Braised Veal Shoulder & Butternut Squash Risotto

I wanted to make a veal dish over the weekend but since I haven't found anywhere to buy veal in Ventura I drove the 28 miles to Westlake Village. I started at the Bristol Farm's meat counter. Me: Do you have any veal shoulder? Butcher: No, but I have lamb shoulder. Me to myself: Well, that's nice but it's not that I was looking for any shoulder, I wanted a veal shoulder. Me: OK then, do you have any rabbit? Butcher: No, we're all out, we had a big run on rabbit this week. Me, again to myself: This butcher's a real comedian, I guess I'll try Gelsons- where I was successful in finding both the veal and rabbit!

I started by browning the veal in a little olive oil. When it was browned on all sides I removed it from the pan and added chopped shallots and chopped re-hydrated porcini mushrooms. After that cooked for about 5 minutes I added the veal back to the pan, added veal stock, the porcini soaking liquid, salt & pepper, covered and put in a 350 degree oven for about 1 1/2 hours.

While the veal was cooking I started the risotto. I sauteed diced butternut squash and shallots in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes.

When the shallots and squash were starting to get soft I added Arborio rice and cooked until the rice was golden.

Then I added white wine and cooked until it had reduced. Next I added chicken broth, in batches, and cooked each batch until the rice had absorbed the broth.This takes about 30 minutes. You want the rice cooked through but still a bit al dente. When the rice was cooked I stirred in a drizzle of oil and some chopped parsley.


When the veal was tender I removed it from the pan and reduced the juices in the pan, on the stove top, for about 5 minutes.


And Voila! - here's this week's very yummy Sunday dinner:

Another Pizza Try

Inspired by the pizza at Viansa Winery last weekend, I decided to try their recipe using quite a bit of olive oil. I usually make the dough the night before and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight, but we were just having too much fun this weekend and I didn't get around to it. (Pictures of excuses posted below).I topped the dough with fresh mozzarella, fresh sliced tomatoes (drizzled with olive oil and sea salt), a little parmigian0 and fresh basil.I preheated the baking stone on the floor of the oven at 500 degrees for an hour before baking for about 10 minutes. It was delicious and crispy, but this is what I'll do different next time - I'll top the dough with a little bit of tomato sauce before adding the toppings and because the bottom got especially crispy (I think because of the extra olive oil) I'll bake on the bottom shelf instead of the floor of the oven.

These are a few of my excuses for not making the pizza dough in advance this weekend:

Friday night instead of Bocce we had movie night. Jeri hung a sail from the side of the office and showed Fool's God.

Dave & Mark still managed to get in a game of Bocce:

I was there for Jeri & Joe's delicious popcorn:John kept getting shushed for talking during the movie, so Mary Lou & Will joined us on Poseidon so we could continue to visit and let the rest of the gang enjoy the film in peace.Saturday morning after a trip to the farmer's market with Curtis & Bonnie we took our dinghies to the boat launch ramp to watch the start of the Kinetic Sculpture Race.The entries must be human powered, navigate the launch ramp, take a lap thru the marina, make a beach landing, power through a mud pit and race through a lively figure-eight race! It's a very fun charity event - cheating and bribing the judges is encouraged. Here are a few of the entrants navigating the fog that rolled in at the beginning of the race:No, Mike & Linda weren't in the race, they opted instead for a tow to the Poseidon for a Bloody Mary break.After the race, my dad, step-brother Paul (visiting from Orange) and his kids came by for a visit and dinghy ride: Our very sweet niece Malia and nephew Colin:

Pretty good excuses for not being in the galley - a beautiful fall weekend!

Oven Fired Pizza in Sonoma

We had to be in Northern California for business on Monday so decided to drive up a day early to visit Sarah, Jeff & Marco. They took us to Viansa Winery in Sonoma to see a wood burning pizza oven and of course to taste a few wines. These pictures are for our friend Joe who (like Jeff) is thinking about installing a wood burning oven in his backyard: Marco eying the pizzas:Pizza Margherita:Wild Mushroom Pizza:

The pizzas were delicious, so thin and crispy. I asked what type of flour they used and was surprised to hear they use regular all-purpose flour. I checked their recipe online and it was a standard pizza recipe except for the addition of 1/4 cup olive oil. That sure sounds like a lot of oil (maybe a typo?) but I'm going to give it a try. Of course without a pizza oven I know I can never achieve their crispy results but I am going to try rolling my dough much thinner and using toppings very sparingly. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Back in Oakland we all pitched in to make dinner. It is so fun to cook with Sarah & Jeff in their kitchen, they are so relaxed and it's always a fun time. Jeff barbecued a tri-tip, Sarah & I made a mushroom risotto and Sarah made a delicious apple and arugula salad. John supervised and kept our wine glasses full - a very important job!

