Jar Pot Roast

Wine:

Chateau de Cazeneuve 2005

We started out with a Date Salad. We made it with Mache lettuce, walnut oil, and parmesan cheese, then dressed it with Saba. It is amazing how good such a simple salad can be. We always get our cheese at The Cheese Store of Silverlake.

We always like going to Jar for dinner. They have some great dishes that are always on their menu. The VERY BEST French fries in Los Angeles. The best Duck Fried Rice, and their signature Pot Roast. We decided to make the Pot Roast. The dish is made from boned short-ribs and is the essence of comfort food. We loved it! Of course we picked up the meat from Harvey Guss!

With the Pot Roast we made Couscous.

It was a perfect winter meal.

pot roast with caramelized onions and roasted carrots from Jar
Epicurious | December 2006
Suzanne Tracht; adapted by Adeena Sussman
Ingredients
For pot roast
1/2 cup canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 pounds boneless short ribs, denuded (all surface fat removed; have your butcher do this)
1 cup dry sherry
4 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 large onions, peeled and roughly chopped
8 stalks celery, peeled and roughly chopped
8 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 bay leaf
About 8 cups (2 quarts) chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth

For roasted carrots and caramelized onions
6 medium carrots (about 2 pounds) peeled, halved lengthwise, then halved horizontally
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 medium Spanish onions, sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 6 to 7 cups)
Preparation
Prepare pot roast
Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 350°F. Season beef liberally with salt and pepper. In large Dutch oven or heavy ovenproof pot over moderately high heat, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add beef and sear until dark brown and crisp on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer beef to large plate. Pour off oil in pan and discard. Add sherry and simmer uncovered, scraping up browned bits on bottom of pan, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Pour reduced sherry into heatproof liquid measuring cup.

In same pan, combine carrots, onions, celery, garlic, and bay leaf. Lay beef on top of vegetable mixture and pour reduced sherry over. Add enough chicken stock to cover 3/4 of meat. Cover and transfer to lower rack in oven. Roast until fork-tender, about 3 hours.

While beef is roasting, prepare roasted carrots and caramelized onions
During final hour of roasting, in large bowl, toss carrots with olive oil until well coated. Season generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread on baking sheet and transfer to upper rack in oven. Roast until slightly tender and browned, about 45 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and keep warm.

During final 30 minutes of roasting, in heavy 12-inch skillet over moderately high heat, heat canola oil until hot but not smoking. Add onions and sauté, stirring constantly, until caramelized, about 20 to 25 minutes. Season to taste with kosher salt, add to roasted carrots in large bowl, and keep warm.

Finish dish
When beef is tender, transfer to serving platter; tent with foil. Skim fat from liquid in pot. Strain liquid through fine-mesh sieve, pressing on solids with back of spoon to extract all juices, then discarding solids. Return liquid to pot, set over high heat, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to moderate and simmer, uncovered, until reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. Season juices to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Pour half of juices into bowl with carrots and onions; toss to combine. Pour other half of juices into gravy dish. Arrange carrots and onions around beef on serving platter and serve immediately, with extra juices on side.

Prime Rib

Wine

Charles Krug Grande Cuvee
2002 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon
2003 Duckhorn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Bangin Red Pinot Noir 2006

Steve and Don had come up from San Diego to stay with Billy and Kevin for the Thanksgiving. We decided we would have a dinner together on Saturday night. Because Billy and Kevin had almost 60 people over for Thanksgiving we decided to have the dinner at our place.

We decided to have a blowout dinner with the main course being Prime Rib. We don’t make it very often but we have a great recipe. Of course we got the meat from Harvey Gus Meats. The recipe calls for a lot of spices on the meat, but last time we made prime rib, I thought it was too spicy. This time we only used Salt and Pepper on the meat, but made the GREAT sauce that we served on the side.

Kevin prepared appetizers and they were perfect with the great Champagne. We had Caviar and Bilinis with crème fresh and chopped onion. We then had Fois Gras on crackers

We then served the Prime Rib with the accompanying sauce. For sides we served Creamed Spinach from Campanile. We also had some Green Beans from Campanile. Cathy had the idea of sautéing them with almonds in brown butter. It really worked. Finally we made “Smashed Potatoes” from the Sunday Supper at Lucques cookbook.

For desert we served Ice Cream with Biscotti and Crème de Cassis.
We also served Almond Brittle that we bought at the Santa Monica Farmers Market.

It was a delicious meal. We discovered that Donny had a relationship of some sort with our cat: Polenta in a previous life! They really bonded! Our only problem now is what to do with all of the Leftover, Prime Rib and Turkey!


