Braised Lamb Shanks in Red Wine

 

2 lamb shanks

1 large Spanish onion

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

2 large carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces

1-16oz. canned diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon chopped, minced garlic

1 pinch crushed red pepper

1 tablespoons black pepper

4 bay leaves, whole

1 tablespoon rosemary

1 tablespoon marjoram

1 teaspoon sage

1 teaspoon thyme

1/4 bottle dry red wine (burgundy) 

1/2 cup robust home-made stock

salt

olive oil

In a handle-less crock pot equipped with lid, put cut up carrots, chopped onion, potatoes-halved, bay leaves in a cloth bag, the diced tomatoes, celery-finely chopped, and the wine, and 1/2 cup stock.

Rub the shanks in the marjoram, both peppers, salt, sage, thyme, rosemary, garlic very well.  Retain spices. 

 

Sear the lamb sharks until they're a good color, turn them, as they brown.

 

Put browned meat in crock pot. Pot crock pot

Braising Cuts of Meat

 

 

Braising is one of my favorite ways to cook which involves long, slow, moist heat. The
method renders tough meat tender. Additionally, this is a way of stretching the food
dollar. The cheaper cuts are often those that require some talent of the chef to make good
fare.

To braise means to cook food very slowly in liquid in a covered container. Success means
to use lower temperatures and longer times. You can braise on top of the stove but I
prefer to braise in a slow, 250° oven. Its all-over heat gives a deeper, richer flavor and
even cooking. Since the heat surround the cooking vessel, cooking this way will not burn
the meat and stirring is never required. If stovetop, make sure to use a Dutch Oven with
an especially thick bottom to insure a spread of the heat, else a hot spot could occur that
can burn. Don't drown the food in liquid but use enough to cook in a moist environment.
You can braise nearly anything including vegetables such as endive, leeks, and radicchio.
The cooking liquid can be water, wine, stock, Scotch, Bourbon or a combination of these
The way to achieve intensely flavored meat is through caramelization of ingredients.
Brown the meat to be braised all over, then brown the aromatic vegetables as well and
use a rich stock and red wine as the braising liquids. In spring, caramelize the vegetables
for less time and use a white wine.

The best cuts of meat for braising are lean, tough cuts such as shanks. Don’t drown the
meat else that would be boiling. Check for doneness with a fork. When the meat is done, it will pull away from the bone with no resistance. Let the braised meat cool in the braising liquid. As meat cooks, it relaxes and releases its juices. If it remains in the braising liquid as it cools, the juices will stay in the meat.

 

Note: A Dutch Oven does not have wooden or plastic handles, so it is ideally suited to go
in the oven.

Beef Soup with Noodles or Barley

Starter Stock

5 pounds beef neck bones, sawn into small chunks
1 ten inch section of beef marrow bone, sawn in half length wise then
cross cut
Two pigs feet, cut into eights
1 white onion, quartered
2 celery stalks, quartered
2 carrots, quartered
4 bay leaves
Teaspoon pepper corns
2 quarts of water
1 bottle of white wine
2 garlic gloves

Place meat chunks, marrow bones, pigs feet, onions, celery, and carrots in a

shallow roast pan and place under a broiler on high. Turn the ingredient

every 4-5 minutes until the meat and vegetables have browned.

 

Empty the meat and vegetables into a tall stock pot, cover with wine, water,

adding pepper corns, bay leaves, and garlic cloves. Cover and simmer for

three hours. Remove the lid, and cook another 2 hours, allowing some of the

liquid to reduce. Allow stock to cool. When cool, strain off and retain the

liquid. Place solids in a strainer and place strainer over a bowl to catch and

liquid. Sort through the solids. Retain the meat, cartilage pieces, small

chunks of bones that any meat still cling to. Discard all the vegetables, bay

leaves, celery, carrots and garlic. Pour the catch liquid in with the other soup

stock. Add the meat back to the soup and refrigerate over night or until the

solidified excess fat can be collected from the top of the stock.

