The WINTER WHITE Dinner: Totally Chic

Osso Buco
Roman-Style with Orange Peel and Sage

We recently hosted another Sunken City Supper Club event. Featuring a five course fixed menu, this season showcasing “The Winter White Dinner.” The decor was all white, and we playfully incorporated white foods into the menu.

The Sunken City Supper Club is a fresh, local and secret place to periodically mingle with friends and neighbors – to enjoy the camaraderie, great food, wine, the awesome intimate jazz standards (and perhaps a little dancing too) performed by local musicians Barry Anthony and Bill Ryan.

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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.

Osso Buco, Toasted Pine Nut Gremolata

Mario Batali’s Osso Buco
marries
Martha Stewart’s Creamy Polenta
A match made in heaven…

Last Sunday Father Adam and I made this Osso Buco. We were impressed first with how absolutely delicious it was, and even more with how much easier it was to make than we had imagined. While Father Adam browned the seasoned veal shanks in olive oil in the hot Le Creuset French Oven, I prepared the Basic Tomato Sauce.

Once browned, the shanks are removed from the pot (to rest in the Italian countryside).

Carrot, onion, celery, and thyme are then browned in the same pot over medium heat. The tomato sauce, chicken stock, and white wine are added to the pan and brought to a boil.

The shanks and accumulated juices go back in. Cover and cook in a 375° oven. Now we have two and a half hours to relax, drink the rest of that bottle of wine, chop some parsley, toast some pine nuts, and zest a lemon.

Later the meat is falling off the bone and the sauce is rich and complex. About 20 minutes before the osso buco is to be done, we prepare the polenta, recipe here.

Serve the tender veal shank over Creamy Polenta and sprinkle the top with Toasted Pine Nut Gremolata, made by combining toasted pine nuts with chopped Italian parsley and lemon zest. The complete recipe for Osso Buco, Tomato Sauce, and Gremolata can be found here.

Dessert?
The Next Day…

Perhaps you noticed the portion size of those shanks? There was plenty left over. So I cooked some mostaccioli, tossed with olive oil and the leftover gremolata. I shredded the remaining veal and heated it up with the sauce.
Mostaccioli, known in Italy as “Penne Lisce,” are a specialty of the Campania Region in southern Italy which includes the cities of Naples, Capri and Sorrento. Penne, which means “pen” in Italian, gets its name from its shape. Penne are tube-shaped with angled ends cut to resemble a quill or pen point. Unlike penne which are ridged, mostaccioli are smooth in texture. They are designed for chunky tomato, meat and cream sauces.  (from Barilla website)
I have a fondness for mostaccioli because growing up in the 1960’s in a non-Italian household in Chicago, this was exotic! The spelling and pronunciation were foreign. In addition, we immensely enjoyed Mom’s elbow macaroni with butter and melting American cheese torn into strips, and spaghetti with broiled pork chops on top, which we called “PC & S.”
My mother served her mostaccioli tossed with butter and canned S & W Stewed Tomatoes with Onion, Celery, and Bell Pepper. We loved it.
I once asked her if she had to do that airplane trick to get us to eat when we were little. You know, where the food on the spoon is the airplane and the hangar is the mouth? She laughed. No. You kids? You ate everything. You were NOT picky eaters!
So, I just called my mother to find out more about this mostaccioli dish she used to make for us. She told me that she used S & W because it tasted the best. It did. I remember. Thanks Ma! Thanks so much…

Mostaccioli with Pine Nut Gremolata, Veal Ragù