Man food, redux

Any man who tells you that he doesn't like meatloaf has never had good meatloaf.  I realize that when some people hear the word "meatloaf" they think of some greasy spoon where they suffered their last gall bladder attack, or they envision of plate of compressed sawdust encasing items like overcooked hardboiled eggs and olives.  Some of us will conjure up fond memories of a dense, beige rectangle of congealed mystery meat under an oily blanket of off-color gravy.  And then some of us have actually eaten or made good meatloaf.  I'm sure there are less than three degrees of separation between you and someone you know who makes a great meatloaf.  It's one of the easiest things in the world to make if you have a good, basic recipe.  I know a woman who swears the secret to her otherwise pedestrian meatloaf is her topping of Rotel tomatoes and brown sugar.

Yes, Virginia, good meatloaf, outstanding meatloaf and even delectably superior meatloaf are not only possible, they are just mere minutes away from emerging from your own very oven!  The secrets, formerly behind a dark curtain and shrouded in myth, are now yours: a decent proportion of fat, good and plentiful seasonings, binders, and moisture, usually from milk.  Let's talk about fat first.  Face it folks, fat tastes good.  Why else would prime rib, bacon, chicken wings and baby back ribs be so popular?  Ergo, you can't have a great-tasting, perfectly textured meatloaf without fat.  We'll leave the discussion on the evils of animal fat for another day.  Just know that fat carries seasoning, braises the meatloaf as it cooks and even--GASP--provides the flavoring for a fabulous mushroom gravy, if you've a mind to make it.

Seasoning is also important.  First of all, don't be afraid to salt.  Many a mediocre meatloaf could have been redeemed if only the cook were not shy of salt.  One of my favorite TV chefs, Anne Burrell said once (and I paraphrase), "Salt.  It's why restaurant food tastes so good."  Meatloaf tastes better if it is rather highly seasoned.  Pate, which is nothing more than a very sophisticated kind of [cold] meatloaf, won its claim to fame not only because of its fat content and texture (not to mention an impressive shelf-life), but because it is usually beautifully seasoned.  And lastly, moisture, in the form of milk, broth or even catsup--and most importantly in combination with binders like breadcrumbs or oatmeal--makes meatloaf juicy and tender.  Do yourself a favor and stop the insanity: no more packages of dried breadcrumbs from the store.  It's so simple and inexpensive to make your own from stale bread and freeze them.  Once you taste the difference between homemade breadcrumbs (yum) and store bought breadcrumbs (stale cardboard), you'll never want to buy them again. 

If you've never considered that meatloaf could be succulent, the three meatloaf recipes below could change your mind.  Make a great meatloaf and you will surely make a man (and almost everyone else) happy.  Joyce Landorf, eat your heart out!


Diner Meatloaf  (from Square Meals by Jane and Michael Stern)

Despite its title, this meatloaf is a good place to start and produces great results everytime.  Three rules: don't use lean meat or fancy sirloin.  Ground chuck w/approximately 20% fat will ensure the meatloaf is juicy.  Don't skimp on binders such as oatmeal and breadcrumbs since they are extremely important to texture.  And please don't undercook.  Greige is the color of a proper Diner Meatloaf.

1 1/4 lbs. ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
3/4 cup uncooked oatmeal
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2
1 cup tomato juice (I've substituted thinned-down catsup)
1 onion, minced
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Mix beef, pork, oatmeal and eggs.  Blend in remaining ingredients and mix well.
3.  Pack into a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, shaping a rounded top.
4.  Bake 1 1/2 hours.  Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.  Drain off any juice.  Serve with mushroom gravy (below) if you wish.  Serves 6 to 8.

Mushroom Gravy

Skim fat from meatloaf drippings and pour into a small saucepan.  Whisk 2 Tbs. flour into 2 cups beef broth in a separate bowl and add to drippings.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened.  Reduce heat to low and keep warm. 

Meanwhile, brown 1 cup (or more) sliced mushrooms in butter or oil, add 2 Tbs. dry sherry and reduce until completely evaporated and absorbed.  Season with salt and pepper then add mushrooms to gravy.  Taste for seasoning and correct.  Here's your chance to get creative and add garlic powder or onion powder if the gravy is too bland for your taste.  Serve over meatloaf (and of course it's great on mashed potatoes too).


