Yes, it's high summer. Annalena does not care what anyone says about Labor Day being the end of summer, nor does she care that the official end of summer according to the solstice is about September 22. Nope. Summer ends when the last ripe tomato is on the vine. Then it's over. Until then, summer rules. Granted, there is beauty in Elinor Wylie's sonnet about the seasons, and the line "summer, much too beautiful to stay," but we put artificial boundaries on the seasons, folks.
Ok, out of the way. This is probably the best time of the year for the seasonal cook. Yes, we have said goodbye to favorites like peas, fava beans, snap peas, apricots and cherries. But you never know. Someone showed up at the farmers market last week with freshly picked rhubarb. In August. Sometimes there is a second crop of peas or fava beans. Who knows. But putting aside the unknowns, this is the time of year when we can get corn and grapes. Plums and peppers. Peaches, and acorn squash. Yes, it is all there ragazzi, just take advantage of it, any way you can.
This is one such way. Corn is way beyond ascendance right now. The only other thing that might be more prevalent in the market, is eggplant (and Annalena is not complaining about that). Keep in mind that "corn" or "corn on the cob" as we call it , is also called "sweet corn." There's a reason for that: it is loaded with sugar (corn syrup ragazzi, corn syrup. Where do you think it comes from?). There was a time - and Annalena is personally aware of it, where the instructions for cooking corn were: start a pot of water, and when it comes to the boil, run out to the corn field, pick the corn, shuck it as you get back and drop it into the water." That is because the sugar in corn - at the time - turned to starch quickly, and you would lose some of the sweetness. Today, genetic modifications have changed this. We can lament it, or go along with it, or look for varieties like silver queen, which have not been altered, but facts are facts everyone: if you buy corn, even at the farmers market, it has been altered genetically, to make it sweeter, longer.
Many vegetables will surprise you with their sweetness content. And that is why they are ideal for dessert applications. This one, comes from a new favorite ice cream book "Humphry slocombe ice cream book." It is the creation of a store in San Francisco, known in large part for their interesting ice cream flavors (including foie gras).
Ragazzi, buy this book. Buy two copies of it and give a copy to your friends. It is a wonderful read, and you will, at some point, make one of the recipes or even more. As Annalena has.
Annalena first ate corn ice cream in a Mexican restaurant, which makes sense. She remembers it as being tasty, but very granular, almost like ice milk. This year, looking for something different, she scoured her sources for corn ice cream recipes, and she found plenty. She settled on this one because it made some very salient points: the taste of corn is subtle (it is), so when you make an ice cream, you should use as much corn as you can, and cut out as much as you can. Heavy cream , for example, plays a very important role in ice cream, but compare the taste of a cream free sorbet, to a cream filled ice cream. The intensity of flavor in the former, cannot be matched in the latter. So if you have a subtle flavor.... So, too, with egg yolks, which add a richness, but mask flavor. This ice cream recipe had neither cream, nor eggs in it.
Game on.
A few things, ragazzi. First, with the final product not being a cooked product, it will melt on the tongue faster. As it is not as rich, you may find yourself eating more of it. And DO NOT go for low fat dairy in this. If you are going to do that, make something else.
Now, let's make our ice cream.
You will need about a cup of fresh corn kernels. This can be anywhere from 2-4 ears, depending on their size. Cut them from the cobs (Annalena provides instructions in this blog), and DO NOT FORGET to run your knife over the cob, to get the corn milk. Then, put this in a large pot with 2 cups of whole milk, and a cup of sugar, and a tablespoon of salt.
The salt is here, both to bring out the flavor, and also to help break down the kernels. Don't leave it out. Bring this to a simmer over low heat, and cook it for half an hour. This constitutes overcooking, but you want the corn to be soft.
Now, use a blender (a food processor is, theoretically an option, but it does not do such a great job), and pulse this mixture to puree it. Use some logic: you can do this hot, but if you do, please protect your hands by covering the top of the blender with a towel. Steam will come off of the liquid when agitated, and may even "blow" the blender (it has happened to Annalena). Now, strain this, through a fine milled colander or strainer, and press down to get every last drop.
Stir in a cup of sour cream, or creme fraiche, or even whole fat yogurt. Stir it all together, and then cool it in the fridge. Get out your ice cream maker when it's cold, and, as the good book says "to every thing, churn, churn churn."
At the end, you will have one quart of a product which, if you tell your friends what it is, they will say "uh, interesting. Do you have any chocolate?" If you have them taste it first, they will come back for seconds. So maybe you should make two batches.
Really good t his is, with the cobbler provided immediately before.
Go get corny. Make the ice cream.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Cobbling together a cobbler: blueberry cobbler
Now, this is a topic which is guaranteed to get reactions. Cobblers are one of those dishes where EVERYONE has THE definitive recipe. THE perfect one. THE best one ever. Annalena thinks she has tried them all. She thinks she has made many of them. And this one may very well be both the simplest, and the best.
"Cobbler" is a very difficult term to define. See, ragazzi, there is a large family of American desserts (and yes, these are quintessentially American desserts), which involve a base of sweetened fruit, and then dough on the top. NOT pies, but sometimes, the dough is a pie crust that is cut into the fruit. Usually, however, the dough is a very wet, soft, biscuity type of dough or better yet, a batter. Slumps, grumps, cobblers, pan dowdies, and so on. They are all in this family. And if you ask people to define differences, you will find yourself on a slippery slope that simply will get you nowhere. Except, maybe, to some good eating. And that's not a bad thing at all.
In eating cobblers in restaurants, Annalena has found herself disappointed, mostly because there's so much "stuff" in them, that she can't taste the fruit. Just last night, for example, she was served a peach cobbler. Sweet, well made... clearly filled with peaches. EXCEPT SHE COULDN'T TASTE THEM. She did taste vanilla, and cinammon, and nutmeg, and other things, but no peaches.
On the other hand, a few weeks ago, she had a blueberry cobbler that nearly blew her out of the water. It was SO good. Annalena usually does not eat dessert at the end of a restaurant meal, but this one was so good, she almost ordered a second helping.
What was so good about it, was that it lacked the standard "accompaniment" to blueberries, which is grated lemon peel. In fact, she doubts there was anything of any flavor in the filling, except blueberries. So.. she tasted blueberries (and, incidentally, Annalena would like to start a movement where we start naming COOKED fruits differently than we name raw ones. Think about it: the fresh blueberries you eat are wonderful, as are the blueberries you eat in a pie. Do they taste the same? NO. Is one better than the other? NO They are just different. So, too with figs, peaches, and so on. Can't we do what the Mexicans do with dried and fresh peppers?)
