HELL's kitchen...

Sasquatch and I are about back to normal after our icy ordeal. Sas, of course, bounced back quicker than I did. I will spare you an account of the last couple of days in the ice. It's too painful to remember (the long cold nights, the doorknobs so cold they hurt my hands to grab...and that was inside...poor Paul Varjak, shivering on his little swing, but he did survive! Critters most often have indomitable spirits.). I must thank J&G for providing a warm place to stay that last night before Just Fair Gas & Electric Co. got the power back on in my house. I also must thank my neighbor (the nice one) for helping me with my car travails. I'm sure he won't drop in here, so as a thank you, I made him brownies, iced with ganache. I share my brownies with only a few, so he's a lucky man, although when he was out there trying to get my car unstuck from Snow Mountain, he might have disagreed.

So Sas and I decided to celebrate the weekend, lights, heat and snow melting with some big cooking. We like to cook...well, I like it better than Sas. She's really not that good in the kitchen. In fact, she kind of gets in the way, but is amiable about moving when I shout, "Move!!"

Surprisingly enough, I found some cross-cut veal shanks at the grocery, so thought osso buco might be a nice dish for a winter weekend. I have to thank a most charming gentleman caller from HELL for reminding me of this excellent dish. I'd made it a few times years ago but then veal got so hard to find, and I just forgot about it. So thanks, M., you know who you are.

Let's take a moment to talk about veal...many people will not eat veal because of the conditions in which it's raised. Other people won't eat it because they're vegetarians and I cannot relate to them at all, so there it is. Well, yes, the calves for milk-fed veal are kept in small stalls to limit movement, resulting in a more tender product. But older cattle are herded together in close conditions at feed lots...chickens are kept in small enclosures...pigs too. But they're animals destined to feed humans. That is their lot in life, like it or not. The food chain is never a pretty picture...just watch out your back window when hawk swoops down on dove and you'll see. Not pretty, but just the way it is. Cows, chickens and pigs are no less noble for fulfilling their destiny. So, yes, I eat veal...and beef and chicken and pork and shrimp and other farmed critters. Guess what? I wear leather too...and fur. So, if you don't agree, that's fine. If you see me in my fur coat, just look the other way. Those mink were going to die anyway, no matter who wears the coat. And if I invite you to dinner, you should make an excuse because animal products are going to be featured. They're tasty and I like cooking them and eating them. So, it's an emotionally charged issue for many, but happily not for me. I already have enough emotionally charged issues to think of to take on another...


For the osso buco, I sauteed some diced pancetta until it had given up its porky, delicious fat, and browned the shanks and removed them to a casserole. I cooked chopped shallot, garlic, celery and carrot until soft and added some vermouth. After the vermouth had mostly evaporated, I added some chicken stock, a squeeze of tomato paste and a very small squeeze of anchovy paste, brought it up to the boil and stirred to get all the fond. I poured this over the veal, added a couple of Italian parsley sprigs, bay leaves, the pancetta, and salt and pepper. Into a 325 degree oven it went to braise for a couple of hours. I decided on Risotto Milanese and roasted asparagus and mushrooms as sides...How odd to have had saffron in the spice cabinet! And so I stirred and roasted and grated...cooking, a very satisfying activity. For the gremolata, I used orange zest instead of lemon...A suggestion from M., although I think he suggested it for piccata...no matter, it was perfect. It added an unexpected note that lifted the dish from just good to excellent. Thanks M!...the only way it could have been better is if you had been here to share it with me and heap praise upon my head for my superior culinary skills!

I don't cook big that much just for me, but sometimes, it's just the thing to do. We'd had a hard patch, Sas and me, and we needed to do something nice for ourselves. The veal was amazing...fork tender, it had almost an unctuousness that's rare in such a lean meat. The risotto was creamy, but not mushy...the only disappointment was the asparagus, which I cooked a little too long...so what, it was but a bit player anyway.

--Ina