CIA Analyst to Gourmet Sausage Maker

Former CIA Intelligence Analyst, Stanley Feder, discovered a passion for crafting gourmet sausages. Four years later, his sausages are highly sought after in the Washington culinary community. Feder accredits his success to his artisanal process and his list of high quality ingredients, which would not be complete without Vande Rose Farms Duroc Pork.

Simply Sausage hand crafts high quality sausages for restaurants, gourmet food shops, farmers who raise livestock naturally, and for people who love great food.

They are fanatical about quality. They use high quality meats such as Vande Rose Farms Duroc pork, which is sustainably raised without hormones or antibiotics. For beef, they are using briskets and chucks. Their spices are the best available. In short, we believe that good ingredients, handled with care and creativity produce outstanding eating.

About the sausage team

The Simply Sausage team is composed of Stanley Feder, Gathoni Kamau, and C.J. Russell. Although Simply Sausage has been in business for four years, it took Stan two and a half years to find the skilled, responsible, and dedicated people who are serious about the craft of sausage making.

Stanley Feder learned the finer points of sausage making through trial and error and two short apprenticeships with John van der Lieck, a European-trained Master of Sausage Making (Wurstmeister) whose Oyama Sausage Company (www.oyamasausge.ca) is famous in Vancouver, BC, Canada. During 2004 Stan made sausages part-time at 2941 Restaurant in Falls Church, VA. Stan learned the basics in the 1970s by reading about and making charcuterie — sausages, pâtés, salt pork, and lard — at home. In February 2007 Stan spent eight days working with the Noguera family, traditional sausage makers in Sant Fruitós de Bages, Spain. Stan brought back a dozen recipes from this experience, including the chorizo picante and butifarras offered for sale. He is obsessed with quality in all aspects of any cooking he does. Stan is a member of Slow Food, a charter member of the National Capital Area chapter of the American Institute of Food and Wine, and a former director of The Regional Food Council/Local Food, a not-for-profit that worked to strengthen links between small farmers and the citizens of the greater Washington, DC, area.

Tabiko Cavier Now In Stock At US Foodservice SF

The small roe (eggs) harvested from flying fish. Orange in color which is the natural color of this caviar, Tobiko is slightly sweet in flavor with a mild salty overtone. It has become popular caviar to season with a variety of different flavors, also adding different colorings to identify intensities and types of various flavors. As an example, the yellow colored Tobiko typically has a ginger flavor; the orange and black have a somewhat salty flavor (the black being colored with squid ink); the light green version is flavored with Wasabi for a mildly spicy flavor while a darker green denotes a more intense jalapeno flavor; and the red is often flavored with chili pepper seasoning to add a spiciness in flavor.

Versatile in use, Tobiko Caviar has a texture that is semi-hard which does not soften and change when added to sauces, dressings or other liquid-based ingredients. The color and texture are quite stable and retained to add to not only an enhancing appearance to various foods but also a crunchy consistency. Tobiko goes well as a topping for cheese and crackers, as a garnish for sushi, crab cakes, cheese, and other appetizer selections. Since it is small and hardy, it can be frozen and refrozen to preserve it for future use.


Tobico Capelin Caviar Wasabi USPN#1474956

Wasabi Tobico is a fiery addition to any Wasabi sushi dish.


Flavored flying fish roe is a fundamental eye-catching accompaniment of professional sushi preparations and the home connoisseurs. These bright berries are perfect as an addition to sushi and canapés garnish and add a kick sure to delight.

Origin: Iceland
Storage: refrigerated, frozen
Shelf Life: 1 month refrigerated, 6 months frozen

Pebble Beach Resident Remembered for Quarter Pounder

MONTEREY, Calif. - Al Bernardin, a Pebble Beach resident credited with bringing the world the "Quarter Pounder", has died at the age of 81.

Bernardin passed away at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula on December 22; he is said to be responsible for the creation McDonald's "Quarter Pounder", the frozen french fry, and deep-fried pies. Bernardin was a McDonald's vice president, and led the company's training facility, "Hamburger University".

Not all of his ideas became menu stables. McDonald's corporate office nixed the The Lite Mac - a one-fifth pounder consisting of 15 percent less beef fat - and the McGobbler, a sandwich made of ground turkey meat.

"He always wanted to make things better," said Bernardin's son, Mark, who owns three McDonald's in Fremont. "He spent two years making prototypes to spread butter on corn-on-the-cob."

While the Quarter Pounder became an international sensation, Bernardin said his most important contribution to fast-food fare is the frozen french fry.
"Before that, the (restaurants) had to store potatoes in the basement," Mark Bernardin said. "It was a real pain."

Bernardin and his wife, Joan, were major benefactors for CHOMP; he spent time volunteering at hospices in Northern California.

You can read the story at kion.com. Or There is this moving tribute by Doug Speirs of the Winnipeg Free Press to help remind us of Al’s contributions.

To say I like cheeseburgers is an understatement. It's like saying Tiger Woods likes to play around once in a while, if you catch my general drift.

I will try to explain. You see, one of my wife's New Year's resolutions is for me to do something about my weight. I tried to show her how serious I was about this resolution the other night by putting on my parka, stumbling into the backyard, knocking the snow off my barbecue and grilling some cheeseburgers.

I should point out grilling in subarctic weather does involve a certain amount of exercise in the sense that, if your barbecue is positioned too close to the side of your house, you will burn up quite a few calories dodging falling icicles. You will also have to sprint into the house quite frequently to ensure your beer doesn't freeze.

