Hi Pat,

Glad that I could help with the Meatballs. Mine usually stay together pretty well, however, I've also had some that looked almost like Sloppy Joe's.

In today's Italian-American favorite, the thin-cut chicken breast cutlets cook up in no time and the flavor is light and bright.

Chicken Piccata

8 boneless, skinless, thin-cut (1/4 to 1/2 inch thick) chicken breast cutlets, (about 1-1/2 lb.)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil; more as needed
3 Tbs. capers, rinsed and chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3/4 cup lower-salt chicken broth
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice; more as needed
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbs. unsalted butter

Season the chicken with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Heat 1 Tbs. of the oil in a 12-inch heavy-duty skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add as many cutlets as will fit in a single layer and cook until lightly browned on both sides and just cooked through, 1 to 3 minutes per side. Shingle the chicken on a platter and tent with foil. Repeat with the remaining chicken, adding another tablespoon of oil between batches if the pan seems dry.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the capers, garlic, and the remaining 1 Tbs. oil to the pan. Cook, stirring, until the garlic softens and becomes fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, raise the heat to high, and cook, stirring, until the mixture reduces by about half, 3 to 4 minutes. Off the heat, swirl in half of the parsley and the butter and season with more lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Drizzle the sauce over the chicken breasts, sprinkle with the remaining parsley, and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Maintaining my pledge to eat healthier in 2012, here's a little of my favorite Spinach, as a side dish.

Sauteed Spinach with Shallots

5 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
3/4 tsp. ground coriander (preferably from toasted and freshly ground seeds)
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1-1/4 lb. spinach (two 10-oz. bags), stemmed and thoroughly washed but not dried
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (preferably white pepper)
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste

Heat the butter in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot, coriander, and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallot begins to soften but does not brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium high, and begin adding the spinach, a large handful at a time, tossing with tongs, until all the spinach is in the skillet. Cook, tossing frequently, until the spinach is wilted and bright green, about 2 minutes. If a lot of water remains, cook on high heat, until the leaves are coated with butter but not soupy, another 1 to 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Serves 6.

Have A Terrifc Week My Friend,

Phil

Hello Friends,

Since they were playing games with our Internet yesterday, I'm afraid that I'll just have to play catch up today.

This is the world’s best make-ahead dish—it tastes amazing on the second day. It's paired with the classic accompaniment, saffron-scented Risotto alla Milanese.

Osso Buco

Ingredients:

6 1-1/4 inch-thick veal shanks
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
3 cups finely diced yellow onion (about 2 medium onions)
1 cup finely diced celery (about 2 stalks)
3/4 cup finely diced carrot (about 2 small carrots)
1 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 cup dry white wine
2 Tbs. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can Italian plum tomatoes, drained and chopped, juices reserved
1 cup low-salt chicken broth, more if needed
1 large sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
1 Tbs. arrowroot mixed with 2 tsp. broth or water

Tip: Look for arrowroot in the spice section of your grocery store.

For the gremolata:
3 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest
2 anchovy fillets, minced

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350°F.

Tie the veal shanks around the middle with kitchen string (if they’re not tied already) and season them with salt and pepper. Put the flour in a dish. Dredge the shanks very lightly in flour, thoroughly shaking off the excess.

Have ready a roasting pan or baking dish large enough to hold the shanks in a single layer (9x13-inch works well). In a large heavy skillet, heat 3 Tbs. of the oil over medium-high heat. Put three veal shanks in the pan and sear until nicely browned on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Move the shanks to the roasting pan. Repeat with the remaining three shanks.

Carefully pour off the fat in the pan and wipe it out with paper towels (it’s fine if the browned bits remain in the pan bottom; just wipe away the used oil). Return the pan to medium heat and add the butter and remaining 1 Tbs. of oil. When the butter is melted, add the onion, celery, carrot, oregano, and 1 tsp. salt. Cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the wine, and cook, scraping up any brown bits with a wooden spoon, until the wine is reduced to about 1/4 cup, about 3 minutes

Stir in the tomato paste. Add the tomatoes with their juices, the broth, thyme, bay leaf, 1/2 tsp. salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil, and pour the contents of the pan over the shanks. Cover tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Braise the veal in the oven until fork-tender, 1-1/2 to 2 hours, checking the liquid occasionally. If it has cooked down, add enough broth to keep the level about halfway up the shanks. To check for doneness, pierce a shank with a fork. The meat should pull apart easily. Taste a morsel—it should feel soft and tender. Do not overcook, or the veal will fall apart.