Richyson's Meatloaf

My friend Richyson, makes an excellent meatloaf (a Betty Crocker incarnation).  He states that the secret is to not overmix the ingredients and to use a light hand when packing the mixture into the loaf pan.  Oh, and that catsup frosting on top...

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef (at least 20% fat)
3 slices soft bread, torn in pieces
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup celery, in medium dice
1/4 cup minced onion
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. celery salt
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
catsup (optional)

Mix all ingredients except catsup together lightly.  Turn into 2 loaf pans (9 x 5 inches each), smooth the surface lightly and spread generously with catsup (optional).  Bake approximately 1 hour at 350 degrees.  Let meatloaf rest for several minutes before slicing and serving.  Serves 4 to 6.



My Mother’s Turkey Meatloaf

          Mom uses a bag of Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing Mix and cooks hers in the microwave.  I prefer day-old bread crumbs and my own herb combination for a lighter, moister version that I bake in the oven.  You choose

1 lb. ground turkey (you’ll get better flavor and moisture content if you buy ground turkey that is not totally lean)

3/4 cup homemade bread crumbs (or 1/2 pkg. Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing Mix)

1/3  cup milk

1 egg, beaten

½ tsp. rubbed sage

½ tsp. thyme

½ tsp. summer savory (optional)

¼ tsp. marjoram*

¼ tsp. garlic powder

¾ tsp. kosher salt

¾ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 stalk celery, in medium dice

1/2 cup onion, in medium dice

1 carrot, grated

1. Combine all ingredients in medium-sized bowl.   Mix well without compressing ingredients.  Turn into loaf pan.

2. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.  Let meatloaf set a few minutes before slicing.

* You can substitute 1 ½ tsp. poultry seasoning for sage, thyme, savory and marjoram if you wish.  Reduce this quantity to 1 tsp. if you use the stuffing mix.

Man food vs. food a man will eat

As a serious, dyed-in-the-wool, card-carrying, hard-core, anything-made-with-creme-fraiche-addicted foodie, I have to admit that my husband has presented a serious challenge to me.  How to make the food I like and prefer to cook appealing to a guy who has heretofore subsisted on frozen burritos and value menus at major fast food chains?  In other words, The Pygmalion Challenge.  I'm thinking of the Rex Harrison/Audrey Hepburn "My Fair Lady" version, not the darkly twisted, sexually pathological Greek mythological version.

In any event, hats off to my husband who very gamely (and sometimes naively) has ingested foods he states that he hates, or states that he can't recognize, or that he can't even spell--much less pronounce.  He is a very flexible and willing gastronomical neophyte who claims that he hasn't eaten the same thing twice in our almost three years together (so not true) and brags to his golf buddies that I've only made four meals in our history together that were less than stellar (that might be true).

Asparagus.  No matter what you do to it, I will always like it.  My husband ate asparagus with gusto when we were first dating, and would routinely eat everything but the last two inches until recently.  We had just finished a meal of Supremes de Volaille a Brun with Madiera Sauce (Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol I, pp 270-271) and Puree de Pommes de Terre a L'ail (MAFC, Vol I, pp 520-521) with--you guessed it--roasted asparagus.  I noticed that he was pushing his asparagus around on his plate.  He looked at me sheepishly and said, "Babe.  Asparagus.  No matter what you do to it, I'll never like it."

Let the games begin.  What to do with a meat-and-potatoes palate when the closest you've ever come to "man food" is walking by the frozen pizzas on the way to the puff pastry and phyllo dough?  I've learned to serve more familiar foods; read: pork chops, but with brandy and dried cherries.  Cauliflower, but with curried cream sauce.  Noodles, but with brown butter and chopped fresh parsley.  Perhaps you don't struggle with these challenges, but perhaps you do.  The trick is to tweak the familiar without reaching for the over-the-top factor that scares off the straight-forward eater.  In other words, you might think twice about offering ceviche to someone whose only experience with seafood is Mrs. Paul's fish sticks.

Buck up, it can be done.  Following is a recipe for broiled chicken legs from Rocco DiSpirito that's worked wonders at dinnertime.  It's a refreshing departure from the same old-same old and is wonderful with rice to soak up the sweet/salty/spicy sauce.  So although my husband will never tell you he lives to eat, he will tell you that he enjoys eating.  And he is always sweetly appreciative.  And when he's not, he's sweetly silent.


