Quick Veal Stew

Leftover roast veal, leftover cioppino base, a few veggies and some pantry items came together recently to make an unfairly delicious stew.

Unfair to the Hubs as I made it when he was out of town.

So it was all mine.

It appears that Mother Nature was checking her watch very closely this year, and the instant Labor Day was over she sent a serious bout of rain and chilly Autumn weather to douse NYC.

Frankly I'm FINE with that because I'd rather wear fuzzy sweaters and socks over sweating in spaghetti-strap sundresses any day. (Could a throw a few more S's in there?) 

Even more so, it made a great excuse to make warm and savory food!

For this stew I used 2 peeled and sliced carrots, 1 minced shallot, 2 cloves of garlic, about 1/2 cup of chopped reconstituted porcini mushrooms, 1 tsp dried rosemary, leftover cioppino for the tomato aspect, and some concentrated veal glacé.

Add hot water to your dried porcinis before you start peeling and chopping so they have 20 minutes or so to get plump again.

There was also the glorious roast veal. It was super flavorful and tender, leftover from a huge meal at Betto in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

This baby cow did not die in vain.

Start with the obvious, sautéing the shallot, garlic, and carrot in some olive oil with a pinch of salt.

When that begins to soften add the porcini mushrooms (squeezed dry) and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Next I added the strained water that I rehydrated the porcinis in, as it was now mushroom stock, as well as the glacé and dried rosemary.

I was really happy that the leftover cioppino base worked in this. Not that I'm surprised as it's really just tomato, fennel, white wine and chicken stock, (I use chicken instead of fish stock so the Hubs will eat it.) but I was worried for a moment that the fennel flavor would throw off the final product of the stew.

It did not.

The real element that brought this stew together tho was removing the skin and a section of fat from the roast veal and letting it simmer in the stew for almost an hour. I left it whole so I could remove it before serving, but it imparted a huge amount of flavor. Without it this would have been edible, but nothing special.

For a base I had some polenta squares in my freezer from a while back, and since polenta freezes beautifully, it came back to life with a few minutes on the counter and only a little help from the microwave.

As I do with leftover pork tenderloin in my soups, I added the chopped veal to the bowl first and then ladled the hot stew over top to heat it thru. I wanted the veal to retain its original flavor rather than just absorb the flavors of the stew.

I encourage anyone to get creative with the bits and pieces in their fridge.

You just might end up with something wonderful.

Milanese Into Meatballs

I do suggest cooking your meatballs... and I did. 

I just forgot to take an "after" photo.

I don't know about you, but whenever I'm breading anything I tend to have a ton of leftover flour and breadcrumbs in my assembly line.

I came up with a solution the other day when I was making Pork Milanese: meatballs!

I got the hubs to pick up a pound of pork and a pound of beef on his way home, and once I was done cooking our dinner, I mixed up a batch of meatballs with the leftover breadcrumbs (complete with grated pecorino), beaten egg, and used the leftover flour to dust the outsides before cooking.

Ready to go.

Start by mixing all your breadcrumbs, cheese, herbs, and optional egg together before adding the meat, so you do not overwork the meat and make it tough.

These meatballs were made entirely off the cuff, so I have no measurements.

Luckily, it all worked out and they were quite tasty.

I chose to bake these in the oven since I made so many (and then they could bake while I was digesting my dinner instead of having to cook them in sauce on a stove and then clean even more pots and pans.)

I think it was about 20 minutes or so at 400º and they were nicely cooked through without being dried out.

Hint: roll the meatballs in flour and shake off excess before pan-frying. If you do that before baking in the oven, you will just have white crusty crud on the outside. Either douse with olive oil before baking, or skip the roll in the flour completely.

No matter how you cook them or how you season them, meatballs are a great solution to excess breading station leftovers!

(Just make sure to make them all the same day.)

Ramp Naan, Revisited

Because when something is tasty, you make it again.

Slice or tear prosciutto, throw in a warm skillet with a bit of olive oil.

Slice ramps.

Sauté lightly in olive oil, until wilted and fragrant.

Pour on top of (possibly leftover from ordering-in, or store-bought) naan, including the oil that was in the skillet, as it will be flavorful as well.

Place that under the broiler for about 2 minutes, or until the naan* has heated through.

Devour.

* Naan is a soft Indian flatbread that can be simple and plain, or be baked with garlic and other herbs. For this particular dish I of course was using the plain naan so that the ramps were the star.

Panini Parm

Super fast weeknight dinner solution:

The panino.

There are so many ways to make super tasty panini. This one is a spin on chicken parm I made in about 7 minutes with some leftover chicken breast, mozzarella, basil, tomato sauce, & grated pecorino.

