Sausage and Polenta

We continue to explore the meats at McCall’s our new neighborhood Meat and Fish Market. We decided to try their homemade sausage. The links were huge and when cooked delicious. We decided to make Sausages and Polenta. We used the recipe from The Fine Art of Italian Cooking by Giuliano Bugialli.

We made Rapini to go with it. We sauted the Rapini with garlic and olive oil, added salt and pepper then at the end added red wine vinegar. The acidity of the Rapini was perfect for cutting the richness of the porcini sauce.

We got lots of leftovers from this dish!
Polenta con Salsicce
(serves 6)
(Polenta with Sausages)
from The Fine Art of Italian Cooking by Giuliano Bugialli
Sausages cooked in a wonderful sauce made with wild mushrooms and all poured over slices of polenta. It makes one look forward to the cold weather.
4 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
6 large sweet sausages
1 red onion
5 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup tomato paste
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 cups meat or chicken broth
Polenta
Soak the dried mushrooms in a bowl of lukewarm water for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the sausages in half; chop the onion fine.


Heat the olive oil in a saucepan on a medium flame. When it is warm, add the chopped onion and saute until golden brown (about 12 minutes), stirring with a wooden spoon every so often. Add the sausage pieces and saute very lightly for 10 minutes, then add the tomato paste and simmer for 5 minutes more. Add the soaked mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.

In a second saucepan, heat the broth to boiling. When it is hot, pour it into the saucepan containing the sausages. Let simmer very slowly until a large quantity of broth has evaporated (about 25 minutes).

While the sauce is reducing, make the polenta, with quantities listed according to the directions on page 367. When the polenta is ready and on its round board (or pasta board), cut it into slices with a string.

Pour the sauce into a large sauceboat and serve hot, along with the polenta. Place several slices of polenta on each individual dish and cover it with the sausage sauce.

Kevin's Birthday Dinner

Wine:
LeClaire – Gaspard Champagne Grand Cru Brut
Coup De Foudre Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

We decided to invite Billy and Kevin over to celebrate Kevin’s Birthday. We started with Champagne and served Goat Meat that we brought home from Palate. The goat meat was served as Taco’s at Palate. We just served the goat on crackers. When asked, Billy and Kevin were not able to identify it as goat.

We have been trying a lot of recipes from The Bouchon Cookbook by Thomas Keller. We started with a great salad:
Smoked Salmon With a Frisee Salad With Oranges and Radishes. The salad was a hit. I have never had the combination of Salmon, Oranges and Radishes. We will serve it again!

For the main course we served Short Ribs. We are eating our way through all the meats at McCall’s. They had beautiful short ribs. This is a great winter recipe. The recipe we used was: Short Ribs Braised in Chimay Ale from Judy Rodgers Zuni Café Cookbook. You make it ahead of time and simply place under the broiler when ready to serve. We served the Short Ribs over Polenta. We use the recipe for Polenta that can be found in Judy Rodger's The Zuni Cafe Cookbook.

For dessert we had Chocolate Cake. Yum.




Smoked Salmon With a Frisee Salad With Oranges and Radishes
Saumon Fume Et Salade Frisee Aux Oranges Et Radish

From Thomas Keller Bouchon


CITRUS VINAIGRETTE
• ¾ cup fresh orange juice, simmered until reduced to 3 tablespoons
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 2 Cara Cara (red or pink navel) oranges or blood oranges
• 1 to 2 heads frisee lettuce
• 40 tarragon leaves
• 40 Italian parsley leaves 40 chervil
• 1 heaping tablespoon minced chives
• 12 slices (about 8 ounces) smoked salmon
• 2 large breakfast or Icicle radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced (to get 24 rounds)
• Extra virgin olive oil


Here smoked salmon is paired with bitter greens, citrus vinaigrette, and peppery radishes. Fresh herbs are meant to be one of the dominant flavors, and they go well with all the elements here, so don't be shy about using them. And notice how light the vinaigrette is—just three tablespoons of reduced orange juice, one tablespoon of vinegar, and one of olive oil.

For the vinaigrette: Whisk together the reduced orange juice, sherry vinegar, and olive oil in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cut off the top and bottom of 1 orange. Stand the orange up and use a serrated knife to cut away the peel and pith in wide strips, working from top to bottom of the orange. Cut between the membranes to release the segments, letting them fall into a bowl. Squeeze any juice from the membranes over the segments. Repeat with the second orange. Set aside.

Remove the dark green outer leaves from the frisee and reserve for another use. Cut off and discard the core from the inner yellow leaves. Separate the leaves, trimming the bottoms as necessary to separate them. Wash the leaves and spin-dry. Place 1 1h cups greens (reserve any extra for another use) in a medium bowl and add the herbs.

TO SERVE: Arrange 3 slices of salmon in the center of each of four serving plates, overlapping them, their edges following the perimeter of the plate, to make a large circle.

Toss the frisee salad with enough vinaigrette to lightly coat the leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss in the radish slices.

Drizzle the salmon with olive oil and some of the juice from the oranges. Mound the salad in the center of the salmon and distribute the orange segments among the salads.

Makes 4 servings


Short Ribs Braised in Chimay Ale
Judy Rodgers Zuni Café Cookbook

A simple braise inspired by the stalwart Belgian dish carbonnade
flamande. Chimay is the smooth Belgian ale we use for this dish at Zuni; it has a delicate sweetness, a touch of clove flavor, and only the faintest note of bitterness. Similar Belgian-type ales are made by Ommegang in New York and Unibroue in Canada. A mellow porter is another alternative, as is stout, as long as it is not too bitter.

Choose meaty slabs of short ribs, 3 or 4 ribs each, and have them sawn across the bones into floppy bands. Thickly slice the onions, so they don't dissolve into the sauce.
These are good with browned spatzle or mashed potatoes. Husband all leftover juice and bits of meat and onion to reheat with eggs. You can also make this recipe using large Muscovy duck legs or goose legs.

