Week of October 24-30

Let's see, what did we do last weekend?  Friday night we went to see Wicked at the Orpheum, which was very enjoyable.  Walter and I were lucky enough to see it on Broadway and this production was almost as good.  We had a nice dinner at Felicia Suzanne's.  I had a goat cheese and carmelized onion tart to start and it was outstanding.  Saturday Walter worked, as usual, and I had my needlepoint group, then we went to Huey's for dinner.  Great fries.  Sunday night I cooked:

Chicken Marsala
Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli
Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon, Garlic, and Basil

All of these recipes are from Cooks Illustrated.  I will say, don't attempt this menu unless you're pretty good at doing several things at once.  I was mighty challenged, but it all came out ok and almost at the same time!  The pilaf and the peas were especially good to know about as I am always looking for good side dishes.

Monday 10-25-10

Chicken and Parsnip Soup

From Cooking Light, this soup was very easy and tasty.  I cooked some extra chicken when I was doing the Chicken Marsala yesterday, so I had that part done.  I intended to make some biscuits to go with this, but Walter informed me at the last minute that he wouldn't be home for dinner and then I was running late for my lit class, so I just did the soup.  My friend Pam and I spent almost all day on a gardening project, so I was pretty tired when I got home.  This soup was perfect.


Tuesday 10-26-10

My former neighbor Nancy invited Dotsie and Wanda and me to lunch today at her new digs at Trezevant Manor.  How nice is that place!  Nancy and Gordon have an apartment in the new building and it is first class.  They're very happy and very busy there.  We had a great lunch and a great visit with each other.  Thanks again, Nancy!  I took her these chocolate chip cookies which Walter later proclaimed as the best cookies ever (of course he says that about every cookie I make...) I had my Search class tonight so didn't really feel like cooking. Thankfully, Monday night's Lore of Literature class was the last one for this semester so I won't have double class nights for the rest of the year.  My wonderful neighbor Troy made a huge batch of spaghetti gravy earlier this month and brought some frozen to me.  I snatched that sauce out of the freezer and had spaghetti for dinner!  Thanks, Troy!

Wednesday 10-27-10

Get ready.  I made Pork Ragu Al Maialino and it was fantastic.  Notice that I'm big on one-dish menus.  They're not always balanced, but I don't worry about Walter, he eats pretty good all day long.  And I get lots of vegetables at lunch, so nights are kinda whatever.

Thursday 10-28-10

It's Thursday morning as I write this and we're leaving today for North Carolina.  We're driving to Asheville to spend the night, then to Charlotte on Friday where we're going to shop for a Murphy bed to put in Walter's upstairs office.  Then on to Blowing Rock for the weekend, can't wait.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

A New Favorite - Pork Ragu Al Maialino

I try new recipes all the time; I think it's one of the joys of cooking, discovering new good things.  (Sound like Martha, don't I?)  Most of the time it's ho-hum, but every once in a while - BAM! (Now I sound like Emeril!)

This recipe from a recent New York Times Magazine article is a big winner.  I made it for supper last night and Walter is still talking about it this morning!

Don't be put off by the steps; most of this is cook time and wait time.  The hardest part is waiting for the meat to cool so you can shred it cause it smells soooo good.  I couldn't wait and just cut it up into small chunks.

Take my advice and use fresh lasagna noodles.  Who knows how long mine had been in the pantry and they took forever to cook and were still, shall we say, chewy.  I'll be making this again, probably for a Sunday night dinner, and I'll be sure to hit Lucchesi's first! 

September 29, 2010

Pork Ragù al Maialino

By SAM SIFTON

1 pork shoulder, bone in, roughly 4 pounds
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white onion, peeled and cut into large pieces
1 rib celery, cut into large pieces
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into large pieces
1 quart chicken stock (or enough to almost cover the pork)
3 sprigs fresh thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 9-ounce boxes dry lasagna, broken into 3-inch shards (I only used about half this and it was plenty)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated grana Padano cheese (I used freshly grated Parmesan, same thing)
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Small handful arugula leaves, cleaned.

(I omitted the parsley cause I don't care for it and the argula cause I didn't want to buy a whole container just for this recipe!  If I have some on hand next time I make it, I'll add it; I think it would be good.)

1. Using a sharp knife, remove the thick skin from the pork, leaving a sheen of fat on top of the meat. Season aggressively with salt and place in the refrigerator until ready to use, as long as overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a deep saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. When it shimmers, gently cook the onion, celery and fennel until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add the stock and thyme and bring to a simmer, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Rinse pork to remove excess salt, dry with a paper towel and add to seasoned broth. Cover and place in the oven for 90 minutes or more, until the meat just begins to pull away from the bone.
3. Allow both meat and broth to cool on the stove top for 30 minutes, or until you can touch the meat with your hands. Remove the pork and gently pull the meat from the bone, then tear the chunks into bite-size shreds. Place these in a large bowl.
4. Strain the liquid into a separate bowl and then pour enough of it over the meat to barely cover. (Use the rest for soup.) Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
5. Put a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil.
6. Place a large pan over medium-high heat and add the pork and braising liquid. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the butter and stir to emulsify.
7. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water according to the directions on the package, 10 to 12 minutes. When it is finished, drain and add to the sauce along with a splash of pasta water. Simmer for 1 minute, then add the lemon juice, half of the cheese, a tablespoon of olive oil and the parsley. Stir to incorporate.
8. Serve immediately, topped with arugula and the remaining cheese. Serves 4. Adapted from Nick Anderer at Maialino in New York.