 

Finish the soup. Bring the stock to a boil and add:
1 cup chopped peeled carrots
1 cup of very finely chopped celery
1 finely chopped tomato
10 ounces of uncooked wide noodles or barley
1 clove chopped garlic
1 pinch of thyme
1 pinch of sage
¼ cup sherry
Cook the noodle until tender adding a little water in necessary.
Correct the seasoning with sea salt.

Kay"s Han and Beans

 

Depending on the amount of water this can be a soup you just need to add more water
towards the end of the cooking cycle. (The pound of ham at our house comes from the
left over ham and ham bone after having made and served a honey baked ham.)

1 pound ham cut into small pieces1
1 bag of small white Northern beans
10 bay leaves
Black pepper
Crushed red pepper
1 large can chopped tomatoes
Pinch of ground cloves
5 tablespoons brown sugar
1 large yellow onion, chopped coarsely

Cover beans with 5 quarts of water and soak over night.2 Drain. Add enough water back
into pot to cover beans by 1 ½ inches. Add ham and ham bone if available and all other
ingredients. Bring to a boil then cook slowly for four hours. Add water as necessary.
(Ham may already have enough salt that no more is needed, but correct seasoning at the
end just before serving as required.)

Notes:
1. I make a variation on this recipe that substitutes two smoked ham-hocks that have been sawn by
the butcher into chunks.
2. Some of the chemical compounds in beans that contribute to flatulence are water-soluble and will
be partially removed when the bean soak-water is discarded. If your water is very hard (having
lots of minerals) the beans would benefit from bottled water for cooking and soaking.
Alternatively, filter the water through a activated carbon water filter before using. Hard water may
also require extended cooking times.

Katie’s Ham and Beans II

Depending on the amount of water this can be a soup you just need to add more water
towards the end of the cooking cycle. (The pound of ham at our house comes from the
left over ham and ham bone after having made and served a honey baked ham.)

1 pound ham cut into small pieces1
1 bag of small white Northern beans
10 bay leaves
Black pepper
Crushed red pepper
1 large can chopped tomatoes
Pinch of ground cloves
5 tablespoons brown sugar
1 large yellow onion, chopped coarsely

Cover beans with 5 quarts of water and soak over night.2 Drain. Add enough water back
into pot to cover beans by 1 ½ inches. Add ham and ham bone if available and all other
ingredients. Bring to a boil then cook slowly for four hours. Add water as necessary.
(Ham may already have enough salt that no more is needed, but correct seasoning at the
end just before serving as required.)

Notes:

1. I make a variation on this recipe that substitutes two smoked ham-hocks that have been sawn by

the butcher into chunks.

2. Some of the chemical compounds in beans that contribute to flatulence are water-soluble and will

be partially removed when the bean soak-water is discarded. If your water is very hard (having

lots of minerals) the beans would benefit from bottled water for cooking and soaking.

Alternatively, filter the water through a activated carbon water filter before using. Hard water may

also require extended cooking times.

3. Try adding garlic, more spices, more cloves

 

Jamaican Oven Roasted Onions

 

2 pounds small white pearl onions
Pinch turmeric
Olive oil
Salt to taste
Pinch pepper
Pinch paprika

Blanch onions in boiling water 4-5 minutes to facilitate peeling skins. Cut off root end of

each onion, squeezing onion core from outer peel – the core will pop out. Drain onions

and dry. In a bowl, add onions a little olive oil until the onions are coated with a thin film

of oil. Add salt, pepper, a pinch of paprika for color and a pinch of ground tumeric1. Toss

in bowl. Onions should be yellow. (Add Tumeric as required for color.)

Bake in an open pan or shallow glass dish in a hot (375 F) oven, turning several times

(5~10 minutes) to insure even browning.

These yellow onions go well with many meals and add an unusual bit of color.

