Ossobucco

Home chefs are sometimes concerned to try classic dishes which sound more complicated than they are.  Ossobucco is a perfect example…it’s just a braised stew.    It is not difficult to make but you do need some very special ingredients for it to be authentic and taste fabulous.  Veal stock does not appear on the shelves of many supermarkets so I make a batch about once a month and freeze it.  You can substitute chicken stock but it’s not the same.  I have yet to find veal stock on the Internet but I’m sure it’s out there somewhere.  Classic ossobucco is a Milanese recipe that originated in Italy.

For this recipe, you want to have brown veal stock.  (I have included a recipe for brown veal stock below.  There are other types of veal stock but we’ll save that for another time.)

The other key ingredient to this recipe is pancetta.  Pancetta is Italian bacon and it has a unique flavor which lends itself beautifully to ossobucco.

Prep time for this recipe is at least 30 minutes but once assembled, it just simmers away.  You can simmer it in the oven, in a crockpot or on top of the stove.  Just allow for a minimum of two hours of cooking time and the flavors will be layered properly.  I serve this dish over buttered noodles.

Ossobucco

Ingredients:

6 to 8 Veal Shanks
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
½ lb. of pancetta, diced
Olive oil and butter
4 cups of brown veal stock
1 big head of elephant garlic, finely chopped (that’s about six or seven big garlic pieces)
Fresh chives, finely chopped
Fresh Rosemary
Fresh Italian parsley
Fresh Thyme
Dried mushrooms, reconstituted
Dry white wine (about two cups...I use a Pinot Grigio)
Salt, pepper and garlic

If using the oven, preheat the oven to 300F.   

Preparation:

In a large dutch oven, put two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 2 pats of butter.  Over very slow heat, brown the pancetta.  I sometimes throw in pork fat too (never hurt anything) for extra flavor.  You want to cook this extremely slowly so it browns nicely but does not burn.  When the bacon is nicely golden brown, remove the dutch oven from the stovetop, fill a large glass bowl with a paper towel and spoon out the bacon.  (You are reserving the fat in the pan so do not discard this.) 

Put the dutch oven back on the stovetop.   Sauté the onion very slowly until translucent over slowest heat.   Remove the pan from the heat.  Spoon onions into a holding bowl.

While the onion simmers, take a piece of cheesecloth and make a spice garnish with the rosemary, any other fresh herbs you want to add.  Set aside.

There are many methods for preparing the shanks themselves.  Some chefs like to roast them at a high temperature in the oven.  That works very well and requires no attendance.  I prefer to braise the veal shanks in the dutch oven after the flavors have started to blend together.  You may need to add a tad more of the olive oil and butter.  Put the dutch oven back on the stovetop, and the heat should be around medium low.

To prepare the veal shanks, dry them.  Dredge them lightly in flour, salt and pepper them lightly. 

Slowly braise the veal shanks until they are golden brown.  Carefully remove them from the dutch oven and put them in a holding bowl.

Remove the reconstituted mushrooms from their liquid but reserve the liquid.  Slowly simmer the mushrooms and the chopped garlic over very low heat. 

When the mushrooms are golden brown, remove the dutch oven from the stovetop.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Put all the reserved ingredients back into the dutch oven.  Place the garnish in cheesecloth on top of the stew.  Finish the cooking process.

Some chefs like to add tomatoes to this dish but I like my version without tomatoes.  Some of the classic recipes also use celery but if you make the veal stock with celery, the flavor will be there and there is no reason to add celery.

Veal Stock

Veal stock is very simple to make.  For brown veal stock, I use a combination of beef consommé and chicken stock.  It is basically a stock used to make other dishes.  It freezes well so if you are taking the time to make this expensive stock, do a large version of it and freeze it.

Ingredients:

6 to 8 lbs. of veal bones (necks, shanks, etc.)
2 large yellow onions, chopped
2 fresh carrots, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
Four cloves of garlic, chopped
3 to 4 bay leaves
¼ cup of chopped Italian parsley (fresh)
3 to 4 sprigs of Rosemary
2      32 oz. cans of chicken broth
2 cans of beef consommé

Cut a piece of cheesecloth and put the bay leaves and rosemary in the center.  Tie the cheesecloth with twine and set aside.

 
In a large dutch oven, put 2 tbl. of extra virgin olive oil and 2 pats of butter. 
Prepare the veal bones exactly as we did in the above recipe.  Slowly simmer the veal bones until golden brown.  Add all the remaining ingredients.  Simmer for several hours.

Allow the stock to cool completely before freezing.  The little meat on the bones makes a great snack. 

Easy Sunday Dinner

Sunday Dinner

Menu:

Marinated Rib Eye steak

Asparagus
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Chocolate Cake

Marinade:

¼ cup of juice
1 tbl. of soy sauce
1 tbl. of extra virgin olive oil
Garlic powder; nutmeg and ginger

Mix all ingredients and allow steak to marinate in the mixture for a few hours. 

Prepare asparagus (I just nuke on the fresh vegetable setting); prepare mashed potatoes.  Put these in a warming oven. 