I was so lazy for this meal I didn't even take down the panini press. I just sliced the bread, gave it a brush with olive oil, and browned it in the sauté pan.

Next I put a bit of tomato sauce on each side of bread and stacked a slice of mozzarella, sliced chicken (leftover from the weekly roast chicken), basil, and of course more mozzarella. Sprinkle with grated pecorino and slap it together.

Weigh it down with a lid (or kitchen brick) until the cheese melts and dinner is done.

And no, there is no "finished product" shot of the lovely melty cheese because the Hubs ate it so fast.

(Expect further explorations into The Sandwich, as it always seems to get a "this is my favorite!" from the Hubs. Even tho he is equally supportive of the weekly roast chicken dinner, it's nice to know that sometimes I can just slap meat and cheese on bread and be done!)

Crisper Primavera

This meal came about when I had no protein in the fridge come dinner time, and less than one serving of all of the following vegetables: snow peas, haricot vert (French green beans), broccoli, and brussels sprouts. All leftovers from stir-fry dinners and side dishes. I also had half a can of crushed tomatoes in the fridge, so I decided to make a version of pasta primavera from my crisper drawer.

I start out sautéing 1 large shallot, diced, in a bit of olive oil. As it starts to soften I add some broccoli florets, as they will take the longest to become tender.

Make sure you have your water boiling for your pasta when you make this, as the sauce does not take much more than 10 minutes to come together.

Next I add 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic, a sprinkling of prosciutto cubetti (because I had some in the deli drawer), and the trimmed haricot vert cut in half.

Once the prosciutto has started to cook and the garlic becomes fragrant, I added a small splash of white wine, and about 1/4 cup of chicken stock.

To those liquids I added about 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes from a can (classic Primavera would have fresh tomato, but as it is February, canned will have to suffice) and turned the temperature to medium high to reduce. I also threw in about a teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme and seasoned the sauce with a bit of salt. Taste first as the prosciutto will have given off a bit of its salty flavor.

The last vegetables I added were some separated brussels sprout leaves and some halved snow peas, as they are both quite delicate. You could add a teaspoon of mascarpone cheese at this point, or a splash of cream would work, or even a pat of butter, just to make the sauce a bit decadent, but that is not typical in a Primavera dish.

This is the point when you can decide if your sauce should be light and simple or heavier and rich.

The dish would be tasty either way, but I kept it light.

I tossed in the pasta with whatever little bit of starchy cooking liquids came with them, and allowed the flavors to combine for another minute or so in the pan.

This was a surprisingly successful meal considering it was made entirely of scraps of other meals.

Necessity is the mother of invention yet again.

Kale & Pancetta Flatbread

This is tasty.

And really simple. Watch.

Sauté chopped pancetta in olive oil (about 2 TBSP) until crispy. Lower the heat and add 2 cloves of minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute.

Add chopped kale leaves (about 2 cups) and wilt down.

(Some chopped porcini mushrooms would also be delicious in this. Add at the same time as the garlic if you choose to include them.)

Use a minimal amount of salt to season as the pancetta is salty by itself.

Spread over pizza dough or flat bread that you have rolled out to your desired thickness.

I par-bake my crust for about 5 minutes before adding toppings.

Do not waste any of the flavorful oil in the pan. If you have enough, brush the edges of the crust with the oil so they brown nicely and have extra flavor.

Top with some torn fresh mozzarella and basil.

Bake as directed for your dough.

For me that's 12 minutes at 450º

Optional finish to this would be to drizzle some good olive oil over the top, or even an infused oil.

I have a lovely sage & mushroom infused olive oil which added a lovely depth of flavor.

Yum

Devour.

Simple but tasty, and yet another way to use up ingredients in your fridge.

Kitchen Sink Chili Soup

My friend was trying to help me come up with a name for this soup, and as she thought it had some good Italian leanings we were trying to look up how to say "kitchen sink" in Italian.
We failed.
That, or "Acquiao Chili Soup" sounded even more unclear to us.

The "kitchen sink" aspect of this soup comes from the fact that when I first made it, I was simply using up items in my fridge, which often leads to tasty cooking discoveries. This time I had some almost-wilting kale, the usual celery and carrots, and some leftover rosemary pork tenderloin from dinner that wasn't enough for a meal by itself. So, I diced it up and put it in the bottom of my bowl when I ladled the soup on top... and it was DELICIOUS!

Other guests to this party (read: soup) include shallot, garlic, chicken stock, white wine, white beans (always in the pantry for adding body, protein, and fiber), cumin, oregano, & chili powder.