Gently brush most of the vegetable bits off the shanks. With a wide, flat metal spatula, carefully transfer the veal shanks to a dish. Strain the pan juices through a medium-mesh sieve into a saucepan, pressing hard on the solids with a spatula to extract as much sauce as you can. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Whisk in the arrowroot mixture and cook briefly to thicken. If you’re working ahead, stop here (see Make-ahead Tips for reheating).

Make the gremolata:

Just before finishing the sauce and serving, combine the parsley, garlic, lemon zest, and anchovies. Add two Tbs. of the gremolata to the sauce. Remove the strings from the shanks. Serve the osso buco topped with the sauce and a small sprinkling of the remaining gremolata. Serves 6.

Make Ahead Tips

To make the osso buco ahead, braise the veal and strain and thicken the sauce with arrowroot. Wipe the roasting pan clean, return the shanks to the pan, and pour the sauce over the shanks. Let them cool at room temperature for an hour, cover well, and refrigerate for up to two days. To reheat, cover the pan with foil and set in a 325°F oven until the shanks are hot, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the shanks to a dish, then make the gremolata, adding it to the sauce and sprinkling it over the shanks.

While it would be unfair to say that this is the risotto after which all others are derived—the Venetians provide plenty of competition—its lovely simplicity is hard to match. If you're uneasy about risotto, this is a good recipe to start with because it's simple and requires so few ingredients.

Risotto alla Milanese

Hello My Friends,

This evening we're having Lasagna once again, but a little bit "different" this time. This company-worthy lasagne features beef short ribs that are slow-cooked in a hearty tomato sauce until meltingly tender. Béchamel sauce adds creaminess, and porcini mushrooms contribute an earthy note.

Short Rib and Dried Porcini Lasagna

Ingredients

3/4 oz. (1 cup) dried porcini mushrooms
2 lb. beef short ribs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-1/2Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1 small celery stalk, finely chopped
1 Tbs. tomato paste
1 bay leaf, preferably fresh
1/2 cup dry red wine
1-1/2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about 1-1/2 oz.); more for serving
1 recipe Fresh Pasta for Lasagne

Directions

Soak the mushrooms

In a small bowl, soak the porcini in 1-1/2 cups warm water until softened, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the soaking liquid. Coarsely chop the mushrooms and set aside in a bowl.

Braise the ribs

Season the short ribs all over with 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. In a 7- to 8-quart Dutch oven, heat 1-1/2 Tbs. of the oil over medium high heat until shimmering. Add the short ribs, in batches if necessary, and brown all over, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Pour off and discard all but a thin layer of fat.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil to the pan. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and a pinch of salt and cook until the vegetables are tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and bay leaf and cook, stirring, until the tomato paste darkens, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the red wine and simmer, stirring and scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon, until almost evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the reserved mushroom liquid and the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add the short ribs and any accumulated juices and the porcini; cover, reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook, turning the ribs every 40 minutes, until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender, 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

Put the ribs on a plate to cool. Pour the sauce into a heatproof bowl and discard the bay leaf. When the fat rises to the surface, skim it off and discard. Season to taste with salt and pepper. When the meat is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the bones and any fat or cartilage from the meat. Shred the meat and set aside in a medium bowl.

Make a béchamel sauce

Melt the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk and cook at a gentle simmer, stirring often, until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Season with 1 tsp. salt. Mix the béchamel sauce into the short rib sauce.

Assemble and bake the lasagne

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F.

Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of a 9x13x3-inch baking dish. Cover the sauce with a slightly overlapping layer of cooked noodles, cutting them as needed to fill any gaps. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce evenly over the noodles. Add 1/2 cup of the shredded meat in an even layer and then sprinkle with 2 Tbs. of the Parmigiano. Add another layer of noodles and repeat the layers as instructed above, to make a total of 4 layers of sauce and meat and 5 layers of pasta—at this point, you should have used all the meat but still have about 3/4 cup of sauce and 1/4 cup of Parmigiano left. Spread the remaining sauce evenly over the top and then sprinkle with the remaining Parmigiano.

Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the top is browned and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve sprinkled with additional Parmigiano, if you like.

Have A Fantastic Friday Friends,

Phil

Quote:

Hi Pat,

Glad that I could help with the Meatballs. Mine usually stay together pretty well, however, I've also had some that looked almost like Sloppy Joe's.

In today's Italian-American favorite, the thin-cut chicken breast cutlets cook up in no time and the flavor is light and bright.

Chicken Piccata

8 boneless, skinless, thin-cut (1/4 to 1/2 inch thick) chicken breast cutlets, (about 1-1/2 lb.)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil; more as needed
3 Tbs. capers, rinsed and chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3/4 cup lower-salt chicken broth
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice; more as needed
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbs. unsalted butter

Season the chicken with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Heat 1 Tbs. of the oil in a 12-inch heavy-duty skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add as many cutlets as will fit in a single layer and cook until lightly browned on both sides and just cooked through, 1 to 3 minutes per side. Shingle the chicken on a platter and tent with foil. Repeat with the remaining chicken, adding another tablespoon of oil between batches if the pan seems dry.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the capers, garlic, and the remaining 1 Tbs. oil to the pan. Cook, stirring, until the garlic softens and becomes fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, raise the heat to high, and cook, stirring, until the mixture reduces by about half, 3 to 4 minutes. Off the heat, swirl in half of the parsley and the butter and season with more lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Drizzle the sauce over the chicken breasts, sprinkle with the remaining parsley, and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Maintaining my pledge to eat healthier in 2012, here's a little of my favorite Spinach, as a side dish.

Sauteed Spinach with Shallots

5 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
3/4 tsp. ground coriander (preferably from toasted and freshly ground seeds)
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1-1/4 lb. spinach (two 10-oz. bags), stemmed and thoroughly washed but not dried
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (preferably white pepper)
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste

Heat the butter in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot, coriander, and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallot begins to soften but does not brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium high, and begin adding the spinach, a large handful at a time, tossing with tongs, until all the spinach is in the skillet. Cook, tossing frequently, until the spinach is wilted and bright green, about 2 minutes. If a lot of water remains, cook on high heat, until the leaves are coated with butter but not soupy, another 1 to 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Serves 6.

Have A Terrifc Week My Friend,

Phil

Hi Pat,

Glad you liked the Chicken Picata recipe. I see that you also like your Chicken the same way that I do, "On Sale!". These days, that's the only way.

For this Evening's meal, the pancetta, red pepper flakes, and the garlic give zip to a quick saute of watercress sprigs and tiny tomatoes. Whole wheat pasta seems to be best with robust flavors that stand up to its hearty texture.

Whole Wheat Pasta With Pancetta, Greens & Garlic

Kosher salt
1 large clove garlic
8 oz. dried whole-wheat linguine or spaghetti
1 Tbs. olive oil
4 oz. thinly sliced pancetta, finely diced (about 1 cup)
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
6 cups (lightly packed) small watercress sprigs (about 2 bunches trimmed of lower stems), torn into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup lightly packed finely grated Pecorino Romano

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Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, chop the garlic, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. salt, and mash to a paste with the flat side of a chef's knife. Set aside.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente. Reserve about 1/3 cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta in a colander, and return to the pot.

While the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a 12-inch cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring frequently, until the fat is rendered, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the watercress; stir until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the watercress mixture and pecorino to the pasta. Stir to combine, adding the reserved water 1 Tbs. at a time as needed to moisten. Season to taste with more salt and serve. Serves 2-3.

Have A Wonderful Week,

Phil