We wish Tuesday would get here just a little faster. Chef Jonah’s promised us some rare Italian farmhouse treasures for our Whole Hog series of dinners, and we admit to feeling slightly, joyfully impatient — like children awaiting Christmas. Prep for this week’s Whole Hog dinners has been going on for days. Here, from the menu below, are some of Chef Jonah’s favorites:

Radiatore with braised pork skin, octopus, and Ceci beans
— this will be a pasta nero (squid ink pasta), with crispy skin and octopus;

Agnolotti dal plin of boudin blanc sausage with toasted pistachios, Savoy cabbage, and Pink Lady apple
— little pasta pillows filled with a mild pork pudding;

We don’t get to do these very often, and they are so delicious:
Boudin noir sausage with house-fermented sauerkraut, roast apple, and breadcrumbs
— blood sausage(!);

Breaded costoletta of pork with saffron risotto, artichokes, and gremolata
— Milanese-style breaded pork chop;

Spit-roasted Red Wattle ham with onion soubise, Yellow Finn potatoes, and saba;

Along with everything else:

 

Whole Hog Dinners 2016
March 1-4

Antipasti

Cold

“Vitello tonnato”: pork loin with swordfish, aïoli, and caper sauce

Carne cruda of pig’s heart with Calabrian chili, sun-dried tomato, fennel pollen, and oregano

Grilled crostini with ciccioli, Tuscan-style pâté, and pickles

Terrina of pork with saba, frisée, and whole grain crostino

Affetati misti: selection of fermented salumi and cured whole muscles

Salad of mixed chicories with crispy pancetta, balsamic vinaigrette, and ricotta salata

Coppa di testa with grilled Castelfranco radicchio, pickled onions,and crumbled farmer’s cheese

 

Warm

Fritto of pigs’ ears and Kennebec potatoes with oyster aïoli

Stuffed and fried pork trotters with coarse mustard and turnips with their greens

Charcoal-grilled Tuscan-style sausage and Butter bean cassuola with breadcrumbs and lemon

Crostino of lardo, rosemary-roasted dates, and old aceto balsamico

Cotechino with Puy lentils, sherry vinaigrette, and salsa verde

Soup: vellutata of Cannellini beans with Senise pepper-spiced pork skin and Cipolline onion petals

 

Primi

Orecchiette with pork sausage, Manila clams, and broccoli di ciccio

Butternut squash gnocchetti with whey-braised pork and Gorgonzola  dolce

Radiatore with braised pork skin, octopus, and Ceci beans

Saffron chitarra with ragù all’abruzzese

Agnolotti dal plin of boudin blanc sausage with toasted pistachios, Savoy cabbage, and Pink Lady apple

Bucatini all’amatriciana

 

Secondi

Zampone with Floriani red flint corn polenta, Chantenay carrots, and sun-dried tomato salsa

Spit-roasted Red Wattle ham with onion soubise, Yellow Finn potatoes, and saba

Boudin noir sausage with house-fermented sauerkraut, roast apple, and breadcrumbs

Breaded costoletta of pork with saffron risotto, artichokes, and gremolata

Porchetta with grilled asparagus, farro verde, and salmoriglio

Budino of seasonal vegetables tbd

Pancetta-wrapped monkfish with celeriac, brown butter, capers, and lemon

 

Dolci

Salted caramel tart with lard-graham crust, toasted meringue, Sambuca chocolate sauce, and anise-candied bacon

Lemon-polenta torta with thyme ice cream, roasted lemon sauce, and honeyed almond-pancetta nougatine

Yogurt cheesecake with pistachio crust, apricot mostarda, saffron-honey crème anglaise, and orange blossom granita

Bittersweet chocolate cake al sanguinaccio with blood orange sauce, almond crumb, and vanilla ice cream

Due of sorbetti: Campari-grapefruit and whiskey-lemon-ginger