You may recognize the seasonings from my favorite Chicken & White Bean Chili. Well, that's why this soup was named Kitchen Sink Chili Soup. Also, if you have swiss chard or some other hearty winter green, by all means use that. I just buy (and thereby cook with) kale the most because it is so heavily packed with vitamins and other good things, and it really does stand up to sitting in a pot full of hot soup, unlike spinach and arugula.
(Wusses...)

Step one: soffritto. Dice 1 medium shallot, 2 medium carrots, and one long stick of celery and sauté in olive oil on medium heat until tender with a pinch of salt.

More fun with macro

I separate the stems of the kale and dice them to a similar size as the soffritto and throw them in the pot to soften at the same time.

While these four ingredients are softening, chop up the greens of the kale and set aside. Take 2-3 cloves of garlic and finely chop them as well, and measure out 1 tsp of cumin, 3/4 tsp oregano, and 3/4 tsp of chili powder.

When the veggies have softened (less than 10 minutes if you've done a fine dice) add the garlic and spices and allow them to cook out another minute.

Note: It is possible at the end that you might want to add a bit more seasoning. I find that the beans can absorb a lot of salt and other seasonings, and sometimes I need to adjust before serving.

See that? That's how much white wine I used.

Less than or up to 1/4 cup. Just enough for a little background depth of flavor, and something for the garlic to simmer in for another minute or two.

Next add your chopped kale leaves and about a cup of chicken stock.

Stir, add the lid, and allow the kale to wilt down a bit.

While that's happening...

Notice how the circumference of the can is slightly wider than the circumference of my immersion blender? I love this trick.

I remove the white beans from the can and rinse them in cool water in a mesh strainer. Then I put half the beans back in and add just enough chicken broth to cover them, and then I use the immersion blender inside the can to purée the beans. Two rounds of that and a little extra stock to rinse out the can and I have saved myself a lot of cleanup.

You, however, do not need to purée your beans in your soup.

I'm just weird about white beans and like them to be invisible.

Add your beans to the pot and fill with however much stock makes you happy for your soup. If I'm in the mood for broth-y soup I probably use around 3 cups. If I want it thicker, less than 3 cups, OR I add another half can of puréed white beans to the mix.

Salt your soup again, as the beans will absorb.

Bring up to a simmer and check for any other seasoning adjustments.

Now comes the time for the leftover rosemary pork tenderloin. Dice it into bite-sized pieces and portion it out into the bottom of your serving bowls and ladle the hot soup on top.

I garnish with a little grated pecorino cheese and call it tasty.

Yes, this soup is still good without the leftover pork, but I HIGHLY recommend not skipping that step. It adds a wonderful depth of flavor. And do not throw it into the actual pot of soup, because then it will cook through all the way and lose all of that velvety tenderness that you got buy cooking it to a perfect light pink the night before. Just put a diced portion in the bottom of each bowl of soup and allow it to warm through that way, and they will be little gems of surprise deliciousness.

You won't regret it.

Unless you're kosher...

Slow-Braised Lamb Shanks

According to the news, this is the coldest streak of weather NYC has seen since last February. In fact, NY1's Pat Kiernan officially gave permission to bitch about how cold it has been all week.

Thanks, Pat...

Frankly, weather like this just makes me want to stay in my apartment and cook warm things for hours.

And then, of course, eat them.

Hopefully by now everyone has recovered from Round 1 of Holiday Indulgence and is once more ready for a hearty dish.

I know I am.

I didn't follow a recipe for this meal. Instead I kind of winged it off of what I did with the red wine-braised short ribs, figuring what's good for beef is good for lamb. At least when it comes to braising.

And you know what?

It worked.

It was really good.

Tho I cannot stress enough the importance of making this a day in advance so it has time to meld and become truly fabulous.

For this recipe I used:
2 lamb shanks
3 carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
5 black peppercorns
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup beef stock
1 1/2 cups red wine
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest

In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat 2 TBSP oil and brown your shanks, one at a time.

Remove and allow to rest.

If there are any burnt bits, remove them from the bottom of the pot with a wet towel.

Caramelization is flavor, and you want to keep that.

With just enough oil/fat to about cover the bottom of the pot, add onion and carrots and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes.

Then add the garlic, rosemary, and thyme, and cook until fragrant, another 2-3 minutes.

I place the peppercorns and bay leaf in cheese cloth or a loose-tea bag for easy removal later.

Add spice bag, lemon zest, crushed tomato, stock, and wine, and submerge the shanks in the liquid.

Bring everything up to a simmer, and then reduce heat to low and cook gently, lid on, for 2 hrs.

Uncover and cook another 30 minutes until the meat is very tender.

Remove shanks and crank the heat on the liquids until they have reduced to your desired thickness. Mine took another 30 minutes or so because I used so much stock and wine.

