November 25, 2009
Posted by Caroline Russock, November 3, 2009 at 1:15 PM
I cannot remember the last time that I cooked a steak at home. It's one of those things that I think about doing all of the time, but once I make my way up to the front of the line at the butcher, I experience something similar to stage fright. Let's call it meat fright. Looking at all of the marbled dry-aged steaks makes me nervous. What if I drop the big bucks for a nice piece of meat and ruin it? My fear is not unfounded; there have been several steak massacres in my past.
But this week I decided to give steaks another go, thanks to this recipe for Steaks with Anchovy Butter from Mark Peel's New Classic Family Dinners. I had my butcher wrap up the biggest porterhouse in the case and took it home. I brought the steak to room temperature and applied a salt and pepper crust. Steaks can take a lot of salt, and they aren't happy until they are virtually encrusted with the stuff, so don't be shy.
To alleviate some of my meat fright, I consulted one of my more steak-savvy friends for advice. This is the advice that he gave me: "Two minutes on each side for one inch of thickness, render the fat side (if any) by holding with tongs for 1 minute, finish for three minutes in 400° F oven, let rest for 7 minutes."
I followed his advice and my monster of a steak turned out perfectly. Once it was on the cutting board, with plenty of anchovy butter melting on top, I realized that the steak I had purchased was almost comical in its proportions. Were we really going to be able to eat the whole thing? Rest assured, we did. The steak was awesome, and made even better by the buttery anchovy, garlic and parsley butter that basted it. The anchovies lent just the right kick of umami to set of the juicy minerality of the steak.
I paired the steak with two other recipes from New Classic Sunday Dinners, Green Bean Salad with Walnuts and Mashed Potatoes, Finally Revealed, but more on those later in the week.
As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of New Classic Family Dinners to give away this week. Enter to win here »
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Posted by Caroline Russock, October 30, 2009 at 12:45 PM
"All of a sudden my house smelled more like my grandmother's house than my own."
Chuck roast. [Flickr: joshbousel]
There are so many things that I love about fall—the crisp air, pulling on that first wool sweater, smelling smoke that is from a chimney (not a barbecue). But my favorite thing about the fall is that it marks my official return to the kitchen. I keep my stove and oven use to a minimum in the summer but when the weather gets cold I can fire up all of the burners and not worry about turing my kitchen into a mini inferno. In other words, let the braising begin...
This Perfect Pot Roast from The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond was my first foray into the world of slow and low cooking this season.
My usual braises are typically more complicated affairs but this one was a cinch—just salt, slice, sear, and stick it in the oven. Against my better judgment I followed Drummond's advice. I didn't poke or prod the roast at all during the cooking time. I let it cook for the entire four hours without even a glance into the pot.
An hour went by and I waited for the meaty and braise-y aromas to start emanating from my oven. Sometime during the second hour, it happened. That warm smell that only occurs when you just do happen to have a very large piece of meat slowly releasing it's flavorful juices in your kitchen. All of a sudden my house smelled more like my grandmother's house than my own, and it was then that I knew: this was truly a perfect pot roast.
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Posted by Caroline Russock, October 29, 2009 at 12:45 PM
I have spent a happy, happy week cooking from Ree Drummond's The Pioneer Woman Cooks. Drummond has become a welcome and very pleasant presence in my house, especially when meal times roll around. Every single recipe that I have tested this week was not only incredibly delicious but very plentiful. The developed her recipes to feed a family of five and some hungry ranch hands, but my two-person household hasn't been this well fed in a while. The question of what's for dinner has turned into more of a what's not for dinner.
I made Simple, Perfect Chili a few nights ago—it's been feeding us ever since, and it only gets better. I made the chili using all of the optional ingredients listed in the recipe, but upon tasting it before putting in the beans, tomatoes, and jalapeño, I found that these ingredients are not really necessary. They do their part to bulk up the portion size, and add different textural components, but the all-meat chili is spectacular, possessing a richness that I've never encountered in any other chili recipe.
One of the secrets to this amazing chili is the addition of masa, a finely ground cornmeal flour common in Mexican and South American cooking. It acts as a thickening agent, but also lends a slight, very welcome hint of corn. Taking a lead from the masa, I was inspired to make a skillet of The Pioneer Woman's Skillet Cornbread. Both recipes were simple, pretty much perfect, and made enough leftovers to be enjoyed for many days to come.
