Chef Scott Simpson and the team getting everything in its place.

One of the things we enjoy most is sharing the history and tradition of what we do here at Edwards, and we recently had the opportunity to do just that at an event hosted by Chef Scott Simpson at The Founder’s Inn Swan Terrace Restaurant in Virginia Beach, Va.

Once a month the Chef and his team close the restaurant for their “Mouth Watering Monday” dinner series where a limited number of guests come to enjoy a carefully prepared six course meal with wines perfectly paired to match.., and this past Monday was one to remember. As a California transplant Chef Simpson has embraced all that our little corner of Virginia has to offer the culinary world, and the menu was “Edwards Inspired” from start to finish.

It began with “H.L.T.s”.., a passed appetizer of thin sliced Virginia Country Ham atop a Garlic Crostini with Micro-Greens, Heirloom Tomatoes, and Avocado.

“Ham, Lettuce and Tomato” canapes!

From there we moved to a Smoked Oyster and Mushroom Ravioli finished with “Jowciale” Cream Sauce and topped with a plump Tempura Chesapeake Bay Oyster.., not your average carbonara to be sure.

Mushroom and Smoked Oyster Ravioli topped with a local Fried Oyster and finished with Jowciale Cream.

Next was our Smoked Sausage and Mako Shark over Stone Ground Grits (a great twist on a Southern favorite).

Smoked Sausage and Mako over Stone Grouind Grits

Then, it was on to a Crispy Soft Shell Crab on Peanut Risotto served with a salad of Lemon Dressed Arugula topped with “Crisped” Surryano Ham Strips.

Soft Shell over Peanut Risotto.., Lemon Arugula with Crispy Surryano

The main course, Chef Simpson said with a smile, was Braised Peppered Bacon served along side a Bantam Farms Egg Tartlet with Fresh Asparagus and Shaved Parmesan Cheese.

Braised Belly and Sunny Side Up Bantam Farms Egg over Asparagus Parmesan Tart with Roasted Cheery Tomoatoes

Believe me.., breakfast for dinner was never so enjoyable! As we moved into the dessert course we all wondered how we would finish the night’s meal, and Chef Simpson did not disappoint. A dense Chocolate Cappuccino Cake topped with house made Vanilla Gelato, Caramel Sauce, and Crunchy Hickory Smoked Bacon Bits delivered the perfect balance of sweet and savory.

Chocolate Cappuccino Cake with Maple Bacon Bourbon Gelato.

From Surry proper to the Chesapeake Bay, the small local farmers to the award winning Virginia wineries, Chef Simpson captured the best of traditional Virginia and brought it together with a fresh modern twist. Great food, great wine, and great company in the perfect setting made for an evening we’ll remember for a long, long time. We’re grateful for the chance to be a part of this amazing event, and look forward to working Chef Simpson and his team again!!!

Edwards Hickory Smoked Bacon Steak, Thin Sliced Granny Smiths, and Aged Cheddar Cheese on a rustic bread

 

According to the celebration website, punchbowl.com, “the Ancient Romans were the first civilization to make a cooked bread and cheese sandwich, but many cultures have invented their own take on this ancient dish.” The Grilled Cheese Sandwich became prominent in American food culture in the 1920′s, when affordable cheese and sliced bread became readily available.

The many variations of the grilled cheese sandwich still leaves us mouth-watering to this day. So go ahead, indulge a little bit in celebrating a simply delicious and iconic sandwich!

From the Huffington Post

When you tell someone they absolutely have to try Surryano ham, be prepared for a raised eyebrow or two. Most people will think you said serrano ham. Some people will think you mispronounced serrano ham. The lucky ones will just say, “totally.”

Surryano ham will try to fool you. It sounds like serrano ham, looks like prosciutto and its cousins from other countries, but has a taste that is distinctly American. This Virgina-made, dry-cured and hickory-smoked ham has become one of our favorite things on earth, and is produced by the Edwards family (also responsible for excellent sausages and more) in Surrey, Virginia.