SPICE-CRUSTED PRIME RIB WITH WHIPPED POTATOES
=============================================
Adapted from David Burke
Time: About 2 1/2 hours

For the roast:
13-rib portion of prime rib (6 to 8 pounds, preferably dry-aged), trimmed of excess fat (reserve it) and tied
1/2 cup ground cumin
1/3 cup ground cayenne
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/3 cup freshly ground black pepper

For the steak sauce:
2 cups Worcestershire
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Tabasco
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened2 teaspoons sesame oil

For the potatoes:
3 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 scant cup whole milk
3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil.
1. Remove roast from refrigerator 2 hours before cooking. Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper. Set roast fat-side up on counter and rub a thick layer of spice mixture over entire surface. Transfer roast to a wire rack in a shallow roasting pan and place in oven for 13 to 15 minutes per pound.
2. While meat roasts, prepare steak sauce and potatoes. In a medium-size pot, combine Worcestershire, ketchup and Tabasco and set over medium heat. Reduce for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture has thickened. Lower heat to warm and whisk in butter and oil. Transfer to gravy boat or bowl and allow to cool before for serving. (Stored in an airtight container, sauce will last in refrigerator for 2 weeks.) 3. While sauce reduces, place some trimmed fat in a small, heavy-bottomed pot over low heat until it melts. Place potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold water, add salt and place over high heat. When water boils, lower heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. Shut off heat.
4. After roast has cooked for an hour, check temperature by inserting a meat thermometer deep into its thickest part, away from any bone. For medium rare, remove from oven at 125 degrees. Allow to rest 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
5. While roast rests, finish potatoes. Place a small pot over medium-low heat,add milk and garlic and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Shut off heat and discard garlic. Drain potatoes in a colander. Pass them through a potato ricer or sieve back into pot in which they were boiled. Add butter, milk, salt and pepper, place pot over low heat, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon or whisk. Add olive oil, stirring, and a few tablespoons of rendered fat. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to warm.
6. Carve roast. Remove bones by slicing down their sides: reserve for later use or serve in a bowl with meal. Carve an inch-thick slice per person. Place on plate with whipped potatoes and sauce on the side.

A Zuni Dinner

Wine:

DeRose 2002 Zinfandel
Debit05 Croatia White Wine

We had Bea over for dinner. We made one of our favorite salads from The Zuni Café Cookbook: Caesar Salad. It is a great recipe We like to serve the romaine leaves whole, that way you can pick up the leaf and eat with your hands. Messy but fun, plus you get to lick your fingers at the table!

For the pasta we made PASTA ALL 'AMATRICIANA, a very simple but delicious Sauce with Canned Whole Tomatoes and sautéed onions and my favorite seasoning: bacon. We served it with bucattelo pasta which looks like regular pasta but actually as a tube. It holds the sauce. We topped with grated pecorino from The Cheese Store of Silverlake.
This recipe is also from The Zuni Cookbook.

It is amazing that you can make great tomato pasta in the fall without fresh tomatoes.





PASTA with BRAISED BACON & ROASTED TOMATO SAUCE
===============================================

Zuni’s version of the much-loved dish from Abruzzo, PASTA ALL 'AMATRICIANA, Since the traditional signature ingredient, guanciale {tender pig-cheek bacon], is not available to us, we blanch and slow-cook a piece of slab bacon, which renders much of the fat and mellows strong cures. Consider braising a larger chunk of bacon than you think you will need; you can use the extra for other. I like the tender leftover bits and scraps fried in the same pan with eggs, with a trickle of the bacon braising juices spooned over the top. You can prepare this multipurpose bacon up to a week in advance, which is a boon. But for those times when braised bacon is not an option, make this dish with little strips of thickly sliced bacon. (Brown them while the pasta boils, then drain off most of the fat, stir in the peppery tomato sauce, and simmer together for a minute or two.}
We always make this sauce with canned tomatoes-roasting them concentrates their flavor and gives them a fleshy texture.

Pasta all'amatriciana is traditionally made with bucatini (also called perciatelle], but penne, penne rigate, and spaghetti are good alternatives. Offer freshly grated pecorino romano or pecorino sardo to garnish; the salty, feral flavor is a good match for this aggressive sauce. Parmigiano-Reggiano would taste out of place here.
Wine: Rioja Reserva Vina Ardanza, La Rioja Alta, 1995
FOR 4 TO 5 SERVINGS:
for the braised bacon {makes 1/2 to 3/4 pound]:

3/4 to 1 pound slab bacon, in one piece, skin removed
About 1/2 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1 small carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
About 1/2 cup Chicken Stock
About 1/2 cup dry white vermouth
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1 small yellow onion, thickly sliced

For the roasted tomato sauce {makes about 2-1/2 cups):
2-1/2 cups drained canned whole tomatoes, juice reserved
1 bay leaf
Salt
Sugar, if needed
About 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces sliced yellow onion (about 1 medium onion]
1 pound bucatini, penne, penne rigate,or spaghetti
6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
Freshly grated pecorino romano or pecorino sardo, to taste
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, plus more for serving