As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of The Pioneer Woman Cooks to give away this week. Enter to win here »
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Posted by Kerry Saretsky, October 28, 2009 at 10:30 AM
[Photograph: Kerry Saretsky]
For a Halloween main course, I love this spicy black steak with sweet orange mash. The steak is done simply—just crusted in black pepper, and seared to medium-rare, then sliced. The mash, mixed from russet potatoes and sweet potatoes, is sweet but tangy from the crème fraîche. The sweet-spicy contrast is as perfect as the colors.
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Posted by Joshua Bousel, October 23, 2009 at 7:00 PM
Each week Joshua Bousel of The Meatwave drops by with a recipe for you to grill over the weekend. Fire it up, Joshua!
[Photograph: Joshua Bousel]
My appetite for large pieces of meat seems to increase with the colder weather. Even though most people equate barbecue with summer, fall is the season when my smoker gets the most action with bigger cuts like pork butts, whole turkeys, and as was the case a couple weeks ago, brisket.
For this brisket, I picked out a 14-pound beauty at the butcher, brought it home and trimmed off the excess fat, leaving a 1/4-inch thick cap on top. Then it was coated it liberally with a beef rub from Southside Market that has been waiting for the right application, and after a day's rest in the fridge, it went into the smoker at around 215°F.
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Posted by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, October 23, 2009 at 10:40 AM
Note: Read about making animal-fat mayonnaise for a full recap on the science behind these recipes. The jarred mayonnaise added to the food processor at the start makes it easier to create a more stable emulsion. If you are an experienced mayonnaise-maker who has no problems with mayonnaise breaking on you, you may omit the jarred mayonnaise. The mayonnaise can also be made in a bowl with a whisk. This mayonnaise can be made with vegetable oil in place of the rendered animal fat - though flavor will suffer.
- makes about 2 cups beefonnaise -
Ingredients
1/4 cup rendered beef fat, melted
1 1/4 cups canola oil
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (optional)
1 to 2 cloves garlic, grated on microplane grater or pressed through garlic press
1 tablespoon water, plus more to correct consistency
Lemon juice to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Procedure
1. Combine beef fat and canola oil in 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Whisk to combine.
2. Add egg yolks, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, garlic, and water to bowl of food processor. Run processor for 5 seconds to combine. Scrape down sides of processor bowl with rubber spatula. With processor running, slowly drizzle fat into bowl in a thin, steady stream, stopping and scraping down sides as necessary. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste, and adjust consistency with water until thick, smooth, and creamy, but not mouth-coatingly waxy. Store in refrigerator in air-tight container for up to two weeks.
Posted by Caroline Russock, October 21, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Finding the perfect ragu recipe is a journey. While the two main ingredients are tomatoes and ground meat, the background flavors and texture provided by the other ingredients are what truly make the sauce. Unlike other Italian sauces, a ragu always starts out with a mirepoix, finely chopped celery, carrots, and onions, after this the meat is added, and this is where the variations start.
What type of ground meat to use? Do you add white wine, red wine, or milk? And the tomatoes? Which are the best? Chopped or pureed? And then is there is the question of sugar? To add or not to add?
There are countless ways to make a ragu, with variations all over Italy but this Sicilian Ground Meat Ragu with Peas from The Southern Italian Table by Arthur Schwartz is one of my favorite versions.
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Posted by Kerry Saretsky, October 16, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Note: Throughout October, Kerry's secret ingredient is liquid smoke.
[Photographs: Kerry Saretsky]
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of liquid smoke is how it's made. It may seem like some magic potion corked inside a bottle, since how could smoke ever become a liquid? But in fact, the process is so sensible and straightforward that I am not surprised by how inexpensive the product is, but rather by how obscure it remains.
Liquid smoke starts with wood. The two most popular varieties are mesquite and hickory, but apple and pecan woods are also used. The wood is heated to a slow smolder until smoke begins to waft from the hot wood. The smoke, and its flavor, is trapped in tiny particles of water vapor. Once cooled, the water vapor condenses back into liquid form, still containing all the flavor. Liquid smoke is then aged, and finally filtered before being bottled.
