41: Veal "Bolognese" / Spinach Fettuccine / Pecorino

I was wrong when I said the braised short ribs would probably be my last slow cooked meal of the season. We got a rude shot of winter this past week, even a dusting of snow overnight. None of that stopped me from cooking veal bolognese tonight, however.

Veal is a tender meat and low in fat. I didn’t get all five hour on it this time because veal doesn’t need to cook that long. I picked up some fresh pasta from the market. Spinach’s slightly bitter flavor blends well with flour, almost sweetens it, and the nutty pecorino cheese brings it all together.

This dinner pairs well with a sangiovese, so we drank a multipulciano d’abruzzo with it – match made in heaven.

Ingredients and Directions:

1 pound ground veal

1/3 pound pancetta, diced

Will’s Holy Trinity

--1 leek, thinly sliced

--1 medium carrot, diced

--1 small fennel bulb, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup dry red wine

1 cup chicken broth

1 large tomato, seeded and diced

Tomato paste, 1 good large spoonful

Bouquet garni of rosemary, thyme, parsley, mint, thyme

1 pound spinach fettuccine pasta

Pecorino cheese, grated

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Parsley, minced for garnish

Cook pancetta in a Dutch oven like you would bacon for about 10 minutes over medium heat. Remove pancetta bits and set aside. Add oil to the pancetta grease and sauté the Holy Trinity about 10 minutes, or until tender. Increase heat to high and add veal and pancetta to cook until browned, somewhere between 5-10 minutes. Stir to break up clumps.  Stir in tomatoes, chicken broth, bouquet garni, and wine. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 – 2.5 hours, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, but go light on the salt since the pancetta and cheese will lend saltiness. Discard bouquet garni.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add fettuccine and cook for 2 minutes; drain. Plate pasta with sauce over it and add cheese with garnish.

Enjoy!

40: Chicken & Prosciutto Risotto / Leeks / Collard Greens

Yum, yum ,yum. Here is another recipe from the Cooking for Two book by Jessica Strand. Her tag line: Fresh, salty, creamy, rich; what else is there to say? Yup, I couldn’t have aid it better myself. I forgot to add the mascarpone cheese, so I don’t think it’s quite as creamy, and, honestly, it’s really not that salty. It is, however, incredibly tasty and takes comfort food to another level.

The trick to a good risotto is of course the way you stir it. Don’t be lazy and just push it around in the pot. If your arm doesn’t hurt, you’re not stirring enough. Put some love into it!

(You may notice I busted out some different plates for this dinner. This is also the 40th recipe I have shared with you.)

Ingredients and Directions:

1/2 pound chicken, diced

1/2 cup prosciutto, sliced into small strips

2 large collard greens, stemmed and chopped

3 cups chicken broth

1 leek, thinly sliced

1 cup Arborio rice

1/4 cup dry white wine

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Parsley and mint, minced for garnish

Blanch collard greens in a pot of boiling salted water for about 90 seconds – helps reduce the bitterness. Drain in a colander and then push the water out with the back of a spoon until dry. Set aside.

Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to very low and keep warm.

Meanwhile, sauté chicken in a small pan with salt and pepper until just about cooked. Turn off heat, and set aside. Don’t worry, it will finish cooking as the pan cools off. Plus, you’re going to add it to hot risotto for a bit at the end.

Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir 2 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until absorbed, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the hot chicken broth. Reduce heat and simmer on medium-low heat until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add 1/4 cup of broth at a time, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until rice is just tender and mixture is creamy, about 28 to 30 minutes. You may need to adjust heat to medium for last 10 minutes if your risotto doesn't seem to getting creamy by this point.

Add the collard greens, chicken, and prosciutto for final 1-2 minutes of stirring. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish.

Enjoy!