Broiled Chicken Legs with Onions, Apples and Chunky Lemon-Pepper Sauce (based on a recipe by Rocco di Spirito)

2 1/2 lbs. chicken legs
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 large Vidalia onions (or other sweet onions), peeled
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled cored, and quartered
2 Tbs. EVOO
1 10 oz. jar pepper jelly (such as Tabasco brand)
3 lemons
fresh coarsely ground black pepper

1.  Preheat broiler on low.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.  Season chicken generously with salt and pepper.  Place chicken in center of pan.

2.  Cut each onion into 12 thin wedges.  Scatter onions and apples around chicken.  Drizzle everything with EVOO and season again with salt and pepper.  Broil 10 minutes.

3.  Turn chicken over and stir apples and onions to expose uncooked surfaces.  Turn broiler on high.  Broil until chicken is charred and cooked through, about another 10 minutes.

4.  Meanwhile, heat pepper jelly in a small saucepan until melted.  Peel the lemons and remove the pith.  Dice the lemons, reserving juice and removing and discarding seeds.  Remove jelly from heat; add diced lemons and their juice.  Stir to combine; season to taste with salt and pepper.

5.  To serve, spoon sauce on top of chicken, onions and apples and top with more freshly ground coarse black pepper.  Serves 4.

My new crush

Writing a blog is like having a new crush--you can't eat, you can't sleep, you think about it all the time, you check your email constantly, you check your blog constantly (like you would check your lipstick or inspect your teeth for spinach), you make super-human efforts to be perpetually witty, charming and gorgeous.  You're revved up, "on" all the time, neurons firing and creative libido at an all-time high.  You're smokin' hot.  I'm talkin' hot like a Scotch bonnet pepper.

Your husband complains that he's been replaced.  He makes comments like, "Life as I know it is over."  And, "What does the blog have that I don't?"  And, "Are you in love with it?"  He begins asking if you are just using him as a guinea pig to test recipes before they get put up on the blog, muttering something under his breath about just being a meal ticket.  He gives you a look of incredulity when you tell him you didn't hear what he just said because you were--gulp--thinking about your new crush.  Again.

OK, I admit that I have a serious crush on my new blog.  It's totally seductive, entrancing and beguiling.  It's the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last thing I think of before I fall asleep.  And when I'm awake in the middle of the night, I think of all the things I want to do with it.  I fantasize about our future together, about growing old together.  I have never loved having insomnia so much.  It's like all the fun parts of being manic-depressive with no down time.  The grandiose thinking, the flight of ideas, the high that makes you feel invincible.  And all possible without that nasty Lithium.  I hope the chemistry never wears off and that my new crush never falls off its pedestal.  I hope I never come down.  I'm having too much fun.

Friends and fellow foodies, thanks for making this experience happen.  I feel like a teenager again.

Saturday Night Throwdown

It may astonish you, Dear Reader, that Vindaloo occaisionally resorts to the use of convenience foods.  By "convenience foods," she refers to leftovers from a previous meal.  A product of post-Depression era parenting, she may have inherited her maternal grandmother's gift of transforming little bits of this and that into something greater than the sum of its parts.  Last night's dinner was a nod in that direction.  In and of itself, the meal was not stunningly creative, but each part worked together to produce a very pleasing and quite delicious outcome.  So, for your perusal and hopefully your future kitchen adventures, there are three recipes below. 

What, you might ask, did Vindaloo sip with her supper after luxuriating  like a cat in a deliciously sunny afternoon?  Why, she opened a bottle of Gruner Veltliner (or if you want to be trendy, ask your wine guys at Spec's for Gru-V): Hans Setzer Weinviertel 2008 (Austria).  GV is a lovely, lively white that is typicially acidic with some presence of minerality.  It's a white with enough cajones to stand up to foods with more intense flavors.  Not uncommonly, GV presents with aromas/flavors of lime, green apple, cantaloupe, grass, stone, white pepper, floral notes, etc.  The Weinviertel did not disappoint.  It was spicy with an initial hit of kaffir lime and plenty of acid to balance the richness of the meal.  Vindaloo has been drinking GV for years and thinks it goes well with quite a few things (here's a wine for those of you who really love Asian cuisine), and it was particularly lovely with last night's menu:  Cedar-Smoked Wild Salmon with Salted Honey and Szechuan Peppercorns, Orange-Basil Rice Pilaf, Roasted Broccoli with Toasted Garlic and Red Pepper. 

May your tastebuds dance.  Oh, and would one of you please help find a sexier, sleeker name for the salmon?

