I admit it. When I planned to post the following recipe, I wondered if I had ever written about lamb shanks before. In fact I have. More than once. And back at the end of January, 09, I posted a recipe that is somewhat similar to this one. But this one is simpler, and I think better. And then tomorrow... you're gonna get YET ANOTHER lamb shank recipe.
Who can figure? I guess they've become my favorite cut of lamb, at least during the cold weather. I made this one for a weekday dinner. You have to do some planning, because you can't come in the door and have dinner on the table in an hour, but the "work" involved is absolutely minimal, as you will see. And it's really, really good.
First, you need the shanks. Get 4 that weigh about a pound each. Karen, my lamb lady, says that you should always ask for the fore shank. That's the one that's got the rounded end to it. Even sized pieces mean even cooking. If you can, salt them, and sprinkle some pepper on them the night before, and leave them exposed in the fridge. If not, pat them as dry as you can and then season them. Put them aside while you gather your other ingrdients.
Which are.... about half a cup of olive oil ( a scant half cup: 3 ounces in closer), a big onion, or two smaller onions (following up on a comment that a chef left on this site yesterday, my "big" may not be your "big." Don't sweat it). So, too, with the large carrot that you need, which you peel and slice up. You also need a cup of prunes. Now, when you buy dried fruit like prunes, you should take as much care as you do with any other food. Go to a good store, with good volume and get juicy, soft, luscious prunes. You can do it. Then, get a head of garlic - a nice big one, and slice it, horizontally, through the middle.
My original recipe called for 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom. I laughed at that. If you don't look closely, you'll never see the seeds. I tripled this. Don't use ground stuff: I'm talking whole seeds here.
Finally, you'll need three cups of liquid. My original recipe called for 2 cups of beef stock and one of chicken. Honestly, ragazzi, that will work, but I just find that chicken stock thins the flavor of lamb. If you stick to stock, use all beef. Annalena used half beef stock, and half hearty red wine: syrah.
Now, preheat your oven to 350, and get about half of the oil in a big, wide pot. When it's hot, add the lamb shanks, and cook them, at medium to high heat, until they brown. Take your time here. Don't even look for 3 minutes as you move them around. When you've got them browned all over, take them out and put them aside. Put a bit more oil in, and then the vegetables. Lower your heat, and saute' these, until they're nice and brown. Again, take your time: plan on between 5-10 minutes. When you've got nice color, add the rest of the ingredients, and bring it to the boil. At that point, add the shanks, cover the pot, and move it to the oven. Plan to cook this stuff for at least an hour and a half, closer to 2 hours. I like to check after an hour, and turn the lamb, so that it all cooks evenly.
You will wind up with shanks that WILL fall off the bone if you push, but these are not "killer soft," like the recipe we'll look at tomorrow is. You can take the shanks and the other solids out of the sauce and then reduce it, if you like. Pour the sauce, however you work it, over the lamb.
A nice bit of couscous or polenta underneath the lamb is the thing here.
Nice and savory, hot, and a perfect winter meal. Not very hard to do either. GO with it.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The old dog learns MORE new tricks: cinnamon roasted potatoes
You know, there are times when you think you know EVERYTHING, or at least enough so that you can say "that's it! I can stop here." The matter in question can be big, or small. In the case of roasting potatoes, I guess it's small , in terms of something like, oh, world politics, but when you step back from that kind of myopic view, it's a little bigger.
Roasted potatoes. Now, who doesn't love them? If you're eating carbs, you love them, admit it. And I HAD been looking for the ideal recipe for them, for years. See, with only two of us around, frying potatoes does not really come across as a viable practice, especially since we're both watching our weight (having said that, Annalena fesses up to having bought herself a frying machine on sale), french fries are "off the menu," at least at home. Instead, we have "oven fries." They're good. I slice up the potatoes sort of in the form of thick cut fries, parboil 'em, drain em, salt and oil them, and bake them at a very high temperature. They come out sort of like fries, and truth to be told, I actually like the taste better.
They do have their problems. Sometimes, they don't cook all the way through. They stick to the baking sheet at times. And if you put too many of them on the baking sheet, you wind up with steamed potatoes rather than "fried" potatoes. So, when the redoubtable Melissa Clark posted a recipe for roasted potatoes, it caught my eye.
Ms. Clark writes for the Times. Unlike Mr. Bittman, about whom I have written before, I LOVE Ms. Clark's style, and her recipes. Even if the item in question is not one of my favorite things (like salmon...), I find the recipes clear, simple, and designed to deliver FLAVOR. She also writes a description of how she got to the recipe, and I always find that entertaining.
The recipe she posted called for roasting the potatoes with cinnamon. Now THAT interested me even more, because one of Annalena's goals for 2011 is to actually USE more of her extensive spice collection, and to use the spices in more interesting ways. Potatoes with cinnamon: it sounds a little Indian, but not really. Hmmmm.
Let me tell you write up front: I think the cinnamon did not work. I asked the Guy man if he could taste the cinnamon, and he couldn't, and neither could I. I'm going to try the recipe with sweet potatoes, and let's see if there's a difference. In the interim, perhaps your palette is more developed than mine, and you'll taste it. Maybe more cinnamon is necessary. But putting all of that aside, the potatoes were wonderful.
You need some time to do these, but you need very little effort. Give them a try. I'm including the cinnamon in the recipe, but I don't think you need it.
One other thing. This recipe, as written, says that it serves four.
RIGHT. The two of us put all of these potatoes away, and I could have eaten the whole pan of them myself. 1.5 pounds of potatoes for four people. Maybe if you're feeding Hobbits.
Ok, let's forget about the hobbits and cook. You start with a pound and a half of potatoes. Something all purpose and good, like a Yukon gold, or carolas, or something like that. Use any baking or roasting potato, but don't use a boiler (ASK). You don't have to peel them, but wash them (bet you didn't know that potato skins have just about the highest concentration of natural toxins than anything else. At least get that off of them). Cut the taters into nice, big chunks. You will also need six cloves of garlic, but don't peel them. Also, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a stick of cinnamon that you break into pieces, a teaspoon of salt, and a bit of pepper.
Preheat your oven to 325. Put everything into a pan that holds it in essentially one layer. (Ms. Clark calls for cast iron. I don't have cast iron, and we were fine). 325 is a VERY low temperature, and you will never brown the potatoes at that temperature. Rather, you'll cook them for about 75 minutes, stirring every 25 minutes or so. You will be softening them beautifully. At the end of that time "kick it up a notch" and roast the potatoes at 450 for about 15 minutes. Check them after ten minutes and if they're not brown enough for you, just keep on cooking, stirring them every now and then.