 

Note:

1. Turmeric is the dried root of a plant similar in size and related to ginger. Its flavor

is woody and earthy. India is the primary exporter of turmeric, although Peru,

Haiti, and Jamaica are additional sources. It thrives in hot, moist, tropical climates

with well-drained soil.

 

The use of turmeric as a coloring agent for food and fabric dates as far back as

600 B.C. Marco Polo, in 1280, mentioned turmeric in notes of his travels in

China: "There is also a vegetable that has all the properties of true saffron, as well

as the smell and the color, and yet it is not really saffron." In medieval Europe,

turmeric was known as "Indian saffron." Since then, turmeric has been used as an

inexpensive substitute for saffron. Saffron is the world’s most expensive spice

hence an affordable alternative is welcomed. That being said, turmeric is not in

taste, an alternative to saffron only its color and a little bit goes along way.

 

Aji amarillo is a hot Peruvian pepper that alo colors food yellow.

 

 

 

Pork Mushrooms and Pepppers

 

1 1/2 lb. pork loin, cut cross grain in bite sized pieces

1 pound red peppers, inner ribs and stem removed, cut into bite sized pieces

1 green bell pepper, inner ribs and stem removed, cut into bite sized pieces

1 can water chestnuts, drained, sliced

1 large sweet onion, cut in bite size sections

2 large carrots, sliced diagonally, thinly

1 pound Cremini mushrooms, sliced evenly because then, cooking is even

4 green parts of scallion, cut into sections diagonally 3/4 inch long  

2 baby bok-choy, cut down middle, ends trimmed

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp of Chinese Shaoxing wine

1 tbsp marin

1 teaspoon black vinegar to brighten the flavors

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp +  1 tbsp of  dark soy sauce

1 tbsp + 1 tbsp of  cornstarch

1 1/2 tbsp water

1 teaspoon of white sugar

2 pinches of salt

5 clove of garlic, smashed then chopped

1 thumb of fresh ginger, smashed then chopped

peanut oil as required

 

 

In a small bowl, add 1 Tbsp cornstarch. Add 1 1/2 tbsp water slow turn to comine a slurry to thicken the sauce. Set aside.

 

In a 1 cup measuring cup, add 1/2   Shaoxing wine,  add hoisin sauce, marin, black vinegar, oyster sauce, soy. This will be the sauce. Set aside.

In a teflon pan, add enough sugar and salt to coat bottom of pan. Heat the pan, when hot, add the sliced mushroom. Cook on high with a little oil. Turn the mushrooms until they sweat out, and caramilize. Pour in a large bowl, when fully cooked.

In a medium bowl, add loin pork, cut to bite size, across the grain of the meat. The loin maybe pounded to tenderize. Add a tablespoon of cornstarch. Stir the pork to coat all pieces. Add 2 tbsp of Chinese Shaoxing wine and 1 tbsp of dark soy sauce, marinate at least 30 minutes, can longer.

Cut up all vegetables, scallions, peppers, onion, water chestnuts, carrots, and the bok-choy. Sequester scallions and carrots seperately. Carrots will cooked first. Scallion, as garnish hence, not cooked. Put all the vegetables in a medium bowl sufficiently large bowl that will hold all the vegetables

After the mushrooms are cooked, then heat the fry pan until hot again. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, and heat the oil over high heat, cook the meat, allow bottom of pieces to brown. then turn over, and brown other side. When done and golden brown, turn out into the bowl with the mushrooms.

Time to fire up the wok over hottest burner. Idealy, 34,000+ BTUs

 

When the empty wok starts to smoke, add two tablespoons of oil. Coat the inside walls of the wok. When the oil is hot, add the ginger and garlic, when these are golden brown, spoon them from wok into large bowl that contains the meat & mushrooms.

 

Add the carrots and wok stir fry them for two minutes turning often as these cook. Now dump the medium bowl of vegetables and water chestnuts  into the wok and stir fry for three more minutes. Add the measuring cup with sauce, the contents of big bowl, stir fry a minute more. Add slurry of cornstarch to thicken. Turn contents of wok over with the wok-spoon several times. When thickened, turn off heat. 