Marco moves so fast these days it's hard for me to get his picture, but here are a few of the little cutie:

High fives with Papa John:

Bocce Mini-Macaroni

Our Bocce group got together Friday night to practice for a tournament rematch coming up in January. Here are some pictures from the last tournament.

The officials keeping track of the games:

Jeri & John accepting the trophy on Ventura Isle's behalf:A close-up of the trophy (you can see why we're practicing, we'd hate to lose this beauty): My contribution Friday night was mini-mac & cheese:

Boil elbow macaroni in salted water. While that's cooking melt some butter in a saucepan, whisk in flour and cook for a couple of minutes, whisk in milk and cook for another five minutes. Add cheddar and American cheeses and whisk until melted. Off the heat, whisk in an egg yolk and paprika and fold in the cooked macaroni. Spoon the macaroni into mini-muffin tins that have been brushed with butter and sprinkled with Parmigiano cheese. Sprinkle a little more Parmigiano on top and bake in a 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes, until golden and sizzling. Let cool for about 5 minutes, carefully loosen the min macs and transfer to a platter. They are so cute and yummy too.

Beefy Lentil Soup

Today was a cold, blustery day - perfect for a hearty soup. I love the addition of beef in this soup, but you could certainly leave it out for a vegetarian version.I started by browning cubes of beef chuck in olive oil over medium heat. Remove the meat and add chopped celery, chopped carrots, chopped onions, chopped garlic, fresh thyme and dried oregano. Saute for about 10 minutes. Return the meat to the pan, add beef broth (for a vegetarian version use vegetable broth or water) and canned roasted tomatoes. Cover and simmer for about an hour or until the meat is tender. Add the lentils, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Season with salt and pepper, stir in some parsley and top with a little grated Parmesan cheese.

Really warms your cockles on a chilly fall day!

Baby Artichokes with Lemon-Garlic Bread Crumbs

Look at these pretty purple baby artichokes we picked up at the farmer's market yesterday: They were so tender I only had to peel back a few leaves. I sauteed onions, garlic and red chile flakes in olive oil for a few minutes then added halved artichokes and cooked for another 10 minutes. Next I added wine until it reduced by half, then added chicken stock, fresh thyme & bay leaf and simmered for about 30 minutes.
While the artichokes were simmering I made the bread crumbs. I sliced pieces of rustic bread, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt & pepper and toasted in the oven for about 10 minutes. I ground the bread in a food processor into coarse pieces. Mixed with garlic, cheese and lemon zest. Put the artichokes in a baking dish cover with bread crumbs and bake for about 20 minutes. Top with a little more cheese before serving:
I served the artichokes with roasted chicken (cured in salt instead of a brine this time-delicious) and heirloom tomatoes. As I'm sure you can tell from the photos, I was a little heavy-handed with the bread crumbs. But it was still great, like stuffed artichokes without all the work.

Potato Gnocchi with Classic Bolognese Ragu

There was a light rain today, perfect weather for cooking comfort food. I decided on a recipe from Biba Caggiano's Biba's Italy. I have really enjoyed this book, it is divided into five sections - Rome, Florence, Bologna, Milan and Venice. For each city there are recipes for appetizers, first courses, entrees, vegetables and desserts. Biba also talks about specific restaurants, wines and food specialties for each city. We have been lucky enough to eat at Biba's Restaurant in Sacramento several times and John attended her cooking classes about 30 years ago (maybe he should be cooking this!)

Here's my mise en place for the ragu:


Olive oil, butter, pancetta, onion, carrot, celery, ground pork, ground veal, prosciutto, white wine, milk, beef stock and tomato paste.


First I sauteed the pancetta, onion, carrot and celery in the olive oil and butter for about 10 minutes:


Then added the pork, veal and prosciutto and cooked for another 10 minutes:

Then added the wine and cooked until evaporated; added the milk and cooked until reduced by half; added the beef stock and tomato paste and simmered very low for about 2 hours:
While the sauce was cooking I baked a couple of russet potatoes. When the potatoes are tender, peel them and put them through a potato ricer. Let them cool a bit then season with salt and John's grandma's secret ingredient - a dash of nutmeg. Add flour a little at a time until you have a rough dough. Transfer the dough onto the counter and knead the lightly, adding flour if it sticks to the counter or your hands. Knead for a couple of minutes until smooth and just a bit sticky.

Cut off a piece of dough and roll out with both hands, using a back and forth motion, until about the thickness of your index finger:

Cut into 1-inch pieces:

Roll pieces on a gnocchi board or use a fork to make indentations in the dumplings:

Boil the gnocchi for about 3 minutes, drain, toss with the sauce and top with Parmigiano:

The sauce was good, but John and I agreed we prefer a butter & sage sauce or a tomato based sauce. A Gorgonzola sauce is yummy too.