Protect your hand and take the pan out of the oven. Let them cool for a few minutes and then dish them onto.... TWO plates. Or just one. (Can you imagine how good these would be with some cheese sauce poured over them?).
I tried this recipe with white sweet potatoes. The inherent "spiciness" we taste in sweet potatoes worked well. Your humble correspondent could not taste the cinnamon; however, the Guy Man said that the dish would be very different without it. Fair enough. Go forth. Make it. The sweet potatoes were FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABULOUS with pork tenderloin
Roasted potatoes. Now, who doesn't love them? If you're eating carbs, you love them, admit it. And I HAD been looking for the ideal recipe for them, for years. See, with only two of us around, frying potatoes does not really come across as a viable practice, especially since we're both watching our weight (having said that, Annalena fesses up to having bought herself a frying machine on sale), french fries are "off the menu," at least at home. Instead, we have "oven fries." They're good. I slice up the potatoes sort of in the form of thick cut fries, parboil 'em, drain em, salt and oil them, and bake them at a very high temperature. They come out sort of like fries, and truth to be told, I actually like the taste better.
They do have their problems. Sometimes, they don't cook all the way through. They stick to the baking sheet at times. And if you put too many of them on the baking sheet, you wind up with steamed potatoes rather than "fried" potatoes. So, when the redoubtable Melissa Clark posted a recipe for roasted potatoes, it caught my eye.
Ms. Clark writes for the Times. Unlike Mr. Bittman, about whom I have written before, I LOVE Ms. Clark's style, and her recipes. Even if the item in question is not one of my favorite things (like salmon...), I find the recipes clear, simple, and designed to deliver FLAVOR. She also writes a description of how she got to the recipe, and I always find that entertaining.
The recipe she posted called for roasting the potatoes with cinnamon. Now THAT interested me even more, because one of Annalena's goals for 2011 is to actually USE more of her extensive spice collection, and to use the spices in more interesting ways. Potatoes with cinnamon: it sounds a little Indian, but not really. Hmmmm.
Let me tell you write up front: I think the cinnamon did not work. I asked the Guy man if he could taste the cinnamon, and he couldn't, and neither could I. I'm going to try the recipe with sweet potatoes, and let's see if there's a difference. In the interim, perhaps your palette is more developed than mine, and you'll taste it. Maybe more cinnamon is necessary. But putting all of that aside, the potatoes were wonderful.
You need some time to do these, but you need very little effort. Give them a try. I'm including the cinnamon in the recipe, but I don't think you need it.
One other thing. This recipe, as written, says that it serves four.
RIGHT. The two of us put all of these potatoes away, and I could have eaten the whole pan of them myself. 1.5 pounds of potatoes for four people. Maybe if you're feeding Hobbits.
Ok, let's forget about the hobbits and cook. You start with a pound and a half of potatoes. Something all purpose and good, like a Yukon gold, or carolas, or something like that. Use any baking or roasting potato, but don't use a boiler (ASK). You don't have to peel them, but wash them (bet you didn't know that potato skins have just about the highest concentration of natural toxins than anything else. At least get that off of them). Cut the taters into nice, big chunks. You will also need six cloves of garlic, but don't peel them. Also, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a stick of cinnamon that you break into pieces, a teaspoon of salt, and a bit of pepper.
Preheat your oven to 325. Put everything into a pan that holds it in essentially one layer. (Ms. Clark calls for cast iron. I don't have cast iron, and we were fine). 325 is a VERY low temperature, and you will never brown the potatoes at that temperature. Rather, you'll cook them for about 75 minutes, stirring every 25 minutes or so. You will be softening them beautifully. At the end of that time "kick it up a notch" and roast the potatoes at 450 for about 15 minutes. Check them after ten minutes and if they're not brown enough for you, just keep on cooking, stirring them every now and then.
Protect your hand and take the pan out of the oven. Let them cool for a few minutes and then dish them onto.... TWO plates. Or just one. (Can you imagine how good these would be with some cheese sauce poured over them?).
I tried this recipe with white sweet potatoes. The inherent "spiciness" we taste in sweet potatoes worked well. Your humble correspondent could not taste the cinnamon; however, the Guy Man said that the dish would be very different without it. Fair enough. Go forth. Make it. The sweet potatoes were FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABULOUS with pork tenderloin
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
An old dog CAN learn new tricks: slow cooked, high temperature monkfish
I guess there are a fair number of adages that you could use here: nothing new under the sun; you can teach an old dog new tricks; don't be stupid, etc, etc, etc. Whatever you want to use, go right ahead. Recently, Annalena learned something new about cooking fish, and given the ultimate purity and goodness of her heart (that IS really true), she decided to share it with you.
Many people don't cook fish, because they're afraid of it. That's not without reason. In a culture that values meat as much as ours does, the fact that fish cooks differently than meat - very differently - is a factor to be reckoned with. As is its cost. No one wants to buy, for example, tuna, at 18 dollars a pound, and ruin it. (meat usually doesn't cost that much, and the cuts that do are somewhat more resilient to bad cooking than others. Beyond that, most people who buy cuts that dear, do know how to cook them. Not all though. Annalena has suffered through her share of bad beef tenderloin).
Ok, mini rant over. If you like fish, LEARN to cook it. People cook it all the time. Learn to cook the varieties you like, because it ain't no sin to not like them all. Look through the 500 plus entries in this blog: you will not find a single salmon recipe. There's a reason for that. Or mackerel, or blue fish, and several others. Nope, not up my alley.
Anyway, here's the deal. Just about every recipe for fish goes for either the long, slow cooking route (I do have a recipe for salmon that bakes it, at 275 for an hour), or the fast and very hot (I have a recipe for tuna steaks where you heat a grill for ten minutes, and cook the steaks for a minute on a side). NEVER do you see long cooking, at high temperatures.
Now, of course, "long" and "high" are relative terms, like so many other terms are. The recipe I am going to give you uses a temperature of 450, which is pretty high, and cooks the fish for half an hour, which in my book, is pretty long for cooking a fish fillet. But it works. In fact, it works better than just about every recipe I have for monkfish.