For 4 servings

About 2-1/2 pounds short ribs, cut across the bone into 2-inch-wide bands (have the butcher do this]
Salt
1 to 2 tablespoons mild-tasting olive oil
1-1/2 pounds yellow onions (about 3 medium], sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 bay leaves
A few whole white peppercorns
A few slices dried wild mushrooms, rinsed in warm water and coarsely chopped (optional)
Up to 1 cup Beef Stock or Chicken Stock
Up to 1 cup Chimay ale or similar Belgian-style ale or a mellow porter or stout About 1/4 cup Dijon mustard

Trimming and seasoning the short ribs (for the best flavor and succulence, do this step 1 to 2 days in advance, or at least a few hours ahead):

Trim most of the fat from the short ribs, but leave the silver skin and tough sheathing around the bones intact. This will help keep the meat succulent and will give body and character to the braise. Salt evenly all over (we use a scant 3/4 teaspoon sea salt per pound of meat}. Cover loosely and refrigerate.

Cooking the short ribs:
Warm the oil in a 3-quart saute pan over medium heat. Wipe the pieces of meat dry. Brown the short ribs evenly and gently on the three meaty sides, about 4 minutes per side. Pour off excess fat.

Rearrange the meat bone side down in the pan. Add the onions, bay, pepper¬corns, the optional mushrooms, and equal parts stock and ale, porter, or stout to come to a depth of about 3/4 inch. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook over low heat, until fork-tender, about 2 to 2-1/4 hours. (You can cook the braise in a preheated 300 oven if you prefer.) Check two or three times to make sure that that the liquid is barely simmering, and turn each piece of meat each time you check. When the meat is done, uncover, prop the pan at a slight angle, and leave to rest for about 5 minutes.

Turn on the broiler.

Skim the fat that has collected at the lower side of the pan. Taste the juice and simmer as needed to concentrate the flavor. Salt as needed. Make sure each piece of meat is bone side down, then brush or smear the tops with the mustard. Set the pan under the broiler, about 5 inches from the element, to browi the mustard and glaze the surface of the onion stew, about 5 minutes. Serve the short ribs very hot, mustard plaster up, with a spoonful of the syrupy sauce and onions.

Polenta
Zuni Café Cookbook

I credit our simple five-dollar bowl of warm polenta with keeping Zuni
alive through the first days after the 1989 earthquake - business was terrible all over town, but we stayed pretty busy, selling many more bowls than usual. Inexpensive, reliable, and comforting, a well-seasoned bowl of polenta is satisfy¬ing by itself, but, soft, grilled, roasted, or fried, it also finds its way into dozens of dishes at the restaurant, alongside, or under, beef, pork, or game birds. In any of its forms, it is great with sausage or bacon.

We use organic polenta ground from a variety of yellow corn called Pioneer. The grits are irregular and larger than American cornmeal, and coarser than most commercial polenta I have seen in Italy. It has lovely flavor, great body, and wonderful texture. (If you use a fine-textured polenta, it will need less water; consult the package for the water-to-meal ratio. It may cook somewhat more rapidly as well.)

There is a persistent superstition that polenta needs to be stirred constantly, but we stir it only often enough to be sure it's not sticking and scorching. Steady, gentle heat and a heavy-bottomed pot will also help prevent that. The light, ten¬der, creamy, slightly viscous texture I prize, and our clients love, is the result of a high ratio of water to meal and long, slow cooking, followed by a holding period where the polenta meal swells and softens even more. This technique means you can make the polenta up to a few hours in advance, which can be very convenient.

Serve soft polenta by the spoonful as a side dish, or by itself in warm bowls with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, mascarpone, or crumbled Gorgonzola and freshly cracked black pepper over the top! Alternatively, serve with a spoon¬ful of rich tomato or meat sauce. Cook at least 1 cup of polenta at a time ~ it is dif¬ficult to cook less without much of the water evaporating before it can be absorbed. Lots of suggestions for capitalizing on leftover polenta follow the recipe.

FOR ABOUT 4-1/2 CUPS, OR 4 TO 8 SERVINGS
5 cups water
1 cup coarsely ground polenta
About 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
Unsalted butter, to taste (optional)

Bring the water to a simmer in a 2-quart sauce pan. Whisk or stir polenta, then stir until the water returns to a simmer. Reduce the heat until the polenta only bubbles and sputters occasionally-use a Flame Tamer if necessary-and cook uncovered for about 1 hour, stirring as needed, until thick but still fluid. If the polenta becomes stiff, add a trickle of water. Taste. Add salt and a generous lump of butter, if you like.

Transfer the polenta to a double boiler set over simmering water, to rest for at least 30 minutes (or up to a few hours, if it suits your schedule). Wrap the lid tightly in plastic wrap and cover the polenta. This will keep the polenta- from developing a skin. If you don't have a double boiler, you can make do by setting the polenta pan on a small, ovenproof ramekin (or any small piece of heat-resistant crockery) centered inside a wider, deeper pot, and surrounding it with just-simmering water. Cover the pan as above.

Mock Porchetta

We made a Mock Porchetta from the The Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers. It is really an easy recipe to make and gives lots of great leftovers. We got the meat once again at McCall’s Meat and Fish on Hillhurst.

Mock Porchetta
The Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers

A very modest, very manageable interpretation of the Tuscan "big pig" that few Americans, or Italians, could ever manage at home. (It is a formidable 
production even at the restaurant.) That gargantuan dish is a whole roast pig, typically stuffed with fistfuls of stemmy herbs, capers, casually chopped garlic, and 
sometimes fennel or pickled gherkins, all challenged by bold doses of salt and 
pepper. This diminutive porchetta is made with a small piece of pork shoulder, an inexpensive, underappreciated cut. Its mosaic of muscles provides plenty of places 
to stuff the seasonings, and it has enough internal fat and connective matter to 
self-baste and stay juicy as it slow-roasts. Buy, season, stuff, and tie-up your
 would-be porchetta 2 or 3 days before you plan to roast it, to give the flavors a
 chance to permeate the meat. Crowd this little roast with whatever root vegetables you like, choosing a larger or smaller roasting pan, depending on how many 
vegetables you want.

Make sure you have leftover porchetta so you can have a sandwich of the warm meat, spread with a spoonful of fresh ricotta cheese, on a crusty bun moistened with the pan juices. Leftover bits of porchetta are also good torn into bite-sized bits and shreds, moistened with olive oil and drippings, and roasted for a few minutes in a 4000 oven. Toss with frisee or bitter greens, add a few pecans, and serve with Balsamic Onion Marmalade on crostini.