Cedar-Smoked Wild Salmon with Salted Honey and Szechuan Peppercorns

8 oz. wild salmon fillet

Sea salt to taste (you could also experiment with smoked salt as well),
       but be sure to use plenty

1 to 2 Tbs. honey, or to taste

¼ tsp. Szechuan peppercorns, crushed  (you can substitute regular

   peppercorns if you wish)

Cedar chips

1.     If you have cedar chips, prepare them by soaking them in some water while you get the fish and the grill ready.  You can also purchase a cedar plank and use it to cook the fish on.  But I’ve never used one, so you’re on your own in that department!

2.     Salt the top of the fish fillet and drizzle with honey.  The idea is to coat the top of the fish with the honey so you get a bit of a glaze.  Sprinkle with the crushed peppercorns.

3.     Drain excess water from cedar chips (if you’re using them).  Place them directly on the grill fire/coals under the grate. 

4.     Cook the salmon on the grill, covered, for approximately 7 to 8 minutes.  I started off at a medium-high setting and lowered it to medium-low when I saw the honey starting to burn at the edges too much.  Serves 2.

Orange-Basil Rice Pilaf

1 Tbs. EVOO

1 Tbs. butter

1 Tbs. finely chopped shallot

½ tsp. dried basil

1 ½ cups leftover wild and brown rice pilaf

½ tsp. finely grated orange zest

¼ cup chopped fresh orange (I used leftover Clementine sections from breakfast)

1 to 2 Tbs. toasted slivered almonds or toasted chopped pecans (optional)

1. In a small sauté pan, heat the EVOO and butter until shimmering.  Add shallot and sauté for about 1 minute.  Add basil.
2. Add leftover rice pilaf.  If it’s a bit dry, add a little water.  Stir to incorporate flavors.  Cover and lower heat to steam and infuse.
3. Just before serving, stir in orange zest, fresh orange and nuts if you’re using them.  Serves 2.

Roasted Broccoli with Toasted Garlic and Red Pepper

2 crowns broccoli, trimmed and cut into large florets

2 to 4 Tbs. EVOO

1 tsp. dried minced garlic (I use Penzey’s)

1 tsp. crushed red pepper (if you like less heat, reduce this quantity)

Kosher salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees while you’re prepping the ingredients.
2. Put the prepared broccoli in a large bowl and drizzle with EVOO.  Sprinkle the dried, minced garlic, crushed red pepper and a generous amount of kosher salt over the broccoli.  Mix well until broccoli florets are coated with seasonings.
3. Distribute evenly on a sheet pan with sides and bake for about 20 minutes.*  The goal here is not emerald green broccoli, but rather toasted, caramelized broccoli, which will not be a very attractive shade of green.  It will, however, taste wonderfully nutty with a slight crunch.  Serves 2 with leftovers.

* Time is approximate.  Vindaloo had imbibed ein bischen Gru-V at this point and didn’t pay attention closely to the cooking time, so you’ll need to peek in the oven after 15 minutes or so.

On how I survive in a slightly antiquated kitchen...

I subscribe to many food and home interior magazines (yes, I read them all).  I especially love looking at photos of other people's kitchens and years ago, began tearing out pages to store in a "vision folder."  The pages essentially represent the things I'd like to be surrounded with in my Dream Kitchen: acres of space, a great sound system, countertops that are uncluttered (and not made of 35 year old Formica), roomy, plentiful cabinets, three sinks (and two dishwashers), a walk-in refrigerator, a huge temperature-zoned wine room (yes, I said "wine room"), a butler's pantry (because I have this problem with hoarding food), two wall ovens and of course, the Viking 8-burner free-standing gas range with grill options.  To my professor friend who once said after dinner (and much too much wine) that if he ever won the lottery he would give me $20,000 to start my own cooking show: what I really need the 20K for is to put a down payment on that Viking range and those double wall ovens!

But the most coveted thing in my Dream Kitchen?  A dish pantry.  I collect all kinds of stemware, serving items, tableware, cookware and linens.  Presently, most of what I use for parties and larger gatherings is stored in plastic boxes in my garage and spare bedroom, which makes it really inconvient to organize table settings and service items.  Not to mention that the garage and spare bedroom are pathetically cluttered (which on some dark, Freudian level probably indicates the true nature of my inner world).  My Dream Kitchen dish pantry would have enormous floor to ceiling cabinets, plenty of counter space, great lighting, and a center island area to stage table settings and presentation ideas.  Think of it as sort of a culinary and decorator's playroom with lots of toys.  Got the picture?