When you confront monkfish, one of the first things you encounter is its texture. This stuff is dense, more like a steak than a white fish. What you're getting is the tail of a big old ugly fish (google monkfish. Look at the face. I think that even mothers would have trouble with that one). The head is inedible, but the tail is meaty and good. But that texture means that it is very easy to cook the fish wrong, and get something rather rubbery, sort of the way squid comes out if you cook it any way other than... fast and high, or slow and long (ask me for my recipe for squid stuffed with shrimp if you like. Long and slow). Cooking the monkfish this way turned it very flaky and downright terrific.
Ok, let's stop chatting and start cooking. Get some monkfish fillets, and it really doesn't matter how much you get. I've done this with a solid, 1.5 pound piece, and four 8 ounce fillets. You will need a non stick pan that can hold all of your fish in one layer. Also - and don't worry - you won't use much - a cup or so of flour that you mix in a plastic bag with two teaspoons of salt, and something to flavor the fish. I learned this with fresh herbs, but then tried it with curry. The curry works better. So, use some curry. Use a LOT of curry (we don't use enough of it in our cooking). Put a heaping tablespoon of your favorite kind into that seasoned flour, and shake it to mix. Then add the monkfish and shake it around to coat it. You can dispense with the extra flour by putting everything into a strainer and shaking to get the excess flour out. If you're the obsessive type, measure what's left. Nearly a cup.
While you're doing this, preheat your oven, to 450, and get a non stick pan with three tablespoons of olive oil in it, wicked hot. WICKED hot. It would probably be a good idea to start heating the oil about five minutes before you start prepping the fish. When the oil is hot, put it gently into the pan, and sear for about a minute. Turn the fish over (use tongs), as if you were cooking meat, until you've seared all sides of it. When you have done that, add six cloves of unpeeled garlic to the pan. OFF the heat, add a cup of white wine (my choice), or chicken or fish stock (if you are being noble). Then put the whole pan into the oven. Set a timer for fifteen minutes, and then turn the fish over for another fifteen minutes, if your pieces are very big, or another ten, if they are on the small side.
Protect your hand, and take the pan out of the oven. The fish will be seared wonderfully, and the liquid will have reduced to a sauce that has been enriched by some of the fish juices. Portion it out, and pour the sauce over each piece. You don't have to share the garlic if you don't want to, but it's a nice touch, especially if you put bread out with the fish, since folks can squeeze garlic onto it and eat it as if they were eating chicken with forty cloves of garlic.
You can do this. Go back through the recipe. Perhaps the hardest thing on the list was putting the fish in the bag.
Long and high. There's probably some kind of sexual innuendo there, but remember Annalena's pure heart. She wouldn't know.
Many people don't cook fish, because they're afraid of it. That's not without reason. In a culture that values meat as much as ours does, the fact that fish cooks differently than meat - very differently - is a factor to be reckoned with. As is its cost. No one wants to buy, for example, tuna, at 18 dollars a pound, and ruin it. (meat usually doesn't cost that much, and the cuts that do are somewhat more resilient to bad cooking than others. Beyond that, most people who buy cuts that dear, do know how to cook them. Not all though. Annalena has suffered through her share of bad beef tenderloin).
Ok, mini rant over. If you like fish, LEARN to cook it. People cook it all the time. Learn to cook the varieties you like, because it ain't no sin to not like them all. Look through the 500 plus entries in this blog: you will not find a single salmon recipe. There's a reason for that. Or mackerel, or blue fish, and several others. Nope, not up my alley.
Anyway, here's the deal. Just about every recipe for fish goes for either the long, slow cooking route (I do have a recipe for salmon that bakes it, at 275 for an hour), or the fast and very hot (I have a recipe for tuna steaks where you heat a grill for ten minutes, and cook the steaks for a minute on a side). NEVER do you see long cooking, at high temperatures.
Now, of course, "long" and "high" are relative terms, like so many other terms are. The recipe I am going to give you uses a temperature of 450, which is pretty high, and cooks the fish for half an hour, which in my book, is pretty long for cooking a fish fillet. But it works. In fact, it works better than just about every recipe I have for monkfish.
When you confront monkfish, one of the first things you encounter is its texture. This stuff is dense, more like a steak than a white fish. What you're getting is the tail of a big old ugly fish (google monkfish. Look at the face. I think that even mothers would have trouble with that one). The head is inedible, but the tail is meaty and good. But that texture means that it is very easy to cook the fish wrong, and get something rather rubbery, sort of the way squid comes out if you cook it any way other than... fast and high, or slow and long (ask me for my recipe for squid stuffed with shrimp if you like. Long and slow). Cooking the monkfish this way turned it very flaky and downright terrific.
Ok, let's stop chatting and start cooking. Get some monkfish fillets, and it really doesn't matter how much you get. I've done this with a solid, 1.5 pound piece, and four 8 ounce fillets. You will need a non stick pan that can hold all of your fish in one layer. Also - and don't worry - you won't use much - a cup or so of flour that you mix in a plastic bag with two teaspoons of salt, and something to flavor the fish. I learned this with fresh herbs, but then tried it with curry. The curry works better. So, use some curry. Use a LOT of curry (we don't use enough of it in our cooking). Put a heaping tablespoon of your favorite kind into that seasoned flour, and shake it to mix. Then add the monkfish and shake it around to coat it. You can dispense with the extra flour by putting everything into a strainer and shaking to get the excess flour out. If you're the obsessive type, measure what's left. Nearly a cup.
While you're doing this, preheat your oven, to 450, and get a non stick pan with three tablespoons of olive oil in it, wicked hot. WICKED hot. It would probably be a good idea to start heating the oil about five minutes before you start prepping the fish. When the oil is hot, put it gently into the pan, and sear for about a minute. Turn the fish over (use tongs), as if you were cooking meat, until you've seared all sides of it. When you have done that, add six cloves of unpeeled garlic to the pan. OFF the heat, add a cup of white wine (my choice), or chicken or fish stock (if you are being noble). Then put the whole pan into the oven. Set a timer for fifteen minutes, and then turn the fish over for another fifteen minutes, if your pieces are very big, or another ten, if they are on the small side.
Protect your hand, and take the pan out of the oven. The fish will be seared wonderfully, and the liquid will have reduced to a sauce that has been enriched by some of the fish juices. Portion it out, and pour the sauce over each piece. You don't have to share the garlic if you don't want to, but it's a nice touch, especially if you put bread out with the fish, since folks can squeeze garlic onto it and eat it as if they were eating chicken with forty cloves of garlic.
You can do this. Go back through the recipe. Perhaps the hardest thing on the list was putting the fish in the bag.