Garnish with diagonally cut scallions.

Serve over white jasmine steamed rice.

 

Beef Tendon Soup

 

 

Asian soups have become so popular that whole soup-houses cater to these in many of
the business districts of many large metropolitan cities across the United States. Silicon
Valley in the California’s Bay area is no exception. This soup is an unxious rich aromatic
brown broth, studded by big generous chunks of beef, small pieces of beef tendon over a
base of rice noodles and garnished with greens. Although this recipe calls for rice
noodles, it could be made with your favorite noodles. (More on noodles below.) An
amazing transformation occurs with the protracted cooking time turning inedible beef
tendons into a delicious punctuation to this famous Asian dish. To make things quicker,
the beef stock could be made a day ahead. The tendons could also be cooked in the stock
until the point they are tender and the recipe resumes the next day from that point.

2 1/2 pounds prepared beef tendons (Asian Market provides this)
2 scallions, sliced
4 cloves chopped garlic
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
4 lemon grass stalks bruised with back of cleaver
2 tablespoons dark mushroom soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons Marin
1 tablespoons Fish Sauce (optional)
3/4 package fresh rice noodles (Asian Market) (see notes)
2 teaspoons white pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper
½ cup Shao Hsing wine
Juice from 2 limes
Lime zest from 2 limes
Pinch of sugar
Salt as required
Beef Stock
3 pounds beef ribs (Have these sawn into strips)
1 coarsely chopped yellow onion
1 chopped coarsely carrot
1 quart of water
1 coarsely chopped rib of celery
¼ cup dried shitake mushrooms
 

Garnish

Lime slices
Bean sprouts
Chopped fresh cilantro

Make Beef Stock the day before
Cut up carrot, onion, celery, and beef ribs into chunks and brown beef ribs pieces and
vegetables under the broiler, turning occasionally until meat has browned on most sides.
Using a bag fashioned from cheesecloth and string, tie up the vegetables and mushrooms.
Add meat, and bagged vegetables with 1 quart of water to a stock pot with a lid. Cover
and bring to a boil then simmer until meat is tender. Discard expended bagged
vegetables. Cool stock several hours or refrigerate. Skim and remove all fat. Strain the
stock and retain. Discard bones, separating meat which is retained for later use.
Bring a pot of water to boil. Add tendons and boil five minutes to purge them. Strain
tendons and rinse in cold water. If there are any LARGE pieces cut them down to size so
everything cooks evenly.
Discard bottom root sections and dried out top sections of the lemon grass stalks, bruise
the stalks with blows from the back of the cleaver or chef’s knife on both sides of the
stalks and retain for later.

Boil tendons in the retained beef stock until fairly tender, about 3 ~ 4 hours but 2 hours
out, add bruised lemon grass stalks. When tendons are very tender, remove lemon grass
pieces and discard them. Using thongs and kitchen shears, cut tendons into small edible
1/2 chunks. This is an important step as the soup would be very difficult to eat otherwise.
If the preceding is advanced preparation, start the next step the next day.

Add soy sauce, ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, wine, red and white peppers, juice from limes,
Marin, lime zest, the retained pieces of beef. Heat on high and when boiling add noodles.
Assist the noodles to separate and when noodles are hot add chopped scallions, a handful
each of bean sprouts, and chopped fresh cilantro. Correct the seasoning with salt, 1
teaspoon of sugar, additional vinegar and lime to taste.

To serve, bowl up soup with a portion of noodles in each bowl. Serve with a plate
holding a garnish of lime slices, bean sprouts, and chopped fresh cilantro so guests can
add their own.

Put some Thai hot sauce on the table (Shark Brand Sriracha or see
Thai_Chile_Sauce.) otherwise offer some other form of hot.