39: Braised Bison Short Ribs / Goat Cheese & Sage Polenta / Steamed Asparagus

Soft, succulent, lean, and mouthwatering = WINNING! There is nothing finer than a well cooked short rib. This is what you would want as a last meal, seriously. Bison is leaner than beef with less fat, and it’s mightily delicious. As the cool weather comes to a wrap so does my slow cooking madness. This is probably the last time I braise meat this season. The house was warm as all get out, and it smelled incredibly good in here.

Tonight’s dinner is a good balance of richly flavored yet subtle seasoning that doesn’t overpower anything else on the plate. This dish is hands on towards the end, but it is so worth the wait, especially since there is an overnight marinade involved. The creamy, cheesy goat cheese polenta is a nice backdrop to the meat, and the steamed asparagus provided a crunchy texture to contrast the soft meat and polenta.

We drank GD Vajra’s 2006 Barolo (Italy), the King of Wines, with this dinner. The wine is slightly fruit forward, jammy really,  with a touch of tannins and acidity you’d expect out of a barolo.  It’s well structured and pairs well with hearty meat dishes.

For more slow cooked recipes, check out:  venison stew, Tuscan pork stew, five hour bolognese, veal chops (most viewed recipe), curry goat stew (3rd most viewed recipe), and elk meatballs.

Ingredients and Directions:

For the meat-

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 lbs bison short ribs with bones, cut 2 inches thick (ask your butcher, or substitute beef)

Kosher salt and black pepper

2 leeks, finely chopped

1 large carrot, diced

1 medium fennel bulb, diced

3 garlic cloves, thickly sliced

1 bottle of dry red wine

2 thyme sprigs, 1 rosemary sprig, 1 sage sprig (all from my garden!)

2.5 cups chicken stock

For the polenta-

3/4 cup cornmeal

2 1/4 cups water

1 1/2 cups milk

3 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped

1/2 cup goat cheese, room temperature

1/2 a large yellow onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

12 asparagus spears

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Season the ribs well with salt and pepper. Toss meat to the hot oil, turning once, for about 20 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a shallow baking dish in a single layer.

Now add leeks, carrots, fennel and garlic to the same skillet and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add the wine and herbs and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour the hot marinade over the ribs, let cool, cover and refrigerate overnight. Turn the ribs at least once in the marinade. There will be some fat build up in the pan, but don’t worry about it because it will be skimmed off later in the cooking process.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Transfer the ribs and marinade to a large Dutch oven. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover and cook in the lower third of the oven for 90 minutes. Remove the cover and braise for an additional 45 minutes. Meanwhile, it’s time to start the polenta.

Sauté garlic and onions over medium heat in a large pot, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add water and milk and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Slowly and thoroughly whisk in cornmeal. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 15 more minutes. Cover and keep warm if done before meat. Stir in cheese and sage a few minutes before serving. Boil some well salted water for the asparagus during the last 15 minutes of the polenta, and steam asparagus to your liking.

The meat should be done braising at this point. Transfer the meat to a clean shallow baking dish, discarding the bones. Strain the sauce into a bowl and skim off as much fat as possible with a spoon, discarding veggies. This is somewhat tedious, but it’s incredibly important because your sauce will taste like fat instead of nicely flavored broth otherwise. Arrange food on plate, spoon sauce over top.

Enjoy!!

38: Mustard & Herb-Crusted Lamb Chops / Zucchini & Fennel in Sage Brown Butter / "Bacon Fat" Fries

Well, what more do I need to say here? Lamb chops cooked to perfection, zucchini and fennel dressed in sage butter, and “bacon fat” fries round out this incredible meal. I keep fat that is cooked off from bacon in a jar just for occasions like this one. It’s a similar concept to using duck fat, but it’s done with bacon fat instead. You will not be disappointed. Butter and sage make any veggie better, and stone ground mustard and herbs are made for lamb chops.

This meal is pretty quick, especially the lamb chops. Don’t cook your lamb chops any other way unless you’re roasting a rack of lamb. The hot plate broiling method I use is also good with veal chops and nice cuts of beef. The juices are kept in, with a flavorful char on the outside. Drink with a medium-to-full bodied red wine.