But, as usual, she digresses. Let's get to this recipe, and make it. It is easy. For the filling, you will need blueberries, sugar and flour. That is all. Annalena thinks making them in individual ramekins is best. So what you need to do is to determine how many servings you want, and then use the number of berries appropriate. So, pull out your ramekins, and put berries about 3/4 of the way up. See how many there are, and then multiply.
For 8-9 servings, Annalena found she needed about 2.5 pints. Put those in a bowl, with just a third cup of sugar, and two tablespoons of flour. Stir this up, and leave them alone. They will give off some juice, but not much. Preheat your oven to 375, and while it's heating and the berries macerate, make your dough.
Again, easy. REALLY easy. Get 1.5 cups of flour, and mix a half teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons more of flour, a scant tablespoon of baking powder into it. Now, get 3/4 of a stick of unsalted butter, cut it into bits, and either with your fingers or with a food processor by pulsing, distribute it evenly in the flour. Now, add 3/4 cup of heavy cream.
Oh yes, heavy cream. Stir this all together gently, until you have a mass of dough. Fill your ramekins with the berries, and then , being as even as possible, divide the dough into the appropriate number of portions. Flatten them out in your hands, and put them over the berries. You can seal the ramekin if you like (this is how Annalena does it), or just lay it on the top, like a huge biscuit. And then put the stuff on a baking sheet, and put it in the oven, for about 40 minutes. The berries will bubble thickly, and your house will smell wonderful.
And then, you're done. DO NOT eat these right out of the oven. You will burn your mouth, and hot fruit does more damage than just about anything else. Let them cool. Try not to refrigerate them if you do not have to, because they lose something on reheating. But at room temperature, or warm, they are LUSCIOUSLY GOOD. Especially with the recipe to come: corn ice cream.
Stay tuned.
"Cobbler" is a very difficult term to define. See, ragazzi, there is a large family of American desserts (and yes, these are quintessentially American desserts), which involve a base of sweetened fruit, and then dough on the top. NOT pies, but sometimes, the dough is a pie crust that is cut into the fruit. Usually, however, the dough is a very wet, soft, biscuity type of dough or better yet, a batter. Slumps, grumps, cobblers, pan dowdies, and so on. They are all in this family. And if you ask people to define differences, you will find yourself on a slippery slope that simply will get you nowhere. Except, maybe, to some good eating. And that's not a bad thing at all.
In eating cobblers in restaurants, Annalena has found herself disappointed, mostly because there's so much "stuff" in them, that she can't taste the fruit. Just last night, for example, she was served a peach cobbler. Sweet, well made... clearly filled with peaches. EXCEPT SHE COULDN'T TASTE THEM. She did taste vanilla, and cinammon, and nutmeg, and other things, but no peaches.
On the other hand, a few weeks ago, she had a blueberry cobbler that nearly blew her out of the water. It was SO good. Annalena usually does not eat dessert at the end of a restaurant meal, but this one was so good, she almost ordered a second helping.
What was so good about it, was that it lacked the standard "accompaniment" to blueberries, which is grated lemon peel. In fact, she doubts there was anything of any flavor in the filling, except blueberries. So.. she tasted blueberries (and, incidentally, Annalena would like to start a movement where we start naming COOKED fruits differently than we name raw ones. Think about it: the fresh blueberries you eat are wonderful, as are the blueberries you eat in a pie. Do they taste the same? NO. Is one better than the other? NO They are just different. So, too with figs, peaches, and so on. Can't we do what the Mexicans do with dried and fresh peppers?)
But, as usual, she digresses. Let's get to this recipe, and make it. It is easy. For the filling, you will need blueberries, sugar and flour. That is all. Annalena thinks making them in individual ramekins is best. So what you need to do is to determine how many servings you want, and then use the number of berries appropriate. So, pull out your ramekins, and put berries about 3/4 of the way up. See how many there are, and then multiply.
For 8-9 servings, Annalena found she needed about 2.5 pints. Put those in a bowl, with just a third cup of sugar, and two tablespoons of flour. Stir this up, and leave them alone. They will give off some juice, but not much. Preheat your oven to 375, and while it's heating and the berries macerate, make your dough.
Again, easy. REALLY easy. Get 1.5 cups of flour, and mix a half teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons more of flour, a scant tablespoon of baking powder into it. Now, get 3/4 of a stick of unsalted butter, cut it into bits, and either with your fingers or with a food processor by pulsing, distribute it evenly in the flour. Now, add 3/4 cup of heavy cream.
Oh yes, heavy cream. Stir this all together gently, until you have a mass of dough. Fill your ramekins with the berries, and then , being as even as possible, divide the dough into the appropriate number of portions. Flatten them out in your hands, and put them over the berries. You can seal the ramekin if you like (this is how Annalena does it), or just lay it on the top, like a huge biscuit. And then put the stuff on a baking sheet, and put it in the oven, for about 40 minutes. The berries will bubble thickly, and your house will smell wonderful.
And then, you're done. DO NOT eat these right out of the oven. You will burn your mouth, and hot fruit does more damage than just about anything else. Let them cool. Try not to refrigerate them if you do not have to, because they lose something on reheating. But at room temperature, or warm, they are LUSCIOUSLY GOOD. Especially with the recipe to come: corn ice cream.
Stay tuned.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
It ain't the meat it's the ... marinade. Balsamic marinated steak
Now ragazzi, let us not try to be naive: you all know the conclusion to the expression above: It ain't the meat it's the .... MOTION. And what a song it is that carries that title. Annalena first heard it performed by the wonderful Maria Muldaur (whatever happened to her by the way? Sybil probably knows and isn't telling), and of course, these days, it has become far less clever, as the contrary expression "SIZE MATTERS" seems to dominate, rather than the much more clever one. Indeed, Annalena's friend Steven, the world's most talented flower man (Annalena will NOT call him a florist), has a wonderful parallel: "it's not the pen but how you sign your name." Indeed. But as we go through life....
How DID she get on that tangent? Oh, yes, it's because for years Annalena eschewed (that does NOT mean sneezed at. Oh, well, yes, in a way it does), marinades, thinking them quite useless. And indeed, in many applications, they still are. How often have you prepared a marinade, left something in it for the allocated length of time, prepared it, and then wondered "why did I go through that t rouble?" Well, Annalena has some answers. For marinades to be successful, they must be VERY STRONG. Stronger than you think. They MUST contain a very large proportion of an acid, they MUST contain a good quantity of a fat of some kind (and as marinades are generally liquid, this means oil, rather than butter), and they MUST contain some form of sweetening and salting agent. All of these are necessary for the chemistry of what happens: the acid breaks down the walls of whatever you are marinating, allowing flavoring to enter. Else, it just stays on the surface. The fat carries whatever flavoring is in the marinade to the interior of the product, especially if it is a protein. The salt also acts to break down the walls of the meat or other item, and also removes water that would dilute it. Finally, the sweetening agent allows you to carmelize your food when you cook it. Ultimately, all browning of any kind in cooking (NOT elsewhere), is carmelization. So, if you thought that there was no sugar in meat, think again, ragazzi.