Notes on Noodles:
You can buy noodles fresh or dry, gluten flour, rice, or even buckwheat in large
diameters, flat, vermicelli or round. The noodle isle at the Asian market I go to in California is 40 yards long - all noodles at that just the dry ones! If going “dry” not fresh, adjust cooking time according to package directions or cook ahead of time in water then drain and rinse in cold water when the noodles are “al dente” or a little under done. The next reheating will soften them some so keep that in mind. Fresh is much easier and less work.
 

Banh pho – Rice Sticks - Pad Thai Flat Shape Noodle / Fresh Dry
Banh Tam – Rice Noodle (Round shape)

Risotto alla Milanese (Saffron Rice Milan Style)

 

 

A nice bowl of rice and crusty Tuscan bread – heaven on a cold winter or raining day.
Arborio rice has a very high starch content. As the rice is cooked, this starch is released
in the cooking liquid to create a rich, creamy dish that is absolutely delicious. Saffron
added to the rice turns it a deep yellow while adding a wonderful aromatic flavor. Bone
marrow is essential for a good risotto. Have the butcher saw the bone lengthwise to
facilitate access to the marrow. Bone marrow freezes well. Arborio rice is pearly white
plump fat grained rice named after the town of Arborio along the Po River of northern
Italy.

2 Arborio Rice (Carnaroli Rice1)
2 cup pinot grigio or another dry white wine
3 tablespoons of butter
2 cups of low salt veal, chicken, vegetable or beef stock
1inch of beef marrow
1 pinch saffron
1 medium-size white onion, diced
2 cloves chopped crushed garlic
Optional
Finely chopped slices of Prosciutto ham
¼ cup freshly shelled spring sautéed peas
¼ cup sliced sautéed mushrooms
1 tablespoon sweet butter
Finish with
3 tablespoons of butter or unfiltered extra virgin fruity olive oil
8 tablespoons of graded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Salt
White pepper
truffle oil.

In a separate pot, heat wine and chicken broth to a boil.
Wipe the bone of any saw chips. Dip the marrow briefly in boiling water for minute.
Chop the marrow. Brown the marrow in heavy sauce pan with in 3 tablespoons of butter,
and then add the onion. When the onion begins to clear but not brown, add the rice and
garlic. Stir until the rice is coated and shiny and has absorbed the fat. If using Prosciutto,
add it now. Add saffron, a pinch of salt and carefully pour in ½ cup of the boiling wine
mixture over rice. Stir the rice occasionally and cook on medium for 15 minutes adding
liquid judiciously as liquid is absorbed and as is needed. The finished rice should only be
slightly moist.

In the meantime, if adding mushrooms and peas, sauté them in some extra butter now.
They will be added last. Stop cooking when the peas are still a bit crunchy.
The rice is done when “al dente” – cooked through but still somewhat firm at the center.
Keep in mind the rice will continue to cook even when removed from heat so remove it
from the heat sooner than later. Stir in 3 tablespoons of butter and 6 tablespoons of
graded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and adjust the seasonings. The balance of the cheese
is for topping each bowl of rice. Drizzle with truffle oil.

Note:
1. Carnaroli rice comes from Novara and Vercelli Italy in the Piedmont region.
Carnaroli is considered one of the best Italian rices as it can absorb liquid for a
long time while remaining 'al dente'. Although less well known in the U.S. than
Arborio rice, Carnaroli is actually more highly valued by Italian chefs.

As Argentina has a lot of Italians the rice now is also grown in the Andes
mountains in the fertile valleys of central Argentina. See
 

Rice Suppli al Telefono (Fried Rice balls)

 

 

Suppli al Telefono are Roman fritters, rice balls with a cheese filling that strings out like
telephone wires when eaten. Practically every pizzeria, every osteria or trattoria either are
serving suppli or arancini. Arancini are the same thing except these are made with Risotto
alla Milanese (see recipe risotto_alla_milanese). In my youth, in Rome on cold
winter days, I would buy a few of these from street vendors hot from the oil and warm
my hands and have a great breakfast. The moisture level of the rice has to be such that the
balls form when pressed together. If you having trouble add a beated egg yolk to rice.
Mix well, refrigerate for a half an hour.