Ingredients and Directions:

4 lamb chops

1 zucchini, sliced into spears

1 small fennel bulb, cut similar to the zucchini

1 large potato, sliced into 12 spears, skin on

3-4 tablespoons of bacon fat (substitute olive oil if you prefer)

1/16 of a cup of minced herbs (parsley, mint, rosemary, sage)

1 extra tablespoon of minced sage

1/2 inch butter

1-2 tablespoons stone ground mustard

Salt and pepper

Preheat broiler. Salt and pepper your lamb chops on both sides.

Get your potatoes boiling in a covered pot of well salted water while you finish the other prep. You do not want to cook them all the way in the water because you fill be finishing them in the bacon fat. Remove from water and let cool when a fork meets the slightest bit of resistance as you try to pierce it.

When potatoes are cooled, heat bacon fat and butter in different pans for their respective ingredients. Add sage to butter after 2 minutes and let infuse for another minute or so. Meanwhile, stick a cast iron skillet or oven safe pan under the broiler for 10 minutes. Add potatoes and veggies to respective pans. Be sure to flip potatoes and occasionally stir the fennel and zucchini, so they’re not sticking to the pans. Adjust heat as necessary to keep them from overcooking while you finish the lamb chops.

Carefully remove the pan from the oven, and add the lamb chops to the pan – it’s going to sizzle. Cook 4-5 minutes per one inch of lamb. My chops were thick cuts, so I cooked them for 6-7 minutes total for medium rare. Carefully remove lamb chops 2 minutes before ready to add mustard and herbs.  Place back in oven for final 2 minutes, or longer if need be. Plate your dinner.

Enjoy!

37: Roasted Pacific Cod / Wild Mushrooms / Zucchini Puree

One of my favorite neighborhood stores, P & C Market, had a freezer sale recently, where everything was 50% off in order to defrost the freezer for restocking its seasonal selection. I scored a bag of Wild Alaskan Cod and Wild Alaskan Salmon as well as some foie gras. They also have a great wine selection at this store. This is a store where I usually peruse the entire selection before buying anything because I never know what they’ll have in their cases. I usually end up with more than what I was shopping for because the selection is that much fun. Anyways, the cod gave me an idea for a tasty plate of food.

Cod is mild, moist, and flaky – a versatile white fish that can be made with many recipes. I had some zucchini and wild mushrooms in the refrigerator, and this meal is what I ended up making. Zucchini is a savory vegetable full of vitamins, and the intensely woody combination of cremini and shiitake mushrooms round out an earthy dish. The crisp texture of the outside of the fish provides a nice contrast to the soft vegetables. I add very little seasoning to let the natural flavors stand out.

I normally cook for two, but I was only cooking for myself this time around. You can easily multiply the ingredients if you decide to make it for more than just one person. In fact, I would probably triple the vegetable amounts. Try this; I think you will like it.

Still to come: Basil-Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients and Directions:

5 oz cod filet

1/8 cup flour

1/2 a zucchini, chopped

1/3 cup wild mushrooms, chopped

Olive oil

Butter (optional)

Salt and pepper

Garlic powder (optional)

Boil zucchini in water for 10 minutes. Test it with a fork to make sure it’s almost mushy. Dredge fish in flour that has been seasoned with salt and pepper. Drain zucchini from water and add back to pot on low heat for 1-2 minutes to evaporate any water residue. Turn off the heat , and now heat one tablespoon of oil each in two separate pans over medium heat. Add less than a tablespoon of butter to pan for mushrooms. Season the zucchini with salt, pepper, and optional garlic powder. Start pureeing the zucchini with either a hand blender or food processor while the oil and butter heat up. Add fish and mushrooms to the pans and season accordingly. Cook fish for 4-5 minutes on each side. Reduce heat on mushrooms to low after adding them to the pan. Continue pureeing zucchini to desired consistency, and cover to keep warm while everything else cooks. Arrange your food on a plate when fish is done.

Enjoy!