Long and high. There's probably some kind of sexual innuendo there, but remember Annalena's pure heart. She wouldn't know.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Borrowing from Anita: duck and papaya salad
Anita Lo is the best cook in New York City, PERIOD. There, I've said it. There will be people who will argue with me, chefs who will not speak to me anymore, but I have spoken my piece. I will say so again: ANITA LO IS THE BEST COOK IN NEW YORK CITY.
Every time I eat at her restaurant (Anissa), I am FLOORED. The dishes that come out do more than amaze. The dazzle. They make Annalena, who can figure out most dishes, sit back and think "how the hell..." And she thinks it over and over again.
One time, I in fact told this to Anita. She laughed and said "oh, come by some Saturday afternoon, and I'll teach you everything I know."
I don't think so.
Anyway, while I cannot reproduce her recipes, I can riff on them. And this is one such riff.
The last time we ate at Anissa, we were served a transcendant "salad" of green papaya, duck confit, and spices. It was a tastings menu, so there wasn't a lot of it. I wanted to crawl back to the kitchen, hunt for the bowl of it, and eat more. And more. And more.
Know what? There wasn't to be. It was not on the menu. They made it for us.
I hate it when that happens. Not really, but I do. You know what I mean.
That was over a month ago and, as I've said before, when a dish stays with you for a month, it is a keeper. I will ask for it again. In the meanwhile, for those of us who don't have Anita's talent, here is my riff on it.
First, you need to make duck rilettes. I believe I have explained this before, but in case: it is very easy. You need to buy duck confit. (you could, of course MAKE it. More power to you). For a large batch, use six legs. Discard the skin (your hands will become very greasy), and just tear the meat off the legs. Don't worry about size, precision, etc, just get as much of it as you can. When you have it all, put it in a food processor and pulse a few times. Or, cut it roughly to a chop. You want the pieces to be less than bite size. Now, put them in a pan, with some olive oil, a few branches of chopped thyme, and some salt. LOW heat, please, just until things are warmed through. Taste for seasoning. It should be rather agressive. Then, off the heat, add more oil, because the meat is going to absorb it.
If you happen to be able to find a green papaya, fabulous. If not, use one of those monstrous ones. Not the small ones that you can buy at any grocery. No, go to a Latino or Asian grocery, and get the BIG one. I think they sort of look like crocodiles basking: big, oval green things that may be a bit scary. For the six confit legs, you'll need one of them. Peel it. This may take some doing. Then, cut it down the middle, length wise, to get the pretty seeds out. You won't be using these things ,but you can eat them or at least suck the purple pulp off of them. Now, cut the papaya into thick matchstick pieces. Don't worry about evenness. This is rustic cooking.
Put the papaya in a bowl, and add a small teaspoon of salt. Stir it together, and then add a few tablespoons of rice vinegar, and about half as much sesame oil (NOT the refined stuff. Use the dark brown one). Toss this together, then add the duck confit, and put this all in the fridge, covered, for a few hours, or overnight.
The next day, you will have a transcendent salad. Put it on soft lettuce leaves if you like, or put it in martini glasses, but however you serve it, show it some respect. This is not an inexpensive dish, nor is it a mild, retiring one. If you know Anita, you will understand that that is not surprising.
It is no wonder she and Annalena get along
Every time I eat at her restaurant (Anissa), I am FLOORED. The dishes that come out do more than amaze. The dazzle. They make Annalena, who can figure out most dishes, sit back and think "how the hell..." And she thinks it over and over again.
One time, I in fact told this to Anita. She laughed and said "oh, come by some Saturday afternoon, and I'll teach you everything I know."
I don't think so.
Anyway, while I cannot reproduce her recipes, I can riff on them. And this is one such riff.
The last time we ate at Anissa, we were served a transcendant "salad" of green papaya, duck confit, and spices. It was a tastings menu, so there wasn't a lot of it. I wanted to crawl back to the kitchen, hunt for the bowl of it, and eat more. And more. And more.
Know what? There wasn't to be. It was not on the menu. They made it for us.
I hate it when that happens. Not really, but I do. You know what I mean.
That was over a month ago and, as I've said before, when a dish stays with you for a month, it is a keeper. I will ask for it again. In the meanwhile, for those of us who don't have Anita's talent, here is my riff on it.
First, you need to make duck rilettes. I believe I have explained this before, but in case: it is very easy. You need to buy duck confit. (you could, of course MAKE it. More power to you). For a large batch, use six legs. Discard the skin (your hands will become very greasy), and just tear the meat off the legs. Don't worry about size, precision, etc, just get as much of it as you can. When you have it all, put it in a food processor and pulse a few times. Or, cut it roughly to a chop. You want the pieces to be less than bite size. Now, put them in a pan, with some olive oil, a few branches of chopped thyme, and some salt. LOW heat, please, just until things are warmed through. Taste for seasoning. It should be rather agressive. Then, off the heat, add more oil, because the meat is going to absorb it.
If you happen to be able to find a green papaya, fabulous. If not, use one of those monstrous ones. Not the small ones that you can buy at any grocery. No, go to a Latino or Asian grocery, and get the BIG one. I think they sort of look like crocodiles basking: big, oval green things that may be a bit scary. For the six confit legs, you'll need one of them. Peel it. This may take some doing. Then, cut it down the middle, length wise, to get the pretty seeds out. You won't be using these things ,but you can eat them or at least suck the purple pulp off of them. Now, cut the papaya into thick matchstick pieces. Don't worry about evenness. This is rustic cooking.
Put the papaya in a bowl, and add a small teaspoon of salt. Stir it together, and then add a few tablespoons of rice vinegar, and about half as much sesame oil (NOT the refined stuff. Use the dark brown one). Toss this together, then add the duck confit, and put this all in the fridge, covered, for a few hours, or overnight.
The next day, you will have a transcendent salad. Put it on soft lettuce leaves if you like, or put it in martini glasses, but however you serve it, show it some respect. This is not an inexpensive dish, nor is it a mild, retiring one. If you know Anita, you will understand that that is not surprising.
It is no wonder she and Annalena get along
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Back again in 2011: Banana Pudding
Did you miss me, ragazzi? Well, I DID miss you. Annalena has had much happen in her life over the last month, including surgery, the loss of a loved one, changes, changes and more changes, and try as she might to get to the computer to give you more, and to discharge her duty of energizing cooks everywhere, she failed.