Gravy:

Put a can of cream of mushroom soup in a saucepan.  Add heavy cream (about ¼ of a cup) and simmer.  Cover while you broil the steaks.

Broiling the Steak:

Spray broiling pan with vegetable spray, and spray both sides of the rack.  Broil steaks to desired doneness.  Remove steaks to serving platter and place in warming oven.

Finishing Gravy:

Pour water into the broiling pan, releasing all the little bits of flavor on the bottom.  Pour the flavored water into the saucepan with the mushroom soup.  Simmer and stir until gravy reaches desired thickness (add more cream if necessary). 

Chocolate Cake from a Mix

Chocolate Cake from a Mix

1 chocolate cake mix

¼ cup of strongly brewed coffee
^1/3 cup of melted butter Crisco
¼ cup of Hershey’s chocolate syrup
2 tbl. Nutella
2 or 3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350F and prepare three eight inch cake pans by spraying with vegetable spray and sprinkling flour or a little of the cake mixture until the pans are well coated.

In a mixing bowl, put cake mix, coffee, melted Crisco and eggs.  Using a hand mixer, set on low and mix until blended.  Add syrup and Nutella.  Mix well.  If mixture is too thick, add more of the coffee liquid. 

Put equal parts of the batter into the cake pans and bake until done (20 minutes roughly).  Cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

When cakes come out of oven, put on racks to cool.  Allow cakes to cool for fifteen minutes, then remove from pan and insert on racks.  While cakes are still warm, brush with warm Hershey’s syrup (I nuke about ¼ of a cup).  Allow to cool thoroughly.

Assembly:

2 cans of Betty Crocker whipped chocolate frosting

1 can of Betty Crocker white decorating frosting
Fresh raspberries

Put a little frosting on the serving dish so cake will stick to it and not move while frosting.  Frost top of first layer with chocolate frosting.  Add another layer on top.  Frost that layer.  Add the third layer on top.  Frost sides of cake and then top of cake.  This is a rustic chocolate cake for family dinner so it does not need to be perfect.  Frost the top of the cake.  Make whatever designs you want on top of the cake with white frosting and decorate with fresh raspberries.

Oven Fried Chicken

 

If I were marooned on a desert island and had the choice of one unlimited supply of protein, I would choose chicken thighs.  The flavor of chicken thighs marries so well with any ingredient that it can invariably be cooked hundreds of ways without being similar to other dishes.  Chicken thighs absorb flavor beautifully and whenever I make a braised chicken dish, I use the thighs because the dish comes out beautifully.  This technique is not the classic way that fried chicken is made but it comes out nicely.

 

 

Oven Fried Chicken

8 pieces of chicken thighs, bone in

2 cups of Italian flavored breadcrumbs
3 small eggs
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.  Put 1 cup of butter flavored Crisco in a baking dish big enough to hold the chicken and put in oven to warm up while you prepare the chicken.  The pan should stay in the oven for at least 20 minutes or until the oil is bubbling.

Put the breadcrumbs in a pie plate (without holes).  Put the eggs in a pie plate (without holes).  Mix the spices with the egg mixture.  Dredge the chicken first in the egg mixture and then in the breadcrumbs.  Place on holding plate until the baking dish is ready.

Place the chicken skin side down in hot oil.  Salt lightly.  Place in oven and allow the first side to cook for about 15 to 20 minutes.  Remove pan from oven, (leave the oven door open to let out a little heat) turn chicken over and put back in oven but reduce the temperature of the oven to 350F for the remainder of cooking time (at least 30 minutes). 

Remove chicken from fat and allow to drain for 10 minutes on a rack covered with brown paper.  Serve hot.

Personalizing your Cooking Style

Growing up in a household where the primary cuisine was Italian, I quickly learned two important things about cooking:  always cook with the best possible and freshest ingredients and taste is everything.  My grandmother said that if you can’t get the best of ingredients, don’t make the dish. 

The importance of taste in Italian cooking is the most important part of the cuisine.  Each region of Italy produces its own flavors and unique ingredients:  for example, most folks equate pesto with Italy when there are literally hundreds of types of pesto made throughout Italy with the most famous (the one you know with basil and pine nuts) coming from Genoa.  The same principle gives us yet another example of great Italian staples such as Regianno Parmigianno, perhaps Italy’s most famous cheese.

When developing your own style of cooking, it is important to note that each item you add to your dish lends a layer of flavor.  The types of tomatoes you choose, the type of garlic or onion and even the type of salt all add a uniqueness.  When you consider sea salt, think of the fact that each ocean produces a different flavor of sea salt.  And the best sea salt for one particular dish is your personal choice.

 
Most of the great Italian cooks I know personally favor Cento San Marzano tomatoes (when using canned tomatoes) because they are the best.  If you can get local tomatoes fresh, that’s wonderful but in the Northeast, our choices are limited. 

Today’s recipe is a very simple take on a very rustic dish which is one of my favorites.  My little twist makes it my recipe.  I hope you like it.

