Roasted Bone Marrow

Probably the most delicious and yet simple appetizer ever. I explained bone marrow to someone who's never had it as meat butter, but I can't even begin to describe it's flavor. I'm lucky enough to have a ready source of fresh veal bones at Eataly, and they cut them to order. Maybe it's because I haven't had breakfast yet, but writing this post is literally making me drool...

HOW TO:

Arrange the bones marrow side up in a roasting dish. Bake at 450º for about 18 minutes or until the marrow is cooked, but not completely melted. Meanwhile, roughly chop parsley and thinly slice shallots. Just before serving, toss the two together with capers, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve the bone marrow right out of the oven with the parsley salad, toasted bread, and salt flakes to season. 

Apple Tart

I had intended to make pie, but it ended up on the floor half-finished in a super tragic accident. Luckily, I had some extra apples. So with the unused half of pie crust, I made a simple apple tart.

I've gotten pretty good at making pie crust from scratch. Key tricks: use really good butter. I think this is probably the most important ingredient. High-fat, grass-fed butter is the way to go. 

HOW TO:

Make pate brisee and set aside in the fridge. Skin, core, and thinly slice cooking apples. Toss with lemon zest, lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, a little salt, a pinch of cloves, and tinier pinch of nutmeg. Roll out the dough to a round-ish shape. Arrange the apple slices in concentric circles until about an inch or two away from the edge of the pastry. Fold the dough onto the apples, overlapping where necessary. Brush the exposed crust with an egg wash, and bake the tart at 400º for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is browned and the apples are toasty.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

The classic. My take: three types of meat, fresh bread soaked in milk, fresh basil and parsley, grated parmesan, and one egg. The meat was from Eataly, the bread from Eli's, and the milk from Ronnybrook. Locavore galore. Anyway, after I browned the meatballs, I threw them into a basic sauce. I'm talking real basic here, just crushed tomatoes, garlic, and ripped basil. I served the dish with some delicious Chianti, and, I'm happy to say, this was a very successful classic Italian-American dinner.

(I figured I'd start posting bottles I enjoyed with my meal so I can remember them)

HOW TO:

To make the sauce, sauté chopped garlic with olive oil in a large pot. When fragrant and before the garlic begins to brown, pour in at least two jars of crushed tomatoes. Season with fresh ripped basil, salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. 

For the meatballs, start by tearing out the inside of a loaf of bread - I used half a white boule for two pounds of meat. Soak it in whole milk. Mix together equal amounts of ground pork, beef, and veal and toss with chopped basil, chopped parsley, grated parmesan, one egg, and the slightly squeezed-out bread. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roll out the meatballs in equal sizes - I eyeball them and typically make them to be about an inch and a half in diameter. Brown the meatballs on all sides in a hot pan, and toss them into the sauce. Simmer together for 30 or so minutes and serve with spaghetti. 

Braised Oxtail

I'm not sure how it happened, but all of a sudden it's fall, going on freezing. Ok, maybe not quite freezing, but something about the weather says, "braise" to me. Few meats braise as well and taste as delicious as oxtail. Throw in some carrots, onion, wine and crushed tomatoes and it's a party. See the list of all the invitees below. I served the oxtail with brown rice, but some creamy polenta would have also been delicious.

HOW TO:

Finely dice onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. Thickly chop three carrots, and set all the cut vegetables aside. Season the oxtail heavily with salt and pepper. Coat lightly with seasoned flour, making sure to tap off all the excess.

Sear the oxtails in a large pot and remove them when browned on all sides.

Throw in the finely diced vegetables. Cook until slightly browned. Deglaze the pan with some wine. Toss in the crushed tomatoes. Add a few sprigs of thyme and some coarsely torn parsley and basil. Cook together for a few minutes. Add the oxtail back in with a cup or two of chicken stock. Cover and put the pot in a 285-300º oven for 4 hours or so. With an hour left, throw in the thickly chopped carrots and some cipollini onions.

Breakfast BLT

My secret to an amazing BLT: add an egg. Really. BLTs are great, but sometimes they lack an extra mmmmm flavor to bring the ingredients together. An egg with a runny yoke totally puts the sandwich over the top. Plus it's good for breakfast.

Tagliatelle with Pork Cheek Ragu (from homegrown tomatoes!)

Mmm where to begin. I love tomatoes, so back in April I planted seven plants that take up more than half of the garden plot that I have down in Battery Park. They're probably seven and half feet tall now, and I've been getting a bounty of tomatoes for the last couple of weeks. (Bounty in Manhattan terms. Probably totally pathetic to someone who has a real backyard garden.) Red sauce is the perfect solution for not so perfect tomatoes. The trick is to peel the tomatoes, that part is not that simple, but everything else is pretty basic. Afterwards, it's the most rewarding and delicious pasta sauce ever. Really. Ever. In the history of cooks everywhere.

HOW TO:

Peel many tomatoes, the more the merrier. Season and sear the pork cheeks. Remove them from the pot and throw in equal amounts of chopped garlic and onion. Sauté until soft and clear. Add the tomatoes and cook until slightly saucy. Throw in the pork cheeks and some basil leaves. This time I also had some Parmigiano-Reggiano rind, so that went in too. Cook for hours and hours until the pork cheeks have completely broken apart. Serve with fresh tagliatelle.

Lunchtime: Roast Beef Sandwich

A few weeks ago my CSA had a little pickling workshop that I participated in. It was pretty much show up and pickle whatever vegetables we got that week. I walked out with some regular pickles and a "giardiniera"mix since we had cauliflower. Coming from Chicago, the only reasonable thing I knew to do with giardiniera was to put it on Italian beef sandwiches. (Just typing this makes me think of Portillo's...extra gravy with mozzarella and hot peppers please.) I knew I couldn't recreate that particular  deliciousness, so I figured some roast beef sandwiches would have to do. I got some roast beef, sliced on the thicker side, from Whole Foods, some excellent ciabatta buns, provolone, and some tomatoes and got to work. There's mustard on the bottom bun, lots of mayo on the top one, and all sorts of awesome in between. This was a serious experiment win.