Mi dispiace, as we said in the old country (Long Island City). Annalena does not make New Year's resolutions, rather, she resolves to make changes in her life. And here we go. I will TRY to write every day. I may not succeed. I sometimes think "oh, I've written on this topic, no one will want to know." Well, if you tell me what you want to know, that will solve the problem (it is a VERY quiet readership out there, you know). I do have a set of recipes to share with you from December, and I will get them down here. But I ask for your help as we go forward. I remember like yesterday, entry number 300. We are just about 60 away from 600. Let's make it.
Rather than start with a "temple days" recipe for the New Year, we're going to start with something rich, creamy and comfortable. Annalena has a feeling that she is not the only one who is glad that 2010 is over, and that the consensus around is that, while all would like to be rigorous and stern and healthy, all need just a little more coddling. This will coddle you quite nicely. But you need some patience. You do.
When I first learned how to make this, it was at the hands of my dear departed teacher, Richard Sax. His version is a rather streamlined one of a recipe which, as I have learned, has adherents to various forms and formats. We did not have this when I was a child: if we ate pudding, Nana made it out of a box, put canned fruit in it, and that was it. Bananas we ate as bananas, or on Corn flakes. That was it.
Richard explained all the various versions he had encountered when he was researching the recipe, and eventually decided on the simplest of simple recipes. I liked a more "complex" one, and Richard was , as always, very sweet. "Then make it that way in your kitchen. Not in mine though."
For 20 plus years, I did not make it. Then, last year (oops. Two years ago), at our New Year's bash, I tried this out. It was the ONLY dish people talked about, so I made it again this year. Now, it shall go on hiatus, as I bring back tiramisu, or cream puffs, or something else of a creamy, custardy nature. It should not disappear from the foundations of your dessert repertoire. It is rather easy to make, makes plenty (unless you are extremely hungry), and is rather inexpensive. Unless.. as you will see.
I am doubling the recipe that Richard taught me, because you really want to double this. You will start with 5 cups of dairy: it can all be milk, and it CAN be 2% milk, but I would not go below that. I like to use 4 cups of whole milk and one cup of heavy cream, mostly because it's convenient. But vary the types of dairy you use, if you like. Just don't go too low on the fat content. It's pudding, remember. You also need about 3/4 cup of sugar. white sugar is traditional, but you could use brown. Keep in mind that brown sugar is no more healthy for you than white. Use it if you like the taste better, but don't kid yourself. This is not a "smart choice" dessert. You also need 2 large eggs, and 2 additional egg youlks. As well, half a cup of cornstarch (if you are going to be making pudding, buy a large jar of cornstarch). Finally, a couple of tablespoons of unsalted butter, a tablespoon of vanilla extract, and six ripe bananas. Six VERY ripe bananas.
Now, we are all used to the big yellow ones. These are Cavendish bananas, and they work fine in this recipe. If, however, you are fortunate enough to live near a store that has tropical produce, look for ripe finger bananas, or ripe red bananas, that turn black when they are red, or any of the other sweet bananas. Do not use plantains, regardless of how ripe they are. They are too starchy for this dish.
The big point where Richard and I had our disagreements, was on the cookies. He felt the cookies that I am about to write about took away from the dish. I don't agree. Wince, and buy a box of nilla vanilla wafers. Do not use your own homemade cookies. They do not have the stabilizers in them, that you need for the dish.
Now that you've collected everything, let's cook. It will not be difficult. In a bowl, mix one cup of dairy, the sugar, the eggs and yolks and the cornstarch. Whisk this to as smooth as you can, but don't be ridiculous about it.
In a big pot, bring the milk just to a boil. Keep an eye on it, and whisk. Milk boils over very easily. When it's just there (bubbles around the edges), take it off the heat, and combine the milk and what's in the bowl. Put one or the other in the other, it don't much matter, but get it back on the heat, lower the heat, and stir. Keep an eye on it. At some point, the mixture will begin to get glossy and thick. You may even begin to get "plops" as it boils up. You're there. Get it off the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla.
Now, assembly. I like to use a 9x13 inch pan, but a big glass bowl shall work beautifully as well. Pour some of the pudding in, and then slice half of the bananas in. You can lay them out in rows, like I do, or just plop them into the pudding. Then, put some more pudding in, and cover the pudding with the wafers. Repeat this until you use up the bananas and pudding. You probably will not use up the cookies. Then, cover the receptacle with plastic, and refrigerate it. Two hours is the absolute minimum. Overnight is even better.
The cookies will swell up, but not fall apart. They keep their round shape. The banana oils will get into the pudding and flavor it, and since the pudding is still hot, the bananas will 'cook ' a bit and get softer.
My understanding is that many people who grew up other than on the coasts, grew up with this dish and love it. I have heard of chocolate chips, nuts, sprinkles, marshmallows, candied cherries, etc, going into it. As Richard told me "in your kitchen, do what you want." I may, at some point, put some blueberries into mine, but not for now.
This is for all my friends who praised the pudding this year. Say a sweet farewell to it, ragazzi, it will be on hiatus next year.
Mi dispiace, as we said in the old country (Long Island City). Annalena does not make New Year's resolutions, rather, she resolves to make changes in her life. And here we go. I will TRY to write every day. I may not succeed. I sometimes think "oh, I've written on this topic, no one will want to know." Well, if you tell me what you want to know, that will solve the problem (it is a VERY quiet readership out there, you know). I do have a set of recipes to share with you from December, and I will get them down here. But I ask for your help as we go forward. I remember like yesterday, entry number 300. We are just about 60 away from 600. Let's make it.
Rather than start with a "temple days" recipe for the New Year, we're going to start with something rich, creamy and comfortable. Annalena has a feeling that she is not the only one who is glad that 2010 is over, and that the consensus around is that, while all would like to be rigorous and stern and healthy, all need just a little more coddling. This will coddle you quite nicely. But you need some patience. You do.
When I first learned how to make this, it was at the hands of my dear departed teacher, Richard Sax. His version is a rather streamlined one of a recipe which, as I have learned, has adherents to various forms and formats. We did not have this when I was a child: if we ate pudding, Nana made it out of a box, put canned fruit in it, and that was it. Bananas we ate as bananas, or on Corn flakes. That was it.
Richard explained all the various versions he had encountered when he was researching the recipe, and eventually decided on the simplest of simple recipes. I liked a more "complex" one, and Richard was , as always, very sweet. "Then make it that way in your kitchen. Not in mine though."
