A Love Affair With Neil, The Local Butcher

My friend, Bacon, (so-called because he is convinced that "Bacon is a Vegetable,") may be having an affair with the local butcher.  Every other day, Bacon will call me and say something like, "Neil gave me 20 chicken wings," or "I gave Neil some chipotles in adobo," or "Neil wants me to come over and watch a rugby match,"or perhaps, "I took some chili over to Neil."

I think it takes an intimate relationship with a butcher to make sense of British cuts of meat, as they are often not the same as American ones.  A British butcher does not know what the heck you are talking about if you march in and ask for some short ribs or tri-tip.  So, I think Bacon is onto something here.  Especially since one day, Bacon called to announce, "Neil gave me a ton of those Jacob's Ladders.  You should take some."  (Jacob's Ladder, incidentally, is a rack of Short Ribs.  We finally figured that out, after getting various cuts from the cow.  I even once tried to explain to Neil which ribs I wanted, demonstrating on my own body.  It was slightly embarrassing to stand in the middle of a local butcher shop and have 3 butchers in bloody aprons watching me point to my own torso over and over again.  And even more annoying to come home with the wrong cut, revealing that perhaps I stink at Butcher Charades.)

Bacon's wife, Dr. Tex, doesn't seem to mind.  After all, she gets to eat lots of tasty meals (although she's not as into meat as her husband.  Few are.)  So now that Bacon and I have all of these short ribs, the challenge is finding the recipes that best showcase this lovely, inexpensive cut of meat.  It's a good value, even for those of you who aren't in love with your local butcher!

Penne With Short Ribs, by Giada DeLaurentiis

Ingredients

• 4 pounds beef short ribs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 5 Roma tomatoes, cut into eighths
• 1 cup red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon (or 1 cup chicken or beef broth, see Note below)
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 1 pound penne pasta
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Place an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Season the ribs with salt and pepper. In a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or ovenproof stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In batches, add the ribs and brown on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the ribs and set aside. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine and mustard. Bring the mixture to a boil and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the ribs to the pan. Add the beef broth, cover the pan and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours until the meat is fork-tender and falls easily from the bone.

Remove the ribs from the cooking liquid. Using a large spoon, remove any excess fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Using a ladle, transfer the cooking liquid in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Remove the meat from the bones. Discard the bones. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into small pieces. Stir the shredded meat into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and place in a large serving bowl. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the sauce and add to the pasta. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the pasta. Toss well and thin out the pasta with more sauce, if needed. Sprinkle the pasta with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley before serving.

Note:  I substituted 1 cup of chicken broth for the 1 cup of wine because I didn't think my kids would like the flavor of the wine.  The substitution worked out fine, although it meant that the acid level of the braising sauce wasn't that high, which meant that the ribs didn't break down as much as they otherwise would.  To shred the meat, I had to take it off in big chunks with two forks, then chop it up really small with a chef's knife.  The meat chopped up very easily because it was still pretty tender.  Then, I stirred the chopped meat back into the sauce and let it sit for a couple of minutes so that the meat would absorb the sauce.  After that, I put in the pasta, tossed to combine, and topped with the parsley and cheese.  

On a Hazelnut Mission

What is it about the hazelnut?  All I know is that if you put it in a cake, cookie, pastry or ice cream, you will also have to wrestle me to the ground in order to keep me away from it.  

So when I watched a cooking show called "Catherine's Italian Kitchen," on GoodFood (UK's version of Food Network), I was extremely intrigued when Catherine visited the Nebrodi mountains in Northern Sicily.  Gaetano Calamunci owns a pastry shop/ice cream factory in the tiny town of Sinagra and makes all kinds of delectable looking treats.  Now, I had assumed that I had pretty much seen it all when it comes to sweets, but this guy takes decadence to a whole new level.  For breakfast, he is known to take a freshly baked brioche, slice it open, and spread on a generous helping of hazelnut gelato.  Then, to finish it off, he'll throw a handful of toasted hazelnuts on top of the ice cream before he closes up the amazing sandwich.

Sadly, I am not planning a trip to Sicily in the next few months, yet I feel like I must try something made by this master craftsman soon.  Calamunci makes all kinds of treats that he is willing to ship, thankfully.  I was delighted to discover that he had a website and gladly took orders (for a minimum of 25 Euros).  Unfortunately, I am not that seasoned when it comes to ordering goods from the Italian Internet.  So, someone may or may not show up at my doorstep with 5 jars of hazelnut spread and 1/2 kilo of hazelnut cookies, demanding cash on delivery.  Stay tuned!

