A Just Reward

Sometimes my husband and I ask ourselves if all of the effort that we put into some meals is worth it. We can spend a great many hours on a single meal, and for seemingly no special reason or occasion. The other day, while shopping for lamb racks for a special dinner we prepared for a friend, some veal shanks jumped into my shopping basket. "Jumped in!" you say "That does not happen to me. Exercise some restraint!" Great meals begin with the unexpected. If a particular thing you see in the store looks great, smells great or is bursting with other superlatives, it needs to be eaten. We decided to prepare the quintessential veal shank dish Osso Bucco, with the quintessential accompaniment Rissotto Milanese.

We have been perfecting the classic combination for a few years now. Every time we make it, some nuance reveals itself that helps us the next time. When you make dishes again and again, you only improve your technique and results. Everyone has their prize spaghetti sauce or chili that gets better every time. This holds true for all dishes. People get disappointed with the results of a new recipe and then never return to it. Good cooks get good results from repetition.

We always turn to our old friend "The Classic Italian Cook Book" by Marcella Hazan. First published in 1973, these recipes have not gone out of style, as traditional Italian cooking has always relied on fresh ingredients and a sense of reverence in their preparation. A quote from the preface of her book says it beautifully.

Nothing significant exists under Italy's sun that is not touched by art. Its food is twice blessed because it is the product of two arts, the art of cooking and the art of eating. While each nourishes the other, they are in no way identical accomplishments. The art of cooking produces the dishes, but it is the art of eating that transforms them into a meal.
Through the art of eating, an Italian meal becomes a precisely orchestrated event, where the products of the season, the tradition of place, the intuitions of the cook, and knowledgeable joy of the participants are combined into one of the most satisfying experiences of which our senses are capable.

Marcella Hazan

Here are the recipes for the dynamic duo. It is perfect winter food, as rice, canned tomatoes, pancetta and root vegetables abound in the winter.


Osso Bucco
For 6

1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
2/3 cup finely chopped carrot (1 large)
2/3 cup finely chopped celery (1 stalk)
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp minced garlic
2 strips lemon peel
1/2 cup vegetable oil
6-8 pieces prepared veal shanks
flour for dredging the veal
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1 398 ml can of whole tomatoes , chopped with their juice
1/4 tsp dried thyme
Fresh basil (optional, but a good addition)
2 bay leaves
3 stems fresh parsley
Salt & Pepper

In a casserole dish large enough for all ingredients:

Saute the chopped vegetables in butter for 8 to 10 minutes add the garlic and lemon peel. remove from heat.

In a large skillet, heat oil. Dredge the veal pieces on each side, in the flour on a plate. Shake off any excess. Brown the veal on each side, making sure you don't crowd the pan too much. Once the pieces are browned on each side, place on top of the vegetables in the casserole dish. Once the veal has been all browned and placed in the skillet, tip off any excess oil in the skillet.
Add the wine to the pan and stir up any brown bits. Pour this over the veal. Bring the stock to the boil in the same skillet and pour over veal. To the casserole, pour over the chopped tomatoes and juice, herbs and a little salt. Check later for salt and add more if required. Bring casserole to the boil , cover tightly and place in a preheated oven for about 2 hours, turning the veal pieces every half hour or so. They should be very tender when pricked with a fork to be done. Remove veal pieces and spoon sauce over top. Sprinkle with Gremolada if desired (recipes follows)

Gremolada

This traditional garnish offers a lemon, parsley and garlic tang to the dish. Some find it a tad too much for the rich dish. (I enjoy it with or without)

1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
Mix together and sprinkle over top when serving.

Risotto alla Milanese

1 litre chicken stock (approx and unsalted or homemade)
2 tbsp diced pancetta (italian bacon)
2 tbsp finely chopped shallots or yellow onion
5 tbsp butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups raw Arborio rice
1/3 tsp saffron
salt (taste first!)
Fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Heat the stock to a simmer and keep warm. Saute the pancetta with the oil and butter until cooked through. Add the shallots and cook until translucent. Add the rice and stir until it is coated with oil. Saute for a few minutes.

Add about 1/2 cup of the hot stock and simmer slowly until all the liquid is absorbed. Continue slowly adding the stock a ladle full at a time, taking care that all the rice is coated with the stock. ( smooth it out on top after each addition) Adjust your heat so that is gently bubbling, and stir, stir stir. Dissolve the saffron in some warm stock and add about half way through the 30 minutes. The later you add it, the stronger the flavour. The risotto is done when the rice is tender but al dente. It takes approx 30 minutes. When you get closer to that time, put in less stock at a time to ensure you don't swamp it. When you get it right you will know. It is creamy, not dry or not runny. Add the parmesan at the end and salt if necessary.

Marcella gives this advice:

The quantity of the liquid given should be considered an approximate amount . You may end using less or slightly more than indicated. What is important is never to cook risotto with too much liquid at one time, and to bring it to it's final tender but firm to the bite state so that it is creamy but not saturated.

Sounds scary but it is not. Practice this dish and you will never regret the time and effort you put into it.

