Osso Buco

I got this one from Giada too! I never eat veal, but it's delicious, so when it's on sale, I go for it. I found some nice looking veal shanks on sale the other day, and I'd always wanted to try Osso Buco! This serves 2

Ingredients nocoupons

• 2 bone in Veal Shanks
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 dry bay leaf
• 2 whole cloves
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All purpose flour, for dredging
• Some EVOO
• 1 small onion, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 small carrots, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 stalks celery, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped
• zest of 1 lemon

Directions

1. Pat veal shanks dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture and season each shank with salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge the shanks in flour, shaking off excess.

2. In a large Dutch oven pot or pressure cooker, heat EVOO until smoking. Add veal shanks to the hot pan and brown all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove browned shanks and reserve.

3. In the same pot, add the onion, carrots and celery. Season with salt at this point to help draw out the moisture from the vegetables. Saute until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and mix well. Return browned shanks to the pan and add the white wine and reduce liquid by half, about 5 minutes. If you want to use your crock pot, now would be a good time to transfer.

4. Add the herbs and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Or in the crock pot for a few hours, or in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes.

5. Remove and discard any branches and cloves from the pot and garnish with chopped parsley and lemon zest.

Serve over rice, pasta, or couscous!

Osso Buco means hole in the bone. Suck out the bone marrow without choking on it! This one is a keeper. Next time I will make more.

SummerTime Potato Salad

This is a Giada recipe. Very refreshing potato salad for the Summertime!
Ingredients
1 pound baby red potatoes, halved
1 pint (2 cups) cherry tomatoes, halved
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup pitted black olives, halved
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large lemon, zested
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Add the potatoes to a medium saucepan with enough cold water to cover by at least 2 inches. Set the saucepan over medium heat. Bring the water to a boil and continue boiling until the potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes in a colander and allow them to dry for 5 minutes.

In a serving bowl, add the potatoes, tomatoes, scallions, olives, parsley, capers, thyme, olive oil, and lemon zest. Toss gently until all the ingredients are coated and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Refrigerate for 1 hour and gently toss again before serving.

Bacon and Mushroom Risotto

I've been watching a lot of cooking tv lately, and everyone keeps raving about Risotto. I had never eaten it or cooked it, so I decided to give it a try. I got this recipe from my coworker's wife, Audrey. This was good, but didn't make very good leftovers. If you make this, eat it right away.
This makes 6 servings.. adjust accordingly
Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked arborio rice
1 onion, chopped
1 handful wild mushrooms (or regular mushrooms)
1/2 pack of chopped bacon (fat trimmed)
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
6 cups warm chicken stock
1 bunch fresh parsley, minced
a dribble of heavy cream
a bunch of parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. In a large sautée pan, brown the bacon and onions (with no extra oil or butter, please)
2. Drain the fat and add the uncooked rice. Keep an eye on it and stir until the rice becomes translucid. At the same time, warm your chicken stock.

3. Pour in the white wine and cook on low until the liquid is absorbed.
4. Add the mushrooms and pour in some of the stock to level of the rice. Cover but check on it and stir. When the liquid is absorbed, repeat until desired tenderness of rice is obtained. This took me 45 minutes, but I don't think I put enough stock in the first time around.. I put in very little at a time.
5. Stir in the parsley and parmesan. If you would like it to be creamy, but in a little cream but not everybody does this.

Sprinkle some fresh ground pepper and serve with salad in a light vinegarette

You can play around with the ingredients... make it colorful or plain. It's delicious!

Stuffed Peppers Risotto

This was really yummy! And a super easy, quick way to prepare the peppers!

ingredients

1/2 cup uncooked Arborio or long grain white rice
1-1/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 small or 2 large sweet peppers
Salt and ground black pepper
3 oz. Parmesan or Romano cheese
1 cup 1-inch pieces asparagus or fresh broccoli florets
1 cup cubed cooked chicken
2 tsp. snipped fresh tarragon or oregano or 1/2 tsp. dried tarragon or oregano, crushed
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup pine nuts or chopped walnuts, toasted, if desired

directions

For filling, in a 2-quart saucepan combine rice and broth; bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut tops off small peppers, or halve large peppers lengthwise. Remove membranes and seeds. In a 4-quart Dutch oven immerse peppers in boiling water oven for 3 minutes. Remove; drain, cut sides down, on paper towels. Place in a serving dish cut side up. Sprinkle lightly with salt and black pepper; set aside.
With a vegetable peeler, shave 1 ounce of the Parmesan in thin strips; set aside. Finely shred or grate the remaining Parmesan; set aside. Stir asparagus or broccoli, chicken, and herb into rice. Cover and cook 5 minutes more. Stir in whipping cream, shredded or grated cheese, and nuts. Spoon filling into peppers. Top with shaved cheese. Makes 4 servings.