OK, chemistry lesson over, let's continue , but with one, final point. Marinades take their time to work. If you see a recipe that says "marinate for 20 minutes," count on failing. If you see one that says "marinate for at least four, and as many as 24 hours," lean toward 24. Try not to exceed a full day, because the breakdown that you want will continue, and after a certain point, you will be left with, for example, flabby meat or soggy vegetables, and so forth.
This one appealed to Annalena because the acid and sweet are in the same ingredient: her beloved balsamic vinegar. Also, this being high season for herbs, she could substitute the dried oregano in the original recipe, with fresh , grown on her own rooftop by the lovely and talented Neal. So, here we go.
Now, the recipe called for flank steak and an outdoor grill. Ragazzi, let us be somewhat free spirits here: if you have a steak that is chewy and from a tougher muscle (this excludes beef tenderloin and rib eye), use it. Skirt steak, London broil, tri tip, even sirloin, will work here. And use your ridged grill pan. Annalena did, and it works just fine.
Ok, let us make our marinade. Slice two large cloves of garlic, and mix them with a healthy tablespoon of rosemary needles, and one of oregano leaves ,both fresh. Add two tablespoons of whole grain mustard to this, and half a cup of balsamic vinegar. Do not break out the 100 dollar jar you got for Christmas for this, but use something better than the stuff on sale for 99 cents a gallon bottle at the grocery store. Add a cup of extra virgin olive oil too. Again, don't use the stuff that was willed to you by your long lost aunt from Provence, but also, don't use the stuff that has been sitting around since 1993, or the stuff that says "Product of......" followed by a nation you have never heard of.
Mix this all up, and then taste it. If you think it needs some salt, do add it. The mustard has salt in it. It is best done in a food processory, but you can whisk it all up in a big bowl, if you have a strong wrist. Just make sure to add the oil last, and slowly.
Annalena assures you: this is VERY very tasty. Now, take about half a cup of it away and stash it. Because you are going to put the meat into this. Three pounds of it. Put everything in a glass baking dish, or a plastic bag, or a non -metal bowl, and cover it. If you use the bag, put the bag in a receptacle, just in case it leaks. Cover the meat with the marinade. If that means turning it a few times, do so. Put the package in the refrigerator, and as you are so moved, turn the meat so that the coating is uniform and constant. And leave it there overnight.
When you are ready to cook, take out the steaks. Don't be a lunatic about it, but take whatever is stuck on the meat off, simply by running your finger down each side of the steak.
Get your pan, or grill hot, and then, cook the steaks to the degree you like them. When they're done - and this is important - let them rest for a good five minutes, maybe even ten. You need to do this because you will not be serving this as a whole steak, even if you use individual portions. Rather, slice it. And then, when you bring it to table, pour the reserved marinade over everything. If you haven't drunk it on the sly already.
This is extremely good. And if you look at things, it is easy. The hardest thing to do here, is chopping the herbs. You can handle that.
And this one, Johnny D, is for you. Baci.
How DID she get on that tangent? Oh, yes, it's because for years Annalena eschewed (that does NOT mean sneezed at. Oh, well, yes, in a way it does), marinades, thinking them quite useless. And indeed, in many applications, they still are. How often have you prepared a marinade, left something in it for the allocated length of time, prepared it, and then wondered "why did I go through that t rouble?" Well, Annalena has some answers. For marinades to be successful, they must be VERY STRONG. Stronger than you think. They MUST contain a very large proportion of an acid, they MUST contain a good quantity of a fat of some kind (and as marinades are generally liquid, this means oil, rather than butter), and they MUST contain some form of sweetening and salting agent. All of these are necessary for the chemistry of what happens: the acid breaks down the walls of whatever you are marinating, allowing flavoring to enter. Else, it just stays on the surface. The fat carries whatever flavoring is in the marinade to the interior of the product, especially if it is a protein. The salt also acts to break down the walls of the meat or other item, and also removes water that would dilute it. Finally, the sweetening agent allows you to carmelize your food when you cook it. Ultimately, all browning of any kind in cooking (NOT elsewhere), is carmelization. So, if you thought that there was no sugar in meat, think again, ragazzi.
OK, chemistry lesson over, let's continue , but with one, final point. Marinades take their time to work. If you see a recipe that says "marinate for 20 minutes," count on failing. If you see one that says "marinate for at least four, and as many as 24 hours," lean toward 24. Try not to exceed a full day, because the breakdown that you want will continue, and after a certain point, you will be left with, for example, flabby meat or soggy vegetables, and so forth.
This one appealed to Annalena because the acid and sweet are in the same ingredient: her beloved balsamic vinegar. Also, this being high season for herbs, she could substitute the dried oregano in the original recipe, with fresh , grown on her own rooftop by the lovely and talented Neal. So, here we go.
Now, the recipe called for flank steak and an outdoor grill. Ragazzi, let us be somewhat free spirits here: if you have a steak that is chewy and from a tougher muscle (this excludes beef tenderloin and rib eye), use it. Skirt steak, London broil, tri tip, even sirloin, will work here. And use your ridged grill pan. Annalena did, and it works just fine.
Ok, let us make our marinade. Slice two large cloves of garlic, and mix them with a healthy tablespoon of rosemary needles, and one of oregano leaves ,both fresh. Add two tablespoons of whole grain mustard to this, and half a cup of balsamic vinegar. Do not break out the 100 dollar jar you got for Christmas for this, but use something better than the stuff on sale for 99 cents a gallon bottle at the grocery store. Add a cup of extra virgin olive oil too. Again, don't use the stuff that was willed to you by your long lost aunt from Provence, but also, don't use the stuff that has been sitting around since 1993, or the stuff that says "Product of......" followed by a nation you have never heard of.
Mix this all up, and then taste it. If you think it needs some salt, do add it. The mustard has salt in it. It is best done in a food processory, but you can whisk it all up in a big bowl, if you have a strong wrist. Just make sure to add the oil last, and slowly.
Annalena assures you: this is VERY very tasty. Now, take about half a cup of it away and stash it. Because you are going to put the meat into this. Three pounds of it. Put everything in a glass baking dish, or a plastic bag, or a non -metal bowl, and cover it. If you use the bag, put the bag in a receptacle, just in case it leaks. Cover the meat with the marinade. If that means turning it a few times, do so. Put the package in the refrigerator, and as you are so moved, turn the meat so that the coating is uniform and constant. And leave it there overnight.
