Tag Archives: food

Taking Cam & Lisa to Italy on the “cheap”

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I love spending time with long-time friends .. folks that have been in your life for years and years .. just makes for a super fun evening.  Cam & Lisa were coming for dinner, and I decided to pull out “all the stops” and plan a creative menu that included things like ordering venison on-line and making a sorbet for a palate cleanser (I’ll post about this later!).

Venison Osso BuccoCurt ordered venison osso buco from an on-line source, D’Artagnan (they were having a free shipping offer, and we are all about finding a deal!).  Since I hadn’t yet gone out on a limb and made this before, I researched and read all sorts of recipes, but ultimately chose this one from the Madd Hatter’s Kitchen blog:

Venison Osso Buco
Serves 4

2 bay leaves
3 whole cloves
1 sprig fresh rosemary
9 juniper berries
4 venison shanks, cut 3 inches thick
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1/3 cup shredded carrot
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 can San Marzano tomatoes, crushed
2 cups white wine
7 cups meat stock, preferably beef
1 orange, peel removed in large pieces and juiced
1 lemon, peel removed in large pieces
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

For gremolata:
1 tablespoon finely chopped Italian parsley
1 plump garlic clove, finely minced
Zest of small lemon, finely shredded

Place the bay leaves, cloves, rosemary, and juniper berries in a piece of cheesecloth and tie.

shanksPlace the venison shanks on a plate, standing on their cut ends. Tie each shank with a piece of kitchen twine tightly around their center, which will keep the meat from falling off the bone as it becomes tender. Trim the ends of the twine if needed. Salt the shanks lightly, with about 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt. Dredge the shanks in flour, covering all sides of the shank thoroughly.

Heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat in a dutch oven. Shaking off the excess flour, place all of the shanks into the hot oil, standing on their cut ends. Brown each side well, 3 to 5 minutes each side. You will do this not only for the cut sides, but around the edges of the shank as well. Once the shanks are thoroughly carmelized, remove them to a fresh plate and drain the vegetable oil from the pot, taking care not to burn yourself and leaving the bits of crust and meat at the bottom.

oso buccoPour the olive oil into the dutch oven, continuing to keep heat at a medium high temperature. Add the onions, and stir them around for 3 to 4 minutes, letting them soften and help release the crusted bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the carrot, celery, the cheesecloth packet of herbs, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are wilted.

Clear a space in the center of the pot, and drop in the tomato paste. Cook the paste for about 1 minute, then stir it into the vegetables. Add the crushed tomatoes and bring to a boil. Raise the heat to high, and add the wine. Cook for 2 more minutes at a boil to burn off the alcohol. Finally, add the stock, citrus zests and juice, and another 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, and bring mixture to a boil.

Cripps Dinner - 07Return the shanks to the pot, coating them with sauce, then standing them on their cut ends. If necessary, add a bit more stock to bring the liquid level back to the top of the shanks. Place the lid on the dutch oven and cook the shanks for 1 hour, reducing the heat so the sauce is at a steady simmer. Turn the shanks about halfway through to ensure the ends don’t dry out.

Uncover the pot and cook for another hour at a steady simmer. This time turn the shanks every 10 to 15 minutes to keep the meat from drying out. After this hour, your shanks should be fork tender and your sauce should be reduced to at least half of what it was at the start.

Pull the shanks out and place on a plate, covering with aluminum foil. Keep warm.

Set a mesh sieve above a saucepan, and strain the sauce, pushing all the thick tomatoes and the cheesecloth packet to extract as much sauce as possible. Return the sauce to the stove to keep warm and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Combine the gremolata ingredients and set aside.

When preparing to make this dish, I checked in with my buddy Ron (who is an excellent chef!) to get his input, and his thought was that that shanks would need 3 hours of cooking time to be fork-tender .. he was right .. two hours just wasn’t enough time.

celery root The Madd Hatter’s blog suggested serving the osso buco over risotto, which would likely be an excellent side, but I went a different direction and served with a potato – celery root mash:

Celery root potato mash

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
1 celery root, peeled and cut into wedges of about the same size as potato
milk
butter
cream cheese
sour cream
kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

Place the potatoes and celery root into a pot, cover with water, sprinkle with salt and bring to a boil on the stove.  Cook until tender, then drain and return to the pot.  Add a bit of butter and cream cheese, and mash with a potato masher.  Stir in some sour cream, salt & pepper.

Yum!  This was so good, even as ugly as a celery root is, I plan to always have one on hand when I make mashed potatoes!

To serve, place the meat standing upright on the plate; mound some potatoes directly adjacent; spoon 2-3 ladles of sauce over the meat & plate; top the venison shank with a sprinkling of gremolata, and voila .. dinner is served!

One final note about the shanks .. Curt has since decided he wants to order the tiny forks so he can retrieve the tasty bone marrow to spread on toast rather than let our Saint Bernard, Bentley, get it all!