Preheat oven to 250 F for holding batches of the suppli to keep them warm.

Use a fry or a candy thermometer to insure you get the temperature right. The ingredients
should be allowed to reach room temperature.

Bunch of finely diced parsley
Bunch finely diced chives
3 eggs plus 2 egg yolks
3 cups leftover Risotto alla Romano (al dente) (see recipe)
4 ounces of mozzarella cheese cut into 3/8 inch cubes
2 cups dry bread crumbs made entirely from the crust of crusty Italian bread.
3 - 4 cups of canola oil

Preheat oil to 360F – 365F

 

Combine rice with parsley and chives. Beat eggs plus egg yolks in a separate bowl. Put

bread crumbs in a separate bowl. Make a few suppli at a time and then place them on a

plate until you have four or five ready to cook. Using your hands, form a small ball of

about 1 ½ tablespoon of the rice mixture with a cube of mozzarella cheese at the center.

The ball size is important because if these are too big, the outside is done before the

cheese in the center has time to melt. Roll the rice ball into a round ball. Dip ball into egg

mixture then into bread crumbs. When have made four or five, then fry them. The oil

should not cool too much when these are cooked hence the limit on how many can be

cooked at a time. 

If the suppli are not completely immersed in oil, then turn them with a slotted spoon as they cook. When suppli are dark golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel covered platter in the oven to keep warm. Serve as soon as possible.

Fresh Baby Peas

 

 

 

Fresh Baby Peas

One of the vegetables that is of a very high grade when purchased frozen is petite peas
which are hard to find in the super market and have a limited availability in the fall.
C&W vegetables, Birds Eye or other fine vendors (not a generic brand) produce good
versions and this preparation, if careful, can duplicate the finest freshly shelled peas as if
from your own garden.

1 ½ pounds baby petite frozen peas
½ cup of sugar for water soak
6 tablespoons of unsalted butter melted butter
Pepper
Salt to correct the seasoning
2 teaspoons fine white sugar

Soak the frozen peas completely covered in a large quantity of cold water to which ½ cup
of sugar has been added for an hour. Do not stir. This allows the peas to come to room
temperature slowly and absorb a little of the sugar. It also insures a shorter more even
cooking period. Gently strain of all water and place peas in a glass microwave safe bowl.
Cover the bowl with a microwave safe plate and place in the center of the microwave.
Microwave the peas on high for two minutes. Stir very carefully and gently moving the
peas off the bottom of the bowl to the top. The key word is gently. Turn the microwave
on high for another two minutes. Let the peas rest one minute. Drain off any residual
water. Add melted butter, pepper, 2 teaspoons fine white sugar, and correct the seasoning
while carefully tossing the peas to coat them evenly. 

 

If the peas are done right, they pop with some resistance to the teeth when you bite into them else they may be over done. Delightful

Terra Brava’s Sautéed Portobello Mushroom on Corn

 

This was so good when we visited this Napa Valley resturants just above St Helena that it would be worth a trip just to have it again but, alas, the resturant and chef that created this is long gone. It is now known as Brava Terrace but it is not the same chef.

1 clove crushed chopped garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
two squeezes of fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoon cream sherry
4 large Portobello mushroom caps, stems removed
Sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Ground red pepper (optional)
2 tablespoons Tarragon vinegar
1 ear baby sweet white corn
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
3 tablespoon butter
1 bunch of spinach
Pinch of nutmeg