If your pork shoulder is a little larger than the 3 pounds specified, you should increase the stuffing amounts accordingly. If it is close to 4 pounds, or larger, I recommend you turn it into two roasts; to maintain the cooking times, and so you get plenty of the caramelized, chewy outside with every slice.

Minus all the Tuscan herbs and seasonings, this is a good basic pork roast method. Try it seasoned with nothing more than salt kneaded with a few crushed juniper berries. That version is excellent with sauerkraut.

For 4 to 6 servings:

• One 2-1/2- to 3-pound boneless pork shoulder butt roast
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed, pressed dry between towels, and barely chopped
• 1 teaspoon chopped lemon zest

• 3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• About 12 fresh sage leaves, crushed, then coarsely chopped (about 1-1/2 teaspoons, packed)
• A leafy sprig or two of fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and crushed (about 2 teaspoons, packed)
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, barely crushed
• 1-1/2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 to 2 pounds prepared vegetables of your choice: chunks of peeled carrot; onions cut into wedges; quartered fennel bulbs; chunks of peeled celery root, turnips, rutabagas, or parsnips; unpeeled garlic cloves; and/or chunks of potato
• A little mild-tasting olive oil
• About 2/3 cup Rich Pork Stock, Chicken Stock, or water
• A few tablespoons of dry vermouth

Trimming, seasoning, and tying up the pork (1to 3 days in advance)

Trim any discoloration and all but a 1/4-inch thick layer of superficial) fat from the pork. Study the natural seams between the muscles on each side of the meat. Choose one that runs the length of and close to the center of any face. Use the tip of a knife to gingerly separate the muscles along that seam, gradually exposing more seams, which you should then separate as well. The goal is to create lots of internal surfaces to cake with seasonings. If your initial foray doesn't expose many internal seams, you can take a second stab at a different face, so long as you don't cut the pork in two. Salt the splayed piece of pork evenly all over (I use 1/2 teaspoon sea salt per pound of meat).

Combine the capers, lemon zest, garlic, sage, rosemary, with most of the fennel seeds and black pepper. (You should get about 1/2 cup, loosely packed.} Spread and pack this mixture all over the excavated insides of the pork butt, making sure the seasoning falls deep into the crannies where you've separated the muscles. Re-form the pork butt into its natural shape and tie tightly into a uniform shape, tying 4 or 5 strings around the circumference and another around the length of the roast. Rub the remaining fennel andpepper on the outside of the roast. Collect and refrigerate any loose herbs and seasonings. Cover the pork loosely and refrigerate.

Roasting the porchetta {2-1/4 to2-1/2 hours):

Preheat the oven to 350°
Toss the vegetables in a minimum of olive oil, barely coating the surfaces. Add a few pinches of salt and toss again.

Heat a 12- or 14-inch ovenproof skillet, depending on how many vegetables you are roasting, over medium heat. Surround with the vegetables. Place in the oven. The roast should begin to color at 45 minutes; if not, turn the heat up to 3750 until it does, then turn the heat back down. At 1 hour, turn the roast over and roll the vegetables in the rendered fat. Work quickly, so you don't lose too much oven heat and the roast doesn't cool off. Turn the roast again at 2 hours and add about 1/3 cup of the stock or water. Add any excess herbs and seasonings to the pan juices at this point and swirl the pan so they sink into the liquid. Roast for another 15 to 30 minutes, to about 185°. The pork should be fragrant and glistening golden caramel.

Transfer the meat to a platter, tent loosely with foil, and leave in a warm, protected spot while you make the pan sauce. Place the vegetables on a separate warm plate.

Preparing the pan sauce and serving the roast:

Tilt the skillet and spoon off the fat. Add the vermouth and the remaining 1/3 cup stock or water and set over low heat. Scrape and stir to dissolve the caramelized drippings at he bottom of the pan. Skim the fat as the liquid comes to a simmer. Add any juice that may have trickled from the resting roast.

Slice the pork, removing the strings as you go, and serve garnished with the vegetables and a spoonful of the rich pan sauce.

Tamara's Birthday

Wine:
Grand Vin de Bourgogne 2007 Camille Giroud
Charles B. Mitchell Grand Reserve Vintage Cuvee 2005
Turley 2000 Napa Valley Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard
Champagne Michel Dervin Brut
Patrick Javillier Bourgogne Cuvee des Forgets 2007
Hans Wirsching Silvaner Dry 2007

Tamara’s was in town with Michael and it was her 70th birthday. She requested that we cook a dinner for her. We invited Billy and Kevin over who were leaving the next morning for a week in Hawaii. Tim also joined us.

We decided to frame a dinner around Moroccan food. We started with some great Cheeses from The Cheese Store of Silverlake. We also served Baba Ganoush from Marouch our favorite Lebanese restaurant. The Baba Ganoush has an extremely smoky flavor - I just love it! We also made a Carrot Puree with Caraway and Feta from the Casa Moro the Second Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark. This is a FABULOUS appetizer and not hard to make. I really recommend it! It is a winner!

We then made a delicious Beet Soup from the first Moro Cookbook: Moro the Cookbook. It is a perfect soup for a cold winter day. It is topped with a dollop of yogurt / garlic spread.

We decided to make Lamb Steamed with Preserved Lemon and Cumin. It is from Casa Moro the Second Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark. We bought the meat from our new local meat and fish store: McCall’s Meat and Fish. We served it with couscous. The lamb was perfect. This is one of those slow roasted dishes. We simply put the meat in a clay pot with the spices and put the dish in the oven for over 7 hours. The meat was succulent, falling off of the bone.

Tamara lucked out with two birthday cakes. I don’t think I have ever been to a birthday party where the guest of honor had two cakes, but why not? The Village Bakery and Café in Atwater Village baked a special cake they call the “Fight Cake” because people fight over the last piece. We served it with fresh strawberries marinated in Balsamic Vinegar. Tim also brought a Coconut Cake from Sweet Lady Jane. So of course we all had to have a piece of each. As you can tell from the wines listed above, we also had lots to drink in celebration of Tamara’s big day. It was a wonderful Winter Birthday dinner. Make the carrots!

CARROT PUREE WITH CARAWAY AND FETA
==========================
From Moro the Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark

For this dish the flavor of the carrots is very important, so for that reason we would recommend you buy English organic carrots. At Moro we serve them with triangles of crisp pitta bread.