Canning Party – Chutney

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I’ve heard it said that at some point, we eventually become carbon copies of our parents.  The other day at Trader Joe’s, the items in my cart totally made me think I’m becoming my mother, whom I admire tremendously.  I’m not sure if it was the organic carrots or the raw almonds, but it’s definitely happening. One of our chores growing up was helping my mom can the summer’s fresh bounty, and recently I’ve enjoyed making chutneys, pickles, and other treats for my pantry.  Last Sunday I had my very first canning party … it was so much fun, I can’t wait until the next one!

Chris, my Canadian buddy, inspired this recipe selection of Peach and Raisin Chutney. She is an excellent cook, so I was thrilled that she came out for the party. We found this recipe on the Canadian Living website, and it is amazingly delicious. The chutney will make cold meat sing! Also, spoon on top of goat cheese crostinis, brie, pork tenderloin, pancakes, breakfast crepe, french toast, or even ice cream.

Peach & Raisin Chutney
8 cups sliced peeled fresh peaches
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 cups chopped onions
2 cups raisins
2 cups cider vinegar
1/2 cup diced sweet red pepper
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 pinch cayenne pepper

Preparation
In large heavy Dutch oven, combine peaches, brown sugar, onions, raisins, vinegar, red pepper, mustard seeds, salt, turmeric, cinnamon, curry powder, cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring often, until thickened and toffee-brown in colour, about 1 hour.

Fill hot 1-cup canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove any air bubbles.

Cover with prepared discs. Screw on bands until resistance is met; increase to fingertip tight. Boil in boiling water canner for 10 minutes. (See Canning Basics)

Turn off heat. Uncover and let jars stand in canner for 5 minutes. Lift up rack. With canning tongs, transfer jars to cooling rack; let cool for 24 hours.


With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I thought it’d be fun to make a pear chutney, as well … this girl’s just gotta have some chutney on hand for turkey leftovers. One of the blogs I follow, Food In Jars, had this excellent recipe for Bartlett Pear Chutney with Dried Cherries and Ginger.

Pear Chutney with Dried Cherries and Ginger
makes 3 half pint jars

3/4 cup dried cherries, chopped roughly
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons apple brandy
4 cups roughly chopped Bartlett pears (4-5 medium pears)
2/3 cup sugar

Place dried cherries in a heat-proof bowl or measuring cup and pour boiling water over top. Set aside. Heat a large, non-reactive pot or skillet over medium heat. Add oil and heat until it shimmers. Add onion and sea salt and cook until the onion softened and develops a bit of color. Add ginger, mustard seeds and cardamom and cook until spices are fragrant and the mustard seeds begin to pop.

Add vinegar and brand to pan and use a wooden spoon to work up any bits of fond on the bottom of the pan. Add dried cherries and their liquid. Add chopped pears and sugar and stir to combine.  Reduce heat to low, put a lid on the pan and let pears simmer gently for 30-35 minutes so that they soften.

When the pears can be crushed with the back of a wooden spoon, remove the lid from the pot. Increase the heat to high and cook quickly, stirring regularly, to help reduce any remaining liquid.

When chutney is no longer at all watery and looks deeply colored, take a taste. Should it need it, add a splash more vinegar, a pinch more salt or a spoonful more sugar. Do make sure to taste for adjustments before canning, as ingredients can vary from kitchen to kitchen and it’s the only way to ensure that you’ll wind up with a product that you like.

When chutney is fully cooked down and tastes good to you, ladle it into three prepared half pint jars. Wipe rims, apply lids and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

When time is up, remove jars from canning pot and let them cool on a folded kitchen towel. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and eaten within a week. Sealed jars can be kept in the pantry for up to one year.

Stuffed Pork Loin Roast

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It’s funny how people think pork is dry.  It just needs a little extra time and love.  I’ve made several pork dishes from Alton Brown’s collection, Epicurious and Cook’s Illustrated and have learned how important it is to brine pork.  Don’t skip this step!  After brining the roast for 24 hours, I prepared a fruit-based filling with leftover dried fruit from the pantry.  Next time I think I’ll try adding cashews.

Serves 6-8
THE BRINE

  • 8 cups water
  • 1/3 cup kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 3 sprigs fresh sage
  • 1 large garlic clove, smashed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 (4- to 4 1/2-lb) boneless pork loin roast, trimmed

Combine all ingredients except roast in a large pot; bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally until the salt is dissolved.  Cool completely, then immerse roast in brine and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.

THE FILLING

  • 1/3 cup chopped dried figs
  • 1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
  • 1/4 cup chopped dried bing cherries (optional)
  • 1/4 cup carmelized onions
  • 2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 garlic clove, diced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • ground black pepper
  • pinch ground cumin
  • pinch ground coriander
  • pinch ground cinnamon

THE ASSEMBLY

Remove the roast from the brine, and rinse thoroughly; pat dry; butterfly (check out this YouTube if you need a refresher on how to butterfly a roast).  Sprinkle flattened roast with salt and pepper.  Combine remaining filling ingredients, then spread over the roast.

Roll tightly in the shape of a log, then use kitchen string to tie together in 2″ intervals.  Place in a roasting pan, and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 1/4 hours, until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees.  Remove from oven, and tent with foil for 5 minutes.  Slice, and serve!