For 20 plus years, I did not make it. Then, last year (oops. Two years ago), at our New Year's bash, I tried this out. It was the ONLY dish people talked about, so I made it again this year. Now, it shall go on hiatus, as I bring back tiramisu, or cream puffs, or something else of a creamy, custardy nature. It should not disappear from the foundations of your dessert repertoire. It is rather easy to make, makes plenty (unless you are extremely hungry), and is rather inexpensive. Unless.. as you will see.
I am doubling the recipe that Richard taught me, because you really want to double this. You will start with 5 cups of dairy: it can all be milk, and it CAN be 2% milk, but I would not go below that. I like to use 4 cups of whole milk and one cup of heavy cream, mostly because it's convenient. But vary the types of dairy you use, if you like. Just don't go too low on the fat content. It's pudding, remember. You also need about 3/4 cup of sugar. white sugar is traditional, but you could use brown. Keep in mind that brown sugar is no more healthy for you than white. Use it if you like the taste better, but don't kid yourself. This is not a "smart choice" dessert. You also need 2 large eggs, and 2 additional egg youlks. As well, half a cup of cornstarch (if you are going to be making pudding, buy a large jar of cornstarch). Finally, a couple of tablespoons of unsalted butter, a tablespoon of vanilla extract, and six ripe bananas. Six VERY ripe bananas.
Now, we are all used to the big yellow ones. These are Cavendish bananas, and they work fine in this recipe. If, however, you are fortunate enough to live near a store that has tropical produce, look for ripe finger bananas, or ripe red bananas, that turn black when they are red, or any of the other sweet bananas. Do not use plantains, regardless of how ripe they are. They are too starchy for this dish.
The big point where Richard and I had our disagreements, was on the cookies. He felt the cookies that I am about to write about took away from the dish. I don't agree. Wince, and buy a box of nilla vanilla wafers. Do not use your own homemade cookies. They do not have the stabilizers in them, that you need for the dish.
Now that you've collected everything, let's cook. It will not be difficult. In a bowl, mix one cup of dairy, the sugar, the eggs and yolks and the cornstarch. Whisk this to as smooth as you can, but don't be ridiculous about it.
In a big pot, bring the milk just to a boil. Keep an eye on it, and whisk. Milk boils over very easily. When it's just there (bubbles around the edges), take it off the heat, and combine the milk and what's in the bowl. Put one or the other in the other, it don't much matter, but get it back on the heat, lower the heat, and stir. Keep an eye on it. At some point, the mixture will begin to get glossy and thick. You may even begin to get "plops" as it boils up. You're there. Get it off the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla.
Now, assembly. I like to use a 9x13 inch pan, but a big glass bowl shall work beautifully as well. Pour some of the pudding in, and then slice half of the bananas in. You can lay them out in rows, like I do, or just plop them into the pudding. Then, put some more pudding in, and cover the pudding with the wafers. Repeat this until you use up the bananas and pudding. You probably will not use up the cookies. Then, cover the receptacle with plastic, and refrigerate it. Two hours is the absolute minimum. Overnight is even better.
The cookies will swell up, but not fall apart. They keep their round shape. The banana oils will get into the pudding and flavor it, and since the pudding is still hot, the bananas will 'cook ' a bit and get softer.
My understanding is that many people who grew up other than on the coasts, grew up with this dish and love it. I have heard of chocolate chips, nuts, sprinkles, marshmallows, candied cherries, etc, going into it. As Richard told me "in your kitchen, do what you want." I may, at some point, put some blueberries into mine, but not for now.
This is for all my friends who praised the pudding this year. Say a sweet farewell to it, ragazzi, it will be on hiatus next year.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Easy, and gluten free: coconut macaroons
We are now deep into the cookie baking season. As I wrote, last week, it's going to be a haul this year, but Annalena has decided to give it her level best. It won't kill me, but it will be tough. The year, the surgery, etc, etc, etc, have taken their toll, and the old lady gets tired. The days (and nights) of ten cookie varieties at a clip are over. So we plod on, looking for easy and tasty. And here's one such cookie, courtesy of Ina Garten. I didn't realize it when I looked at it, but this one is also gluten free. In fact, all of Annalena's "cooking" today was gluten free. So, anyone want a recipe for white chocolate/pistachio/cranberry bark?
This recipe is , in many ways, vintage Ina Garten. It's somewhat lush, and it's also somewhat easy. In fact, it's absurdly easy. Simple ingredients, simple techniques, and it makes a lot. There's one caveat from my experience of it, but I think it's handleable. Here we go.
Your ingredients, and you can double them: one package of sweetened coconut (a 14 ounce bag). One can of condensed milk (also fourteen ounces). Two egg whites from large or extra large eggs, and a teaspoon of vanilla.
Preheat your oven to 325. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment. Now, let's get going. In a bowl, mix the coconut, the condensed milk and the vanilla and put it aside. In a mixer, or, if you feel like showing off, by hand, beat the egg whites until they form a soft peak. What's a soft peak? Lift the beater blade, and if there's a little "curl" that folds down, you're there. Fold those into the mix you've already made.
You can spoon out the cookies a million ways. my way of doing it was to wet my hands (the stuff is sticky), and roll small balls, about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Spread them on the baking sheets. You should get about 30 to a sheet. Then bake them for 30 minutes or so. Check on them. If they're not brown enough for you, bake them five minutes more.
And that's it. Almost. What I found, with mine, is that some of the condensed milk and egg white flowed out of the cookie, making an ugly rubbery ring around the cookie. When they cooled, I just cut that stuff off. I must admit, it tasted good, but it made for an ugly cookie.
Now, how hard was that? Not at all. And we ALL love macaroons, don't we? So, if you are not going to get a couple fro Annalena when she starts making her tins (more on this idea below), make em. It's an hour out of your life, and people will love you.
What I want to add about these, is that if you put together mixed tins, as I do, these are very moist cookies. Moisture moves away from a moist cookie to a drier one, so your biscotti will soften if they are in a tin with these. The way to minimize this is to leave the tin of cookies open, to let the moisture escape to the air. Of course, this makes you more amenable to stealing a cookie or two, but hey, it's the holidays, right?
Go for it. You'll be glad you did.
This recipe is , in many ways, vintage Ina Garten. It's somewhat lush, and it's also somewhat easy. In fact, it's absurdly easy. Simple ingredients, simple techniques, and it makes a lot. There's one caveat from my experience of it, but I think it's handleable. Here we go.
Your ingredients, and you can double them: one package of sweetened coconut (a 14 ounce bag). One can of condensed milk (also fourteen ounces). Two egg whites from large or extra large eggs, and a teaspoon of vanilla.
