Tender Tagliatelle, Edamame, Sorrel, Mint, with Buttery Aged Havarti

Nuttiness of aged havarti cheese pairs perfectly with crunchy edamame, lemony sorrel, mint topping freshly made wide hand-cut Italian noodles. Thin slices of red apple give a pleasant under tone of sweetness and visual appeal.

 

Tagliatelle hand-cut noodles made with Durham hard-winter-wheat

Shelled Edamame

Fresh Sorrel leaves

Fresh Mint leaves

Aged Havarti cheese, coarsely graded

Sweet European butter

Sea salt

Thinly Sliced red apple

Pinch of sugar

Red wine vinegar

Pine nuts

White pepper

 

Acidulate a cup of water, add a little salt and sugar to taste. Core and thinly slice apples lengthwise, store in the sweet acidulated water. 

Shelled Edamame and blanch in boiling water for one minute. Plunge in ice water to stop cooking, drain and pat dry. Chop mint and sorrel in a chiffonade. 

Boil a pound of fresh Tagliatelle noodles in salted water. Cook 2+ minutes until al dente. Drain most of the water, tossing pasta with ¼ pound of cold butter cut into patties for three minutes. Add white pepper and sea salt to correct seasoning. Add chiffonade, Edamame, Havarti cheese, pine nuts. Drain apple slices well. Toss noodles and serve.

 

Optional Items

Grated Romano or parmesan cheese for additional flavor

Italian Capers

Flecks of soaked softened sun dried tomatoes

 

Miso Mayonnaise - sushi/sashimi sauce

There are many versions of Miso but they generally fall into red, white, and Hatcho Miso ("emperor's miso" Aged 24-30 Months) with less water and salt content and made near Okazaki castle in Japan.
Red (Aka) miso is aged over a year the color of this miso changes gradually from white to red or even black.
White (Shiro) miso is the most popular miso and is made with rice, barley, and a small quantity of soybeans and has abbreviated fermentation. The taste is sweeter than red miso but has less umami.
Miso, when fresh, has a shelf life and will be found in the refrigerated section of the Asian market. This is not to say that it is not available dried or unrefrigerated.

Miso is showing up practically everywhere thanks in large part to the Asian-pacific rim cuisine but because it is so flavorful, marinades, sauces, pasta and soups of all sorts have leveraged it versatility. “The key to fine miso cookery is not to overpower dishes with a strong miso taste, but to integrate the more subtle aspects of miso color and flavor in a gentle balance with other ingredients.”

Create a savory Mayonnaise sushi/sashimi sauce combine to taste these simple ingredients.

1 1/2 cups of Best Foods Mayonnaise

1/4 cup of Awase miso (or 50-50 white and red miso)

2 Tablespoon of hon mirin (true mirin) (sake)

1 Teaspoon fish sauce

1 Teaspoon Seasoned rice wine vinegar

Notes:

1. A good source for miso is the  Gold Mine Natural Foods (http://shop.goldminenaturalfoods.com/South-River/products/32/)
2. Hon mirin (true mirin) not to be confused with Aji-Marin is a lot more expensive and has true umami flavor. Takara Marin is an example as is  12% alchol. All true Marin will have a similar alchol content.

Steve's Oxtail Stew in Scotch Broth or Elephant Stew in the Jungle

Some where over the course of raising my children, this dish took on the name  

“Elephant stew”. I had submitted several recipes in the Laneview School Favorites Cookbook published to raise money for school field trips in the 1970’s. One of the recipes was for Elephant Stew which went like this:

1 Elephant, Chopped

72 gallons prepared Gravy

2 rabbits (optional.)

Cut elephant into bite size chucks. Cover with gravy and slowly simmer two weeks. Serves 4600. If expecting more people, add the rabbits. A word of caution, however, since some are rather put off to find an unexpected hare in their stew.

Now I cannot remember where the actual Elephant Stew recipe came from. I am sure I read it somewhere. My daughter, who was only 4 at the time, overheard her brother say “his teacher especially liked the recipe for Elephant Stew.” Since one of her favorites was this oxtail stew, she made the leap that this must be the one. Here it is for your pleasure: Elephant Stew in the Jungle. As your guests query “but where is the elephant?” of course you answer in the Jungle.

3-5 Pounds of oxtails (Have these quartered in the butcher's saw.)

1 Large diced yellow onion

3 Cloves garlic

Beef bullion granules as required (see text)

2 Finely diced small carrots

1 Stalk of celery, finely diced

3 Tablespoons olive oil

Crushed red pepper flakes

1 Small can of tomato paste

White pepper

Black pepper

6 Bay leaves

1 1/2 cups of water

1 Cup of white wine

1/2 cup of brandy

1 Cup scotch

1 Tablespoon sugar

Ground coriander

Fresh thyme

Fresh sage

A few sprigs of Italian parsley

Greens from 2 scallions

1 Tablespoon of minced fresh orange zest

Broil oxtails on high until nicely brown, turn and repeat for the other side.

In large stock pot, add onions, chopped celery, chopped carrots and sauté until the onions begin to clear. Add browned oxtails. Add all other ingredients except scallions and parsley is set aside for the garnish. The stew will be cook until tender about 3 1/2  hours. Cook with a lid for the first hour. The remove the lid. It is desirable to reduce the liquid to enhance the gravy. Caution needs to be exercised as a low liquid level could mean burning. The stew should be monitored closely as the liquid evaporates and stirred. If the bottom of the pot is thin walled, the risk of burning is higher; hence, you will need to stir more often. When the liquid has reduced sufficiently, add back the lid and place the pot in the oven at 350 F to finish cooking. The meat is done when it can be easily forked off the bone. Correct the seasoning. Salt will be added last in the form of granules of beef bouillon. Thicken the remaining liquid with flour shaken through a sieve (or use gravy flour) and stirred in. The gravy will not attain its thickest until it begins to boil so add the flour in stages and bring to a boil each time. I optionally add 1 tablespoon of minced fresh orange zest. Serve over wide noodles, thicken with wonder flour.

Garnish with chopped Italian parsley and chopped scallion greens sections cut diagonally into diamonds.

Notes:

1.      For those familiar with Roman food, this recipe is remarkably like Coda alla Vaccinara the way the Romans prepare it. Undoubtedly when living in Rome, I had it on the menu as it was very popular. My mother prepared oxtails in my youth and back then, few Americans ate things like tail. Somewhere along the while, I discovered that Scotch and Brandy made a much richer flavor. In fact replacing all the water in this recipe with a good homemade beef stock makes it more “over-the-top-good”.

2.   To thicken the stew and to caramalize the meat faster, dredge the oxtails in flour. Flour  is full of starch that will caramelize quickly and give a deeper color and flavor. You most often see this technique called for in stews, where flour is used to thicken the cooking liquid.