Serves 6-8 as a mezze, 4 for a starter or light meal
1 ½ - 2 lb organic carrots, scrubbed
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
sea salt and black pepper
1 level tablespoon caraway seeds, roughly ground in a mortar
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh mint
¼ pound feta cheese

CRISPBREAD
1 oz. butter 2 pitta breads (or use good crackers)

Preheat the oven to 400.

For the crispbread triangles, melt the butter over a low heat. As it is melting, warm the pitta in the oven for a couple of minutes, then carefully split the pitta in half lengthways and brush the butter on both sides.

Now place on a board and slice each half in half again lengthways and then cut four or five triangles out of each one. Place the triangles on a cooling rack and transfer to the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Now turn up the heat to 400. Slice the carrots into rounds no more than 2cm thick. Toss with half the olive oil and some salt and pepper, and place in a roasting tin. Cover with foil and roast for about 45 minutes, or until completely tender. Remove and cool a little before putting through a mouli or mashing by hand or whizzing in a food processor. Transfer the pureed carrot to a bowl, stir in the caraway, half the mint and the remaining olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

To serve, spread the puree on a plate, crumble the feta on top, drizzle
a little more olive oil, and finally sprinkle on the remaining mint. Serve with crispbread triangles round the edge of the plate

Beetroot Soup with Black Cumin
===================
From Casa Moro the Second Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark
This simple soup is similar to borscht but with a hint of spice. The black cumin gives it an ethereal quality, which takes it to a new height. This is a rare variety of cumin that has more of an aromatic nutty flavor than normal cumin; the seeds are finer and more curled in shape. It is usually found in Indian/Bengali shops under the name of 'kala jeerd'. This soup is also delicious made with sherry vinegar instead of red wine vinegar, but omit the cumin and yoghurt.
Serves 4
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large Spanish onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 rounded teaspoon black cumin or normal cumin seeds
1 ½ - 1 3/4 raw beetroot, peeled and finely diced
1 large potato, finely diced
5 1/4 cups cold water
3 tablespoons good-quality red wine vinegar
1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
3 ½ oz. home-made or Greek yoghurt, thinned with a little milk seasoned with 1 garlic clove crushed to a paste with salt
sea salt and black pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to color. Now add the garlic and cumin and cook for 2 more minutes to release their flavor, followed by the beetroot and potato. Pour in the water, bring to a gentle simmer and cook until soft, about 15 minutes. Place the vegetables and the cooking liquid in a blender or food processor and blend until just smooth. You may need to do this in two stages. Return to the pan, add the vinegar, half the parsley, and salt and pepper to taste, bearing in mind you may need more salt than you think to balance out the acidity of the vinegar. Serve with a little yoghurt on top, the rest of the parsley and an extra drizzle of olive oil.

LAMB STEAMED WITH PRESERVED LEMON AND CUMIN
=================================
From Moro The Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark
We had originally read about tangia in Paula Wolfert's book 'Moroccan Cuisine' (Grub Street), and were immediately captivated by the exotic idea of a stew being slow-cooked in the ashes of a hammam (steam bath). A few years later in Marrakech, we were led to the depths of a great furnace, to the side of which, neatly sitting in piles of hot grey ash, were two or three tangia pots. Tangia is a specialty of Marrakech and a favorite dish during Ramadan, when there can be more than a hundred of these pots steaming away silently in the dusty heat of the furnace.

6 whole lamb shanks, or 1 shoulder of lamb on the bone, about 4 pounds,trimmed and sawn into 6 pieces
1 large or 2 small Preserved Lemons, washed, flesh discarded, (und roughly chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
1 1/2 large onions, sliced
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, roughly ground
2 small heads garlic, cloves halved
3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh coriander
5 oz. water
3 oz. butter
sea salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450.
Blitz the preserved lemon, onion, cumin, garlic and coriander in a food processor. Place all the ingredients in a heavy-bottomed medium-sized saucepan (or earthenware pot) and mix together thoroughly. Season. Cover the top of the meat with baking parchment, then cover the top of the saucepan or pot with foil and then put on a tight-fitting lid. Place in the hot oven and immediately turn the heat down to 275 degree. Cook for 5-6 hours. Remove and check for seasoning. The meat should be falling off the bone We like to serve this with a mixed herb salad and some flatbread, but couscous, although not traditional, would also be suitable.

Our 25th Wedding Anniversary

Last night was our 25th wedding anniversary. We went to Palate for dinner. We asked them to create a dinner for us based upon fresh lobster. They served us lobster 4 different ways. It was amazing. Among the best dinners we have ever had. They paired fabulous French Champagne and Burgundy wines with each course.

We started with a bacon, lobster and avocado sandwich on gougéres. It was so good we could have stopped there.

We then had a lobster sashimi with voluptuous ripe citrus and a vanilla bean vinaigrette.

They then presented us with goat tortellini with shaved lobster, preserved lemon, 1st of the season asparagus, green garlic and hazelnuts.

Next was a lobster curry over couscous with baby carrots, English peas and chicken hearts.

For dessert they served something that I am sure no one has ever had, persimmon enoki mushroom in a lobster custard.

We had felt like we had died and gone to foodie heaven. A memorable anniversary!

Our grateful thanks to Palate for a wonderful night!

Roast Veal Dinner

Wine: Schloss Muhlenhof 2008 Muller-Throcken
The Prisoner 2007 Napa Valley Red Wine
Chateau Dassault 2005 Grand Cru Classe
Les Hauts Lastour 2006 Coteaux du Quercy

We ate at Palate and Jason had made an excellent Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary based upon a recipe in a Lynne Rossetto Kasper “The Splendid Table”, a cookbook that we had given him for Christmas. We decided to make it ourselves.

It turned out to be quite a project to find a bone-in veal roast. Luckily, Bea had sent us a notice that a new butcher shop: McCall’s Meat and Fish had recently opened near us. We drove over, and checked it out. It is small but has an excellent selection. Once we decided to make the veal, we called them and ordered the veal. When we finally picked it up, it was a beautiful peace of meat.

We followed the recipe, rifting off of Jason’s adaptation. We added lucques olives and preserved lemon peel to the sauce at the end, as Jason had.