When you are ready to cook, take out the steaks. Don't be a lunatic about it, but take whatever is stuck on the meat off, simply by running your finger down each side of the steak.
Get your pan, or grill hot, and then, cook the steaks to the degree you like them. When they're done - and this is important - let them rest for a good five minutes, maybe even ten. You need to do this because you will not be serving this as a whole steak, even if you use individual portions. Rather, slice it. And then, when you bring it to table, pour the reserved marinade over everything. If you haven't drunk it on the sly already.
This is extremely good. And if you look at things, it is easy. The hardest thing to do here, is chopping the herbs. You can handle that.
And this one, Johnny D, is for you. Baci.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Saucing the shrimp: grilled shrimp in herb sauce
When you have cooked as long as Annalena has, your mind makes food connections, whether you like it or not. Sometimes good, sometimes not. In this one, it was good. Annalena explains.
When looking at the food for the week, steak was in the future (and the recipe is as well), as was a very rich lasagna. So, thinking about what to do, her mind settled on sea food, and since the fish guy is not around on Tuesday, she went to her standby: shrimp. They freeze well, and they cook quickly, and they taste good. These are all VERY relevant factors during the week, ragazzi, as Annalena is sure you know. And looking at her vegetable stash, there were summer squash that called to be used. So, Annalena began searching for a recipe that used squash and shrimp - AS LONG AS IT WASN'T PASTA. This was not an easy task. She did find a recipe which called for both, but it was not precisely what she wanted. HOWEVER, the seeds of a good recipe were there. And so it is. This follows.
Shrimp take well to just about any sauce you can make, be it savory, sweet, spicy, semi sweet, etc. While we grew up with tuna as "chicken of the sea," Annalena really does think of shrimp that way. She suggests that you develop a repertoire of shrimp dishes, and have some shrimp in your freezer at all times. You will be amazed at how useful and how many quick meals you can come up with this way.
So, here we go. First the sauce, and the sauce is so good, you could, and should, use it with many things. Annalena is doubling the recipe for you, because she made it in the blender. If you make the regular size of the recipe, there is too little of it, and your blender will be very upset, unless you have a mini blender, and in that case, it won't work very well.
You need 1/3 of a liquid cup of red wine vinegar. If your eye is just not steady enough to measure that, then go to half a cup, and do the same thing with all the other "1/3 of a cup" ingredients here. Those are chopped, fresh oregano (which is very easy to do), and chopped fresh thyme, which is not. The difference here, is that oregano has a fairly soft stem, so you can use all of it. Thyme, on the other hand, has a branch that can be very woody. So, ragazzi, you will be picking smaller stems off of the major one. It will not take long, but unless you are Annalena's buddy Kevin, you will be a bit frustrated.
You also need two cloves of garlic. Take these ingredients, and chop them. If you are not using a blender, chop them REALLY fine. Add about 2 teaspoons of salt to it all. Combine them with the vinegar, or put them in the blender and puree. Have half a cup of olive oil ready, and either whisk it in, or slowly add it and stir constantly. Finish it with some black pepper that you grate freshly.
Taste it. Add some salt if you like. Taste it again. Good huh? It's like a superb herbal salad dressing, and you could use it as such.
Now, to your shrimp. You can make anywhere from 1-2 pounds of it for this much sauce. If you are going to make the smaller quantity, any size shrimp will do; however, for the larger one, Annalena suggests the large or even jumbo shrimp, because of the step you are going to do next, which will take a lot of time with smaller shrimp. Get the ones that have been peeled and deveined. You're worth the extra buck.
Get a ridged grill pan ready by brushing it with olive oil, and getting it hot. Put the shrimp directly on the pan, and as soon as you coat the pan with the babies, turn them over. See, shrimp cook fast, and in the time it takes to load the grill pan, the first ones will be done. If you are doing this with smaller shrimp, you will probably have on the order of 90 of them to do this. You will rip out your nails.
Flip the shrimp, as noted, and grill them for just about another minute. Put them in a bowl, pour in some sauce and stir.
And... BINGO. You are done. You should eat these with your fingers, sucking the delicious sauce off, as you go along. Make some rice, or couscous, or something like that to serve with them, and perhaps put yet some more sauce on that. Or, a salad with the stuff.
Really good, and ultimately, you will spend no more than 30 minutes making your meal.
I mentioned steak. It's a coming. So is blueberry cobbler. And corn ice cream. A match that should have been made in heaven, but was in fact made, in Annalena's kitchen.
When looking at the food for the week, steak was in the future (and the recipe is as well), as was a very rich lasagna. So, thinking about what to do, her mind settled on sea food, and since the fish guy is not around on Tuesday, she went to her standby: shrimp. They freeze well, and they cook quickly, and they taste good. These are all VERY relevant factors during the week, ragazzi, as Annalena is sure you know. And looking at her vegetable stash, there were summer squash that called to be used. So, Annalena began searching for a recipe that used squash and shrimp - AS LONG AS IT WASN'T PASTA. This was not an easy task. She did find a recipe which called for both, but it was not precisely what she wanted. HOWEVER, the seeds of a good recipe were there. And so it is. This follows.
Shrimp take well to just about any sauce you can make, be it savory, sweet, spicy, semi sweet, etc. While we grew up with tuna as "chicken of the sea," Annalena really does think of shrimp that way. She suggests that you develop a repertoire of shrimp dishes, and have some shrimp in your freezer at all times. You will be amazed at how useful and how many quick meals you can come up with this way.
So, here we go. First the sauce, and the sauce is so good, you could, and should, use it with many things. Annalena is doubling the recipe for you, because she made it in the blender. If you make the regular size of the recipe, there is too little of it, and your blender will be very upset, unless you have a mini blender, and in that case, it won't work very well.
You need 1/3 of a liquid cup of red wine vinegar. If your eye is just not steady enough to measure that, then go to half a cup, and do the same thing with all the other "1/3 of a cup" ingredients here. Those are chopped, fresh oregano (which is very easy to do), and chopped fresh thyme, which is not. The difference here, is that oregano has a fairly soft stem, so you can use all of it. Thyme, on the other hand, has a branch that can be very woody. So, ragazzi, you will be picking smaller stems off of the major one. It will not take long, but unless you are Annalena's buddy Kevin, you will be a bit frustrated.
