Tis the Season… for Slow Roasted Goodness
With the onset of June Gloom, it’s time to embrace those slow cooked dishes that I love to make, eat and share with friends and family. One of my favorites is the old Italian classic ‘Osso Buco’ which literally means ‘pierced bone.’ I don’t understand why other culinary cultures, including American, haven’t embraced this dish. Maybe it’s because it’s become so expensive. I can remember when this dish was on almost every decent Italian restaurant’s menu selling for less than $20, but like many other secondary and tertiary cuts, its increasing popularity allowed meat packers to slowly and steadily increase the price. Part of this is because it normally is only cut from veal vs mature cattle, but seriously, it’s just a cross-cut portion of the shank or leg bone! I watched the same thing happen to skirt steak, once an inexpensive, flavorful cut of meat used for old school ‘London Broil’ or ‘Mexican Carne Asada’ that now can cost close to $20 a pound for choice grade! When entertaining, braised dishes are not only satisfying to your guests but also great for the host since they can be made a little bit ahead of time and either kept warm or briefly rewarmed so the cook is not scrambling around the last minute. This dish is traditionally served with a saffron scented risotto but I like it with either a creamy Parmesan polenta or garlic mashed potatoes, both of which can also be made ahead of time and held warm.
Summer Figs
Fresh fig season is short and we’re right in the middle of it now and I don’t know of any fruit that evokes a more sensual arousal in foodies than the fig. In fact, even in ‘pre-foodie’ times, D.H. Lawrence wrote an entire poem praising its sensuality… surely no fruit more deservedly owes claim to the adjective ‘luscious’ than the fig. A Simple Definition of luscious Having a very appealing taste or smell Richly appealing Very physically attractive