Kevin started the meal by making a Salad with Pears, Gorgonzola Cheese and Walnuts.

We also made Mashed Potatoes from a recipe in the cookbook: The Café Zuni Cookbook.

For dessert we had left over Birthday Cake from Barbara’s birthday dinner that we had frozen. It was excellent. We are grateful that Barbara didn’t want to take the cake back to San Francisco with her!


Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary
Vitello al Forno
Lynne Rossetto Kasper “The Splendid Table”

Scented with lemon and herbs, this veal roast gains extra succulence from a fine mincing of pancetta, Tucked into slits in the roast, it flavors and moistens the meat as it cooks. Some Emilia-Romagna cooks baste the veal with milk, hut I prefer the equally traditional hasting of white wine and the unusual finishing
touch of fresh lemon, a favorite trick of a Modena friend Moist veal is
guaranteed by taking the meat only to the rosy stage. In Italy it would be more well done, a style that is delicious there hut turns dry when done with most American veal.

Serves 6 to 8

3 to 4 pounds boneless loin of veal
2 ounces pancetta, minced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup minced Italian parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3-inch sprig fresh rosemary, or 1teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
2/3 cup dry White Wine
1/2 cup Poultry/Meat Stock
Rosemary sprigs for garnish

Method

Working Ahead: For the best flavor, season the roast pancetta mixture 1
day abead. Refrigerate it, lightly covered, until about 1 hoar before roasting. The roast is best eaten as soon as cooking is completed.

Seasoning the Veal: Mince together the pancetta, garlic, and parsley. Turn into
a bowl, stirring in 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Using a paring knife, make 15 or 16 deep slits into the roast, over its entire surface. Using your fingers, stuff the seasoning mixture into each slit. Set the roast on a platter, cover lightly with wrap, and refrigerate 24 hours.

Roasting the Veal: Preheat the oven to 350 Rub the veal with the olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Set it in a shallow pan with the rosemary. The roast will take about 25 minutes to the pound (1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hours).
Roast 20 minutes, then pour half the wine over the meat, basting with the pan juices. Continue roasting, basting and adding small amounts of wine, until an instant-reading thermometer inserted in the meat’s center reads 150 F. Remove the roast to a warm platter and keep warm.

Making the Sauce: Skim the fat from the pan juices. Set the roasting pan on
a burner over high heat. Bring the juices t a boil, stirring in the stock. Boil, scraping up the brown glaze in the pan with a wooden spatula, 2 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly and is full-flavored. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the remaining 1-tablespoon of lemon juice.

Serving: Keep the sauce warm as you carve the meat into 1/4 -inch-thick slices.
Garnish the platter with a few sprigs of rosemary, and pass the sauce separately.

Sausage and Mushroom Risotto

Bea joined us for dinner. We made one of favorite winter dinners: Risotto con Luganegh Risotto with Pork Sausage and Porcini Mushrooms from The Cuisine of Venice & Surrounding Northern Regions by Guisti-Lanham Dodi. We love this risotto!
You can find the recipe in our blog of: April 21, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started with a salad of: lettuce, walnuts, parmesan cheese, and dates.

We drank some great wines and Bea sure seemed to enjoy herself☺

Paella

We decided to make a Fish Paella. Jason at Palate ordered shrimp, monkfish, scallops and sausage for us. We have made this recipe before and it is excellent. We use the recipe from MORO the Cookbook. We really like Moro it is located in London and is a Spanish-Moroccan restaurant. They have 3 cookbooks and they are all excellent.

We started with a Caesar Salad from The Zuni Café Cookbook. You can find the recipe in our blog of: July 25, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe. It is a great rendition of the famous salad. Because they don’t have you cut up the romaine leaves you can eat it with your hands. My kind of finger food!

Paella de rape con azafran
MONKFISI-I RICE WITH SAFFRON
MORO The Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark

Clams or prawns can added to this rice with great success. Put the prawn shells in the stock for extra flavor.

Serves 6 as a starter, 4 as a main course

7 tablespoons olive oil
400g monkfish fillets, trimmed and cut into 2-3cm bite-sized pieces
2 large Spanish onions, finely chopped
2 green peppers, halved, seeded and finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
800ml hot Fish Stock
1 teaspoon (about 100) saffron threads
250g calasparra (paella) rice
80 ml white wine or fino sherry
1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked Spanish paprika
225g piquillo peppers, torn in strips
1 lemon, in wedges
sea salt and black pepper

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a 30=40cm paella pan or frying pan over a medium to high heat. Carefully add the monkfish to the pan and stir-fry until still fractionally undercooked in the centre. Pour the monkfish and any of its juices into a bowl and put to one side. Wipe the pan clean with kitchen paper, and put back on the heat. Add the remaining olive oil and when t is hot, the onions and peppers, and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring every so often. Turn down the heat to medium, add the chopped garlic and fennel seeds, and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the garlic and onions have some colour and are sweet. Meanwhile bring the stock to the boil and
add the saffron to infuse for 10 minutes off the heat. Now add the rice to the pan and stir for 1 minute to coat with the vegetables and oil.
(Up to now everything can be done in advance, and you need only continue 20 minutes before you wish to eat.)

Put the heat to medium to high, and ad the white wine or sherry to the pan, followed by the hot stock. At this point, add half the parsley and the paprika and season perfectly with salt and pepper. Do not stir the rice after this as it affects the channels of stock, which allow the rice to cook evenly. Simmer for 10 minutes or until there is just a little liquid above the rice. Spread the monkfish out evenly over the rice along with its juices. Push each piece of monkfish under the stock. Gently shake the pan to prevent sticking and turn the heat down to medium to low. Cook for 5 more minutes or until there is just a little liquid left at the bottom of the rice. Turn off the heat and cover the pan tightly with foil. Let the rice sit for 3-5 minutes before serving. Decorate with strips of piquillo peppers, the rest of the chopped
parsley and the lemon. We would serve this paella with a salad.

Rainy Night Dinner

It has been cold, rainy and miserable in Los Angeles the last week. We decided to make the ultimate cold weather dish: French Onion Soup. It is perfect on a winter night. We always make French Onion Soup from Julia Childs first book: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It is the best! It is really quite easy, and always works out. The trick is to cook the THINLY sliced onions slowly to bring out their flavor. You can find the recipe in our blog of: Dec. 21, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started with a frisee salad recipe from Nancy Silverton's Sandwich Book . It is a delicious salad and I especially like the hot dressing that she uses. Any salad with croutons has to be good in my book.