Read the full story here.

Joining me for the trek was Patrick Martins of Heritage Foods USA, who did an incredible job putting this trip together, with Louis & Teresa Fantasma from Paradise Locker Meats (which you can learn more about our visit to there by clicking here), as well as some of the top chefs in the country who support the “Farm to Table” movement. Chefs Jason Neve and Matt Harubin from B&B Ristorante in Las Vegas, Community Food & Juice chef Zach Kell, and chef Stephen Barber of the Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch (in California’s Napa Valley) were along for the ride, and it was great to be able to share ideas and thoughts on how we can continue to support this worthy cause.

It was on to the airport and out to Missouri and Kansas to visit the incredible farmers and their families.

Craig Good at Good Farms

Matt Keevhaver at Keevhaver Farm, David and Wesley Norton at Norton Farms, Frank Reese at Good Shepherd Ranch, Larry and Madonna Sorell at Lazy S. Farms, and Craig Good at Good Farms gave us chance to not only check out the hogs, but also some amazing Heritage Turkeys, Chickens, and Cattle. While I must admit I’m partial to pork, I have to say the Prime Rib Eye Steaks cooked over some smoldering coals were pretty darn tasty!

Good Shepard Ranch

Larry Sorrell of Lazy S Farms

A few spotted pigs enjoying another peaceful day in Kansas.

After 5+ days, the trip finally came to a close. While a little tired, all of us walked away with a renewed enthusiasm and respect for the jobs these farmers do for us every day. When you really think about it, they’re what this country was founded on.., hard work, dedication, and commitment to doing your absolute best every day.., and we’re better people to know them.

Until the next time.., Sam.

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Paradise Locker Meats, a meat processing plant where we get some of our heritage breed hog meat from, was featured on ThePitch.com:

For most of the past decade, Fantasma, 56, has been processing pigs for Heritage Foods USA, the mail-order business that began as the marketing arm of Slow Food USA. Pork from his plant fills plates at Momofuku and Del Posto and Carnevino and Lidia’s.

Read More:

Here at Edwards, we have come across an amazing revelation; today is National Pig Day!

A friend in the restaurant business who works with our wholesale department filled us in that today is the amazing holiday known as National Pig Day. According to Wikipedia, National Pig Day is a moment “to accord the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place as one of man’s most intellectual and domesticated animals.”

The holiday began back in 1972 when Texas teacher Ellen Stanley and her sister Mary Lynne Rave decided to garner support for dedicating one day out of the year to recognize and be thankful for the delicious animal known as the pig. Although there is no evidence that this is truly a “National” day (which requires an act of Congress), there are several events in Kentucky, Illinois, New York and more that celebrate man’s best edible porcine friend.

Okay, call us a little bias but we want to commemorate this day to not just recognize the life of the pig, but also the wonderful bounties the pig gives us: ham, bacon sausage, salami, guanciali, and more bacon.

So here’s to the pig. May we honor such an essential animal with a celebratory holiday topped with salt and hickory smoke!

Here at Edwards, we’ve stuck to the time-tested method of using quality pork and smoking them with smoldering hickory wood from our family smokehouses. Our bacon is dry-rubbed by hand using a mixture of sugars, salts, peppers and other  seasonings.   Out of the smokehouse, we develop different types of bacon to entice your tastebud’s curiosity:

Hickory-Smoked, Sliced Bacon

Hickory-Smoked Sliced Bacon

Winner of the Blue Ribbon Award at Virginia’s State Fair, Edwards Hickory Smoked, Sliced Bacon is the standard flagship of our selection of quality bacon. Like all of our bacon, it’s slowly smoked over hickory wood. It has that signature flavor widely known to American Southern culture. Unlike other bacon out there, this bacon does not shrink to a fraction of its original size, giving you a hearty meal for a savory breakfast or snack.