You also need two cloves of garlic. Take these ingredients, and chop them. If you are not using a blender, chop them REALLY fine. Add about 2 teaspoons of salt to it all. Combine them with the vinegar, or put them in the blender and puree. Have half a cup of olive oil ready, and either whisk it in, or slowly add it and stir constantly. Finish it with some black pepper that you grate freshly.
Taste it. Add some salt if you like. Taste it again. Good huh? It's like a superb herbal salad dressing, and you could use it as such.
Now, to your shrimp. You can make anywhere from 1-2 pounds of it for this much sauce. If you are going to make the smaller quantity, any size shrimp will do; however, for the larger one, Annalena suggests the large or even jumbo shrimp, because of the step you are going to do next, which will take a lot of time with smaller shrimp. Get the ones that have been peeled and deveined. You're worth the extra buck.
Get a ridged grill pan ready by brushing it with olive oil, and getting it hot. Put the shrimp directly on the pan, and as soon as you coat the pan with the babies, turn them over. See, shrimp cook fast, and in the time it takes to load the grill pan, the first ones will be done. If you are doing this with smaller shrimp, you will probably have on the order of 90 of them to do this. You will rip out your nails.
Flip the shrimp, as noted, and grill them for just about another minute. Put them in a bowl, pour in some sauce and stir.
And... BINGO. You are done. You should eat these with your fingers, sucking the delicious sauce off, as you go along. Make some rice, or couscous, or something like that to serve with them, and perhaps put yet some more sauce on that. Or, a salad with the stuff.
Really good, and ultimately, you will spend no more than 30 minutes making your meal.
I mentioned steak. It's a coming. So is blueberry cobbler. And corn ice cream. A match that should have been made in heaven, but was in fact made, in Annalena's kitchen.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
No "beeting" around the bush: glazed beets with cheese
Annalena is very aware that, the use of the word "beets" in the above will cause at least a portion of her readership to say "let's move along," and wait for the next one. Indeed, the love, or hatred, of beets, seems to be as divisive as issues like conservative/liberal, pro-life/women's choice, etc. Food lovers, however, (at least for now), do not try to kill each other. Let us keep it this way.
Annalena loves beets. She does not love them, perhaps, as much as her friend Kenny, but she does love them. And she loves "springing" them on people. She remembers very fondly a time when she served forth a salad, with sliced golden beets in it. One gentleman asked "these are terrific what are they?" Annalena's response , of course, was "beets." Came the riposte. "No, the golden things. I hate beets." His partner answered "they're beets and you're eating them from now on."
AH, the fun one can have with food. So Annalena looks for new ways of cooking these beautiful, sweet veggies (you did know that, as a root vegetable, beets are loaded with sugar, did you not? No? Well, remember "sugar beets." And keep in mind that most white sugar ultimately comes, from sugar beets).
Normally, she roasts them and then stores them. Boiled beets are what turned many beet lovers off of these lovely creatures. So Annalena abjures boiling them. The recipe that follows, however, called for boiling in aromatics, and vinegar. Now, flavored vinegars have a natural affinity for beets. So it caught our lady's eye. And while a bit time consuming, it is easy. So let's make some beets. (by the way, it is cheap too).
You need about a pound of beets. Any type will do, but since you will be boiling them in red vinegar, red beets or chioggias would be better. And bigger beets would be preferred. NOT the ones that are as big as a child's head, but four to a pound is great. Put them in a pot, and cover them with cold water. Now add a half dozen or so sprigs of thyme, and a teaspoon or so of black peppercorns, and a tablespoon of red wine vinegar. That's all you need. Bring this to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about forty minutes. Check the beets after thirty. If you can pierce them, to the center with a small knife, you can stop. And as the water boils away, add more. Keep cooking till you get to that point of penetration.
Okay, now dump everything out, and let the beets cool. PLEASE DO THIS, as these babies are hot, and they are dense, so if you do not wait, you will burn yourself.
Peel them. This will be very easy. You'll find the skins kind of slip off, or if you need some help, the back of a small knife will scrape the skin. Now cut them into dice - half to quarter inch is good, and don't feel a need to get OCD on this.
The fun part starts now. Put them in a pot, with a half cup of a flavorful vinegar. The recipe called for sherry vinegar, and Annalena used a mix of sherry and balsamic. All balsamic would be REALLY good too. Also add 2 tablespoons of sugar, and if you have it, a sprig of rosemary. Add a quarter cup of water. Bring everything to a medium boil, and stir occasionally, for about ten minutes. You will get a thick, sugary syrup that will coat the beets.
You can stop here. These babes are good. BUT... Annalena saw the instructions, which called for piling them on bread with burrata cheese. Now, burrata is one of Annalena's favorite things in the world, but the combination with beets, did not move her. Soft goat cheese, however, did. So, get some goat cheese. How much? Who cares. A lot of goat cheese will limit the impact of the beets, a little will push it forward. Stir up the cheese until it's soft, and then add the beets and stir it all together.
NOW, pile it on some toast, and serve it forth for an unusual first. Or, the hell with the cheese, and put the beets into a salad. Or add the cheese to the beets in the salad.
Whatever you do , DO NOT "beet around the bush." Get to the store, get your vinegar, and your beets, and get cooking. Betcha you'll change your mind and join our club of beet lovers.
Annalena loves beets. She does not love them, perhaps, as much as her friend Kenny, but she does love them. And she loves "springing" them on people. She remembers very fondly a time when she served forth a salad, with sliced golden beets in it. One gentleman asked "these are terrific what are they?" Annalena's response , of course, was "beets." Came the riposte. "No, the golden things. I hate beets." His partner answered "they're beets and you're eating them from now on."
AH, the fun one can have with food. So Annalena looks for new ways of cooking these beautiful, sweet veggies (you did know that, as a root vegetable, beets are loaded with sugar, did you not? No? Well, remember "sugar beets." And keep in mind that most white sugar ultimately comes, from sugar beets).
Normally, she roasts them and then stores them. Boiled beets are what turned many beet lovers off of these lovely creatures. So Annalena abjures boiling them. The recipe that follows, however, called for boiling in aromatics, and vinegar. Now, flavored vinegars have a natural affinity for beets. So it caught our lady's eye. And while a bit time consuming, it is easy. So let's make some beets. (by the way, it is cheap too).
You need about a pound of beets. Any type will do, but since you will be boiling them in red vinegar, red beets or chioggias would be better. And bigger beets would be preferred. NOT the ones that are as big as a child's head, but four to a pound is great. Put them in a pot, and cover them with cold water. Now add a half dozen or so sprigs of thyme, and a teaspoon or so of black peppercorns, and a tablespoon of red wine vinegar. That's all you need. Bring this to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about forty minutes. Check the beets after thirty. If you can pierce them, to the center with a small knife, you can stop. And as the water boils away, add more. Keep cooking till you get to that point of penetration.