But let's get back to reality.  In my actual, slightly antiquated kitchen, what I really don't like is the range.  I don't think I've had the pleasure of using a gas range for my own cooking for about 20 years.  Somehow, in all the places I've lived, there were always electric ranges.  My parents bought me a sleek, black flat top range for a housewarming present when I bought my house in 1999.  Since my only option was an electric appliance, I thought that I would at least enjoy the design features of a flat top range, and I have.  Sort of.  After all, the working stove that came with the house was circa 1970's.  You know the kind--actual coil burners with aluminum drip pans (that some of us used to line with foil to cut down on clean-up time).  However, the real charm of that original stove was its color (avocado green) and the patina of baked-on grease from former residents.  Don't laugh.  That stove harmonized beautifully with the scarred, dingy avocado green linoleum and the matching stove hood (all of which have since been removed).  That stove also got relegated to the garage for a short time (where my cat had her five kittens in the bottom drawer) before traveling on to Old Appliance Purgatory.  Nice.

Oh, how I long to own an 8-burner capacity gas range with grill plates and double ovens.  I would caress her every morning, whisper sweet nothings in her ear all day long, and kiss her tenderly good night.  No more juggling hot plates and electric skillets when giving a big party!  No more portable ovens, using electric and propane outdoor grills for makeshift ovens, digging a pit in the back yard and waiting 12 hours for the right coals!  No more running across the street to use a neighbor's oven and cooktop!  Cooking two 20 lb. turkeys, oyster dressing and vegetable gratins for Thanksgiving dinner all at once?  No problem!  Shrimp brochette in 20-degree February weather?  No problem!  Paella pan too big for one burner?  No problem!  Actually being able to stir-fry, sear properly and control the heat with hair-trigger precision?  Priceless.

There are, however, actually some good features about my slightly antiquated kitchen.  It's an open-ended galley design that flows into an adjoining living room/den area with a fireplace.  The design concept itself is ingenious and I think it's the best feature of the whole house.  During parties and gatherings, people congregate near the kitchen and in the den area, where moving around comfortably and talking with each other is possible and quite pleasant.  It can be very cozy and intimate no matter how many people are there.  I also like that that here's enough space for two people to work together (except my cooking friends would say NOT!) and the "kitchen work triangle" (how the stove, sink/dishwasher and refrigerator are positioned) feels about right.  The other feature that I really like about my kitchen is that there is a rectangular opening in the wall behind and just above the range that allows me to talk with people seated in the dining room adjoining the kitchen, and more importantly, to pass plates of food through without having to walk around.  I also like that there is plenty of natural light in my kitchen from a set of double lateral sliding windows above the sink and nearer the den area, a set of French doors.  Never mind that those windows and French doors are looking for a place to die a quick and painless death.

Sadly, I absolutely loathe my sink, a porcelain and cast iron number that requires owning stock in Proctor & Gamble in order to keep it looking halfway clean.  It has a sprayer that is tempermental and the faucet, which has been replaced in the last five years, is a single handle design that now leaks.  We also have exceptionally hard water, so the calcification residue is quite impressive.  In my Dream Kitchen, I have a large, deep double stainless steel sink (integrated with the countertops, of course) in the main work area near the dishwasher, and another standard sized stainless steel sink on a separate work island nearby.  In my Dream Kitchen, both sinks have those fabulous faucets that will turn on and off if they're touched (very handy if you've got marinade or raw meatloaf clinging to your hands).  Oh, and one more thing: I also have a maid.  In my Dream Kitchen.

Reality bites.  I can't really say that having a slightly antiquated kitchen significantly impacts my ability to turn out great food, but I can say that the psychological benefit of having beautiful, modern, expertly-functioning equipment and design features certainly would.  I once lamented to a friend that I really wished for a nicer, more modern kitchen, admitting that I really didn't need it to cook well.  "No, but you deserve it," he said, with a sweet smile.

Yes, I do.   Guess I'll start buying lottery tickets because that pickle jar at the corner store isn't working yet...

In anticipation of Valentine's Day

When I was single, I would manage the difficulty and awkwardness of Valentine's Day by throwing a lavish dinner party for everyone I loved, coupled or not.  I recall many lovely dinners with friends and families and we all came away well-fed and feeling surrounded by love.  And we were.  Still are.