Italian Sausage Bake

Ingredients:

2 lbs. of sweet Italian sausage

2 tbl. of butter mixed with 1 tbl. of extra virgin olive oil

1 lb. of fresh crimini mushrooms

2 lb. of Yukon gold baby potatoes

1 can of Durkee fried onion rings

1 cup of chicken stock

Garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350F.  Put butter and olive oil in a large baking dish and place in oven until butter melts.  Put sausages in and cover the baking dish.  Check after fifteen minutes and poke holes in the sausage skin to allow the juices to run.  Add the mushrooms and cover.  Check again in fifteen minutes.  When sausage looks cooked, cut the sausage links into bite sized pieces.  Add all ingredients except the onion rings and cover again.  Lower oven temperature to 300F.  Allow the mixture to slow cook in the oven and just about 30 minutes before serving time, add the onion rings and mix well. 

This dish serves about six people.  It’s very easy to prepare and is yummy.

Roast Pork for Sunday Dinner

Sunday Dinner

Roast Pork

Spinach Souffle

Homemade Applesauce

Mashed Potatoes

Gravy

Spinach Souffle-a very easy recipe

Ingredients:

1 10z pkg. of spinach, thawed
½ cup of parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 tbl. of melted butter
2 oz. of heavy cream

Prepare that old Corningware French 2 quart casserole by rubbing with butter and dusting with Italian flavored breadcrumbs.  Preheat oven to 350F.  This recipe will be a success as long as you do not open the oven door during cooking or slam the oven door shut.

Mix all ingredients and fold into the casserole dish.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Homemade Applesauce

 
2 apples, one sweet and one tart
2 tbl. of sugar
½ tsp. of cinnamon
½ tsp. of nutmeg
1 tbl. of butter

Peal and cut apples.  Put in a microwave container with remaining ingredients.  Nuke for 4 minutes.  Mash with fork.  Allow to cool to room temp. and refrigerate until serving time.

Roast Pork 

Marinade:  1 cup of buttermilk seasoned with garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Allow pork to marinate for several hours (unless it is the tenderloin which, in that case, only needs to marinate 30 minutes). 

Preheat oven to 350F.  Prepare roasting pan by rubbing with butter and extra virgin olive oil.  Sprinkle roast with poultry seasoning.  Roast until the internal temperature of the meat is 140F.

Allow roast to rest 15 minutes before serving so internal temperature rises to acceptable temperature for cooked pork.  Trichinosis is killed at 130F.

Gravy
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
Pan drippings when you remove the roast and put it on a platter
Heavy cream

When the roast is done, remove from the roasting pan and add a little water to the drippings, scraping everything from the bottom of the roasting pan.  Pour the whole thing into a saucepan and add the soup and heavy cream to thicken.  Salt and pepper to taste. 

Making Fresh Pasta

Pasta Dough

3 cups of flour (half semolina, half all purpose)

6 eggs at room temperature

A teaspoon of salt

On a marble surface, pour flour and make a circle with your hands, carving out the flour in the center.  Put eggs in the center and using a fork, slowly stir in flour.  Once all the flour is absorbed, roll into a ball but do not knead very much.  Place the pasta dough into a bowl that is rubbed with olive oil.  Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

If you do not have a pasta machine, this will require a delicate hand as your roll out the dough with your rolling pin.  Have a broomstick standing by between a couple of chairs and cover it with linen towels (to put the fresh dough on to dry).  Roll out the dough into long, layers and lay each one over the linen to dry for about fifteen minutes. 

When the dough is dry, cut into fettucini.

If you have a pasta machine, cut the dough into pieces to feed the machine.  Using the setting that is widest, run the dough through the machine twice through the rollers.  Then set the machine to 5 and run the dough through again.  You must flour the machine constantly so the dough won't stick.  Put the long pieces of flattened dough onto the linen to dry and then set the machine to the setting that cuts the dough into fettucini.  Put the cut pasta on a linen towel and allow to dry until cooking time.

If using a machine like a Kitchenaide, follow manufacturer's directions to roll out and cut the dough.

Dough can be frozen. 

Italian Sausage Casserole

Ingredients:

8 sweet Italian sausages

1 package of dried mushrooms

2 to 3 cups of chicken broth

1 to 2 cups of heavy cream

Garlic powder and crushed pepper (freshly ground peppercorns)

3 cups of small pasta shells

2 to 3 cups of  Sargento four cheese mix

Spray an oven pan with cooking spray.  Sprinkle sausages with garlic powder, cut a slit in them and bake at 400F for about 15 minutes.  If you want to render off the fat, discard it after cooking the sausages.

In a glass bowl, pour 2 cups of chicken broth over the dried mushrooms.  It will only take about five minutes to reinforce the mushrooms.  Remove the mushrooms from the bowl and add to the sausages to bake for the remainder of the sausage baking time.

Pour the broth into a large saucepan and bring to a boil.   Add two tablespoons of butter, the pasta and 2 cups of heavy cream.  Cook pasta until al dente.    Remove the pan from heat when pasta is cooked, cover and allow to set for a minute or two without discarding the remaining broth.

Assembly:

 
Remove the sausage pan from oven.  Pour the sausage and mushroom mixture into a large serving bowl.  Add the pasta and leftover broth into the bowl, mixing as you go along.  Add all the cheese.  Mix generously.  The sausage and butter should have provided enough salt for the dish so do not add any salt.