When you meet the cheerful Grace Brock of Vienna, you might assume she leads the life of a relaxed, retired woman. But for the owner and chef behind Ole Pioneer’s Kitchen, nothing could be further from her reality. She’s up early each day to shop for, prep, season, wrap, label and freeze pounds of steaks, sausages, bacon and meatballs. And then she goes to a farmers market. Why the business? For one, says the native Argentinean, several months after she retired from her job as a software analyst, she became bored with so much time on her hands. “I couldn’t stand not having a daily schedule,” she said.
She had a collection of traditional sausage recipes garnered from her Argentinean grandfather, a butcher by profession. After throwing a dinner party featuring her homemade sausages, Brock wondered if these products would sell at a farmers market. Her first efforts of a Mexican chorizo and a chimichurri sauce were so successful that Brock started a second career.
| IF YOU GO |
| Ole Pioneer’s Kitchen |
| » Products available at: Kingstowne Farmers Market, Vienna Farmers Market (Optimist Club), Reston at Lake Anne Farmers Market, Lorton Farmers Market, Alexandria West End Farmers Market |
| » Info: opkfoods.com |
She had had no formal culinary training, however, particularly one that focused on producing meat items for consumption. So she set out to learn a whole new profession in a 16-week period. Part of her learning curve included how to make meat products that were as appealing to the eye as to the palate.
“You have to look for the beauty in a product,” said Brock. “When you buy something, you buy with the eyes. For me, it is not to see too much fat.”
Then she wanted to experiment with flavors. “To sell, I wanted to make a couple of different flavors. I thought of the flavors I loved when I was a child,” she said. “So I mixed flavors from Argentina. I started to experiment with unusual flavors that my dad did not see in his lifetime. I introduced them to my son and friends.”
Because she took this new enterprise seriously — and also found her home kitchen too cramped for mass production — Brock expanded her house to incorporate a separate kitchen and storage room, and had the extension properly licensed and inspected. “Now I have a place to work with the help of my assistant, Michelle,” she said, adding that she makes about 200 packages of meats a week.
“I can now make 50 pounds of sausages at a time,” she said, starting with bratwurst Mondays, followed later in the week by bangers, breakfast sausage, meatballs as well as British and shoulder bacon. Brock is fortunate to have a savvy helper in Michelle, who keeps up with the cooking and cleaning of pots and equipment without coaching. “Yesterday, while I was cutting bacon, she put it in trays and packed it,” she said. “In the interim, she was trimming the flank steaks because we have to do that today.”
What does her family think? “My siblings think I’m crazy,” she says. “Had my father still been alive, he probably would have said, ‘I knew she could do it.’ ”
Q&A
What is your comfort food?
The food I started missing a long time ago. My mom used to make it. It’s polenta blanca (see recipe). I dug out the recipe from my sister and made [it]. … I like it because I put it into a dish 1-inch high, let it cool down. Then I cut it into portions, and wrap and freeze them. I eat it all week.
What was the greatest influence on cooking?
When I was a child, I was always watching my mom in the kitchen. My dad was very particular, and he didn’t want children to touch the food. … So my biggest influence was my mom, who cooked all three meals of the day. She made a feast out of a few ingredients.
Which is your favorite ingredient?
Onions and mushrooms. I love them. I like to use onions and garlic a lot. In my meatballs I put onions because I love the flavor.
Which is your favorite restaurant?
I am a beef-and-potato girl, so when my husband takes me out it is to Morton’s. I love the beef, because it reminds me of beef in Argentina. That flavor, you recognize it anywhere.
What is in your fridge?
Greens (chard and spinach) because I like to eat greens. Yogurt, milk, real unsweetened butter, lemons, salad mixes, and for snacks, hummus and salsa.
Recipe
Polenta Blanca
This is one of the foods in Argentina that people eat when money is scarce, Brock said. White polenta, or polenta blanca, is available at Hispanic markets. You may substitute Italian polenta, but it won’t have the same taste as the original.
Serves 4
2 to 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2-lb. very lean beef, cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
Salt to taste
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 packet (1/2-lb.) polenta blanca
1/2-lb. meltable white cheese, such as Monterey Jack
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the beef until browned. Add the onion, cumin and salt to taste. Continue sauteing until the onions turn golden. Add the chicken broth. Reduce the heat to very low, and cook the mixture for about 1 hour. Slowly stir in the polenta, and cook and stir for about 5 minutes. If the mixture becomes too thick, add a little water. Stir in the cheese, let the mixture sit until the cheese is melted, scoop into a serving dish, and eat.
