Thursday, October 30, 2014

FFwD: Osso Buco a la Arman

Finally! A French Fridays with Dorie recipe that gives me a sourcing edge over people who don't have access to an Italian supermarket. Ipercoop may not have duck or brown sugar or affordable avocado, but veal? They're up to their eyeballs in veal (which is kind of weird, because the adult beef offerings are poor.) Odds are good that veal is available in the already-cut meat section, any way you want it cut. As soon as I read Dorie's description of the veal shanks ("cut crosswise from a veal shank, thick slices of osso buco are round, with meaty nuggets surrounding a central hole, which is filled with marrow"), I thought, "Yep, I've definitely seen that at Ipercoop." Score: 1 for Italy. Or should I say, "GOOOOOOOAL!"
One of three. 3 euro a piece. Not too shabby.
On a side note, I'd like to mention how very, very grateful I am that I didn't have to walk up to a butcher with my google translation of "veal shank." I can never be sure that the words coming out of my mouth are appropriate. For example, when we first arrived here, I looked up the word "pecorino," because I love cheese and wanted to know what the word meant. Google informed me that it meant "doggy style." In disbelief, I contacted my Italian friend and interrogated her. Apparently, pecorinA means doggy style. PecorinO means cheese from a goat. Google has since corrected its mistake. I'm certain that it also makes errors when translating from English to Italian, so who knows what I'm actually saying to people. Always an adventure. I digress.

Armed with my shanks, at the last minute, I decided to invite some friends over for dinner. It felt like a meal that needed to be shared. Much to my delight, two of our favorite families came on short notice, and we had a wonderful, relaxed evening. "Sunday dinner" with the extended family (closest friends, in the military) is one of the many ways that Italy has steeped into my blood. It's one of my favorite customs, and one that I hope to bring home with me.

This was a perfect recipe to cook for company because all the cooking is done ahead of time. There aren't any last-minute steps. Take it out of the oven, break the meat apart so it looks like a stew, and bring it to the table. Dorie said to skim fat off the top, but mine somehow didn't look greasy enough to bother. The meat was so tender. I didn't even care when I had a mouthful of fat, because it literally dissolved. Dorie's Orange Rice Pilaf paired perfectly with the stew. Three shanks fed six adults. The only problem was that there were no leftovers. At all.

Last night, I caught up on Rice Pudding and Caramel Apples. I love rice pudding. It's one of those desserts that takes me right back to my Mom's kitchen. She always put raisins and a bit of cinnamon in hers, and I have to say, I missed them in this.

I compulsively made the pudding, because it struck me as a decent way to keep myself busy, and hopefully distract myself from stressing about the fact that everyone else we know who is Matt's rank and scheduled to move next summer heard from the detailer last week, receiving their next assignment. We haven't heard a peep. We're exhausted from the stress of waiting. So, rice pudding.

As I stirred, the phrase, "The solace of stirring," popped into my head. For a few seconds, I marveled at how perfect that phrase felt right at that moment, and that clearly I'd missed my calling as a poet. Then I remembered that that is a section title in Nigella Kitchen. My bad. Nigella, you were spot-on with that description. There is much solace to be found in stirring.
Due to my anxiety level, I had zero interest in making caramel and cooked apples. At first, I planned to put a layer of applesauce on my pudding, and then drizzle with caramel I bought in Brittany. I forgot about the applesauce, and just went with the caramel. It was good, but I didn't drizzle any on my second bowl of pudding, and missed the raisins and cinnamon the whole time I ate it. Sometimes, you just want Mom's recipe. This was delicious, and it was exactly the type of nursery food that I needed yesterday. Unfortunately, I ate so much of it yesterday that there's only a little bit left to see me through today's stressful wait. GRRR!