I have been raving extensively about the benefits of bison meat, and in this recipe, I marinate the bison in liquid smoke, then crust it in spicy black pepper. Then, I simply roast the steak, slice it, and place it in a French roll with horseradish crème fraîche and baby arugula.
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Posted by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, October 16, 2009 at 9:30 AM
Note: Read my breakdown of the burger's components to see how I came up with this recipe.
- makes 4 burgers -
Ingredients
8 ounces beef sirloin, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 ounces well-marbled beef chuck, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 ounces well-marbled beef brisket, fat cap intact, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 Martin's Sandwich Rolls
4 tablespoons Shack Sauce (recipe follows)
4 leaves of green-leaf lettuce, clipped
8 center-cut slices ripe plum tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper
4 slices yellow American cheese
Procedure
1. Place feed shaft, blade, and 1/4-inch die of meat grinder in freezer until well-chilled. Meanwhile, place meat chunks on rimmed baking sheet, leaving space between each piece and place in freezer for 10 minutes until meat is firm, but not frozen.
2. Combine meat in large bowl and toss to combine. Pass meat through grinder twice. Form into four disks, about 2-inches tall, and 2.5-inches wide. Refrigerate until ready for use.
3. Open buns but do not split hinge. Brush lightly with butter, then place under broiler or in toaster oven until golden brown, about 1 minute. Spread 1 tablespoon Shack Sauce on top half of each bun (for true authenticity, squirt out of squeeze bottle into three lines, three passes on each line). Place 1 leaf lettuce and 2 slices tomato on top half of each bun.
4. Using wadded-up paper towel, rub inside of heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet with vegetable oil, then place over medium-high heat until just beginning to smoke. Season beef pucks on top side with salt and pepper, then place, seasoned side down, in skillet. Using back of heavy, flat spatula, press down on beef pucks firmly to form 4-inch round patties, being careful not to let it stick to bottom of spatula. Season top side with salt and pepper. Cook until crisp brown crust has formed, about 2-minutes.
5. Carefully scrape patties from skillet, and flip. Top each patty with 1 slice American cheese. Cook until cheese is melted, about 1 minute longer. Transfer patties to burger bun bottoms, close sandwiches, and serve.
Shack Sauce
- makes about 3/4 cup sauce -
Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
4 slices kosher dill pickle
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
pinch cayenne pepper
Ingredients
Combine all ingredients in blender until smooth, scraping down sides of blender with rubber spatula as necessary.
Posted by Blake Royer, October 8, 2009 at 4:00 PM
[Photograph: Blake Royer]
After Nick praised Rick Bayless so thoroughly yesterday as the most reliable authority on Mexican cuisine, I hungrily went straight to my copy of Mexican Everyday in search of a recipe for dinner. It is his most accessible book, full of straightforward recipes that don't require too-unusual ingredients.
That's definitely the case with this lovely recipe, which calls for a can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce to be blended into a marinade for skirt steak (nothing else needs to be added). After brushing this on the steak, the steak is seared in a pan and served with caramelized onions, then doused in a quick salsa of blended charred tomatillos, garlic, and a couple of chipotle chiles. The acidity of the tomatillos lends the salsa a clean, bright flavor, while the smoky charred flavors mingle with the chipotle. Wrapped up in a warm tortilla, it's hard to beat a combination like this.
My only addition was a little chopped onion and cilantro, because I love a little crunch in my tacos.
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Posted by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, October 2, 2009 at 2:25 PM
Note: Read my guide to different cuts of beef for a look into the development of this blend.
- makes 1 pound of burger meat -
Follow your favorite burger recipe, substituting this meat blend for the ground beef. For best texture, handle meat as gently and as little as possible after grinding.
Ingredients
6 ounces beef sirloin, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
5 ounces beef brisket, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
12 ounces oxtail, fat and meat carefully removed from bone and trimmed of silverskin, bones discarded or reserved for another use (about 5 ounces of combined meat and fat)
Procedure (Meat Grinder)
1. Place feed shaft, blade, and 1/4-inch die of meat grinder in freezer until well-chilled. Meanwhile, place meat chunks on rimmed baking sheet, leaving space between each piece and place in freezer for 10 minutes until meat is firm, but not frozen.