In the meantime, if you are lucky enough to be heading towards the Land of Hazelnuts, visit Calamunci's and give us a full report!  http://www.pasticceriacalamunci.com/

Potstickers - The Perfect Oscar Party Starters!

Let's face it, the powers-that-be are not predicting too many surprises this year for the Academy Awards.  For your Oscar pool, you are choosing between "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker," and the accolades for actors supposedly will go to everyone who snagged the Golden Globes.  So, how to make your Oscar Party exciting?  Fabulous cocktails, obviously. And...fun appetizers!

Potstickers are one of those great little wonders that everyone loves.  If your guests do not eat meat, fill the little gyoza wrappers with grated veggies instead.  You are only limited by your imagination.  If it sounds like it would taste good fried in a crunchy wrapper, then it probably will!  Throw it in and see what happens.

Potstickers
Ingredients:
2 lb ground pork (ground turkey is fine)
3-4 cups shredded cabbage (I like to buy the pre-shredded cole-slaw cabbage to cut down prep time)
3-4 green onions, minced
2 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1 package of medium tofu (medium firm is fine)
1 egg
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
3 Tablespoons sesame oil
2-3 packages gyoza wrappers (won ton wrappers are too thin for these dumplings)

You will also need:
2 large cookie sheets/baking trays/platters lined with wax paper or parchment paper
1 small bowl filled with water
1 damp paper towel or kitchen towel
1 large, heavy frying pan with a tight cover (a glass cover makes frying the dumplings easier)
1 small bowl filled with water for frying

Place all ingredients except for the wrappers into a large bowl.  Mix together with your hands or a large wooden spoon until everything is incorporated together.

Gather together your other materials at a table where you can spread everything out and sit comfortably.  Take one wrapper and put a rounded tablespoon of filling onto one side.  Dip a finger into the small bowl of water and brush your wet finger at the edge of half of the wrapper (Do not go all the way around the whole wrapper, just make a half-circle).  Fold the wrapper into a half-moon shape, using the water you brushed on to act as an adhesive and close the dumpling into a half-moon shape.  (A lot of people pleat the top skin to make a pretty fan, but I really can't be bothered with such nonsense when I'm making a bazillion little dumplings).

After you've made one dumpling, lay it on the lined tray and repeat until you're out of filling.

If you would like to eat the dumplings immediately, begin the frying process, or keep the dumplings in the refrigerator/freezer until ready.  (Make sure your dumplings are in a single layer so that they don't stick together).

To fry, heat a few tablespoons of canola oil in the frying pan over medium high heat.  Place the dumplings onto the pan in a single layer, arranging them in rows.  Once the bottom of the dumplings are slightly cooked but before they turn golden, pour about 1/3 to ½ cup of cold water over the dumplings, making sure that all tops of the dumplings are moistened.  Cover the pan and cook until the dumplings are transparent.  Remove the dumplings from the pan onto a serving platter, fried side up.  Serve with Potsticker Sauce.

Note:  Major Obvious likes his potstickers fried and crunchy on both sides, so after the potstickers are transparent, I will lift the cover, flip the potstickers with wooden chopsticks, and let them crisp up on the other side.  The traditional way to eat them, however, is crunchy on one side and soft on the other.  The choice is yours!

Potsticker Sauce
1 bottle soy sauce
1 bottle sesame oil
1 bottle hot chili oil

Give your guests their own little sauce dishes and encourage them to make their own potsticker sauce to their own liking, by mixing the soy sauce, sesame oil and hot chili oil.  (Some guests may choose to forgo the hot chili oil altogether).

I like to make a big, big batch of these and freeze them for convenience food at later times.  To do so, place your tray of potstickers in the freezer.  Once frozen, place the potstickers in a large, labelled freezer storage bag.  Potstickers will keep for 6 weeks.

Don't Forget the Latkes!

Lemony Snicket's "The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming," is a favorite holiday story of ours.  I think we enjoy it mostly because the central character is edible.  After we read the story this past weekend, I remembered that the latke remains a delicious holiday dinner option.  We serve ours with applesauce, light yogurt (my lighter alternative to sour cream) and sausages, but you can choose any accompaniments you'd like.

2 courgettes

6-8 medium potatoes (we used new potatoes, but you can use yukon golds or any ones...but I'm not sure how they'd turn out with red potatoes)

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 c flour

1/4 of an onion

sea salt and course black pepper to taste

2-3 Tbsp canola oil

Peel and grate the courgettes and potatoes.  (This is always a challenge for me.  I always seem to come very close to grating some of my hand into the mixture.  Be careful!)  When you are done, squeeze any extra water out of the grated veggies and put them into a large bowl.  (I use a smaller bowl on the counter to catch my veggie water so I am not making multiple trips to the sink).  Grate the quartered onion into veggies (don't squeeze out any liquid from these...you want that tasty onion juice in the mixture).