Preparing the braised bacon:
Preheat the oven to 300°.
Place the bacon in a wide pot and add cold water to cover by a few inches, over medium heat, bring to a simmer, and cook until the bacon softens a little, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain and rinse. {This process will draw out some of the sweet-salty brine and more important, rehydrate the bacon, to produce a tender, succulent result.}
Place the bacon fat side up in a shallow flameproof baking dish just large enough to hold it and the vegetables in a single layer (A 1-quart gratin dish should work; cut the bacon into 2 pieces if necessary}. Add the carrot, celery, onion, and bay leaf and moisten with equal parts of the wine, vermouth, and stock, adding enough to come to a depth of 1/2 inch. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cover with parchment paper and then with foil, dull side out, transfer to the oven, and bake until melting tender, about 2-1/2 hours.
Uncover the baking dish, raise the-heat to broil, and leave just long enough the color the surface, 3 to 5 minutes. By now the bacon will have rendered about 30 percent of its weight, most of it in fat. Leave to cool completely in the baking dish, then skim or scrape off and discard the rendered fat. Strain and save the braising liquid to flavor beans, soups, or braised greens. (I usually discard the braising vegetables as too strong and too cooked to be of interest.}
If not using the bacon right away, cool completely, then replace in a clean baking dish, add the strained liquid, cover, and refrigerate.

Preparing the tomato sauce:
Preheat the oven to 500°.

Halve the tomatoes and place cut side down in a shallow roasting pan or gratin dish that holds them in one crowded layer. They shouldn't be stacked, or they will steam and stew rather than dry out and color. Add any juice they released when you cut them in half, plus enough of the reserved juice to come to a depth of 1/4 inch. Drizzle with a tablespoon or two of the olive oil.
Roast until the tomatoes char slightly and are bubbling around the edges, about 15 minutes. Use a dough cutter to very coarsely chop in the roasting dish.
Shortly before the tomatoes are done, in a 12-inch skillet, cook the onions in about 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat until they begin to color at the edges, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat and stir in the garlic, pepper, and bay leaf.
When the onions are just beginning to soften through, stir in the warm toma¬toes and another few tablespoons of olive oil. Salt lightly to taste, and add a pinch or two of sugar if you find the tomatoes too tart. Add a spoonful of the reserved tomato juice if needed to keep the tomatoes saucy. Simmer briefly, just long enough to combine the elements, but without sacrificing their textures and indi¬viduality. Set aside.

Cooking and saucing the pasta:
Cut the braised bacon into strips about 1/4 inch thick and I inch long.
Drop the pasta into 6 quarts rapidly boiling water seasoned with a scant 2 tablespoons salt {a little more if using kosher salt}. Stir, and cook until al dente.
Meanwhile, brown the bacon strips in a 12-inch skillet or 3-quart saute pan over medium heat, stirring as needed, until both sides are slightly colored, a few minutes at most. If the bacon seems dry, add a trickle of olive oil. Stir in the tomato sauce. Simmer together for a minute or so.
Drain the pasta well and fold into the tomato sauce. Offer the pecorino and additional black pepper.

Great Old Standby's

Wine:

GC Pinot Noir 2004

We made some old favorites.
Radicchio Salad recipe from The Zuni Café Cookbook.
Polenta made with Sage, onions
Pork braised in milk from the great cookbook by Marcella Hazan Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

We love these dishes

Better than the New Restaurant

Wine: (from Bea)
Melville Chardonnay 2003
Kosta Browne 2005 Pinot Noir Reserve


We wanted to have a roast chicken for dinner and planned a meal around it.
The LA Times reviewed a new French Bistro, so we went there on Monday night and had a whole chicken for two. Lots of leftovers.

We planned to make our own version the next night.
We used a recipe from the New York Times, by: Laurent Tourondel named: A Bird with a Secret Under its Skin. This dish was far better than the chicken from the restaurant. We love it!
Once again we made a Fall Salad of: Pomegranate, Persimmons, Almonds, Prosciutto dressed with Saba. Cheese, Almonds and Saba from The Cheesestore of Silverlake.

The Potatoes are cooked under the chicken with lots of butter and onions they were delicious.

For desert we served German Chocolate Cake from Perfectly Sweet.

A great meal!

Roast Chicken with Preserved Lemons
Adapted from Laurent Tourondel
Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

1 6 1/2- to 7-pound chicken
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) soft butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons finely diced onions, plus 2 large onions, sliced
1/4 cup finely diced preserved lemons (available at Middle Eastern markets and specialty food stores)
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
Salt and pepper
3 pounds unpeeled fingerling potatoes, cut in two lengthwise
8 large garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1/4 cup olive oil.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Using a cleaver, chop wings from chicken at joint closest to breast; reserve.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine butter, one tablespoon rosemary, diced onions, lemons and bread crumbs to form a thick paste. Using your fingers, separate skin from breast of chicken, and slather mixture under skin about 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle skin liberally with salt.
3. Place wings in a roasting pan, and place chicken on top. In a large mixing bowl, combine remaining rosemary, the potatoes, garlic, sliced onions, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to mix well and add to pan around chicken. Roast, occasionally basting chicken and tossing potatoes, until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife at joint of leg, about 1 1/2 hours. Carve and serve each portion with some seasoned skin and potatoes and onions.
Yield: 6 servings.