A filling winter dinner

This past weekend was a test of everyone's patience. Five days of relentless rain, bone-chilling cold. I don't know about you, but I just wanted to stay inside, curled up in bed til 10am, then reading all day in my PJs.

Unfortunately, I couldn't. My family just moved out of our home in CT (where I spent 5th grade through 5 years post-college. Probably the longest period of time in one home). It was, too, a 5 day ordeal, packing and shipping boxes to three different locations. Add to that the weekend's Nor'Easter (my former hometown got hit VERY VERY hard. Schools are still closed three days later!!!), which knocked down trees in our yard, blew water horizontally at our house, and proceeded to blow over our pergola just as the last two moving vans pulled out of the driveway. Go figure.

It was no surprise to me that, come Sunday, when I was grocery shopping for the week ahead of me, that my stomach kept screaming "Braise! Braise! Braise!" I wanted a warm, falling-off-the-bone-tender, comforting meal that I could re-fashion at least one other way to make two different dinners.

My solution? Braised lamb shanks. The issue? Last time, they didn't come out as well as I had hoped. Naturally, I was nervous about revisiting this technique. Little do you know, though, that I pulled a braised short rib for my final exam in culinary school. I have a new fearlessness and eagerness to conquer these little beasts =)

The last time I worked with lamb shanks, I followed a recipe. This time? My intuition. I seared off the shanks, poured off the grease, and then sauteed celery, onion, and garlic in the same pot. Singered (cooked) with some flour until the rawness cooked off. Added some chopped bacon, basil, chicken stock, red wine and turned to a simmer. Covered. And let sit. For three hours, maybe? I kind of lost track. Luckily, you can't really overcook lamb shanks, as long as you do NOT boil the liquid. Low and slow, for however long you have/need!

I made the lamb last night -- the longer the meat sits in it's braising liquid, the better it is. Tonight, I served the lamb simply, with garlic truffle roast broccoli (below). Tomorrow? I have some more whole wheat fettuccine which I may toss with some mushroom and braised lamb shank. Maybe some truffle? Top with some grated gruyere? Another perfect warm winter meal.

Braised Lamb Shanks, My Way:

Grapeseed oil
2 lamb shanks, seasoned well with salt and pepper
4 celery stalks, fine dice
1 lg onion, fine dice
2 cloves garlic, fine dice
4 slice bacon, fine dice
6 stems basil
3 cups red wine
chicken stock to just cover
Butter, to finish sauce

Heat oil til just smoking over high heat. Add seasoned lamb and turn heat a bit lower. Sear meat well on all side and remove from pan. Drain oil and add fresh oil. Add vegetables and season with salt. Saute til translucent (and celery brightly colored). Add bacon, turn heat to medium. Add lamb back to pot, and add basil, red wine, and chicken stock. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Turn to low, cover with top, and let braise for 3-4 hours.

Once the lamb is falling off bone, remove from pot. Strain out the solids and degrease the remaining liquid. Bring to a boil and cook until thick enough to cover the back of a spoon. Mount with a tablespoon or two of butter and season to taste. Serve over lamb shanks. If storing shanks over night, keep in sauce. Simply bring to a simmer before serving.

Garlic Truffle Broccoli

2 heads broccoli
4 cloves garlic, fine mince
olive oil
white truffle oil
salt

Preheat convection oven to 400 degrees. Cut off florets from broccoli. Toss with garlic. Spread on silpat and toss with oils and salt. Add 1/4 cup water and place in oven. Cook until the broccoli begins to turn golden. Turn oven down to 250 and cook til tender. Season and serve hot.

Loving the leftovers...

Today was definitely one of those days I could have made two slices of toast with PB & J and called it a night. At school today, we had our "mock" midterm exam -- pulling two dishes out of a hat (mind you, most of us had made the dishes only ONCE) and cooking them to be presented at a given set time. Needless to say, I am exhausted!

However, during the insanity that was my day, I didn't really have lunch. Does a slice of apple tart with a large quenelle of chantilly and a bite of pork chop count? For me, not quite. So, my tummy (that is getting ready for 15 miles this weekend) wanted some stick-to-the-bones food.

No one wants to go to the grocery store tired, cold and hungry. Neither did I. So, I had to be creative with what I had in the kitchen. Let's see: two leftover braised lamb shanks from Sunday night; a can of diced San Marzano tomatoes, onions, pasta... My mind clearly was craving pasta!

(Sorry for the fogginess - blame it on the steam!)

As I heated some olive oil and sauteed some veg to add a little sweetness to my sauce, I discovered a nearly completely eaten bag of grapes in the fridge. Hmm. Cold grapes? Not quite. Now roasted grapes, tossed with some greens and an apple cider reduction I made last week. The perfect seasonal compliment to my lamb ragu (and a glass of pinot grigio with a healthy splash of St. Germain).