Add the rest of the ingredients to the large bowl and mix to combine.  Put a couple of paper towels onto a dinner plate and have it waiting by the stove.

Heat some canola oil over high heat in a large frying pan.  When the oil is hot, spoon the veggies into pancake-sized blobs into the pan.  Wait for a few minutes, then flip when brown.  You may have to manage the heat of the stove to make sure the latkes don't burn.  When the latkes are done, place them onto the paper towels to drain.  Serve while hot!

Traditional latkes are cooked in a lot more oil, but I like to have these less-fattening ones.  I also like putting in some zucchini so that the kids get some veggies!  Feel free to experiment.  I've seen people use grated carrots before, too.

Courgette Omelette - A Quick Lunch During The Holiday Season

For some, weekends leading up to the holidays consist of shopping and gift-wrapping.  Others spend hours playing Super Mario Bros. on the Wii.  You can guess what Major Obvious and Sweet Pea were up to last Saturday.  Little Man and I are less committed to the Mario and Luigi Cause, so we took a break to make a quick lunch.  Little Man picked out a lovely courgette (zucchini) at Tesco that we were determined to use.

Courgette Omelette

3 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 courgette, peeled and grated
1/4 onion, minced
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

chopped chives, optional

pinch sea salt

few grinds of freshly grated black pepper

In a small nonstick pan over medium-high heat, warm oil.  While waiting for oil to heat up, take handfuls of grated courgette and squeeze over the sink to wring out any excess water.  Put grated courgette in pan with minced onions.  Sautee for several minutes, until vegetables seem tender.

If you haven't already, crack the eggs into a bowl.  Beat with a fork and add salt and pepper.  Add egg mixture to pan when veggies are ready.  Stir a little and add grated cheese.  Let omelette set.

At this point, you can fold the omelette in half, but I never bother with such silliness.  I just grab the eggs out of the pan with a spatula and put them on plates.  Garnish with chopped chives, if desired.  Serve with toast.

Serves 2 (if paired with toast and salad).

A Little Addictive Cookie - Just In Time For The Holidays

Major Obvious came home from work one day bearing this package.  Now, normally I do not condone packaged cookies in the house.  (I will bend for cookies that are "home-baked" in the grocery store).  I just can't help but feel that the cookie manufacturers of the world are shoving trans fats into the little treats at every turn.  (How else can the biscuits stay "fresh" for a year on the shelf?)  The worst of it is, I never seem to see the term "hydrogenated" anywhere on UK packaging, so I can't help but wonder whether these cookies are filled with trans fats anyway or if, perhaps, this country is more health conscious than the United States.

But these little Nice biscuits are very, very hard to resist.  Whenever I eat one, I automatically pop another and then another in my mouth.  Then, I run out of the kitchen so I don't eat the whole box in one sitting.  They are crunchy with tiny little coconut pieces in the cookie, and then a fluffy vanilla cream filling provides a great additional treat.  They're awesome.  They're probably going to make me gain an additional 3 pounds on top of the traditional holiday weight, but oh well.  'Tis the season!

A Thanksgiving in England

Celebrating Thanksgiving in the UK is actually really fun.  It's totally low pressure in that the average person in the village has no idea what's going on.  The local butcher vaguely realizes that I ordered a 12 pound turkey for some American holiday, but since there is only one other order for a turkey that week, he doesn't think much about it.  All supermarkets are open on The Big Day, so if I've forgotten something, I can quickly run to the store and grab it.

This year, my family and I did something very strange, indeed.  We stayed by ourselves.  I may have served Thanksgiving dinner in my pajamas, I'm not sure.  My kids were dressed in clothes, as they went to school just like it was any normal day.  Major Obvious had the day off and was also dressed since he took the kids to school.  After that one task, he promptly came home, kicked off his shoes, and headed straight for the couch.  He was consumed with the Play Station Portable (PSP) for most of the day.

So while it was odd getting a turkey ready without the Dallas Cowboys or the Detroit Lions gutting it out in the background, I may prefer this low-key experience.  I enjoy getting together with friends and family over the holidays, but it was such a treat to have 2 whole days to ourselves.  No work, no birthday parties, no swim lessons.  Just 12 pounds of juicy, delicious goodness, and some fantastic sides. And NFL football or NHL hockey at midnight.