This year will be the first Valentine's Day of my marriage.  I am older and wiser.  I have adjusted my expectations to my appropriate age and stage of life!  I plan to make it a quiet, simple evening.  My husband loves pasta, so I'm thinking of serving a dish I learned while I was a chef in a small restaurant in upstate New York (recipe follows).  This pasta is lovely on the plate and heaven in the mouth with a melange of garlic and scallion-infused olive oil, anise notes from the basil, tangy astringency from the artichoke hearts and the sweet-salty, slightly mysterious flavor of proscuitto.  Pecorino Romano, a hard, salty, tangy sheep's milk cheese, is the only garnish it needs.  My wine suggestions would be a light, dry red, a minerally or off-dry white, or even a dry rose, but please, ask your wine guys at Spec's for help, because they will help you profile your tastes, they also love to cook and eat and, most importantly, they know their business!  Happily, I discovered a bottle of Becker Cabernet Franc Reserve 2005 (Texas) in my collection, so all is well.  (Sorry guys.  See you soon, though.)

This Valentine's Day, find someone you love (or want to).  Invite them to dinner.  Light some candles.  Pour a glass of wine for them and cook them a wonderful meal.  Listen to some beautiful music.  Maybe even dance a little.  I promise you, it will be memorable.  After all, love is the only pure and healing force in the universe...and when enhanced by good food and good wine, well, anything could happen...


Pasta with Artichoke Hearts and Prosciutto
   ~especially good with fresh, homemade fettucine or pappardelle~

1 lb. pasta (mafaldine, fettucine, linguine or angel hair)
3/4 cup olive oil
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 scallions, trimmed and sliced into 1/4" pieces
1 heaping Tbs. dried basil (although I would encourage you to garnish this dish with fresh basil, dried basil really lends the most intense sweetness and anise-like flavor)
1 15 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered (or use 2 9 oz. bags frozen quartered
artichoke hearts, thawed)
4 to 8 oz. proscuitto, thinly sliced and cut into 1/2" strips
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1.  Cook pasta, drain and keep warm in a large shallow bowl or platter.

2.  Gently heat olive oil in a medium-sized saute pan; add garlic, scallions and basil and saute at lowest possible temperature, being careful not to brown the garlic. 

3.  Add the artichoke hearts and prosciutto, stirring to coat with the oil mixture.  Heat through thoroughly and season to taste with kosher salt.

4.  Pour oil mixture over pasta, distributing over entire surface.  Toss pasta with oil mixture to incorporate flavors well.

5.  Serve with freshly ground black pepper and a generous amount of freshly grated cheese.  Serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as a first course.

What I had for dinner last night...

Wednesday, 9 February 2011 dawned a rather wintry and blustery day and icy conditions suggested barricading myself indoors for most of the day.  I had been at the supermarket early that morning, and decided that beef short ribs would make a wonderful dinner.  I gathered herbs, aromatics, wine, the beef, and my favorite Dutch oven.  I began to cook.  The perfume from these short ribs was nothing short of intoxicating.  I thought they might be nice stacked on a mound of buttery garlic smashers, but I wanted rustic bread for what would be a fabulous sauce.  Served alongside a salad of chopped hearts of romaine, campari tomatoes and celery leaves with "Almost Floyd's Olive Salad Dressing," these short ribs were beyond delicious and got rave reviews.  As dinner simmered in the oven, I opened a bottle of Salentein Reserve Cab 2006 (Argentina), recommended by my fabulous wine guys at Spec's, sipped contentedly, and inhaled the magic.

I'm sending along three recipes today, Short Ribs for an Icy February Day, Artisanal Bread in Five Minutes, and Almost Floyd's Olive Salad Dressing.  Mangia!  And may your tastebuds always dance.