Sort of Frisee Lardon
From Twist of the Wrist by Nancy Silverton

I've taken my favorite bistro salad—frisee, poached egg, and bacon—and turned it into my favorite sort-of sandwich. Large chunks of bacon, rustic hunks of toasted bread, peppery greens, and scoops of soft-cooked egg tossed together with a warm mustard-sherry dressing will satisfy the Francophile in you.

6 ounces bacon, preferably applewood-smoked, sliced off the slab into 3 1/2-inch-thick strips

FOR THE CROUTONS
1 pound white sourdough loaf
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
5 extra-large eggs
1 medium head (about 8 ounces) radicchio, leaves removed and torn into large pieces – we only used frisee lettuce in our version
1 medium head (about 4 ounces) frisee, center core removed, pulled apart into small bunches
1 large bunch (about 4 ounces) dandelion greens, mizuna, or arugula, tough stems removed – we only used frisee lettuce in our version

FOR THE VINAIGRETTE
½ cup bacon fat (If you don't .get enough rendered fat from frying the bacon, add enough olive oil to make up the quantity)
1-2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
¼ cup sherry-wine vinegar
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

FOR THE BACON: Cut each strip of bacon into 4 pieces. In a skillet, over I medium-low heat, cook the bacon until cooked all the way through but not crisp. Drain it on a paper towel, and reserve the fat.

FOR THE CROUTONS: Cut the loaf of bread in half and reach in beneath the crust to pull out i'/2-2-inch pieces of bread. Place the bread chunks on a I baking sheet, drizzle them with the olive oil, and toss well Toast them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until they're lightly browned, shaking the pan occasionally to ensure they're evenly baked. When the croutons are cool enough to handle, rub them with the garlic clove and set aside.

TO COOK THE EGGS: Place the eggs in a medium saucepan with water to cover. Bring them to a boil, and then turn down the heat to a low simmer. Sim¬mer the eggs for 5 minutes, then plunge them into a large bowl of ice water for a minute or so. Take them out as soon as they're cool enough to handle.

In a huge bowl toss to combine the radicchio, frisee, dandelion greens, toasted bread, and bacon.

TO MAKE THE VINAIGRETTE: In a medium-sized skillet, over medium heat, warm the bacon fat (and olive oil, if necessary). Add the' shallots, and I cook them for 2-3 minutes, until they just begin to sizzle. Whisk in the vinegar, salt, and pepper, and cook for about i minute. Whisk in the mustard, and cook another 30 seconds. Remove the vinaigrette from the heat, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Pour most of the vinaigrette over the salad, and toss well to combine. Cut the top 1/2 inch off the eggs and, using a spoon, scoop them out of the shells in large spoonfuls into the bowl. Pile the salad onto 4 plates, and driz¬zle the remaining vinaigrette over each.

Tim's No-Show Surprise Birthday Party

We decided to make a vegetarian Indian Dinner. Cathy found a recipe for Mung Bean Dal With Apples and Coconut Tarka in the New York Times. This is the first time that I remember cooking with Mung Bean, they look like yellow lentils. It is cooked with both coconut milk and shredded coconut. It is a good recipe. With the Dal and Rice we served Roti that we purchased at India Sweet and Spice. With recipes like this, I could become a vegetarian (or at least eat less meat.

The dal came in handy when Billy and Kevin decided to have a surprise birthday party for Tim. Because one of the guests, Sumon, was from Bangladesh, and we mistakenly assumed he was therefore a vegetarian, we took the dal. The surprise was on us, however, because Tim, unaware that this was his birthday party, never showed up. Once we realized he wasn't coming over to eat his birthday dinner, we decided to go on without the birthday boy. Sumon, who as it turned out, was not a vegetarian, declared the dal as excellent!

We also made Macaroni and Cheese. As faithful readers of this blog know, this is one of our ALL-Time favorite dishes! he recipe is from Paris Bistro Cooking by Linda Dannenberg and is called: Gratin de Macaroni a l’Ancienne. You can find the recipe in our blog of: Feb. 2, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

We also purchased a delicious Coconut Cake from The Village Bakery and Cafe. They made the cake especially for Tim. He picked up the leftovers the next day, but didn't get to blow out the candles.


Mung Bean Dal With Apples and Coconut Tarka
New York Times
Time: About an hour
1 1/2 cups dried mung beans, washed and picked over
2 medium green apples, cored, peeled and chopped
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons minced garlic
Pinch ground turmeric (optional)
1/2 cup sliced scallions
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
Juice of 1 lime.
1. In a large pot, combine beans, apples and coconut milk. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat down to medium-low so mixture bubbles steadily but not violently. Cook, stirring occasionally and adding salt as beans become tender, until beans are quite soft, 45 to 60 minutes; add water as needed to keep everything moist.
2. When liquid has thickened, put butter or vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat until it melts and is foamy (or shimmering if using oil). Add coconut, ginger and garlic and cook. Stir frequently and adjust heat to prevent burning, until mixture (called a tarka) crisps and turns golden, 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Add turmeric if using it, then stir in scallions, mint and lime juice. Cook for a minute or two more, then stir butter mixture into pot of beans. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Moroccan Chicken

We made Expatriate Roast Chicken with Lemon and Olives from The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen by Paula Wolfert. This is a very easy chicken to cook and the Moroccan flavors are exceptional. You need Preserved Lemons which you can either buy or preserve yourself. I love the taste of the olives and the preserved lemons.

With the chicken we made Cous-Cous, the traditional side for this dish. It absorbs all of the great sauce that the Chicken recipe creates. The recipe is on our blog of: Aug 2, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

New Year's Eve 2010

Billy and Kevin invited us to their house for New Years Eve. We said we would bring a few of the courses. We started by making at his house: Spaghetti with Caviar, Scallions and Chopped Egg. The recipe is from The New York Times. This is an outrageously good and easy way to prepare Caviar.

