimate Ice Cream Book

The book that started a whole career. A quarter million copies in print and still going strong!

The Ultimate Frozen Dessert Book

And a follow-up to The Ultimate Ice Cream Book, this time with gelato, sherbet, granita, and a groaning board of ice cream cakes and frozen pies!

The Ultimate Chocolate Cookie Book

Cookies galore--and every one of them with chocolate: chips, shavings, cocoa, melted, irresistible.

The Ultimate Peanut Butter Book

America's favorite spread? Yes, but also the world's. Wait until you see all the no-cook Asian sauces, the African stew, the Filipino braise, and a host of favorites from breakfast to dessert!

The Ultimate Shrimp Book

A one-book compendium for America's favorite seafood

The Ultimate Party Drink Book

Up, shaken, frozen, pitcher punches, shooters--here's a guide to drinks to make your next party a splash

The Ultimate Brownie Book

Fudgy, cakey, you name it--even a chapter on brownie mix doctor recipes--here's a book that'll keep everyone smiling!

The Ultimate Candy Book

A reviewer on amazon called it "an evil book." We could only hope so. Gooey, crunchy, a ton of chocolate barks, fudge, divinity, and it just keeps going.

The Ultimate Potato Book

Spuds forever! We love everything about the potato--and in this book, we made our favorite vegetable front and center since every recipe is a main course with spuds aplenty.

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The Great Ham Contest

Don't miss the REAL FOOD HAS CURVES ham contest, your chance to win a gift certificate for an American country ham (or whatever you want) from one of the United States' best producers, Nancy Newsom. For the contest details, click here. And get obsessed with this hindquarter!

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REVIEWS OF COOKING KNOW-HOW

Don't take our word for it. Here are some cool reviews of COOKING KNOW-HOW:

weightwatchers.com

In Mama's Kitchen

Publisher's Weekly

5 Second Rule

Richmond Times-Dispatch

San Jose Mercury News

The Winston Salem Journal

Super Chef

NPR--chosen one of the ten best cookbooks for the summer of 2009

Relish Magazine (although the writer complains that I use too many big words. Heaven forfend!)

And if you want to see an outrageous clip of us on San Francisco TV, check out our appearance on A View From The Bay here.

Or for white bean veggie burgers on the same show--in which I go off on a bizarre jag about the ethics of cruising--click here.

DANCING WITH A COLLIE

brought on no doubt by that empty bottle of wine on top of the fridge

JOIN US!

We'd love to have you join us at Delia's Viking Cooking School in Wallingford, Connecticut, on the night of March 22nd as we bring down the house with all things ham. We're cooking exciting recipes from our new book, all about our obsession with that hindquarter. Click here for more information.

Can't make it to Wallingford, Connecticut? Join us at Draeger's market in San Mateo, California, on April 27th for a West Coast cooking class on all things ham! To sign up or to find out more, check it out here.

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    Bruce's Blog

    Bruce has his own blog. A knitting blog. Knits Men Want. It's a companion site to his new knitting book: ten rules every woman should know before she knits for a man--plus ten patterns men are guaranteed to like. And I do. I have some of the sweaters. And I wear them. Imagine that. Check on the cover to check it out.

    • Food Blogs

      • 5 Second Rule
        Cheryl Sternman Rule's smart and mouthy food blog. Truly, I adore her.
      • A Mingling of Tastes
        I started with the vodka lemon drops and have been reading ever since.
      • American Feast
        A spectacular blog that presents the issue of sustainability without finger-wagging or snarkiness.
      • Caviar and Codfish
        I'm late to this party but quickly fell for the comforting, careful food.
      • Cooking After Five
        I love the breezy, easy attitude--as well as the mission statement: "surviving the workweek once recipe at a time."
      • Cooking With The Single Guy
        Ben never stares you wrong with great eats in the Bay Area.
      • Desert Candy
        Jaw-droppingly gorgeous Middle Eastern treats--and more. Some of the most honest writing on the net.
      • Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
        What is it about Aussies and food? They rule the blog world, in my opinion. This is one of the best.
      • Fleur de Sel
        Who cooks like this on a daily basis? Thank God Dana does.
      • Food Gal
        Carolyn Jung's Bay Area food news with terrific recipes to boot. Plus her über-sophisticated take on life. Can anyone beat that?
      • Food Politics
        Marion Nestle's informative and newsy blog. It may be one of the internet's best-kept secrets.
      • He Cooks, She Cooks
        Nobody, but nobody, cooked like this when I was in college. He's sort of out of the picture now, but she's still cooking up a storm.
      • Homesick Texan
        All I can say is, well, "me, too."
      • I Dine Alone
        Great blog for those who cook in what the Marquess of Salisbury called "splendid isolation."
      • Jennifer McLagan's Blog
        Jennifer is my kind of cook: honest, careful, and ridiculously indulgent. Her blog is a veritable wonderland of fat, organs, bones, and all the best bits from animals.
      • Not Quite Nigella
        Well, first off, there's the name. Then there's the Australian dream life I wish I lived. Need I say more?
      • Pictures and Pancakes
        I love the simplicity of this blog: good recipes, a great eye, and simple techniques gussied up a bit.
      • Sassy Radish
        I'm late to every party, apparently. But I love the food here, too. I wish I could stay for dinner.
      • Smitten Kitchen
        I don't like to give the obligatory links, the list that seems to make the rounds on every site. But I am definitely smitten with this kitchen.
      • Stone Soup
        Here's the real minimalist--a food scientist who never goes wrong, doesn't rely on staff, and works it all out with straightforward science.
      • Tangled Noodle
        I love the honest, straightforward, maximalist prose. I feel as if I want to get a cup of coffee and just listen. Which is what I usually do.
      • The Provence Post
        Just because it's my favorite place in the world. I was surely born in the Vaucluse in another life.
      • The Wednesday Chef
        Luisa Weiss's savvy food blog. Love the ballsy attitude to take on the business' biggies.
      • The Way the Cookie Crumbles
        I really like Bridget's eye in the photographs--and love the way she can "effortlessly" weave those pictures into her recipes.
      • Use Real Butter
        Can you resist the title? And wait until you see the photography. Some of the best of any blog, no questions asked.

    • Foods You Gotta Try

      • David Coffaro Wine
        We buy futures every year. No doubt, some of the best reds at a great value. Go for the Escuro or the Terre Melange.
      • Finchville Farms
        A bit of a rarity--an American country ham that's not smoked. Ridiculously good ham steaks!
      • Marshall's Farm Honey
        We order this honey by the case. Love the star thistle and the eucalyptus.
      • Nervous Nellie's Jams and Jellies
        The best blueberry jam in Maine. And don't miss the hot tomato chutney.
      • Newsom's Country Hams
        Nancy Newsom is a force of nature--and her 24-month aged prosciutto stopped me in my tracks during my ham tour of Kentucky.
      • North Hollow Farm
        Julie Bowen's beef is pretty good--but her pork and goat are even better. And the maple syrup? Probably the best in Vermont.
      • Whippoorwill Farm
        Robin and Alan Cockerline's grass-fed beef farm.

    • Places You Gotta Go

      • Rural Intelligence
        Without a doubt, the best coverage of my part of the world: where Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York meet.
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        Culinary tours and explorations for one of the world's best food destinations. One trip out with them to the Dehesa to see the iberico pigs and taste the iberico ham will make you a convert forever!