2. Combine meat in large bowl and toss to combine. Grind meat and refrigerate immediately until ready for use. Handle as gently as possible.
Procedure (Food Processor)
1. Place bowl and blade of food processor in freezer until well-chilled. Meanwhile, place meat chunks on rimmed baking sheet, leaving space between each piece, and place in freezer for 10 minutes until meat is firm, but not frozen.
2. Combine meat in large bowl and toss to combine. Working in two batches, place meat cubes in food processor and pulse until medium-fine grind is achieved, about 8 to 10 one-second pulses, scraping down processor bowl as necessary. Refrigerate ground meat immediately until ready for use. Handle as gently as possible.
Posted by Caroline Russock, September 23, 2009 at 12:15 PM
To celebrate the first week of fall, I decided to break out the old Dutch oven and do some braising. Thumbing through the pages of Gourmet Today by Ruth Reichl and John Willoughby, I opted for Braised Short Ribs with Dijon Mustard. So far, all of the recipes from this book have been a resounding success, plus this one had the added bonus of being adapted by chef Daniel Boulud. I ventured into the kitchen, confident something delicious was going to happen.
The short ribs tasted like they had been braising for at least a day, if not two, falling off the bone with a rich beefy, wine-y flavor. And the beautiful part? They didn't take all day—in fact they were finished in about three hours.
There are a few sneaky tricks in this recipe that assist in the illusion of an all-day braise. The first step is to reduce a bottle of wine down to about one cup, concentrating the flavor of the wine. The next involves thoroughly browning the short ribs, then browning the shallots in the fat and juices rendered from the ribs. The shallots are removed and the ribs go back into the pot with the reduced wine and spicy Dijon mustard; the lid goes on and the ribs cook. The browned shallots are reintroduced after about an hour and a half. This way, they keep their integrity and all of that great browned onion flavor. A few raw tomatoes and nothing else. This recipe doesn't call for any herbs or spices—not even a carrot or a clove of garlic. The ingredients verge on austere but the flavor is huge, deep, and earthy.
Three hours for decidedly French and insanely wonderful, falling off the bone short ribs, c'est pas mal, Monsieur Boulud.
Win 'Gourmet Today'
As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of Gourmet Today to give away this week. Enter to win here »
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Posted by The Serious Eats Team, September 17, 2009 at 6:50 PM
Published with permission from Arthur Schwartz.
Ingredients
2 very large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 8 to 10-pound brisket
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 pounds onions, halved and sliced
3 medium carrots, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
2 large, outside ribs celery, sliced 1/4-inch thick
4 small bay leaves
Procedure
1. Rub 1 chopped clove of garlic into each side of the meat.
2. Salt and pepper the meat on both sides.
3. Spread the onions, carrots and celery on the bottom of the pan. Put the meat over the vegetables. Put 2 bay leaves under the meat, 2 on top of the meat.
4. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and cook in a preheated 350°F oven for 4 hours, until meat is just tender.
5. Let meat rest 20 minutes, then slice: Cut the second cut off of the first cut and trim off and discard the layer of fat between them. Slice both cuts across the grain, either straight down or at a slight diagonal angle. Skim any fat off the juices left in the pan, and serve the onions and vegetables with the juices as a sauce for both the meat and any starch accompaniment. If desired, you can puree some of the vegetables to make a thicker sauce.
6. If preparing ahead for serving another day, refrigerate until several hours before serving time. Skim hardened fat off the surface of the liquid that has collected around the meat, and off the surface of the meat. Allow the meat to come to room temperature before final heating.
7. About an hour before serving, using a long-bladed, preferably serrated knife (I use a bread knife), slice the meat about 1/4-inch thick. It will require a sawing motion and a strong arm. Do not disturb the conformation of the meat. Return the meat to the roasting pan as if it was still a whole brisket.
8. Baste with pan juices and heat, uncovered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, basting a few times during that period. The surface of the meat should have browned nicely, and the slices of meat should be heated through and fork tender. Trim excess fat off the meat on the plate, as it is eaten.