We then served a salad of Shaved Foie Gras from: Chez Panisse Café Cookbook by Alice Waters. This recipe has to be started a week before you eat it! The Foie Gras is packed in salt and cured. It is then sliced over a salad. It is very rich. Definitely not a dish you can eat often!

Finally we baked our traditional holiday cake. Mary Ann’s Fruitcake
From: Craig Claiborne’s The New York Times Cookbook. No cake gets worse press than a Holiday Fruitcake. This cake is not like any of them. It is GOOD! It is also easy to make, although it needs to be made at least a week before you serve it. We love it, and served the leftovers toasted for breakfast. If you are reticent to make a cake try this one, it is full prove and easy.

Billy and Kevin made a beef tenderloin and asparagus and an ultra-rich potato gratin for the main course and served us wonderful wines. Happy New Year!

Spaghetti with Caviar, Scallions and Chopped Egg
New York Times

Coarse sea salt
4 eggs
1 pound spaghetti
5 tablespoons butter
freshly ground black pepper
6 scallions, thinly sliced
8 tablespoons osetra caviar, or more to taste.

1. Fill a large pot with water, season gener¬ously with sea salt and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, fill a small pan with water and bring to a boil. Add eggs to small pan, and reduce to an active simmer. Cook for 9 ½ minutes. Drain. When eggs are cool to the touch, peel and finely chop. Set aside.

2. When large pot of water boils, add spaghetti, and cook until al dente. Drain reserving ½ cup cooking liquid. Add butter and a few tablespoons of cooking water to pot and place over medium high heat. When melted and bubbling, add spaghetti, and toss to coat. Season with salt and a generous amount of pepper.

3. To serve, divide spaghetti among four plates. Sprinkle chopped egg and scallion on top. Spoon caviar in center. Serve immediately; guests will mix spaghetti as they eat.

Yield: 4 servings.

shaved foie gras and rocket salad
from: Chez Panisse Café Cookbook
Alice Waters

Fall is a time when we make delicious composed salads with bits of duck and gizzard confit, pigeon liver toasts, little grilled quails, or duck skin cracklings paired with new-crop nuts and autumn fruits. This is the luxurious extreme of such salads. A fresh duck foie gras is expensive, but a little goes a long way. The recipe makes enough cured foie gras for several meals.

serves 6.

1 fresh duck foie gras, about i po
Salt
1/3 cup hazelnuts
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Pepper
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 large handfuls rocket

Prepare the foie gras several days in advance. Let it soften at room temperature for about an hour. When it is pliable, pull the two lobes apart, grasp the veins and gently pull to remove them. Don't worry about disfiguring the foie gras; it will be pressed later. When all the veins have been removed, lightly season the two lobes with salt and re-shape them into their original form. Cut a 2-foot length of cheese cloth, place the foie gras at one end, and roll up the foie gras in the cloth. After 2 1/2 turns, trim off any remaining cheesecloth and tie the ends firmly, making a tight sausage shape. In an earthenware or glass vessel that is 4 inches taller than the rolled foie gras and at least 2 inches wider, make a 1 1/2-inch layer of salt. Add the foie gras and cover completely with a layer of salt at least 1 inch deep. Place a weight-on top (a full wine bottle works well), and refrigerate foi:3 to 4 days.

In a preheated 400 oven, toast the hazelnuts for about 15 minutes or until golden and aromatic. Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette. In a mortar, mash the garlic to a paste with a little salt. Add the sherry vin¬egar, red wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and freshly milled pepper. Whisk in the olive oil, taste for acid and salt, and adjust. While the nuts are still warm, rub them in a clean kitchen towel to remove their skins. Chop the nuts coarsely. Wash and dry the rocket. Retrieve the foie gras from the salt and remove the cheesecloth. Wrap the foie gras in plastic and keep it very cold while preparing the salad, either in a bowl of ice in the refrigerator, or, briefly, in the freezer. Dress the rocket lightly with the vinaigrette, divide among 6 chilled plates, and sprinkle with the hazelnuts. Use a sharp vegetable peeler to make shavings of the cured foie gras over each salad. Be generous. Fin¬ish with a flourish of the pepper mill. The foie gras left over will keep a week in the refrigerator, well wrapped.

Variation: Serve the cured foie gras with a salad of thinly sliced sweet garden fennel, raw cepes, and tender parsley leaves. Instead of shaving the foie gras, cut it into 1/4-inch-thick slices, and drizzle the salad with a little aged balsamic condimento and fruity extra-virgin olive oil.


Mary Ann’s Fruitcake
From: Craig Claiborne’s
The New York Times Cookbook


1 pound golden seedless raisins
1 pound pecan meats, broken
3 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
6 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon warm water
1/4 cup Grand Marnier



1. Place the butter in the bowl of an electric beater. Start beating and gradually add the sugar. Cream the mixture well and add the egg yolks one at a time, beating constantly. Blend the soda and water and add it, beating. Beat in the Grand Marnier. Pour this mixture into the nut mixture and blend together with the hands.

2. Beat the whites until stiff and fold them in with the hands. Continue folding until the whites are not apparent.

3. Spoon and scrape the mixture into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake for 2 to 2x/4 hours, or until the cake is puffed above the pan and nicely browned on top. If the cake starts to brown too soon, cover with aluminum foil. Remove the cake from the pan shortly after it is baked. Tapping the bottom of the cake pan with a heavy knife will help loosen it. Store the cake for at least 10 days. If desired, add an occasional touch of Cognac or rum to the cake as it stands. Keep it closely covered and refrigerated until ready to use.

Yield: 1 10-inch cake.

Barbara's Birthday Dinner

Wine:

Champagne Michel Dervin Brut
Chablis Premier Cru Domaine Servin 2004
Grand Vin De Leoville Saint-Julien 1982
Chateau Canon 1er Grand Cru Classe Saint-Emilion 1985
BV Georges De Latour Private Reserve 2003

Our friend Barbara had come down from San Francisco to celebrate her Birthday and the New Year. We had Billy / Kevin and Tim over to join us for the dinner.
John, another friend of ours had also come down from San Francisco and had left for Thailand. He left us a gift of two exceptional old wines that we decided to drink in honor of Barbara’s big day on the 30th.

We started with Lobster Raviolis from a favorite Silverlake caterer, Matt Poley. He is definitely king of lasagna. You can buy his products at Silverlake Wine. His web site is: www.heirloomla.com.