16 comments:

  1. LOL...I'm glad you didn't ask for pecorina!!! Glad you took some time for stirring therapy...and hope you hear about Matt's assignment soon! xoxo

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  2. This is absolutely the perfect recipe to cook for company - it's easy to prep and so tasty (and will wow your guests!). And it's not so much that we don't have access to veal shanks over here, it's just the cost (sigh - the 3€ per piece!!!!). I couldn't find them at very short notice (seems everyone was making osso buco last weekend - I missed some by minutes at one butcher!) but I guess I saved myself some money! Beef shanks were a pretty decent substitute!

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  3. Sounds like things could get very interesting :-) Sounds like you had a lovely meal with friends - glad to hear Italy had the advantage on this one.

    Re: the Grand Canyon - I was afraid that I was going to the edge; I can't imagine trying to keep anyone else off the edge. When we hiked down into the canyon, I hugged the wall everytime someone wanted to pass us. There was no way, I was going to trust a stranger not to slip and send me on a 3,000 foot free fall. Nope. There were some people going down the trail with young (<5 years) and I can't imagine taking on that responsibility.

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  4. Making osso bucco in Italy sounds so romantic! I hope you get word soon on your next assignment. That is a very stressful wait!!!

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  5. After all of the work you have had to do to source previous recipes, you definitely deserved an easy one. Score for Italy indeed.

    And fingers crossed that you hear about your next assignment soon. I imagine the waiting is the worst part.

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  6. Osso Buco in Italy sounds so much better that my Osso Buco in rainy Seattle. I am jealous.
    Great Sunday Dinner in both cases. I am glad you enjoyed this recipe.

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  7. Great post. And, yes, the perfect Sunday supper to share with friends, in Italy makes it even better. Can't wait to hear where you're going next!

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  8. I love your post and the translation of words. This must be a great experience for you.
    This recipe is perfect for company, I like to use it for Christmas day dinner because I
    can prepare it a few days ahead and just reheat. I also agree with everyone else, osso
    buco in Italy has got to be good. Have a great weekend.

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  9. I am leaving for France next week and I read that if I mispronounce duck I will be ordering or calling my waiter a jerk.... language... it can get you in so much trouble. I agree Osso Buco in Italy is perfect.

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  10. I loved reading this post--well, the parts about the language, especially. I've had some similar experiences in France and it's a real education, I guess. The rice pudding with caramel on top looks fantastic (I missed that week)! I also want to add we have some friends who had to move from Italy less than a year ago due to their position in the air force and hearing their story of the stress makes me even more sympathetic. I'll think good thoughts for you!

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  11. Those pesky vowels... I'm trying to come up with an analogy for what happened to you in Spanish but it escapes me right now. Many a weeknight I cook just for that moment, that solace of stirring. I hope your homesickness eases and you remember the raisins and cinnamon for the next time.

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  12. I agree with you that osso buco is a meal that needs to be shared. I have veal shanks in the freezer waiting for an occasion to make it again. I have not heard the solace of stirring before but I certainly bake when I'm stressed. Good luck with the waiting.

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  13. I'm glad there was finally an ingredient that was easy for you to source. I shared my osso buco, too, but not so convivially - I packed some up to take to my parents and they loved it. Hope you get news, soon. Waiting is stressful.

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  14. Wow, there were many different subjects in your Post this week so I will get started. The Italian language thing I cannot help you with ---- I am a French-speaking failure after months and months of immersion study in France over the past ten years. Your osso bucco looks and sounds as if it was delicious. I have to think your friends were quite impressed to be invited to "casual Sunday" dinner and have it ends up being osso bucco. There are some resipes I make that I just can't come up with my mother's take on it (apple crisp, for example) so I feel your pain. And, waiting to know where your next Life is going to be is hard, difficult and stressful. Really, no amount of stirring can take those feelings away. I hope you hear soon.

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  15. Hope you hear about your assignment soon - waiting is always the worst.

    Lucky you to have scored such a great deal on the veal shanks - $89 over here in SoCal for four.

    The rice pudding sounds great too!

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  16. Veal shanks are absolutely not available at the places I frequent so lamb shanks it was and that sauce again with short ribs!

    Enjoyed your entertaining post and that there were no leftovers! The rice pudding was my first ever episode at FFwD!

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