9. Serving suggestion: Serve with kasha (buckwheat groats): Follow the directions on the back of the box, and top each helping with onions and juices from the pot roast. Or prepare kasha varnishkes: cooked buckwheat groats tossed with bow-tie macaroni and flavored with sauteed onions. Or serve with mashed potatoes flavored with schmaltz (chicken fat) and, if available, gribenes (the cracklings and blackened onions left from rendering the chicken fat), also topped with pan juices and onions. A green vegetable is up to you.
Posted by The Serious Eats Team, September 17, 2009 at 2:14 PM
- serves 8 -
Published with permission from Joan Nathan.
Ingredients
2 dried pasilla chiles
1 4-pound brisket
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Flour for dredging
1/4 cup olive oil
2 onions, diced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
1 cup organce juice
4 cups chicken or beef stock or water
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon peppercorns
4 tea bags of strong black tea
2 cups dried pitted prunes
2 cups dried apricots
Procedure
1. Soak the pepper in lukewarm water for 30 minutes. Seed, remove the stems, and chop into tiny pieces.
2. Season the brisket with the salt and pepper and dredge with flour. heat the olive oil in a large heavy roasting pan and bronw the brisket on all sides. Remove from the pan.
3. Preheat the oven to 400˚F
4. In the same pan, over medium heat, sauté the onions and ginger until the onions are transparent. Add the pepper and deglaze with the orange juice. Reduce for a few minutes. Add the brisket and enough stock or water to cover. Add the cinnamon stick, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Cook, uncovered, until the brisket is tender, about 3 hours, turning at 30-minute intervals. Remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaf. Puree the sauce in a food processor or blender.
5. Cool and refrigerate a few hours or overnight. Remove the congealed fat that floats on the top of the liquid.
6. About 30 minutes before serving, bring 4 cups water to a boil. Steep the tea bags in the water to make a strong tea. Discard the tea bags. Put the prunes and apricots in the tea to plump for about half an hour. Then drain them. Reheat with the brisket and the plumped fruit. Serve with saffron rice, mashed potatoes, or couscous.
Posted by Chichi Wang, September 15, 2009 at 9:30 AM
[Photographs: Chichi Wang]
To make a stew, there must be gelatin and bone. To find the highest concentration of the two, look no further than tail. I've written before on the perfection of pigs' tails, but bovine tails make for exceptionally good eating and, quite frequently, are more accessible at the butcher's counter. Yielding the most tender and full-bodied stews, oxtail is a fail-proof solution to stringy meat and thin broth. Each segment of the tail is a little hub from which spokes of meat, bone, and gelatin radiate. Fancy restaurants may serve braised oxtail that has been deboned already, but this seems silly given all the delicious gelatinous material sticking to the bones. In the comfort of your own kitchen, you can gnaw away with true gusto.
Veal oxtail is the tenderer, more delicately flavored counterpart to mature oxtail. With just a hint of beefiness, the tails of veal are subtler and sweeter. For years I ate very little veal out of ethical concerns, but I was prompted to look further into the matter when I read the River Cottage Meat Book, an encyclopedic venture on all meat-related topics. With great precision, author Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall details the intimate relationship between the dairy and beef industries, explaining how calves and young cows figure into the subject.
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Posted by Joshua Bousel, September 4, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Each week Joshua Bousel of The Meatwave drops by with a recipe for you to grill over the weekend. Fire it up, Joshua!
I'm a burger purist. I don't think I've ever made a burger at home beyond ground beef, salt, pepper, and a slice of cheese. So I can't explain what possessed me to grill a green chile cheeseburger this week, but I'm glad it happened. I've seen and read about the green chile burgers before, but never actually had one. My attempt was more of a personal imagining of what one should be, not a recreation of the beloved Southwestern favorite.
I started by grilling a few poblanos and a thick slice of onion until fully charred, removed the chile skin, and coarsely chopped the two together. Then I mixed ground chuck with chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper, formed a patty, cooked it to medium-rare and finished it off with a slice of pepper jack. The burger, on a toasted bun with the chile-and-onion mixture, quickly went down the hatch.
