Category: Tasty Recipes

Osso Buco, Saffron Risotto, Peas & Snow Pea Shoots

Veal Osso Buco
Saffron Risotto
Peas & Snow Pea Shoots

When my dear friend of many years, Father Adam, comes to town we like to cook! Nothing we make ever takes less than three hours. It’s always an adventure. Last time we made Mario Batali’s Osso Buco with Toasted Pine Nut Gremolata. I had purchased several fresh veal shanks then, and put the extras in the freezer. It was time to defrost them and give Suzanne Goin’s recipe a try!
Osso Buco

Veal shanks were rubbed with garlic, lemon zest, thyme and rosemary then refrigerated over night. The next day they were brought to room temperature, seasoned and browned on all sides in olive oil.
The browned shanks are removed from the pan. Diced onion, carrot, celery, sage and garlic are added to the same pan, and cooked over medium heat until just starting to caramelize. Add 1/2 c. chopped canned tomatoes then 1 c. dry vermouth. Raise the heat and reduce by half.

Add shanks back to the pan with enough hot veal stock to almost cover the meat. Add parsley sprigs, cover, braise at 325° for about 3 hours.

Father Adam and I put the Le Creuset into the oven and went for a walk at Royal Palms State Beach.

Three hours later!
The meat was removed to a baking sheet. The sauce was strained, then we used a gravy separator to remove the fat. We reheated the sauce in a clean saucepan and adjusted the seasoning. It was so flavorful!
Saffron Risotto

Saffron threads were toasted in a small pan, then ground in a mortar. We mixed the saffron with olive oil and added diced white onion, thyme, crushed chile de arbol, salt and pepper. Cooked until the onion was soft.

Add arborio rice and stir to coat the grains.

Add 1/4 c. dry white wine, then when that has evaporated, add hot chicken stock gradually while stirring until the rice has absorbed the stock. When the rice is al dente, season with salt and pepper.

The shanks were removed to a baking sheet and broiled for a few minutes to get a nice brown crust.


Peas & Snow Pea Shoots

Frozen peas were defrosted and cooked in olive oil with minced shallot, thyme, salt and pepper. Add the pea shoots and heat until the leaves are softened and tender.
Beautiful Colors!

Dau Miu (snow pea shoots) are young pea shoots that are delicate and crispy with a flavor that’s a cross between peas and spinach with a hint of watercress.

Falling Off the Bone!

This terrific recipe is adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin. You can find Chef Goin’s exact recipe here.
And be sure to check out Father Adam’s unique blog, Monastery Daily Photo: Views From and Within A Roman Catholic Monastery in Northern California.

Rosh Hashanah 5770

Dinner for A Sweet New Year
 
Crispy Rosemary Chicken Paillard and
Grilled Apples with Truffle Honey
Israeli Couscous with Butternut Squash, Spinach, Walnuts

Israeli Couscous Side Dish
Roast cubes of butternut squash with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook Israeli couscous. Add squash, baby spinach leaves, toasted chopped walnuts to the cooked couscous. The spinach will wilt in the hot couscous. Season with salt and pepper, finish with a drizzle of roasted walnut oil.

We are celebrating the Jewish New Year 5770
which began last night at sundown.

Squeeze lemon juice on sliced apples, then brush with olive oil. Grill over high heat.

Make breadcrumbs out of day old baguette, add fresh rosemary, pulse to combine.

Have you tried air-chilled chicken? During processing, the USDA requires that the carcass temperature be lowered to 40 degrees within 4 hours to retard the growth of bacteria. Usually chickens are placed in an ice bath with chlorine for about an hour. In contrast, air-chilled chickens are sprayed with a chlorinated water and laid out on a track under refrigeration. Some say this method is safer, less contamination with other chickens. The meat definitely has a different texture from not soaking in water for over an hour. And they say the skin comes out more crispy with the air-chilled birds too.

These boneless skinless chicken thighs are from Whole Foods Market. I usually prepare this dish with chicken breasts but tried thighs this time. These air-chilled chicken thighs were the best ever. So flavorful and moist.
I put the thighs, one-by-one, in a ziplock bag and pounded them with a mallet to a uniform thinness. Seasoned each with salt and pepper, dusted with flour, dipped in egg, and coated with the breadcrumb/rosemary mixture.

Sautéed until golden brown over medium-high heat in canola oil.

Truffle Honey
La BOUTIQUE de la truffe
 

The Italian Truffle Honey is made of acacia honey and white truffles 3% (tuber albidum pico). In addition to the fabulous truffle carpaccio I served with heirloom tomatoes, La BOUTIQUE de la truffe also produces this dreamy truffle honey. Drizzle the truffle honey over the chicken and apples.

“the truffle is the very diamond of gastronomy”
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826)
This truffle honey gives the chicken and apples complex intriguing flavors. Simultaneously sweet and earthy and exotic. It rocks! The open jar of honey was sitting on my counter top, truffle aromas filled the kitchen.

Crispy Rosemary Chicken Thighs Paillard
Grilled Apples with Truffle Honey

Wishing You a Sweet New Year
L’Shana Tova!
To observe Rosh Hashanah, traditional foods sweetened with honey and apples are served. They symbolize sweetness, blessings, abundance and the hope for a sweet year ahead.
L’Shana Tova Tikatevu
 
May Your Name be Inscribed in The Book of Life
For a Good Year

Hatch Chile Salsa

It’s Hatch Chile Roasting Time!
The Hatch Chile Festival is happening this weekend in Hatch, New Mexico, the “Chile Capital of the World.” Although we won’t be making it to the festival, we will be making Hatch Chile Salsa.