In Defense of Food

Words of Wisdom:

Eat Food, Not too Much, Mostly Plants

Michael Pollan's New Book In Defense of Food

Advice Gone Bad

Sometimes, being a trained cook (from a previous life) can get you into a little trouble. People ask your advice, and then you can't help giving it. When we are making "simple food" at home that does not take much time or effort, I want to shout if from the rooftops. "It's not hard to do, really. Just a few simple steps.........." I had a conversation at work with someone about pan frying steak. They were quite intrigued by the idea that you could make a good steak in a fry pan. I said that we pan fry steaks often in our house when going out to the barbecue does not seem like such a great idea. (6 months out of the year where I live) I gave advice about using a good pan. Then, about ensuring the heat was even. Then, I suggested "kicking it up a notch" by making a simple pan sauce for said steaks. I gave a brief overview of the concepts of the steaks and the sauce.

A few days later, I was approached with the reproach " steaks were good......pan sauce was awful". I felt bad.

To make amends, after I got home from work on Friday, I prepared a "panfried steak", and recorded the recipe to share.


Pan Fried Bison Tenderloin with a Red Wine Pan Sauce

2 -4 small tenderloin steaks
2-4 oz good red wine
1/2 shallot finely diced
Small clove of garlic, diced finely
Fresh thyme leaves.
1 oz of cold butter (optional)
2 oz Reduced Beef Stock (optional) (Homemade - unsalted)

Preheat a saute pan until hot. Make sure the pan is not too big or too small. A big pan will get too hot and a small pan will cool down to fast and will not sear the steaks. I used a 12 inch pan for 3 steaks. Pour in a small amount of oil. Sear your steaks on both sides until almost done. Adjust your heat so that your pan residue is not turning black. Remove your steaks from the pan, place in a small oven proof pan and finish them in a 375 degree oven. (probably 5 - 10 minutes)

Put a little more oil in your pan. Add shallots and garlic and stir around, dislodging the brown bits (fond) in the bottom of the pan. Saute until translucent. Add the wine, and stir up the bits some more and cook for a few minutes. The wine will reduce. If you use the higher volume of wine, let it cook longer to reduce. If you use the concentrated (reduced beef stock) you can add that now too. Let cook and reduce until almost by half. Add the fresh thyme and some salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Taste. You can add the optional butter at this time for some extra richness.

Remove your steaks from the oven and test that they are done to your taste. Place the steak on your plate and spoon about a tablespoon of sauce on each steak.

We served this with pommes frites and some sauteed zucchini and tomato. It was a nice little Friday night supper with a good Spanish Rioja.

brioche a tête

We had a cocktail party last week, and one of our guests, brought a gift of 2 bright red little paper bags. I did not peek inside when I received them, but put them on a counter while I whirled around, talking, cooking and partying. When my friend was leaving, I thanked her for the gift and she whispered, "we brought a little treat for you two, for tomorrow morning". I looked into the bag and there were 2 little golden buns, with currants and little pieces of candied fruit. They looked like brioche! The next morning, after more cleanup from the night before, we made our cafe au laits, and then bought out the little red bags. They were delicious. I don't know if they were real brioche, but they reminded me of brioche and I decided that brioche would need to be made before the holidays were over.

There is a mystique that surrounds brioche. Most of us have not had, nor have ever seen a "real" one. I did see a "real" one in France, a long time ago. The memory and taste memory have long since faded. I think I may have had facsimiles of these glorious little buns over the years, but don't think I have actually made them for a very long time.

Brioche first appeared as a written word in 1404, and has been surrounded in controversy since then. Gourmands have argued the true origin of the bread, and which region of France it came from. Marie Antoinette famous words were actually "let them eat brioche", not cake. The bread is made from an enriched yeast dough containing eggs and butter. Raisin, currants and candied fruit can be added to the dough. It can be made in various shapes, from tall cylindrical brioche mouselline, to the short and fat brioche a tête, which has a little ball on top like a hat. (like the ones I made). A similar dough is also used in other cuisines to encase Salmon Coulibiac and Beef Wellington.

Following is an adapted recipe from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Bakers Apprentice.

Sponge

1/2 cup unbleached bread flour
2 tsp instant yeast
1/2 cup milk, warmed to 100 deg F

Dough

5 large eggs
3 cups unbleached bread flour
2 tbsp white sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

Optional: Raisins, currants, candied peel.

1 egg, whisked for egg wash

The sponge: stir together the flour and yeast in a mixing bowl. stir in the milk until the flour is hydrated. Cover with plastic wrap and ferment for 20 minutes, or until the sponge rises and then falls when you tap the bowl.

The Dough: add the eggs to the sponge and beat with the paddle attachment on your mixer until smooth. Stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Add this mixture to sponge and egg mixture and stir on low speed for about 2 minutes. Let this mixture rest for 5 minutes so that the gluten can develop. Mix on medium speed with the paddle and mix in the softened butter 1/4 at a time. After all the butter is incorporated, mix for 6 more minutes. Mix in the optional fruit at this time. The dough will be very soft and smooth.

Transfer the dough to a bag and refrigerate overnight or for a minimum of four hours.

Cut the dough into 2 ounce portions and place into greased muffin pans. If you want the "little hat" you can put an indentation in the top of the bun and then place a small nob of dough in the indentation. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and proof until doubled in size (approximately 1 - 2 hours). When proofed, brush on the egg wash and bake at 400 deg F for 15 to 20 minutes.

Enjoy!