Leftover Lamb Ragu

2 lamb shanks, braised and quickly reheated to warm the meat

Olive oil

1/2 medium onion

1/2 small carrot, diced

1/2 celery stalk, diced

Salt

28 oz can diced San Marzano tomatoes

Heat olive oil in saucepan. Sweat the onion, then add the carrot and celery. Add a pinch of salt. Cook til color brightens and veg release flavor. Add tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Add lamb and reduce to a simmer. Cook til tender and a bit reduced, season to taste. Serve over freshly cooked pasta. Excellent with a basil chiffonade.

Perfect Winter Meal: Braised Lamb Shanks

Ha. Ha ha ha. I find myself giggling as I write this post. Friday, planning out my weekend meals on the train home in 45 degree weather, I decided to make braised lamb shanks, as I have some red wine to use, and all the mirepoix ingredients on hand. Fast forward to Sunday, lamb-shank-cooking-day, and it's 70 degrees out.

Okay, so maybe it's not wintery outside, but I'm craving meat and a warm dish and this is so going to hit the spot! It reminds me a lot of one of my all time favorite dishes -- you can find it at Pietra at The Stone House in Little Compton, RI. I'm a low and slow kind of girl. I love short ribs and lamb shanks, stews and navarins. I'm not one to rush things, and when it comes to running, I like the longer distances, but at a slower pace!

Braising is a very straightforward cooking technique. In classic French cuisine, it is a "Mixte" technique, as you are browning meat (concentration method, sealing in juices) and then cooking it in liquid (extraction method - the meat releases juices into the liquid, deepening the flavor). You take meat (beef, lamb, etc) and brown it in a bit of oil on high heat (this I think is the scary part - but put the meat down, and let it sizzle. Don't touch! It will unstick if the pan is hot! After about 2-4 min, depending on the size of meat, flip it and brown another side). You take the meat out, brown some mirepoix - typically onion, carrot, celery, garlic - and then sprinkle in some flour, which will help thicken your sauce (singer en francais!) and moisten with a liquid of your choice -- water, red wine, white wine, stock. Then, add that meat back in, plop a lid on the pot and braise either in the oven (I like this -- at 325) or on the stove.

This recipe was slightly inspired by a recipe in Danny Meyer's Union Square Cafe (one of my favorite restos in NYC) cookbook, and a lot of my own addition/deletion. As I write this, my shanks have been cooking for a bit over an hour in the oven, and I'm salivating smelling the lovely rosemary aroma coming from the oven. Yum, I can not wait to eat this with some crusty Wave Hill Bread!

Earthly Epicurean Red Wine Braised Lamb Shank

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or you can use extra-virgin olive oil)

Four 3/4-1 lb lamb shanks

Salt and freshly ground pepper

5 garlic cloves, peeled

4 medium carrots, sliced 1/4 thick

4 medium celery ribs, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2-3 tbsp flour

One 750-milliliter bottle dry red wine (I used a bottle of Meritage I had open that I didn't really want to drink)

1 cup chicken stock or water * (if you don't have stock, use water)

2 sprigs rosemary, chopped

Preheat the oven to 325°. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the oil. Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper and brown them on 3 sides over moderately high heat. Set shanks aside. Add the garlic, carrots, celery and onion to the casserole and saute until golden (if the oil from the lamb is at all smoky, drain and use fresh oil to brown the vegs). Add the flour, stir and cook for a minute or so until the raw flour is gone. Add the red wine and bring to a boil, while stirring up the bottom to loosen the golden bits (tasty things!). Add the stock or water and bring to a simmer. Add the lamb shanks and rosemary. Cover the casserole tightly and transfer to the oven. Braise the lamb shanks, turning every 30 minutes, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until very tender.

Transfer the lamb shanks to an ovenproof plate. Strain the braising liquid (you can save the veg if you want -- I kind of like the braised celery!), pressing on the solids. Bring the liquid to a boil in a saucepan until thick and reduced, covering the back of a spoon. Season the sauce to taste. Pour sauce over the shanks and reheat, covered with foil, if necessary prior to serving.

I like serving these with sauteed kale or swiss chard and polenta!

Dinner with mom on her day

After I sent my mom a little Mother's Day card this morning (she was away at a conference), I got a surprise email saying that she was taking a friend to JFK, and would I like to have dinner in the city!

What an unexpected treat! The rest of our family was up at our place in Rhode Island, so I was excited that mom was actually going to be in town. Now, the question was - where to have dinner?

