Brooklyn, Williamsburg Ben Turley at The Meat Hook

Red Wine & Rosemary Sausage

 "For fall and winter this is my go-to sausage.  Aside from the obvious ingredients, 
we use a lot of pork belly in this sausage to add to its robustness.  Flavor-wise it's 
most in tune with a Sweet Italian, but much richer and satisfying than what we're
 all accustomed to getting from a Sweet Italian.  As soon as October hits every year, 
I start itching to make this one again."

Kale

"I'm surrounded by meat all day.  We taste pastrami, bacon, raw meat, sausages, 
and everything else we make constantly.  The need for greens becomes 
overwhelming at times, and kale is a perfect snack.  Nine times out of ten, I just 
throw it in a pan with a decent amount of oil, garlic, lemon, and salt."

Baby Arugula

"Salads are amazing.  I like anything that's spicy.  Arugula is spicy."

Northern Spy Apples 

"This is the food that gets Brent  (Co-butcher at The Meat Hook) and I through 
the day.  We don't have time for lunch and we rarely break our stride, so apples
 are the easy solution.  We fortunately have a constant stream of new varieties
 passing through our doors, so we not only get to enjoy them, but we get to learn
 a little bit at the same time.  Northern Spy apples are the favorite of the moment."

Pasta 

 "I never get tired of noodles and since time is short in the world of meat--this is great. 
 Take one of the sausages remove the meat from the casing.  Throw it in a pan 
with the kale, or any other green you have lying around. 
Spinach is nice... and toss them together.  Throw in your pasta and add salt, 
butter and pecorino.  Congratulations.  You're full."