Okay, now dump everything out, and let the beets cool. PLEASE DO THIS, as these babies are hot, and they are dense, so if you do not wait, you will burn yourself.
Peel them. This will be very easy. You'll find the skins kind of slip off, or if you need some help, the back of a small knife will scrape the skin. Now cut them into dice - half to quarter inch is good, and don't feel a need to get OCD on this.
The fun part starts now. Put them in a pot, with a half cup of a flavorful vinegar. The recipe called for sherry vinegar, and Annalena used a mix of sherry and balsamic. All balsamic would be REALLY good too. Also add 2 tablespoons of sugar, and if you have it, a sprig of rosemary. Add a quarter cup of water. Bring everything to a medium boil, and stir occasionally, for about ten minutes. You will get a thick, sugary syrup that will coat the beets.
You can stop here. These babes are good. BUT... Annalena saw the instructions, which called for piling them on bread with burrata cheese. Now, burrata is one of Annalena's favorite things in the world, but the combination with beets, did not move her. Soft goat cheese, however, did. So, get some goat cheese. How much? Who cares. A lot of goat cheese will limit the impact of the beets, a little will push it forward. Stir up the cheese until it's soft, and then add the beets and stir it all together.
NOW, pile it on some toast, and serve it forth for an unusual first. Or, the hell with the cheese, and put the beets into a salad. Or add the cheese to the beets in the salad.
Whatever you do , DO NOT "beet around the bush." Get to the store, get your vinegar, and your beets, and get cooking. Betcha you'll change your mind and join our club of beet lovers.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
She's back: Annalena spice makes pork with green chiles
Well, let us say simply that Annalena has been having summer overload. I suspect many of her ragazzi have as well. We had the summer olympic games, we had what seemed like interminable heat, and so many other things. Annalena hopes, however, that you all knew that , somewhat like Arnold , but not really, Annalena "would be back." And here she is.
During her time away, Annalena was busy cooking. And she has a number of truly interesting, delicious newbies for you all to try. Many of them have more spice , or different spices , than you are used to seeing Annalena use. Here is one of them. As with the dishes that will be coming (with the exception of the desserts), it is a fast, easy one.
Annalena was inspired to make this, by memories of her childhood. Nana was very fond of peppers, so at home, Annalena and her sibs ate them a lot. With veal. In eggs. Stuffed. It did seem that the family ate peppers at least once or twice a week. Indeed, when one looks at the cooking of Basilicata, which is the region from which the Annalena clan comes, peppers, both sweet and hot, play a very important role. The climate, the lay of the land, and so many other things, contribute to this. To this day, Annalena is a fan of peppers . Now, however, she uses the peppers of many different regions, not just the sweet ones, which her Nana called "frying peppers," and which are properly called "cubanelles," and the bell pepers , but also the hot peppers of Mexican and Asian cooking.
Pork and peppers is a very natural combination. There is an inherent sweetness to pork that plays off nicely against the brassiness of green peppers, as well as the sweetness of red ones. Here, we will be using green ones. In Annalena's version, she used wild boar. You can use that, or pork, or if you have it, veal. Lamb would probably be not a good choice here, but if you are so inclined, go for it.
You start witgh 2-2.5 pounds of boneless shoulder meat. If it comes from boar, you are probably going to have a very solid layer of fat on top of it. Cut that away. Do the same thing if you have it on pork. The meat is fatty enough such that you don't need this, else your stew is going to be swimming in the rendered fat. That is something you do NOT want. If your butcher or vendor has cubed it for you, you will not need to do this; however, if you buy the meat in one large piece, and you are going to cube it yourself, chances are, you will have to rid yourself of that.
Ok, so you have the meat, cubed. Make solid cubes. Let us say about 1x1x1. Put them aside, after you've salted and peppered them, as you prepare the vegetables. The first couple are easy: you need a large onion, which you peel, quarter, and slice. You also need six garlic cloves, which you slice rather than dice. Put that in with the onions, because as we will see, everything goes in together in this dish. Also, get yourself 2 cups of chicken stock.
Now, let's go to the peppers. You need a pound of them, and you also need a few (FEW) hot chilis. For the pound of peppers, you want green ones. Poblanos are called for here, or Anaheims. Annalena warns you : poblanos are not without heat, and within poblanos, some are hotter than others. You can devein them, and wash out the seeds, but you will still have heat. Anaheims are much milder. If you have a good tolerance for heat, by all means, use the poblanos. If you do not, use the anaheims or even bell peppers. Clean the peppers, and then cut them into thin slices, and again, put them together with the other vegetables.
Now, the final ingredient: the hot peppers. Ragazzi, whenever you are going to add hot peppers to a dish, you must do something ahead of time. YOU MUST TASTE THE PEPPERS. If, as was the case with Annalena , you are using a pepper with which you are not familiar, you need to be able to gauge the heat that it will impart. Annalena was using a specimen called a "Portuguese" chili, and it was blistering. Use serranos if you like a strong heat, jalapenos if you like a milder one. As with all hot peppers, if you really are worried about heat, get the veins out . You may also want to wear gloves or otherwise protect your hands, especially if you wear contact lenses.
Annalena speaks from experience here. Keep in mind that the heat from peppers comes from oils, and water will not remove it.
Anyway, three hot peppers of some type, is more than enough. Cut it back if you are so inclined, and again, put em with the other vegetables.
Now, let's get to work cooking. If prepping the veggies took you fifteen minutes, dinner will be on the table in an hour. Pour a quarter cup of olive oil into a pot, and get it hot enough to the point where it begins to ripple (Lest anyone start saying ALL THAT FAT: if Annalena told you four tablespoons, you wouldn't blanch. That's a quarter cup). Add the pork cubes. Let them cook for about five minutes and stir them around and let them cook about five mintues more. You'll get some browning, and that's all you want.
Now, add all the veggies, and stir. When they soften, add the chicken stock. Put the cover on the pot, lower the heat, and go away for about thirty minutes. Come back, and check for tenderness. If it's tender enough for you, take the lid off, raise the heat, and reduce the liquid by half. If not, cover the pot, and come back and test again in ten minutes. And so on. Test for salt, adjust... and you've got dinner. Probably enough for six people, or four farmers.
Not too hard, huh? Annalena cooked this up with hominy, but rice, tortillas, or even mashed potatoes would be nice too.
And so it begins, ragazzi. Check your spice rack, because you're going to be heading toward it a lot, in days to come, if you cook along with Annalena
During her time away, Annalena was busy cooking. And she has a number of truly interesting, delicious newbies for you all to try. Many of them have more spice , or different spices , than you are used to seeing Annalena use. Here is one of them. As with the dishes that will be coming (with the exception of the desserts), it is a fast, easy one.
