Shanks for the Memories

Nate with Shank

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We called up Nate at McCall’s Meat and Fish to order some fish. While we were talking to him, he told us he had a Beef Shank that was very special. It was from Jim Niman of Niman Ranch, who now has his own farm. He strongly suggested that we would should take advantage of the shank’s availability.

So we went over to McCall’s and saw this gigantic leg. I asked Nate to trim it down to something we could fit in our oven and he did. We planned to cook it on Sat. That night we had Shu, Robert and Darryl over for dinner and we mentioned the shank. I showed it to the group. Robert immediately replied he knew exactly how to cook it. Bouf a la Mode. Cathy immediately said “Ok, you take it home and cook it for us”. Robert did. He brought the finished Bouf back to our house and finished the meat by repeatedly glazing it with the sauce every ten minutes until the meat was glistening black, and looked like it was lacquered. The meat was delicious, tender and simply fell away from the bone with a serving fork. It didn’t even need to be cut with a knife. Nate was right. We are really glad we got the meat. Huge kudos to Robert for cooking this for us!

We started the dinner with a new Salad for us: Watermelon and Feta from Plenty by Yotam Otttolenghi. We first had a similar salad for my Birthday at Palate (which unfortunately is now closed). Robert and Darryl then served us this version, which is just great. The salad is a HUGE hit. Everyone loves it!

Cathy made Polenta to go with the meat.

For dessert we made a White Nectarine Crisp that we served with a new delicious brand of ice cream that is available from Gelson’s: Jenis. This is a wonderful ice cream!

Watermelon and feta

Plenty

Yotam Otttolenghi

This you must eat on the beach, or at least outdoors, on a hot day, with the sun's rays unobstructed. It reminds me of hot sweaty nights on the seafront in Tel Aviv, when everyone is out enjoying beer, loud music and often a heated conversation. The sweet juiciness of the watermelon and the crumbly saltiness of the feta give this salad all its character. So make sure you choose the best possible of both.

Serves 4

10 oz feta

41/2 cups large chunks of watermelon

3/4 cup basil leaves

1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced (optional)

olive oil

Slice the feta into large but thin pieces, or just break it by hand into rough chunks.

Arrange all the ingredients, except the olive oil, on a platter, mixing them up a little. Drizzle over some oil and serve at once.