My name is Monte Mathews. After a career in Advertising and with a lifelong interest in food and travel, I decided to put everything together in a blog I call “Chewing the Fat”. To ‘chew the fat’ is a phrase that means ‘to talk or discuss informally, to talk at length about a variety of subjects.’ There’s some debate over what ‘fat’ was being chewed but here I use it to mean Food, Wine and Travel talk that delves a little deeper into what we eat, where it came from and to tell the stories that surround almost every recipe I share. You’ll find everything here from Indian curries to Roast Beef Hash, from appetizers through to dessert. I source recipes from just about everywhere. I get a lot of help with desserts. My partner, Andrew, is a baker extraordinaire. You can always count on Andrew for spectacular sweets. And you’ll find it illustrated to with recipe directions that are easy to follow. After all, I am not a professional chef, not even culinary-schooled, which is all line with my tagline: “If I can cook it, you can cook it. And I travel the world to bring it all home to you.”
And about that ham… Monte’s Ham was a recipe for ham that I developed some years ago and which appeared first in Saveur Magazine in 1995. It later became part of the “Saveur Cooks Authentic American” cookbook. The New York Times, in reviewing the $40.00 book, wrote “The recipe for Monte’s Ham alone is worth the price of admission…truly delicious, succulent and moist on the inside, sweetly glazed and crisp on the outside.” But after 5 grueling years of selling Monte’s Ham, I realized my heart was in the kitchen when it wasn’t on the road…but you’ll be happy to know, you can find the Monte’s Ham recipe right here on the blog.
I hope you’ll find “Chewing the Fat” a great resource for recipes, a great place for a good read and a fun way to see the world through culinary eyes. Please don’t hesitate to comment and if you want to reach me, just email me at [email protected]
With sincere good wishes,
Monte Mathews
Proprietor
Brick Kiln Kitchens LLC
P O Box 658
Bridgehampton NY
11932