Annalena was inspired to make this, by memories of her childhood. Nana was very fond of peppers, so at home, Annalena and her sibs ate them a lot. With veal. In eggs. Stuffed. It did seem that the family ate peppers at least once or twice a week. Indeed, when one looks at the cooking of Basilicata, which is the region from which the Annalena clan comes, peppers, both sweet and hot, play a very important role. The climate, the lay of the land, and so many other things, contribute to this. To this day, Annalena is a fan of peppers . Now, however, she uses the peppers of many different regions, not just the sweet ones, which her Nana called "frying peppers," and which are properly called "cubanelles," and the bell pepers , but also the hot peppers of Mexican and Asian cooking.
Pork and peppers is a very natural combination. There is an inherent sweetness to pork that plays off nicely against the brassiness of green peppers, as well as the sweetness of red ones. Here, we will be using green ones. In Annalena's version, she used wild boar. You can use that, or pork, or if you have it, veal. Lamb would probably be not a good choice here, but if you are so inclined, go for it.
You start witgh 2-2.5 pounds of boneless shoulder meat. If it comes from boar, you are probably going to have a very solid layer of fat on top of it. Cut that away. Do the same thing if you have it on pork. The meat is fatty enough such that you don't need this, else your stew is going to be swimming in the rendered fat. That is something you do NOT want. If your butcher or vendor has cubed it for you, you will not need to do this; however, if you buy the meat in one large piece, and you are going to cube it yourself, chances are, you will have to rid yourself of that.
Ok, so you have the meat, cubed. Make solid cubes. Let us say about 1x1x1. Put them aside, after you've salted and peppered them, as you prepare the vegetables. The first couple are easy: you need a large onion, which you peel, quarter, and slice. You also need six garlic cloves, which you slice rather than dice. Put that in with the onions, because as we will see, everything goes in together in this dish. Also, get yourself 2 cups of chicken stock.
Now, let's go to the peppers. You need a pound of them, and you also need a few (FEW) hot chilis. For the pound of peppers, you want green ones. Poblanos are called for here, or Anaheims. Annalena warns you : poblanos are not without heat, and within poblanos, some are hotter than others. You can devein them, and wash out the seeds, but you will still have heat. Anaheims are much milder. If you have a good tolerance for heat, by all means, use the poblanos. If you do not, use the anaheims or even bell peppers. Clean the peppers, and then cut them into thin slices, and again, put them together with the other vegetables.
Now, the final ingredient: the hot peppers. Ragazzi, whenever you are going to add hot peppers to a dish, you must do something ahead of time. YOU MUST TASTE THE PEPPERS. If, as was the case with Annalena , you are using a pepper with which you are not familiar, you need to be able to gauge the heat that it will impart. Annalena was using a specimen called a "Portuguese" chili, and it was blistering. Use serranos if you like a strong heat, jalapenos if you like a milder one. As with all hot peppers, if you really are worried about heat, get the veins out . You may also want to wear gloves or otherwise protect your hands, especially if you wear contact lenses.
Annalena speaks from experience here. Keep in mind that the heat from peppers comes from oils, and water will not remove it.
Anyway, three hot peppers of some type, is more than enough. Cut it back if you are so inclined, and again, put em with the other vegetables.
Now, let's get to work cooking. If prepping the veggies took you fifteen minutes, dinner will be on the table in an hour. Pour a quarter cup of olive oil into a pot, and get it hot enough to the point where it begins to ripple (Lest anyone start saying ALL THAT FAT: if Annalena told you four tablespoons, you wouldn't blanch. That's a quarter cup). Add the pork cubes. Let them cook for about five minutes and stir them around and let them cook about five mintues more. You'll get some browning, and that's all you want.
Now, add all the veggies, and stir. When they soften, add the chicken stock. Put the cover on the pot, lower the heat, and go away for about thirty minutes. Come back, and check for tenderness. If it's tender enough for you, take the lid off, raise the heat, and reduce the liquid by half. If not, cover the pot, and come back and test again in ten minutes. And so on. Test for salt, adjust... and you've got dinner. Probably enough for six people, or four farmers.
Not too hard, huh? Annalena cooked this up with hominy, but rice, tortillas, or even mashed potatoes would be nice too.
And so it begins, ragazzi. Check your spice rack, because you're going to be heading toward it a lot, in days to come, if you cook along with Annalena
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Classic summer food: vitello tonnato
Ragazzi, we will be looking at a dish today that is an Italian classic. In Italy, it is served only during the warm months, although it need not be. Also, it is almost always a first course, but again, it need not be. And it is a dish that is prepared ahead of time, and served cold, which is why it is perfect for summer but it is also cause for Annalena's first plea today.
How many of you have said, or thought "AH. In these heat, I want something COOL" and then wolfed down some prepared cooked food that was good cold? If you've eaten potato salad this year, or a cold soup like gazpacho, or ceviche, you are in this camp. Well, Annalena beseeches you to keep something in mind: with all of these foods, there is prep that needs to be done. Food has to be cooked (gazpacho is an exception). That means fire, hot water, and warm to hot kitchens. So when you eat that delicious, "simple" cold meal, remember that someone worked in a hot room, in the same weather, preparing it for you, and please thank them for their efforts.
The first time Annalena made vitello tonnato, she made it "by the book," as the book was written at that time. It called for a piece of boneless veal shoulder, cooked in a very flavorful broth, and then allowed to cool, and shredded. It also called for homemade mayonnaise, which Annalena fretted over because she could not get it right. And the dish was delicious. In fact, it was more than delicious.
Veal is never inexpensive, but of the various cuts of veal, shoulder is just about the cheapest. It has flavor if you braise it, but boiling any meat is going to leech most of the flavor out of it. So, it struck Annalena as perfectly logical when her buddy Raffaele told her 'ANNALENA YOU DOPE. USE GOOD QUALITY MEAT AND ROAST IT, DON'T BOIL IT." So, she tried it. And it's better this way. So, sometimes, the book is not always right.
We have been talking of veal here, but to be honest, any of the "white meats" will work here, if you can get sizeable pieces. Pork tenderloin or a pork roast will work. So, too, will turkey breast. The key is the sauce, which we will get to. Annalena made it with veal, and she has taken her stand on veal in these pages before and will not repeat it. She used a boneless veal roast. And let's now get to work.
First, the roast, which you can do ahead of time. Salt your roast overnight, and the day of preparation, put some olive oil in a big pan, and when it's hot, sear the roast all over. This will take you, maybe, six minutes. Then drain the olive oil from the pan, put the roast in, and place it in a 350 degree oven, for about half an hour. That's how long it will take a 3 pound roast to go to a point where it just loses the pink at its center, which is what you want.