The first thing that hit me was the spice. Having cooked with poblanos in the past, I was expecting a mild and fruity flavor, but instead got a good kick of heat. This was in a nice balance with the beef, which had an earthy quality from the chili powder and cumin. Each bite I kept expecting just "burger," but instead was greeted by the pleasing mix of Southwest flavors that got me wondering if my "simple burger as perfection" notion has room for company.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, September 4, 2009 at 4:15 PM
When it's time to grill, the one thing I crave most is a great big steak. I'm talking a massive 16-ounce, one-inch thick monster. Accept no substitutes. One of these guys can easily feed two, and I actually still had leftovers. Steak and charcoal are quite fond of each other so I didn't need to look hard for a recipe. I just used the instructions for cooking a steak in Bobby Flay's Grill It! which amounted to cooking it over high-heat for about five minutes per side. What hung me up was the pairing part.
I had a glut of tomatoes and basil, so those two had to be involved. I found this recipe in the Chicago Tribune, which tops grilled thick tomatoes with a spoonful of pesto. My plan was to serve the tomatoes and pesto next to the steak to create a fresh sauce—it worked beautifully.
The fresh pesto lightened up the meal and the tomatoes added a much needed acid. Sure a steak served alone is always a treat, but this is a great way to spruce up the simple meal with the summer bounty.
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Posted by Caroline Russock, September 4, 2009 at 12:30 PM
[Photograph: Robyn Lee]
Cookouts are, without fail, some of the most time-consuming get-togethers. Whether you are grilling some burgers and dogs or an entire pig, the meal inevitably hits the table much later than expected. Cooking on an open flame is unpredictable—even the most seasoned grillers can fall prey to a meat-plus-fire disaster.
But the beauty of a cookout is that it's not a meal—it's more of a social gathering. Nobody knows this better than Chis Lilly. He is just as concerned with spending quality time with his friends and family as he is with making award-winning barbecue.
This recipe for Slow-Smoked Beef Brisket from Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book is a time commitment, about nine to ten hours to be exact. Fortunately the active work time is minimal. The bulk of your time will be spent hanging in the backyard with those who are near and dear.
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Posted by Caroline Russock, August 31, 2009 at 1:15 PM
"Short ribs are notoriously tough and chewy if not cooked correctly but this hour-long steam makes sure they come out tender."
The words "indirect heat" used to send shivers down my spine. But this weekend, I overcame my fear of barbecue. Grilling up burgers, hot dogs, steaks, and seafood have never been an issue—it's the real-deal barbecue that makes me nervous. I have never bothered with dry rubs, aromatic wood chips, or grilling projects that take more than a half hour. I always figured barbecue should be left to the experts.
But Sunday was as good as any time to conquer my fear. I decided that this recipe for Barbecue Beef Short Ribs from Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book was going to be my first foray into serious barbecue.
Armed with bags of charcoal and hickory chips, I headed to the backyard and set up a little portable grill. Once the coals turned ashy, I added the hickory chips. Unsure exactly how to do this, I consulted the back of the bag. They needed to be soaked for fifteen minutes. Who would have thought? Not me, obviously.
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Posted by Gina DePalma, August 27, 2009 at 8:30 AM
Pull up a chair and read a story, about one cut of meat, one pot, a few vegetables and entirely delicious results—three tasty, varied dishes that span the north and south of Italy, making the most of a tight budget and limited time.
Here's the synopsis: An inexpensive cut of beef is boiled with aromatics until it almost falls apart, transforming into a rich, satisfying soup, a simple, elegant main course, and a bright, refreshing salad. Let the plot unfold.
Chapter One: Bollito di Manzo
I grew up slurping a bowl of my mother's beef soup once a week, like clockwork, usually on Monday or Tuesday nights. Served with a diminutive pasta shape like ditalini (little tubes) or conchigliette (little shells) and a shower of grated Parmigiano, it warmed our bellies when cold winds blew and magically cooled us down in the heat of summer. Chuck roast, brisket, or short ribs were her favorite cuts of beef to use—fatty, marbled, inexpensive choices with plenty of connective tissue and collagen to break down, tenderize and melt their beefy flavor into the broth.
Chunky vegetables and a few aromatics always went into the soup pot, along with my mother's secret weapon: a small amount of diced or crushed tomato. She swears that the tomato adds a necessary touch of sweetness, richer color, and a depth of flavor that compliments the hearty flavor of the beef, and I have to agree. I toss in some veal bones if I can get my hands on them; they are an inexpensive way to add yet another dimension of richness to the end result. If all or some of your choice of beef cut is still on the bone, you're already set.
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