Preheat your oven to 325. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment. Now, let's get going. In a bowl, mix the coconut, the condensed milk and the vanilla and put it aside. In a mixer, or, if you feel like showing off, by hand, beat the egg whites until they form a soft peak. What's a soft peak? Lift the beater blade, and if there's a little "curl" that folds down, you're there. Fold those into the mix you've already made.
You can spoon out the cookies a million ways. my way of doing it was to wet my hands (the stuff is sticky), and roll small balls, about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Spread them on the baking sheets. You should get about 30 to a sheet. Then bake them for 30 minutes or so. Check on them. If they're not brown enough for you, bake them five minutes more.
And that's it. Almost. What I found, with mine, is that some of the condensed milk and egg white flowed out of the cookie, making an ugly rubbery ring around the cookie. When they cooled, I just cut that stuff off. I must admit, it tasted good, but it made for an ugly cookie.
Now, how hard was that? Not at all. And we ALL love macaroons, don't we? So, if you are not going to get a couple fro Annalena when she starts making her tins (more on this idea below), make em. It's an hour out of your life, and people will love you.
What I want to add about these, is that if you put together mixed tins, as I do, these are very moist cookies. Moisture moves away from a moist cookie to a drier one, so your biscotti will soften if they are in a tin with these. The way to minimize this is to leave the tin of cookies open, to let the moisture escape to the air. Of course, this makes you more amenable to stealing a cookie or two, but hey, it's the holidays, right?
Go for it. You'll be glad you did.
Per il mio fratellino courtesy of Nadia G: Beef stew with root vegetables
"Fratellino." Do you all know that word? It's a good one. It means "little brother," but not necessarily in the birth sense. Someone whom you regard as "little brother", you can call fratellino. It sounds a bit like a frilly word, but that's Eyetalian for you.
I have a chosen little brother. Not gonna tell you who he is: let him tell you that, if he wants to. And when I was making this dish, it dawned on me: "this is his kind of meal." It is, too. He'll tell you that as well. So, here it is, "per il mio fratellino."
I learned this recipe, when channel surfing last week. There is a new cooking channel on, and one of the shows had the intriguing name "Bitchin' Kitchen."
Ok, Annalena has been called a bitch, more than once, and it's a title she bears proudly. The hostess of this show is a woman whom I could see growing up in Staten Island or in Brooklyn: a rough edged (I don't believe it), bleached blond Italian girl, with green nails and red high heels, who "tawks." (My NY friends will know what I mean). Anyway, she was doing a recipe as part of a show on what to do when you have no money. This is one of the recipes.
Now, I GUESS you can make this dish cheap. I didn't. I bought all of my veggies from the farmers market, and the beef was grass fed. The meat itself set me back 30 bucks, so already, we're getting a little high here. You add the other ingredients, and you're easily, EASILY pushing the 50 buck mark for the dish. It's good though. You can make this with an inexpensive cut of meat, I guess. I'll give some comments on that below.
If you use the cheaper cuts, I think the dish probably does fall into the "good. fast. cheap. Choose two" category, because it will be inexpensive, and it IS good. It is NOT a fast dish, however. My beef was much leaner, and I was able to take an hour off the cooking time, but it's still not a "20 minute dinner." So, get set for some serious kitchen time, but know you're going to have a lot of food. A LOT of food.
I'm reworking the instructions and ingredients for the dish, which you'll see if you watch the show and see the stew made.
First, you need root vegetables. Which ones and how many? Well , the how many is hard to say because your measurements here are going to be rather imprecise. Which ones? Well, this is up to you. I used parsley root, golden beets, carrots, and onions. Parsley root and golden beets aren't exactly standard supermarket fare, so modify these. Nadia used parsnips, onions, beets and carrots. I think the carrots are necessary. You could substitute sweet potatoes, or potatoes, or whatever you like. What you need to do is peel the peelable vegetables, and then cut them into evenly sized cubes. Fill a baking sheet with your veggies, and then add about six cloves of garlic, peeled, to them. Toss 3 tablespoons of olive oil and a big pinch of salt with the veggies, and then put the tray into a preheated, 375 degree oven, and let them roast, for 45 minutes.
Near the end of the roasting time, get your beef ready. You need 3 pounds of beef stew meat. Pat it dry, and then put it into a bag with half a cup of flour that has been mixed with a teaspoon of salt. Toss the stuff around, to coat the beef. Then, pour it all into a colander, to get rid of extra flour . Clean your sink with COLD water (it will make it MUCH easier to clean. Trust me).
Heat up about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide pan. When it's hot, add enough meat to cover the pan, but don't crowd it. Leave it alone, for about three minutes to put a good, dark sear on it. Then turn it, and sear the rest of the meat. If you haven't done all of it in one layer, then do it again. Put all of the cooked meat into a bowl for a minute.
Off the heat, add about half to 3/4 cup of red wine to the pan. Move your face back, and let the steam come off. Then put this back on the stove, and stir up all the brown bits into that wine. When you've dissolved just about all of it, pour that over the meat.
By now, your vegetables will have been roasted. Get them out of the oven, and let them be for now. You can put them in a bowl, mixed together, if you like. Put the beef and the juices into a pot and add six cups of beef stock, or , if your beef stock is canned and/or strong (as mine was), use four cups of stock and two cups of water. Add a couple of bay leaves, a carrot, sliced in half, three stalks of celery, a few branches of thyme , and a handful of peppercorns. Bring this to a boil, then lower the heat, and let it cook away.
Now, here's where Nadia and I parted company. She calls for cooking this for two hours. For reasons totally lost to me, I tasted the meat after an hour, and it was more than fine. You do the same thing. Maybe my pieces were smaller than hers, maybe the meat was a different quality, who knows? Just taste it and if it needs more cooking, let it work for another half hour, at least.
When the meat is pretty much where you want it, pull out the carrot and celery and, if you can find them, the bay leaves and the thyme branches (it will NOT be easy). Add the veggies. Nadia also calls for adding a half cup of red lentils, the ones you will find as "dhal" in a health food store. I had some in the house (some of you will be saying "of course you did"), and used them. I guess they are there to thicken the stew a bit. You certainly don't need them, and some of them will settle down to the bottom of your pot and stick there, and will need to be cleaned. Your call.
Now, re-cover that pot, and let everything cook for another twenty minutes. Taste it, and correct for salt and pepper. Here's a hint from Annalena: the meat is going to taste underseasoned. Taste the liquid. That's going to be the flavor carrier here. Taste it as you go along, and adjust with more salt and pepper, if you need to.