Thai Coconut Curry REMIX

Since I seem to be the only one posting, and I do rotate my recipes on a regular basis, I made this again because its so good... I didn't have sweet potato, but i put a carrot sliced lengthwise and topped it with chives.

Moroccan Couscous

I love Moroccan Couscous. It is one dish i go completely nuts for, but had never tried to make it. It's actually like a stew with morrocan spices, served over couscous with hot sauce. Pretty basic, but exploding flavor! The best part is, you can play around with the ingredients.
This made 6 servings
Ingredients:
4 skinless chicken thighs
4 merguez sausages
2 coarsely chopped bell peppers
2 coarsely chopped zucchini
1 chopped onion
2 chopped medium tomatoes
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
2 tbsp ras el hanout spice mix
1 cube dehydrated beef broth
2 cups water
salt/pepper
1 bunch cilantro
1 3/4 cup cooked thin grained couscous
Directions:
1. In the crock pot put everything except the couscous, sausages and cilantro and cook for 6-8 hours on low.
2. An hour before serving, grill the sausages (if you're using them) in a frying pan.
3. Serve over couscous sprinkled with chopped cilantro and harissa sauce.

Merguez sausages are hard to find in the US, but they are not absolutely necessary for this dish. The point is to have at least 2 different meats. I used chicken, but use pieces of lamb, goat, and beef as well. For the veggies, the traditional way is to use carrots and turnips, too, but I didn't have any. I was very happy with the way mine came out!

Saucisson, Radishes, and Boudin

I went to the farmer's market today... I couldn't help myself.. I had to post the local food that non-French think French are so wierd for! This first picture is the Saucisson (French Salami) that I got for 6 for 10€. Here are the flavors from left to right:
Duck, Wild Boar, Bull, Ostrich, Hot Chile, and Deer or Stag

Radishes... I love these radishes! They are not the same type as the American round fat ones, and don't taste the same. I put a little spread (country crock style) and sprinkled a bit of salt.. delicious nutritious hor d'oeuvres. Expensive, though. for the little plate you see behind my hand, 2€. I'm going to grow my own.

Another wonder of French cuisine.. Boudin Noir (blood sausage). It was recently the foire aux boudins (blood sausage fair) and so many butchers were exposing their home made boudins. I had to have a taste, and I can say I've never tasted better Boudin than this! It didn't have an odd irony aftertaste like the kind you buy from the grocery store. If you forget what it's made of...

And accompany it with home fries or mashed potatoes, it melts in your mouth and explodes with flavor! Very good! I was surprised. Also, for 1/2 kg (for 6 portions) I only paid 4€, which is a better deal than you can get at a grocery store!
Vive the local Farmer's Market!!

This weekend I didn't cook much, but I planted my own cilantro, parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary, mint, and cayenne peppers in the garden. I hope something will grow out of all that!

Cauliflower au Gratin

This is my mother's recipe that I grew up eating, and since I was recently craving cauliflower, I decided to try it. It is also the first time I've used my pressure cooker as a steamer, which is rather amazing and fast. Steamed vegetables are much healthier than boiled, because they keep all their nutrients inside them instead of letting them out into the water they are cooked in and that you throw out.
Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
7-8 peeled potatoes
2 1/2 cups Béchamel sauce
Parsley
salt/pepper
shredded swiss
Directions:
1. Steam or boil your potatoes and cauliflower. Do this however you want. I used the little basket with a bit of water in my pressure cooker. I cooked the potatoes for 5 minutes, and then I added the cauliflower for 5 minutes. If you don't have a pressure cooker or a vegetable steamer, boil your potatoes on the stove, and steam your cauliflower in a bowl of water in the microwave.
2. Make your Béchamel. Don't forget to season it well with salt and pepper, a handful of shredded swiss cheese, and maybe a little fresh parsley.
3. In a baking dish, put your cooked potatoes and cauliflower, cut into pieces, and pour the béchamel sauce so everything is nicely coated.
4. Top with more shredded cheese, and pop into the oven at 380F for 40 minutes.