But then I love having loads of leftover sauce that I may or may not eat in small bowls like the richest consommé... or wateriest stew.

Whatever. It's delicious.

And warm.

Meanwhile, note the bone on the left has offered up its marrow to the sauce, while the one on the right still has marrow inside it.

Delicious on toast.

Return the meat to the reduced sauce, allow to cool, and refrigerate, covered, overnight.

The next day there will be a lot of solidified fat to remove from the surface.

Slowly bring the pot back to a simmer, and serve each shank with a few ladles of sauce and vegetables. 

I chose to serve this with quinoa and some fresher, sweeter carrots to offset the heaviness of the braised ones. This would go well with almost any starch: potato or vegetable mash, polenta, or couscous.

While there wasn't a whole lot of meat left over, there was a LOT of sauce, which I of course snacked on over the course of the next few days.

The rest of the leftovers got  a fancy kick as a pasta sauce, but I'll save that for another post.

This is by no means a perfected recipe, in my hyper-perfectionist opinion. I felt it was missing something to make it truly "wow" worthy. But it is certainly a solid method to follow with highly satisfying results.

Now pardon me while I go camp out by the radiator...

Special Delivery

So I have had a cold since Tuesday, October 26th (that's 8 days for anyone counting...), and I am REALLY FREAKIN' TIRED OF IT!
I'm done!
Move on!
I have served my time in aches and chills and sneezes and sinus headaches, so germs:

GET LOST!

The real kicker is that a week before I fell ill, I made a large pot of homemade chicken soup for two friends that were sick, one downtown and one in Brooklyn, and delivered* them to the various parties without touching them or anything else, and then used hand sanitizer as soon as I left.

So me getting sick? Totally Not Fair.

The soup

Fortunately I had made so much soup that I had some leftover for myself to defrost when I fell ill.

The soup consisted of:

chicken stock, homemade

2 chicken breasts poached for 20 min in the stock, then removed and shredded

carrot/celery/onion trifecta, sautéed in a bit of olive oil

cubed butternut squash, roasted in the oven

pasta

salt

thyme
dill

and of course, love.

However, as I am still feeling less than stellar, I can't be bothered to tell you proportions or order of operations, or really anything useful, because I did the whole thing off the cuff anyway.

But I took a picture of my soup.

So I posted it.

It was tasty.

Tho clearly lacking magical restorative powers...

Now I must get healthy as my in-laws arrive tomorrow to watch their son (my hubs) run in the NYC Marathon on Sunday, and I need to not be coughing and sneezing on them.

So send good vibes, people.

Get 'er done.

*The Rock 'n Roll Gourmet does not actually have a delivery service, so don't get your hopes up... 

Spinach & Artichoke Pasta

Really?
Only one reader liked my 3-day red wine-braised short ribs with porcini and tomato dinner?
That's just... well that's sad really. On a number of levels.
I'll stop shaking my head in disbelief long enough to post another meal, albeit a slightly clichéd one.

I have probably had the same package of frozen artichoke hearts for the past year, JUST IN CASE I ever wanted to make Spinach & Artichoke dip.

Finally, it all worked out.

I was without a protein to make for dinner and scrounging around, finding little in the way of fresh ingredients that would make an inspiring meal, when my brain clicked. I had just registered that I had fresh ricotta cheese and half & half, and I knew I could finally make S&A dip, only I would serve it over pasta so it would be dinner.

Step one: set water to boil and defrost artichokes and spinach

Step two: sauté one medium onion, chopped, in olive oil. Add 3 cloves of grated garlic (allowing 30 seconds to cook out and become fragrant) and toss in 1 package of defrosted artichoke hearts. 

Once the artichokes have warmed through, add in the defrosted (and well-drained) package of spinach and season with salt.

(Optional addition here of 1/4 cup of white wine to simmer and reduce down to almost nothing except flavor.)

Once those have picked up some of the onion-garlic flavor, it's time for the CHEESE!!!

 I used about 7 ounces of fresh whole milk ricotta.

Thin out the cheese into a sauce with any of the following:

chicken stock, half & half, pasta water

Use a little at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

Then, MORE CHEESE!!!

This time about 1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.

Stir to combine.

If you like nutmeg, this would be a good time to grate a few wafts of nutmeg into the mix.

I like to add the juice of about half a lemon because I think it really brightens what could otherwise be a really heavy, creamy mess.

Check your seasoning and drain the pasta 1 minute shy of the box's directions, reserving a bit of pasta water in case you still want to thin out your sauce. Add pasta to the pan and stir well to combine.

I topped mine with a little more parmigiano reggiano and a little lemon zest.

It's a bit heavy, but it's a delicious indulgence and packed with vegetables.

So long as you keep your portions small ;)