When the dish is finished, if you taste it right away, all you will taste is fat. That's the nature of the dish. Let it sit for fifteen minutes. Taste it again. NOW, you're ready to eat it. If you want to, but really, remember the old saying that all stews are better the second day, and even better the third? Well, it's true. And if you let the thing cool down in your fridge, you can go in and scoop out the beef fat if you want to.
As a certified Eyetalian-american, I can't imagine eating this with anything other than polenta. Il fratellino is probably going to go for noodles. It's all good. I would put a salad of fennel and oranges out with it. Il fratellino might go for more of a coleslaw or a green salad, which is again, all good.
I think you'll find this dish to be something like a warm hug on a cold day. That's the intention. Don't go for the cheap angle, go for the good stuff, and you'll be happy you did.
I betcha fratellino is gonna make this tomorrow. Let' see...
I have a chosen little brother. Not gonna tell you who he is: let him tell you that, if he wants to. And when I was making this dish, it dawned on me: "this is his kind of meal." It is, too. He'll tell you that as well. So, here it is, "per il mio fratellino."
I learned this recipe, when channel surfing last week. There is a new cooking channel on, and one of the shows had the intriguing name "Bitchin' Kitchen."
Ok, Annalena has been called a bitch, more than once, and it's a title she bears proudly. The hostess of this show is a woman whom I could see growing up in Staten Island or in Brooklyn: a rough edged (I don't believe it), bleached blond Italian girl, with green nails and red high heels, who "tawks." (My NY friends will know what I mean). Anyway, she was doing a recipe as part of a show on what to do when you have no money. This is one of the recipes.
Now, I GUESS you can make this dish cheap. I didn't. I bought all of my veggies from the farmers market, and the beef was grass fed. The meat itself set me back 30 bucks, so already, we're getting a little high here. You add the other ingredients, and you're easily, EASILY pushing the 50 buck mark for the dish. It's good though. You can make this with an inexpensive cut of meat, I guess. I'll give some comments on that below.
If you use the cheaper cuts, I think the dish probably does fall into the "good. fast. cheap. Choose two" category, because it will be inexpensive, and it IS good. It is NOT a fast dish, however. My beef was much leaner, and I was able to take an hour off the cooking time, but it's still not a "20 minute dinner." So, get set for some serious kitchen time, but know you're going to have a lot of food. A LOT of food.
I'm reworking the instructions and ingredients for the dish, which you'll see if you watch the show and see the stew made.
First, you need root vegetables. Which ones and how many? Well , the how many is hard to say because your measurements here are going to be rather imprecise. Which ones? Well, this is up to you. I used parsley root, golden beets, carrots, and onions. Parsley root and golden beets aren't exactly standard supermarket fare, so modify these. Nadia used parsnips, onions, beets and carrots. I think the carrots are necessary. You could substitute sweet potatoes, or potatoes, or whatever you like. What you need to do is peel the peelable vegetables, and then cut them into evenly sized cubes. Fill a baking sheet with your veggies, and then add about six cloves of garlic, peeled, to them. Toss 3 tablespoons of olive oil and a big pinch of salt with the veggies, and then put the tray into a preheated, 375 degree oven, and let them roast, for 45 minutes.
Near the end of the roasting time, get your beef ready. You need 3 pounds of beef stew meat. Pat it dry, and then put it into a bag with half a cup of flour that has been mixed with a teaspoon of salt. Toss the stuff around, to coat the beef. Then, pour it all into a colander, to get rid of extra flour . Clean your sink with COLD water (it will make it MUCH easier to clean. Trust me).
Heat up about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide pan. When it's hot, add enough meat to cover the pan, but don't crowd it. Leave it alone, for about three minutes to put a good, dark sear on it. Then turn it, and sear the rest of the meat. If you haven't done all of it in one layer, then do it again. Put all of the cooked meat into a bowl for a minute.
Off the heat, add about half to 3/4 cup of red wine to the pan. Move your face back, and let the steam come off. Then put this back on the stove, and stir up all the brown bits into that wine. When you've dissolved just about all of it, pour that over the meat.
By now, your vegetables will have been roasted. Get them out of the oven, and let them be for now. You can put them in a bowl, mixed together, if you like. Put the beef and the juices into a pot and add six cups of beef stock, or , if your beef stock is canned and/or strong (as mine was), use four cups of stock and two cups of water. Add a couple of bay leaves, a carrot, sliced in half, three stalks of celery, a few branches of thyme , and a handful of peppercorns. Bring this to a boil, then lower the heat, and let it cook away.
Now, here's where Nadia and I parted company. She calls for cooking this for two hours. For reasons totally lost to me, I tasted the meat after an hour, and it was more than fine. You do the same thing. Maybe my pieces were smaller than hers, maybe the meat was a different quality, who knows? Just taste it and if it needs more cooking, let it work for another half hour, at least.
When the meat is pretty much where you want it, pull out the carrot and celery and, if you can find them, the bay leaves and the thyme branches (it will NOT be easy). Add the veggies. Nadia also calls for adding a half cup of red lentils, the ones you will find as "dhal" in a health food store. I had some in the house (some of you will be saying "of course you did"), and used them. I guess they are there to thicken the stew a bit. You certainly don't need them, and some of them will settle down to the bottom of your pot and stick there, and will need to be cleaned. Your call.
Now, re-cover that pot, and let everything cook for another twenty minutes. Taste it, and correct for salt and pepper. Here's a hint from Annalena: the meat is going to taste underseasoned. Taste the liquid. That's going to be the flavor carrier here. Taste it as you go along, and adjust with more salt and pepper, if you need to.
When the dish is finished, if you taste it right away, all you will taste is fat. That's the nature of the dish. Let it sit for fifteen minutes. Taste it again. NOW, you're ready to eat it. If you want to, but really, remember the old saying that all stews are better the second day, and even better the third? Well, it's true. And if you let the thing cool down in your fridge, you can go in and scoop out the beef fat if you want to.
As a certified Eyetalian-american, I can't imagine eating this with anything other than polenta. Il fratellino is probably going to go for noodles. It's all good. I would put a salad of fennel and oranges out with it. Il fratellino might go for more of a coleslaw or a green salad, which is again, all good.
I think you'll find this dish to be something like a warm hug on a cold day. That's the intention. Don't go for the cheap angle, go for the good stuff, and you'll be happy you did.
I betcha fratellino is gonna make this tomorrow. Let' see...
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