But my wife didn't see this frosty weight-loss regimen in a positive light. So she decided to motivate me to go to the gym. She did this via the standard motivational technique of telling my boss, Bob, to drive to our house, pick me up and physically take me to the nearest gym.

Which is how I ended up on the treadmill, which is where, to the sounds of my sneaker-clad feed thumping like pistons and my lungs wheezing like a runaway locomotive and my heart pounding like the drummer for a heavy metal band, I started thinking about Al Bernardin.

I started thinking how much I was going to miss Al, even though I'd never actually met him.

If you don't know who Al Bernardin was, then you are probably what health professionals and exercise experts refer to as "a woman." Whereas if you are a guy like me, a middle-aged newspaper columnist who adores a great idea and a perfectly grilled burger, you will know that Al Bernardin was the Albert Einstein of the hamburger world.

But instead of giving the world the theory of relativity, Al gave us something much more useful -- the McDonald's Quarter Pounder. According to recent news reports, Al went to work at McDonald's corporate HQ in 1960 and quickly became the dean of Hamburger University, the burger chain's training centre.

As a vice-president of product development, he played a key role in the creation of McDonald's fish sandwich, french fries and their hot apple and cherry pies.
But that wasn't enough for Al. He was not the kind of guy who could look at a basic hamburger and think to himself: "Yummy!" No, Al was the kind of guy who thought to himself: "How can I build a much bigger burger?"

So that's what he did. In 1971, as a franchise owner in California, he gave the world the Quarter Pounder. In short order, he also gave the world the Quarter Pounder with cheese. The world has never been the same.

Here's what he said about his invention in a 1991 interview: "I felt there was a void in our menu vis-a-vis the adult who wanted a higher ratio of meat to bun."

That's what made Al great. He approached hamburgers the way we should approach life: Demanding a higher ratio of meat to bun. Seriously, think about it: More meat, less bun! If those are not words to live by, then I am a vegetarian, which I'm not.

Small Batch of ExCrabaGanza Savory Bread Pudding

1/4 Stick unsalted butter
2 large leeks only the white part cleaned and sliced
3/4 pounds of spicy sausage
1/4 pound of slice mushrooms
4 1/2 cups of stale bread cubes
1 1/2 cups of half and half
3 eggs beaten
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup asiago

Preheat the oven to 350

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the leeks and cook until soft. Add sausage and cook for 5 minutes breaking it up as it browns. Add the shrooms and cook for another couple minutes, while stirring.

In a a bowl toss the bread and sausage mix together. In another bowl whisk together the remaining ingredients. Pour mixture into a greased 8x8 pan and press down firmly. Allow to set for 30 minutes. Bake for about 1 hour until nicely browned.

Back to Basics Lead Food Channel's 2010 Trends

Media Post Publications Back-to-basics -- meaning a focus on buying quality, basic ingredients and building a menu from there -- leads the Food Channel's list of top food trends for 2010.

This version of back-to-basics "isn't about retro, or comfort food, or even cost -- it's about determining the essentials and stocking your pantry accordingly," say the channel's food gurus.

In fact, in addition to more of the eating-at-home trend, they predict a shift away from convenience foods and toward real, from-scratch cooking, "now that we have more time than money, and more food knowledge and concerns."

When people do go out to eat, they'll be experimenting more than ever. Restaurant concepts are in flux as people redefine what going "out" to eat means, they note. New formats/concepts that are likely to do well include gastropubs, fusion dining, "shareables" and communal tables, and those built around "fresh" and do-it-yourself themes.

Grocery stores will continue to see growth in private label and a revival of emphasis on the in-store butcher, as well as upgraded delis and fresh take-out sections, say the trend-watchers. Bulk buys will continue, but frequent -- even daily -- purchases of fresh meal ingredients will become more common as a means of making meals special and minimizing waste. Using social media, apps and online sources to get real-time tips on where the best grocery deals are and to score coupons will become more prevalent.

Other trends:

Redefining "ethnic" ("American, The New Ethnic"). American food is made up of a growing number of ethnic staples and favorites. We're also adding individual dashes of creativity as we share these favorites and learn to cook them at home.
Food vetting. Food sourcing issues ranging from Fair Trade to organics to mercury-free fish will continue to grow in importance.

Mainstreaming sustainability. Growing numbers of Americans will continue to adopt sustainable practices out of a desire to make a difference, including eating locally sourced, seasonal foods and buying products with sustainable/biodegradable packaging. Food manufacturers will continue to expand sustainable operational and packaging practices.

Food with benefits. "Functional" foods with added nutrients or health/beauty benefits claims will continue to proliferate, as will gluten- and allergy-free foods. Nutritional labeling will get sorted out.

The "new" foodie. Today's foodies are less obsessed with snob appeal and more interested in fun experimentation, such as combining exotic or expensive ingredients with everyday items like hamburgers or mac and cheese.

Bartering for consumables. With community-supported agriculture (CSA's) as well as farmers' markets and roadside stands in vogue, the next step is using our new online communication capabilities to make connections (even with strangers) for swaps that include food. These analysts predict more trading of skills/time for food, and vice versa ("think a box of tomatoes in exchange for babysitting"), as well as more homemade food as gifts.

Personalizing and individual portions to express individuality. The parallel trend to collectives and communal eating is individualism, reflected both in practices like making cheese at home and in the growing number of individual-size foods (cupcakes, pizzas, etc.). Individual portions also enable cooks and restaurants to let people choose their own ingredients and express their personalities. Chains such as Flat Top Grill, where customers can choose their own ingredients for items served at every meal, will grow in popularity.