Short Ribs for an Icy February Day (with thanks to the Barefoot Contessa)

• 12 beef short ribs, trimmed of fat ( I used a combination of bone-in and boneless)
• kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onions (2 large onions)
• 4 cups large-diced celery (6 large stalks)
• 2 large carrots, peeled and large-diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 (750 ml) bottle dry red wine (I used a Spanish Petit Verdot)
• 1 Tbs. dried rosemary
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. fennel seed
• 6 cups beef stock
• 1 Tbs. brown sugar
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 Tbs. butter
• 1 lb. sliced mushrooms
• 1 small garlic clove, smashed
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup fino sherry (I used Savory and James, my go-to cooking sherry)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Place the short ribs on a sheet pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 20 minutes, or until browned.  Remove from the oven.  Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven and add the onion, celery and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.  Pour the wine over the vegetables, bring to a boil, and cook over high heat until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes.  Add 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.  Add fennel, rosemary and thyme.
3. Place the roasted ribs on top of the vegetables in the Dutch oven and add the beef stock and brown sugar.  Bring to a simmer over high heat.  Cover the Dutch oven and bake for 2 hours or until the meat is very tender.
4. Carefully remove the short ribs from the pot and set aside; skim excess fat.  Cook the vegetables and sauce over medium heat for 20 minutes, until reduced by about one-third.
5. Meanwhile, heat butter and EVOO together in skillet on medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms, and as Julia says, “Do not crowd the mushrooms.”  Saute until well browned, adding the clove of garlic after a few minutes, along with the kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.  When the mushrooms are well-browned, add the sherry and continue to cook, lowering heat if necessary, until sherry is evaporated and absorbed.  Add mushrooms to sauce.
6. Put the ribs back into the pot and heat through. Garnish generously with chopped parsley—because it’s pretty and because it’s good for you.  Serves 4 lavishly.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes

Adapted from ”Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François
Literally, this dough thrives on neglect.  It is absolutely the best bread I’ve ever baked—and it’s ridiculously easy.  Try it—you’ll be astounded at the results.

• 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
• 3 to 4 cups water
• 6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough (you can replace about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of white flour with any whole grain flour with great results).
• Cornmeal

1. In a large bowl, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups warm water. Add flour, and stir to combine completely.  Add more water if you like a looser dough.  Let dough rise in a warm place for at least two hours, until it rises and collapses (up to 8 hours – or even overnight won’t hurt it). The dough may be baked at this point, or refrigerated for later use.

2. Cover dough, but make sure it is not airtight – gases need to escape – and place in fridge. The longer this dough sits (and it can sit in your fridge up to two weeks), the better it tastes.  When you are ready to use it, throw a small fistful of flour on the surface and use a serrated knife to cut off a piece of the size you desire. (The authors recommend a 1 pound loaf – which means cutting off grapefruit-sized piece of dough). Turning the dough in your hands, stretch the surface of the dough and tuck in under. The surface will be smooth, and the bottom with be bunched. *

3. Dust a pizza peel (or any flat surface such as a rimless cookie sheet) with cornmeal. (This prevents sticking, and adds a nice, rustic crunch. You can use flour instead, but you’ll need to use a very generous dusting).  Allow dough to rest in a warm place for 40 minutes – longer (sometimes up to five hours) if you use some whole wheat flour in place of the white, if your house is cooler, or if you make a larger loaf.

4. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat oven to 450 degrees with baking stone (or overturned baking sheet) inside on the middle rack, plus a shallow pan on the top rack. Throw a small fistful of flour over the dough, slash it 2-4 times with a serrated knife (in a cross, a tic-tac-toe, or a fan), and slide it into the oven, onto the baking stone (I have already risen the dough on a cornmeal-dusted baking sheet and bake it directly on that).  Pour 1-2 cups of tap water into the shallow pan, and quickly shut the oven door to trap steam inside. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until crust is well browned and bread sounds hollow when you knock on the bottom.

*Personally, I don’t want to handle the dough at all.  I scoop it out with a rigid utensil directly onto a cornmeal-covered baking sheet, let it shape itself as irregularly as it likes, sprinkle it with flour and cover it with a light cloth.  Then I let it rise for quite a while.

Almost Floyd’s Olive Salad Dressing

You all know I try to replicate things other people make that I really like.  This is my version of a salad dressing that I had at Floyd’s (on I-10 near Beaumont).  Make a lot, because you’re going to like it too.

1 extra-large clove garlic

1 cup pitted black olives, drained

1 cup pimento-stuffed olives, drained

1/2 cup (slightly heaped) dill pickle slices, drained

1 tsp. Italian herb seasoning mix (I used Penzey’s)

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 cups EVOO

1 cup good-quality red wine vinegar

Mince garlic in food processor, then add olives and pickles, pulsing until everything is coarsely chopped.  Transfer mixture to a large jar and add Italian herb seasoning, black pepper, EVOO and red wine vinegar.  Mix well and cover.  Stores for several weeks in the refrigerator (but I don’t think it will last that long…)