Peppered, Sliced Bacon

Peppered, Sliced Bacon

Not only is this bacon given the smokey treatment of hickory wood, but this is one is given an added flavor of delicious pepper. A delicate coating of freshly cracked black peppercorns is hand-rubbed into an extra-lean slab of bacon. Definitely worth a bite if you want your bacon to have an extra “kick.”

Berkshire Sliced Bacon

Edwards Berkshire, Sliced Bacon

There a lot of factors that go into the texture of a piece of bacon, one aspect in particular is the breed of pig that the bacon came from.  Made from rare Six-Spotted Berkshire hogs pasture-raised on family farms, our Berkshire bacon proves how a little fat in the right places can produce a noticeably superior flavor.

Virginia Bacon Steak

Virginia Bacon Steak

The ultimate desire for fanatical bacon lovers everywhere; our Virginia Bacon Steak are sliced a quarter-inch thick to give you extra bacon for your bacon. It’s perfect for grilling out during a cookout or tailgate and it also delivers a heftier dose of that hickory-smoked flavor our bacon fans know and love. (A peppered version of the Bacon Steak is also available)

We’re happy to have restaurants all across the country feature our handcrafted Virginia ham, bacon and sausage in their delicious recipes. In Brooklyn NY, here’s one story of a dish that’s becoming quite popular at a local restaurant known as Iris Cafe. Take a look a this savory Egg and Biscuit recipe featuring our Surryano Ham…

From NBC New York:

“Tired of the ol’ bacon egg and cheese bagel for breakfast? Catch a ride with Ali out to Brooklyn to try out Iris Cafe’s take on an egg and biscuit breakfast sammie! You’ll never look at soft-boiled egg the same way again.”

]]> http://blog.virginiatraditions.com/2013/01/28/video-egg-and-biscuit-recipe-from-iris-cafe-feat-surryano-ham/feed/ 0 http://blog.virginiatraditions.com/2013/01/23/edwards-surryano-ham-named-3-time-champion-good-food-awards/ http://blog.virginiatraditions.com/2013/01/23/edwards-surryano-ham-named-3-time-champion-good-food-awards/#comments Wed, 23 Jan 2013 21:56:13 +0000 Sam Edwards III http://blog.virginiatraditions.com/?p=1425 Continue reading →]]>

Press Release

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (January 22, 2013) – Nearly 700 people gathered on Friday
night at San Francisco’s iconic Ferry Building for the third annual Seedling Projects
Good Food Awards Ceremony to celebrate this years’ winners. Chosen from more than
1330 entries, S. Wallace Edwards and Sons’ Surryano Ham was selected as a champion
in the Charcuterie Division for the third year in a row. The weekend’s attendance
reinforced the signs that responsibly produced food is a growing sector of the US
economy and a thriving force within the consumer marketplace in America.

Speaking on behalf of the company, Sam W. Edwards III, President and Cure Master,
said “We’re truly honored to have our Surryano Ham receive the Good Food Award for a
third consecutive year, and we’re proud to produce ‘The Great American Country Ham’
using family recipes that date back to the original Jamestown Settlement. I also applaud
Seedling Projects whose commitment to responsibly produced foods is good for both
producers, and most importantly, consumers from coast to coast.”

Good Food Awards Director Sarah Weiner commented, “More than in past years, I am
blown away by how delicious everything is. There is no doubt that this is the most
impressive group of Good Food Award winners to date, and it is a true reflection of what
is happening around the country.”

ABOUT SEEDLING PROJECTS
Seedling Projects, a California public benefit corporation, is led by Sarah Weiner and
Dominic Phillips, who have united their diverse skills to support the sustainable food
movement. Through focused events and strategic models it engages the public in finding
better ways to feed our communities. Find more information at:
www.seedlingprojects.org

UPDATE: Check out The Virginia Pilot’s article on Edwards’ win at the Good Food Awards.