Remove the skin, stems and seeds from the roasted chiles.

Put the chiles (about six to eight) in a food processor with a half of chopped white onion, and a couple cloves of garlic.

Pulse until the mixture is chunky (don’t over blend). Hatch chiles come in varying degrees of heat. These were the Sandia variety and they were hot!

Add a tomato to the salsa mixture. This beauty is a Golden Jubilee heirloom tomato. To remove the skin, submerge the tomato in boiling water for ten seconds.

Score the skin with a paring knife and it will slide right off. Cut the tomato into quarters and squeeze out the seeds. The Golden Jubilee is a mild tomato with a small amount of seeds and meaty flesh. Perfect for salsa. Put tomato in the food processor with the chiles and pulse again. Then add fresh squeezed lime juice, a little grapeseed oil and salt to taste. Pulse to combine. This smokey hot salsa is really good with grilled foods!

Labor Day Weekend Grillin’
Swordfish with Hatch Chile Salsa
Filet Mignon with Ajvar
Zucchini, Mushrooms, Onions
What are you grilling this weekend?
HaPpY LaBoR DaY!
LABOR DAY UPDATE 9.07.09
This morning we participated in
“Conquer the Bridge.”
A 5 mile run/walk over
The Vincent Thomas Bridge here in San Pedro at
The Port of Los Angeles.







It was awesome!
Happy Labor Day!

A Peachy Dessert

Fresh Local Peaches
Puff Pastry Filled with Peach Jam and Brie
A Drizzle of Honey
Whipped Crème Fraîche

We made this dessert when I was in Chicago visiting my family. We were shopping at Whole Foods Market and asked the produce manager what his favorite fruit was that day. He said, “Local Illinois Peaches.” So that is what we bought and how this dessert came to be.
Initially we were going to grill or sauté the peaches in butter with sugar, but they tasted so delightful as is, we decided to leave them as nature intended. What shall we serve to complement these beauties? Last month I made a Baked Brie in Fillo with Preserves, that became the inspiration here. Tangy whipped crème fraîche would provide the perfect balance to the sweet fruit.
The photo above is of my neighbor’s peach tree here in Los Angeles. They told me to help myself. YAY! More peachy desserts are on the way! And a big thank you to my generous neighbors!

Cut puff pastry sheets into squares. Fill each square with a generous spoonful of peach jam and a piece of brie. Fold the corners together. Brush the pastry with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until puffed and golden brown.

Slice the peaches and arrange on the plates. Place warm puff pastry in the center, drizzle with honey then top with whipped crème fraîche.
A Splendid and Easy Peachy Dessert!

Julia’s Last Home & Coq au Vin

Chicken in Red Wine with Onions, Mushrooms, and Bacon
“In France it is usually accompanied only by parsley potatoes; buttered green peas could be included if you wish a green vegetable.” from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

In honor of Julia’s birthday, Father Adam and I made the meal as she recommends. Our potatoes are parsleyed and our peas are buttered and tossed with chopped fresh mint.

Montecito, California

Adjacent to the city of Santa Barbara, lies beautiful Montecito. A while back my mother and I had lunch at the charming Montecito Inn.

After lunch, we decided to drive up the road to visit the Casa Dorinda to see where Julia Child (August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) spent her last years.

This assisted living facility is a sprawling complex, the former estate of a wealthy nature lover. Julia occupied a cozy one bedroom apartment. She decorated her little kitchen walls with cookware and tools just like she had at her home in Cambridge.

In addition to cooking and camaraderie, another of Julia’s passions was golf. I like to imagine that it gave her pleasure to have this pretty little green at the Casa Dorinda. Perhaps she played here?
Back to the kitchen and her Coq au Vin recipe…

Bacon is simmered in water, then dried and sautéed in hot butter until lightly brown. A whole chicken, cut-up, is then browned in the fat. Cognac is added to the pan.

Another reason to love Julia’s cooking – many of her recipes include lighting them on fire! Tip the pan and ignite the cognac.

After the flames subside, add 3 cups of good red wine and enough beef stock to cover the chicken. Stir in tomato paste, mashed garlic, thyme and bay leaf and bring to a simmer. This is another one of those times where I wish you could smell the aromas…Cover and cook 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile make brown-braised pearl onions and sautéed mushrooms.

We thought Julia would be pleased that we sautéed French bread in clarified butter, in her honor, to make croutons for the coq au vin.

When the chicken is cooked, remove it to a platter then skim the fat from the sauce. Raise the heat and reduce the sauce. Beat beurre manié into the sauce to thicken, adjust seasoning. Add the chicken, bacon, onions and mushrooms back to the pot, heat through and serve.
The complete recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking can be found here. And oh my, the sauce was so flavorful, rich and velvety!
Julia Wisdom:
“The pleasures of the table, and of life, are infinite – toujours bon appétit!“
Happy Birthday and Thank You Julia Child!
(The month of August is Julia Child Month here at TaStE WiTh ThE EyEs. I am resurrecting some prior Julia related posts as well as cooking some new Julia inspired dishes. Coq au Vin originally posted on 8.08.08).