Claudia's Osso Buco

I am a huge fan of Osso Buco.

HUGE FAN.

I have made variations of this for years. However, in my entire history of
osso-buco-ing, there is one version that stands out.

In its own field.

And it’s this one from cookeatFret.

You know Claudia, if you don’t, you need to.

This chick can cook.

Especially rustic Italian. Her specialty.

Simple.

Easy.

Legendary.

Follow this recipe to the letter. I did not change one thing. I even served the green beans with it.

You make this, people will talk about it for years.

I know, I made this last year.

They’re still talking.


Claudia's Osso Buco from cookeatFret


veal shank sliced in 2 - 3 inch pieces
2 - 3 T olive oil
flour for dredging
salt and pepper
3 ounces pancetta - finely chopped
6 or 7 anchovies - finely chopped
white wine - 1 cup
veal or chicken stock - about 2 cups

lightly flour the shank pieces and lightly salt and pepper
brown the shanks well on both sides in the olive oil
remove to a plate and set aside
add the pancetta to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes on low to medium heat
add the anchovies for about another 3 minutes and then the garlic for another 2
deglaze the pan with the white wine and reduce it down almost all the way
add back the veal and cover the meat halfway with the stock
cover the pan and simmer for 90 minutes
remove the shanks carefully - i didn’t tie mine and they held together just fine
strain the liquid that’s left in the pan (i saved the pancetta pieces for a pizza later in the week)
and then return strained liquid - i had about 2/3 cup - to the pan and add about 2 or 3 T butter to make a sauce.

Serves 2 happy humans!

Click here for a printable recipe!

Claudia's Osso Buco

Grilled Pork Chops with a Sherry Vinegar, Blood Orange, Harissa, Fresh Mint and Nicoise Olive Sauce

A week or so ago, Claudia of cookeatfret fame posted about a combination of foods that intrigued me. She used pita bread with green olives, goat cheese, dark wildflower honey and harissa and called this The Moroccan Trifecta. I followed her instructions and ate that for lunch.

I didn’t have pita bread, I had semolina.

It didn’t matter. It was spectacular.

We’ve eaten fish a lot in the past few weeks.

I was ready for a pork chop..bone in grilled out. I started thinking about Claudia’s post and the flavors involved and this wonderful sauce is the result, almost a vinaigrette but not quite.

Perfect to drizzle over the grilled pork chops…paired with baked sliced sweet potatoes drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.

I left out the goat cheese. It didn’t need to be in this.

The name is a bit long.

My picture is not the best.

But the recipe is.

Sherry Vinegar, Blood Orange, Harissa, Fresh Mint and Nicoise Olive Sauce

1/3 cup sherry vinegar, reduced to less than a quarter cup
½ cup pitted sliced Nicoise olives
½ cups fresh mint, chiffonaded…which means rolled up and thinly sliced
2 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp harissa
¼ cup blood orange juice or orange juice
1 tbsp grated zest of blood orange
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine in bowl and set aside.

Oven Baked Sweet Potatoes

Preheat oven to 400.
Cut one large sweet potato in half lengthwise and then cut into thick slices.
Drizzle with olive oil and season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Probably takes 10-12 minutes if you pay attention!
Cook til golden brown.. flip once.

3 large bone-in pork chops seasoned with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Grill the pork chops 6 per side.

But I must tell you, these were huge porkers.

And yes we ate every bite.

But it was Wednesday.

Serves 3.

Grilled Pork Chops with a Sherry Vinegar, Blood Orange, Harissa, Fresh Mint and Nicoise Olive Sauce

Wild Salmon Cakes with Fresh Ginger

Life is a funny thing. Out of the blue, a person will enter your life and make changes that you could not expect. Out of the goodness of their heart and NOT because you promised an evening of fun and wine in exchange, they do something so kind and helpful that you are amazed. Witness the new look to Feeding Groom. Thanks goes to my new best friend.
So in the midst of change, which is a wonderful thing, Groom had planned to do dinner tonight. Crab cakes were on the menu…and let me tell you, he has command of that recipe. But, alas, the crabmeat had decided to take a turn that would have had us on the ten o’clock news, so we readjusted our thinking.

I had some wild salmon in the freezer for just such an emergency as this. Springing in to action, we did a great take on a salmon cake. This one is chocked full of fresh ginger, shallots, a bit of garlic and crushed red pepper and egg. Pass a lovely mayo based sauce lightened with a bit of Greek yogurt and flavored with toasted sesame oil, orange zest, chopped green onions and lemon and you have dinner. Fast, excellent and celebratory all in one.

Wild Salmon Cakes with Fresh Ginger

2 good sized (for lack of a better description because I forgot to weigh them) wild sockeye salmon fillets, skinned and coarsely chopped by hand
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 small shallot, minced
1 fat garlic clove, minced
1 small knob of fresh ginger..peeled and grated (I keep my fresh ginger in the freezer..it never turns blue and green, always fresh ..cut off a knob, peel and grate.)
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Combine above ingredients in a bowl and make four good sized salmon cakes.
Put on a plate and place in freezer for 20 minutes. Put a large nonstick skillet on medium high heat and swirl a bit of extra virgin olive oil in. When skillet is hot, add the salmon cakes and cook about three minutes per side.

Plate with a good sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro.

Pass this sauce…

¼ cup Hellmann’s mayonnaise
¼ cup Greek yogurt
2 thinly sliced green onions, green part only
1 tbsp fresh orange juice
Grated zest of one orange
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1-½ tsp toasted sesame oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Combine and let sit til time to serve.

Serves 2.

Wild Salmon Cakes with Fresh Ginger