While this is happening, make your tonnato sauce. Let's start with the mayonnaise and, to be honest, the mayonnaise does not have to set up for this recipe. This is important, because it will save you lots of time, as you do not need to add your oil in the traditional eye dropper style. Annalena used a food processor. You add two egg yolks to the processor, with the juice of half of a lemon. Turn on the processor and start dribbling in a cup and a third of oil (she uses a mix of vegetable and olive), at the rate of about half a teaspoon each time. Watch and see the oil incorporated, and then add more. Yes, this will take a bit of time, but it is necessary to set up the emulsion. When you are done, add a seven ounce can of tuna, packed in oil, but drained. (we come back to this below). Also add three tablespoons of salted capers, which you have soaked in water for about twenty minutes. This is a lot of capers, but they are key to the dish, as are the 5-6 anchovies packed in oil, that you will also add to the processor, and blend to a thick sauce. Taste it. We've refrained from salt because of the anchovies, and the capers, but if you feel it needs more salt, please add it. Please also add the juice from the remaining half of a lemon.
Now, about that tuna. Italian tuna - from Italy - is the best (progresso is NOT from Italy, ragazzi). But if you buy Italian tuna, please ask to make sure you are not buying bluefin. Unfortunately, this is widely available in Italy, and is still considered the gold standard for canned tuna. We are killing off the bluefin. Do your part and use something else.
By now, your veal, or pork, or turkey, will be cool enough to slice thinly. You don't have to use a microplane for this, but slices about 1/3 of an inche thick are good. Get a 9x13 inch dish, be it glass or ceramic ready, and smear a bit of the tuna mayonnaise on the bottom. Now cover that with s lices of veal, and then more tuna mayonnaise. Follow that with more meat, and more sauce. You will probably only have two layers worth, and that is fine. Cover the thing, and refrigerate it for at least overnight to let the sauce infiltrate the meat. The wait is worth it.
A couple of slices of this are plenty, as the meat is rich, and the sauce is very unctious. Even cold, you know you are eating something rather filling, and rather classic. This is a dish that "tastes" of italy, all around.
Give it a try, ragazzi. Give it a try with different proteins. And let Annalena know what you like best. She is still partial to veal, but the pork and turkey versions, are good too.
How many of you have said, or thought "AH. In these heat, I want something COOL" and then wolfed down some prepared cooked food that was good cold? If you've eaten potato salad this year, or a cold soup like gazpacho, or ceviche, you are in this camp. Well, Annalena beseeches you to keep something in mind: with all of these foods, there is prep that needs to be done. Food has to be cooked (gazpacho is an exception). That means fire, hot water, and warm to hot kitchens. So when you eat that delicious, "simple" cold meal, remember that someone worked in a hot room, in the same weather, preparing it for you, and please thank them for their efforts.
The first time Annalena made vitello tonnato, she made it "by the book," as the book was written at that time. It called for a piece of boneless veal shoulder, cooked in a very flavorful broth, and then allowed to cool, and shredded. It also called for homemade mayonnaise, which Annalena fretted over because she could not get it right. And the dish was delicious. In fact, it was more than delicious.
Veal is never inexpensive, but of the various cuts of veal, shoulder is just about the cheapest. It has flavor if you braise it, but boiling any meat is going to leech most of the flavor out of it. So, it struck Annalena as perfectly logical when her buddy Raffaele told her 'ANNALENA YOU DOPE. USE GOOD QUALITY MEAT AND ROAST IT, DON'T BOIL IT." So, she tried it. And it's better this way. So, sometimes, the book is not always right.
We have been talking of veal here, but to be honest, any of the "white meats" will work here, if you can get sizeable pieces. Pork tenderloin or a pork roast will work. So, too, will turkey breast. The key is the sauce, which we will get to. Annalena made it with veal, and she has taken her stand on veal in these pages before and will not repeat it. She used a boneless veal roast. And let's now get to work.
First, the roast, which you can do ahead of time. Salt your roast overnight, and the day of preparation, put some olive oil in a big pan, and when it's hot, sear the roast all over. This will take you, maybe, six minutes. Then drain the olive oil from the pan, put the roast in, and place it in a 350 degree oven, for about half an hour. That's how long it will take a 3 pound roast to go to a point where it just loses the pink at its center, which is what you want.
While this is happening, make your tonnato sauce. Let's start with the mayonnaise and, to be honest, the mayonnaise does not have to set up for this recipe. This is important, because it will save you lots of time, as you do not need to add your oil in the traditional eye dropper style. Annalena used a food processor. You add two egg yolks to the processor, with the juice of half of a lemon. Turn on the processor and start dribbling in a cup and a third of oil (she uses a mix of vegetable and olive), at the rate of about half a teaspoon each time. Watch and see the oil incorporated, and then add more. Yes, this will take a bit of time, but it is necessary to set up the emulsion. When you are done, add a seven ounce can of tuna, packed in oil, but drained. (we come back to this below). Also add three tablespoons of salted capers, which you have soaked in water for about twenty minutes. This is a lot of capers, but they are key to the dish, as are the 5-6 anchovies packed in oil, that you will also add to the processor, and blend to a thick sauce. Taste it. We've refrained from salt because of the anchovies, and the capers, but if you feel it needs more salt, please add it. Please also add the juice from the remaining half of a lemon.
Now, about that tuna. Italian tuna - from Italy - is the best (progresso is NOT from Italy, ragazzi). But if you buy Italian tuna, please ask to make sure you are not buying bluefin. Unfortunately, this is widely available in Italy, and is still considered the gold standard for canned tuna. We are killing off the bluefin. Do your part and use something else.
By now, your veal, or pork, or turkey, will be cool enough to slice thinly. You don't have to use a microplane for this, but slices about 1/3 of an inche thick are good. Get a 9x13 inch dish, be it glass or ceramic ready, and smear a bit of the tuna mayonnaise on the bottom. Now cover that with s lices of veal, and then more tuna mayonnaise. Follow that with more meat, and more sauce. You will probably only have two layers worth, and that is fine. Cover the thing, and refrigerate it for at least overnight to let the sauce infiltrate the meat. The wait is worth it.
A couple of slices of this are plenty, as the meat is rich, and the sauce is very unctious. Even cold, you know you are eating something rather filling, and rather classic. This is a dish that "tastes" of italy, all around.
Give it a try, ragazzi. Give it a try with different proteins. And let Annalena know what you like best. She is still partial to veal, but the pork and turkey versions, are good too.
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