Serve as a dish or side dish with pork chops or whatever you want. I had some fig saucisson I had to finish (forget it, you will never find such a thing in the US), but the next day I did it with a pork cutlet..mmmm.

This makes a lot. I froze a portion. It also gives you gas, but it's very good.

Tongue in Tomato Pickle Sauce

Here's something you'll never hear in the US:

"Honey, guess what? I found some nice looking pork tongues for only $2 a pair today at the market!! Isn't that such a good deal?"

But alas, those are the exact (translated) words that came out of my mouth the other day when I found a fabulous pair of pork tongues for only 1.80 Euros. I love cow tongue.. it is tender and delicious, but also quite pricy. Pork tongue is smaller, but I discovered, just as tasty and way cheaper! Seriously, I'm from the US, so I know what you're thinking, (gross, right?) but you are so wrong! It is really good, and if you slice it length-wise, it loses all its tongue-ish aspect, and just becomes a delicious slice of meat for the people you serve it to. The recipe I made is the one you could typically find in a restaurant, and I was really proud of how it came out. It takes a long time, but worth it!

Serves 4
Ingredients:

2 pork tongues or 1 beef tongue

2 quarts beef stock

2 celery stalks

4 mini pickles, sliced (or a small handful of sliced pickle)

1 1/2 tbsp butter or margarine

1 tbsp flour

2 tbsp vinegar

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup tomato puree*

red pepper flakes

fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. In a large pot, place your 2 tongues, celery stalks, and beef stock and simmer covered for 1 hour.

2. Take out the tongues, and peel off the skin. This is the only strange part.. you gotta take the rough taste buds off, man.

3. Put the tongues back in, and simmer for another hour or so. Or throw them in the crock pot with the broth and leave on all day.
4. In a sauce pan, melt the margarine and whisk in the flour.

5. Take off the heat, and whisk in the wine, 1/2 cup of the broth from your tongue pot, tomato puree, vinegar, and pickles, and then heat for 5 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and fresh ground pepper to the sauce.

6. Slice the tongues length wise like you would a roast beef and spoon on the sauce.

Serve with pasta (cooked in the broth) or home fries. I saved the broth for soup later on.

FYI the hub gives this one 2 tongues up! haha!

* To make your own tomato puree (like I did) boil 3 medium tomatoes whole in water. When the skin starts to split, take them out of the water, and peel off the skin. The pulp is now crushable with a fork.. that's tomato puree!!

Tartiflette

Ahh the Tartiflette...
I hesitated for a long time before posting this recipe because I wasn't sure we could find the right cheese in the US. My mother confirmed that you can find it at Trader Joe's, so I'm now happily posting it! This is a recipe from the Savoye region in France (Alps) with Reblochon cheese, but that I tweaked because I like the way Raclette cheese melts.
Serves 5-6 people
Ingredients:
15 peeled cooked potatoes
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 chopped onion
3-4 chopped cloves garlic
1 pack bacon with most of the fat cut off and chopped into pieces
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 lb Raclette cheese
some heavy cream
Directions:
1. In a deep sautée pan, cook the bacon pieces a few minutes until they start rendering.
2. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme, and brown a bit.
3. Add the white wine and cook for 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the cooked potatoes and with a masher, crush them and mix them well into the mixture and let cook for 5 minutes with the cover on. It doesn't need to be creamy mashed potatoes, its actually more tasty if there are chunks.

5. In a baking dish, layer half your potato mixture, then some heavy cream, and a layer of Raclette cheese. You can go heavy on the cheese, but I didn't have enough to do that, but do it!
6. Repeat the layers and pop into the oven for 40 minutes at 400F or more if the cheese isn't golden whan you look at it.

Serve with salad and be impressed at how good a cook you are!
The leftovers are even better, as always ;)
To make typical French salad dressing, there is nothing easier:
2 tbsp EVOO
1 1/2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp mustard (optional)
some chopped shallots or baby onions (optional)
salt/pepper/parsley
then put this mixture at the bottom of the big salad bowl, salad on top, and then toss away and serve