We had a surprise when a different Matt, who is the chef of Mozza called us and asked us if we have his recipe for Squash & Farro Soup. He had given us the recipe for this delicious soup years ago, and had apparently lost it. We hadn’t made it for quite a while and had forgotten about it. Luckily the recipe was on our blog, and we copied and sent it to him. In addition we decided to make it ourselves for Barbara’s Birthday. We really love the soup, it is very thick and perfect for a cold winter day.

For the main course we made a Beef Tagine with Sweet Potatoes from: THE FOOD of Morocco Cookbook. You can get the recipe from our blog of Oct 2, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe. Because there were so many of us, we did not use the traditional Tagine pot, but rather an enameled Dutch oven. It turned out just as well. We were very happy.
We made Cous-Cous to go with it.

Barbara’s favorite cake: Spiced Pecan Cake, is from K-Paul’s in New Orleans. We have had it there several times and it is outrageous. We contacted a local bakery: The Village Bakery and Cafe and took the recipe for the cake to them. They agreed to make the cake, it turned out perfectly.


Squash & Farro Soup
==============
By Matt Molina
Base:
1 cubed squash
1 yellow onion, sliced
4 carrots, sliced 1 celery stalk, sliced
10 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 dried arbol chile
pinch dried porcini (optional)
1 ounce olive oil
1 quart chicken broth
2 sprigs parsley
1 sprig thyme
2 ounces prosciutto, in one piece
Salt & Pepper

Sweat squash, onion, prosciutto, carrot, celery, garlic, chile and porcini in olive
oil and salt for about 10 minutes.

Add broth, thyme and parsley. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 30-35 minutes-or until squash & garlic are soft.

Once vegetables are tender, remove herbs, prosciutto and chile, then puree well. Set aside.

Farro:

1 cup farro or barley
1 chopped yellow onion
2 ounces chopped pancetta
1 bunch deveined, washed and coarsely chopped beet greens or chard
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups water
1 tablespoon salt

Toast farro in a saucepan with olive oil over medium high heat, stirring frequently.

Once the farro begins to smell like popcorn, turn down heat and add the pancetta, onion and salt, rendering the pancetta and sweating the onion, about 5 minutes.

Add water and bring to a boil, then simmer about 20 minutes.

Add the greens and cook for 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally until the farro and greens are tender.

When the farro and greens are tender, combine the two components together, and warm. Garnish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and serve.

Risotto of the Vigil

Crozes Hermitage Paul Jaboulet Aine Mule Blanche 2005
Brunello di Montalcino Vendemmia 2001

Every Christmas season we make Risotto of Vigil from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. It is a very hearty risotto and perfect for the cold climate.
We happened to see Billy and Kevin and invited them over. Caesar Salad using the recipe from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. You can find the recipe in our blog of July 25, 2009.
Click the date to get the recipe.

A neighbor, Kazue, had requested that I help her set up her new TVs and video recorders. I was happy to help her. As a thank you, she dropped off some delicious Pastries from Little Tokyo. We had them for dessert. Yum!




Imola's Risotto of the Vigil
Risotto della Vigilia di Natale
The Splendid Table Lynne Rossetto Kasper

A saute of beef and cabbage simmers in a risotto of tomato and wine. Carrot and onion browned with fresh sage and a hint of garlic boost the flavors of this country dish. Breaking Christmas Eve's meatless vigil with this one-dish feast was the tradition in the farmhouses of lmola's countryside.

Serves 6 to 8 as a first course, 4 to 6 as a main dish

About 4 cups water
3ounce lean salt pork, cut into small dice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces lean beef chuck, cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
1 small carrot, coarsely chopped
1 small stalk celery with leaves, coarsely chopped
1 medium to large onion, coarsely chopped
3 large fresh sage leaves, or 3 large dried sage leaves
1 medium Savoy cabbage (about 1 pound), halved, cored, coarsely chopped
4 cups Poultry / Meat Stock (beef or veal stock)
1 cup water
1 1/4 cups (8 ½ ounces) imported Superfine Arborio or Roma rice wine
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 cup canned tomatoes with their liquid
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
2 cups (8 ounces) freshly grated Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano
cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 marrow bone approximately 1 inch soaked 1st.

Working Ahead: The risotto is best cooked just before serving, but its base can be prepared several hours ahead. Refrigerate the browned beef. The sautéed vegetables can be held up to 3 hours at room temperature in their covered pot.
I
Blanching the Salt Pork: Bring the water to a boil, drop in the salt pork, and boil about 4 minutes. Drain, rinse, and pat dry. (We use end of a prosciutto and simply cut off the required amount of meat)

Making the Base: In a heavy 5-quart pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the salt pork and cook slowly 8 minutes, or until it has given up much of its fat and turned golden brown. Remove the pork bits with a slotted spoon, and reserve. Pour off and discard all but 3 tablespoons of the fat. Turn the heat to high and add the beef. Quickly brown 8 minutes, or until dark and crusty on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon, and reserve. Stir the carrot, celery, onion, and sage into the pot, and cook over medium heat, 5 to 7 minutes, or until the onion is golden brown. Add the cabbage, and stir frequently over medium-high heat, about 10 minutes, or until wilted.

Cooking the Rice: Warm shallow soup dishes in a low oven. Bring the stock and 2 cups of water to a simmer in a saucepan. Add the rice to the vegetable mixture, and stir over medium heat about 2 minutes. Blend in the wine and garlic and cook at a gentle simmer, stirring frequently, 5 minutes, or until the wine has been absorbed. Then add the tomato sauce or canned tomatoes and basil, along with the reserved salt pork and beef and cook another 5 minutes, stirring to keep from sticking.

Keep heat at about medium so the mixture simmers. Add 1 cup of the stock mixture and stir until it has been absorbed by the rice. Repeat, stirring in 1 cup until the rice is still a little too firm to be eaten. Then start adding the liquid in 1/4-cup quantities until the rice has only slightly more bite than you would like.

Finishing and Serving: The risotto's consistency should be like a thick soup. Fold in about 2/3 cup of the cheese, remove from the heat, and season with salt and pepper. Let the risotto rest, uncovered, 5 minutes. Mound the risotto in the heated soup dishes land serve, passing the remaining cheese separately.