My mom suggested downtown/Tribeca, and I quickly agreed as it is one of my favorite places I'd like to live in the City. I've been to Bubby's, Upstairs at Bouley, Chanterelle would have been impossible. The Harrison's menu didn't quite jive with me. What about Marc Forgione? I've heard good things about him and his father, a well known restauranteur (An American Place). Plus, I heard that he was a part of the original locavore movement in the city. I love fresh, locally sourced organic foods, so I was excited to try Marc's place (formerly Forge).

We arrived at 6:45pm, and I noted the sign out front with the selection of spring produce that was fresh in house that day: morels, asparagus, chives, and...mole? Hmm. Once checked in, we were quickly directed to the back of the restaurant, near the entrance to the kitchen. Rule #1 - not a good thing if they give you the worst seat in the house. Was it the fact my mom was wearing sneakers? Who knows - there was a couple quite overly dressed, though, in the back corner. Compared with them, we fit right in. After a moment's debating, we were sat up towards the front at a two top. Just perfect!

Once we were seated, our waitress came over and offered us water quickly. She then left us to peruse the menus. We waited. And waited. She appeared back, expressionless, to share the specials. Noticing there were few options on the menu, maybe she'd offer us alternative entree selections. Alas, there were only two specials, both appetizers. My mom was definitely disappointed.

While debating our selections, another waitstaff brought us the most delicious warm brioche, brushed with possibly butter or olive oil and a pinch of fleur de sel. Starving, I immediately jumped in and slathered a bit of the spring onion butter on my piece of bread. The sweetness of the bread, with the savory butter was perfect - the warmth of the bread melting the already soft butter just so. I secretly hoped this was indicative of the rest of our meal!

After a bit too long of time, the waitress finally returned to take our order. We both ordered the spring green salad with shaved asparagus and gougeres, followed by the curry braised lamb, and a "Pink Cadillac," a rhubarb margarita of sorts to drink. Hopefully we made the right decisions. My mom had debated between the lamb - braised, not her favorite, but the acoutrements of peas and carrots sounded delicious - and the veal milanese, served with whipped potatoes and fiddleheads, two sides she didn't care for. I certainly make my meal choices based on what comes with the dish, and I felt that Marc Forgione didn't offer a selection of market fresh combinations, like other "locavore" restaurants do.

Next arrived an amuse from the kitchen - my mom, a salmon or tuna tartare of sorts on cucumber, and me, fresh peas with proscuitto. I was a bit confused as to why my mom got something different than I did. The peas could have been cooked a bit more, but they were fresh and good. The salmon? Didn't look appealing to me.

Soon came our drinks, pink lowballs of a delicious combination of fresh rhubarb, tequila, cointreau, and Grand Marnier, and our salads, bowls of richly colored greens with shaved raw asparagus, adorned with three cheese gougeres. Still very hungry, I dove right in. The gougeres, although not warm, were quite tasty, the cheesiness offering a perfect compliment to the vinaigrette dressing the salad. The greens were fresh from the market - and certainly a wonderful assortment of all kinds. The dressing, however, was a bit overpowering. Too much acid - a vinegar? Certainly heavily dressed. The drinks? Amazing! Overall, not bad.

Soon arrived our main dishes, shanks of lamb braised til fork tender, resting on large castiron dishes. Mine was sizzling hot, and it forced me to wait quite a few minutes for the meat to cool so I could actually taste a piece of it without scorching my mouth - not good - at least my mom's was not has hot! The shanks sat on a carrot puree, adorned with two baby carrots, a "crispy" snap pea or two, with a "curry" sauce to finish. The meat looked delicious to me, while the carrot puree was fresh and...carroty! I was a bit disappointed with my snap peas - they weren't crunchy - and the "curry" sauce wasn't that curry at all. Overall, there were few vegetables, and something seemed off, like I was mislead.

Regardless, the meal did hit the spot for me, the meat cooked just perfectly so it fell right off the bone, and dipped in the sauce on the plate, it was a match made in heaven.

As we were quite full from the meal, we didn't have room for dessert. When presented with the check, our waitress brought us out two little peanut butter truffles. YUM! Taking a bite, I wondered how it would compare to other homemade peanut butter cups, and Magnolia's peanut butter patty. Colder in temperature, a bit crunchy. But quite good. Not sure if it is good as my old favorite dark chocolate peanut butter cup from Long Grove confectioner's, but it was quite good.

Overall, the meal was good. Disappointing in the selection of menu options, sparse vegetable servings, and slow service, but I was impressed with the simple, comforting, and rustically decorated space. A perfect spot for a late afternoon aperitif on the porch, or wine late at night under the candlelit lanterns lighting the room. But for a Mother's Day dinner? There is room for improvement.