Garnish
A few basil leaves, chopped
A few nasturtiums flowers

Rub Portobello caps with olive oil, salt and pepper, red pepper and sauté on both sides
until tender. Deglaze pan with a tablespoon of sherry.
Remove caps from pan and set aside. Add 2 tablespoon butter to pan and wilt spinach
with vinegar and a squeeze lemon juice using a lid to keep the initial stem in. Remove
spinach and chopped coarsely. Add corn and pinch of nutmeg to pan and just warm until
hot.
Assemble presentation plates. Put a little of the corn and spinach on each plate and top
with Portobello cap. Sprinkle some kernels on corn on each cap. Deglaze pan a squeeze
of fresh lemon juice, and tablespoon cream sherry. Turn of heat and swirl in a table spoon
of butter. Pour over mushroom caps.
Garnish with nasturtiums and chopped basil

Sun Dried Tomato and Garlic Pesto

By Leslie Beribeault, 1996

This is simply the very best of its class- rated five stars!

3 heads of roasted Garlic
1 cup of Sun Dried Tomato, softened for 20 mins in very hot water.
1/2 cup on pine nuts
1/4 cup Grated Asiago Cheese
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Combine and process into a paste in the food processor.
 

Maybe used on pasta, bread, pizza. Most excellent.
 

Roasting the garlic

Slice the tops off of 2 whole heads of garlic. Brush liberally with olive oil. Place in oven at 350 F. Roast for one hour. After the garlic has cooled, remove cloves by squeezing the head inverted over a dish. The cloves pop out.

Glen's Red Beans and Rice

 

 Glen is an agriculture area right on the Sacramento River in Northern California. Every
year the local Glenn Pheasant Association ((530) 934-3606) raise some 500 birds for
local release a few weeks before the pheasant hunting season begins. Hunters have a
limited season and perhaps cull less that 10% of these birds; hence California now has
more pheasants than in their original indigenous range of Nepal through Tibet, Northern
Burma including northwest China. To hunt pheasant, you must possess a valid California
hunting license, an upland game bird stamp, enjoy sloshing around in soaking wet attire,
be good at lifting your feet cover with five or six pounds of muddy clay while negotiating
precariously uneven fields caused by the wake of the harvesters way back in September.
The area grows millet, sorghum, rice and beans all of which these birds love.
Local farmers eat simply, many, the food they grow themselves. This is one of those
dishes, probably traditionally from the Old South. My son and I ate it many cold winter
afternoons while consoling ourselves to the fact that in 8 years pheasant hunting, the only
bird we ever shot was with a camera equipped with a telephoto lens.

1 pound (or so) of dried red beans
4 Smoked Ham Hocks (have butcher saw this in quarters)
Parsley or green onions as garnish
10 bay leaves
1 tablespoon crushed black pepper
Instant beef stock granules is used as salt to correct the seasoning

Add ingredients in a kettle cover with cold water. Cook on low 4-5 hours
until meat falls apart and beans are tender. Add water as necessary, but allow
stock to reduce down the last hour. Correct seasoning.
Cook rice the last hour the beans are cooking in an oven-proof pot equipped
with a lid.

2 cups premium long grain jasmine white rice
3 3/4 cup of unsalted boiling water
Add rice, cover, and bring to a boil on high. Put the covered rice pot
in 350 F oven for 45 minutes.

Ladle beans over a serving of rice. Butter two slices of rustic country bread.
Serve atop rice plate on presentation.

Catalogna Puntarelle Chicory Salad

Puntarelle are the inner hearts of cicoria catalogna, a kind of chicory and one of the greatest treats in Rome. The shoots have the crisp, satisfying crunch similar to celery with a flavor which is a cross of chicory and endive. The hearts are trimmed out of the large heads and cut into thin shreds that curl up when immersed in ice water. In Italy, Puntarelle is available most of the year except early spring when the stalks are not yet developed. The stalks of the puntarelle make a crisp refreshing salad. This variety of chicory has a slightly bitter undertone but when served with this potent dressing seem quite sweet. The seeds may be purchased on line. The salt in anchovies suppress any bitterness. There are several varieties all good for salads:
Catalogna Puntarelle (Puntarelle a Foglia Stretta)
Catalogna Chicory A Foglie Frastagliate
Catalogna Chicory Brindinsina
Catalogna Chicory Veneto

