guest recipe: osso buco - eat this immediately!

Guest Chefs: Ashley & Jason at La Tavola Marche. This one is not to be missed!

Osso buco, now here's a great winters dish that is so simple to make.

Most have heard of osso buco, but what is it? What literally translates as 'bone's hole' is simply an inch & a half slab of veal shank. There is a good amount of tough meat surrounding a large flat piece of bone with ample amount of rich marrow in the center. When cooked the marrow melts into the sauce leaving an open whole in the center, thus the name osso buco.

Try this on a cold sunday evening ladled into a bowl of wet polenta to soak up the rich sauce. Its a good stewy dish!

There are a hundred different variations of osso bucco, mostly braised. This one we did simply with the tomatoes we jarred over the summer.

OSSO BUCO

4 pieces of osso buco (veal shank)

a nice size carrot, chopped finely

nice onion, chopped finely

couple cloves of garlic, smashed & remove the skin

bay leaf

any aromatics you like - rosemary, we used juniper berries because we have them in the woods

a little flour for dusting

salt & pepper

a good handful (about 5 oz.) of canned tomatoes, skins removed or fresh tomatoes with skins & seeds removed

olive oil

butter

white wine (couple of glugs)

half a cup of water or stock

Salt & pepper the osso buco & then dredge in the flour

In a good size casserole or roasting pan, on med-high heat, add a glug or 2 of olive oil & a pad of butter.

Sauté the osso buco for 2 minutes on each side.

Then add the vegetables & continue cooking the osso buco, turning frequently until it is nice & colored

Add the white wine cook until the wine is reduced by 2/3

Add the tomatoes, aromatics, crack of pepper & salt, water or stock & bring up to a simmer.

Remove from stove & place in a 350 degree oven, uncovered for about an hour & half or until the centers of the bone have melted away & the meat is falling away from the bone

If you need to add a little more water or stock towards the end, do so

Serve over polenta, potatoes or rice to soak up the juices.

This is one of my favorite dishes because it really resonates with the simplicity of cucina povera.

Thanks Ashley & Jason at La Tavola Marche! Here is your badge!

Enjoy!

perfect rib roast

For New Year's Eve, my mom decided on a rib roast which she and my uncle cooked. Here is their technique and they say it is foolproof. If you've heard of this or use it let me know!

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Season roast in pan with desired seasonings. My uncle uses salt, pepper, garlic powder (lots) and maybe something else. Put roast in pre-heated oven for one hour. Do not open the oven at all during this entire process. After the one hour timer goes off, leave the oven CLOSED, turn off the oven and let sit for one more hour.

He tried it at 500 degrees (the original recipe he found in a magazine or online), and the meat was overcooked. He then tried 450 and it was undercooked. At 475 he says it works every time, regardless of the size of the roast. I have yet to try it, but am looking forward to it!

grass-fed asian style meatloaf

K's Asian inspired Meatloaf:

2 lbs. ground beef (We are using Ling Farm grass-fed)

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup canned tomatoes, blended into a tomato sauce

1/3 + cup teriyaki sauce (We are using San-J, since it has no sugar)

1 to 2 tsp. ginger

1 to 2 tsp. red cayenne pepper

garlic (We have dried garlic in a grinder that we use A LOT!)

salt & pepper

I would have put minced garlic in but we happen to be out.

If you are using regular ground beef, cook at 350 for about an hour. For our grass fed beef we have to cook at lower temperatures so I am cooking it at 275 for an hour, with an oven safe thermometer in to monitor it.

This was dinner last night and the final result was great. Very flavorful. Since this is our first venture with grass-fed beef, we are learning some lessons the hard way. We know that we need to cook at lower temperatures because grass-fed is so low in fat. However, the meatloaf was a bit heavy, I believe because of the lower fat content. So I will have to do a bit more research on this one.

You know I love the free flow of cooking. I put the meat, the oats and tomatoes into the bowl. Added in some teriyaki sauce and the garlic and started to mix. K asked what else we needed and I said "open the cupboard and see what we have." Since he chose the teriyaki, I suggested ginger and he added the cayenne, since there seems to be no spice hot enough for him. We'll see if I still have taste buds tomorrow. But it smells heavenly and I would probably add a bit more teriyaki sauce next time! Enjoy!

spicy flank steak

I came across this recipe for Garlic-Chile Flank Steak at Eating Well and it reminded me of one of my family's favorites.

We all love Chipotle. Well, K likes anything with wasabi in, on or around it. And my step-daughter and I love chipotle, anything chipotle. I have bought chipotle sauce in a bottle, dried in cubes and cans of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.

I simply took a can of chipotle peppers (in adobo sauce) and marinated the flank steak. You want to do this for at least a few hours but overnight is preferable. Then we tossed it on the grill and voila, everyone loved it. Even the wasabi-lover in the family! If you like spicy but don't want the full effect, simply add a few chilis from the can, either chopped or whole, to your marinade of choice. We tend to mix Asian and Mexican flavors.

For about a pound to a pound and a half of flank steak we average about 4 to 6 minutes per side on the grill. I know there are people who say flank steak should be cooked on a low flame grill but for some reason that never works in my house. Maybe it's our grill, but we always have it on high and it comes out near-perfect every time. I'm working on remembering the pictures but somehow when it comes down to mealtime the camera becomes a distant memory! Ah well, maybe next time!