1 untrimmed head Catalogna Puntarelle
2 cloves garlic, mashed
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon anchovy paste (or 1 anchovy, minced)
1 teaspoon mustard, preferably Dijon
1/4 cup fruity olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Trim off any outer green leaves. Slice the hollow stalks lengthwise into narrow strips
(about 1/4"); cut the strips into pieces 2 to 3 inches long. Soak the pieces in ice water for
an hour. Most will curl up. Whisk remaining ingredients together to make the dressing.
To serve, drain puntarelle pieces and pat dry. Toss with dressing.
Trattoria Otello (06 878-1178) alla Concordia on Via Della Croce 81, Rome serves this
salad.

Mountains of Salzburg

Mountains of Salzburg (aka Salzburg Nockerl) are the most famous and legendary dessert of Austria. The dessert has been served in fancy Austrian resturants for centuries. Two things that strike me about this dessert are that it is delightfully easy to make and, at the same time, very elegant and impressive in its presentation. It has a luxurious mouth-feel and the sauce formed on the bottom is scant but wonderful. This recipe was shown in the early 80’s on Public Television on a series “Great Chef’s of New York” by a jovial large Blond Austrian chef whose name escapes me. I wrote this down and tried it right after the show ended.  Had I known I was going to write a cook book, I certainly would have made sure I got his name right which now I regret as most likely he has passed on by now. The chef said the meringue is stacked in three distinct mountain-shaped globs to resemble the Mountains of Salzburg, his home, and the powdered sugarserves as the snow. The chef mentioned that any jelly or jam works so use your favorite. You may want to give blueberry, boysenberry, or red currant a try too.

1 tablespoon per dish of heavy cream
1 level tablespoon per dish of seedless raspberry preserves
1 tablespoon per dish of sweet butter
6 large egg whites
small pinch of salt
1/4 cup fine granulated sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour, sifted
3 large beatened egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Garnish

Powdered sugar for dusting
4 sprigs of mint
For more elegance, Paper doilies.

Place oven rack in the middle rung and preheat to 425°F.

Place a patty of butter, 1 tablespoon of cream, 1 tablespoon of preserves in each of the 4
individual small shallow gratin dishes. I recommend a small oval 8 ounce Au Gratin dish
in stoneware or porcelain. Allow eggs to warm up to room temperature. Beat egg yolks and vanilla until pale yellow. Set aside in another small bowl. Wash mixer bowl and beaters with hot water and dry thoroughly.

Beat 6 egg whites and a small pinch of salt at high speed to soft peaks, and then add the
fine granulated sugar a little at a time on medium. Increase speed back to high and beat to
stiff peaks. Remove bowl from mixer, shift in flour and fold it in gently with a spatula,
along with the egg yolks until the flour and eggs are just mixed.

Stack three sections whipped meringue over the preserves-cream-butter in each Gratin
dish. The chef used a flexible plastic bowl scoop to scope the whipped eggs. I cut out a
section of clean manila folder in a six inch square rectangle, and then cut a curved halfcircle
end on one side to more match-up the contour of the mixer bowl. It worked well as
a scoop. Try to make sure you get equal portions in each dish. Bake until the peaks are
golden brown- 12 to 15 minutes. Dust lightly with confectioner’s sugar. Place each hot
Gratin dish on another plate so they won’t burn the table. Garnish with a sprig of mint.
A later show on KQED and Golden Gate productions featured Vienna Chef Andy Kistler
from the now defunct Peter Grunauer’s Vienna ‘79 New York Restaurant preparing a
course of entries culminated with a lemony 9-egg version entitled Salzburg Nockerl that
looked equally enticing which was similar but bigger portions. It is my experience, that
given at a good Restaurant, come time for dessert, a patron is no longer hungry and
smaller desserts are very appropriate. The picture on this page comes from the web site:
http://www.austria-trips.com/Provinces/Salzburg_county.htm