Wine And Veal Ragu

There is definitely not a chill in the air here in Key West. But just knowing that the first day of fall was upon us, I had to jump into fall mode and make a stew. Actually, it was a Ragu. Last month Dr. Deb's at Good Wines Under $20 posted about the September issue of Food & Wine Magazine. It highlighted "Italy's best recipes" and she noted all the good recipes and how well the magazine did with the wine recommendations. (It is a great issue for Italian wine education!) So I dug my copy out of my stack of "magazines to read" and found a yummy ragu to whip up on this first fall weekend. I did make a few alterations to this recipe. I did not have any corzetti pasta so I used my "maccheroni al torchia". I love to shop for pasta that has unusual shapes and I found this one on my summer trip up to Chicago. I think I may have did a post on the shapes when I purchased them because they were so cool! Here is a photo of them uncooked (left) and cooked (right). OK Deb, move on!

Corzetti Pasta With Veal Ragu (Adapted from the September issue of Food & Wine)

1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms (I used a mix of dried mushrooms that I had on hand)

3 cups hot water

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 sweet onion cut into 1/2 inch dice

2 carrots (I used 3) cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 celery rib (I used 3) cut into 1/2 inch dice

Two 3/4 veal shanks (about 1-1/2 inches thick) cut into 2 inch pieces, bones reserved

Salt and freshly ground pepper

All purpose flour for dusting

1 cup dry red wine

1 - 14 oz. can peeled Italian tomatoes, crushed by hand

1 marjoram sprig - I used a good teaspoon of dried and I also added a good teaspoon of dried thyme

1 pound corzetti - I used my maccheroni al torchio

Soak your dried mushrooms in the hot water for about 15 minutes. Remove mushrooms with slotted spoon and chop - save the water.

In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add onion, carrots and celery and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Remove to a plate.

Add the other 2 tablespoons of oil to hot pan. Season the veal with salt and pepper and dust with flour. Add the meat and the bones to pan and cook over moderately high heat until browned, turning once, about 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook, scraping up any of those yummy bits that are stuck on the bottom, and cook until wine is almost evaporated.

Return the veggies to the pan and add the tomatoes, marjoram, thyme and the mushrooms. Slowly pour in your leftover water that the mushrooms steeped in, but take care not to get the grit off of the bottom into your ragu.

Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 2 hours. Scoop out the marrow from the bones and stir back into the ragu. Toss the bones.

Cook your pasta until al dente. You can then add the pasta to the ragu or do like me and just put pasta in a deep bowl and ladle ragu on top.

If you like you can add shaved parmigiano-reggiano cheese to the dish. Lovely!

I also want to tell you about a wine that I sipped out on the deck the other night, a 2006 California Pinot Grigio called Redwood Creek. It is produced by the Frei Brothers from Modesto, California who established their vineyards back in 1890. Redwood Creek was nice, crisp and went along with my fall theme, as on the palate was the flavor of nice crisp apples, with hints of peach and citrus. Falling under my $10 week night wine budget, I was glad I purchased a couple of bottles as it is truly a refreshing wine!

A wonderful blogging friend, Valli over at More Than Burnt Toast has tagged me for a MeMe. You must visit Valli's site as she was lucky enough to go to Greece last year and attend a cooking school. She shares with us her wonderful photos, as well as the lovely dishes she learned to make while at the school. OK Valli, just a few notes about me.

My favorite appliance, if you call it that, is an outdoor grill. I so enjoy cooking outdoors and do so about 3 to 4 times a week. I like using charcoal, but mostly cook on a gas grill. I will try cooking anything on the grill!

A major pastime of mine is reading food and wine magazines and best of all is cookbooks! Cookbooks rule and I have a substantial collection!

As you can tell, cooking has been a passion of mine since the days I would spend cooking with my grandmother on her farm. So much of a passion that our son is now a chef and graduated from the Culinary Institute of American in New York!

A gadget I cannot live without is my salad spinner! I hate wet, limpy lettuce and greens!

I do not have a sweet tooth, so I am not much of a dessert person unless it involves chocolate! I would much have an extra appetizer than dessert.

I so enjoy being outdoors as much as I can, unless I am behind the stove. I do container gardening, mostly growing herbs and hot peppers with a couple of tomato plants when the season permits. One day, either in this life or my next, I would love to have a small farm where I could have an extensive garden and a few chickens. Oh, and maybe a goat!

Last but definitely not least is WINE! Every meal with wine is so sublime! Wine is the perfect way to start the end of your day!

Cheers!

White Wine With That Jambalaya

Now here is a wine label that is "out there"! And of course, I could not resist. But on opening Joe Blow, a pleasant surprise popped out! Lots of ripe fruit aromas and nice floral notes. Usually I am sceptical about wines with all these crazy labels, but I have not come across one that is really terrible. There have been a few that I will not purchase again and I tell you that when I post them. One thing I found, which most wine lovers cringe when they hear this, if I am not totally satisfied with the wine I just fill up the glass with ice and enjoy the rest of the bottle. Not bad if it is 100 degrees outside! OK, let me tell you a little bit about my experience with Joe Blow.

2005 Joe Blow Wine Cellars White Wine from Manteca, California is a fun tropical blast of ripe fruit, nectarines is what I tasted, and crisp citrus. This wine is a blend of Chardonnay from their San Bernabe vineyard in Monterey and an addition of Viognier and Chenin Blanc from their vineyards located in Lodi. The Viognier added the floral touch and the Chenin Blanc added a bit of sweetness to it, although I do not like to use the word sweet, so lets say very ripe fruit! For under $10.00 is was a great summer sipper that went very well with my Shrimp Jambalaya.

Yep, being back south again, I had an urge for the lovely shrimp that is available here. Being tired of grilling the shrimp, although I really enjoy a good piece of grilled shrimp on a skewer with some fresh pineapple, I decided to use it in my Shrimp Jambalaya. Do you ever get that craving for tomatoes in a dish? Well, I was craving shrimp and tomatoes and figured this dish would satisfy both cravings! It did!

Shrimp Jambalaya

2 tablespoons of canola oil

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped green pepper

1 jalapeno chopped

4 cloves of garlic chopped - I love garlic!

1 sweet onion chopped

About 1/4 cup of chopped parsley

1 tablespoon dried thyme or you could use fresh

1 Large Bay Leaf

1-3/4 cups of veggie broth or chicken broth

1 14 oz. can chopped tomatoes with their juice

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup raw white rice

1-2 teaspoons of hot pepper sauce - or more if you like it spicy

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 lbs. medium size shrimp shelled and devained

Saute the celery, onions, peppers, garlic in the oil for about 5 minutes. Add the parsley, bay leaf, thyme and stir for about a minute. Stir in broth and tomatoes, sugar, hot sauce and rice. Heat to boiling, then cut heat to simmer and cook covered for about 15 minutes. Add shrimp and cook till shrimp is pink. Salt and pepper to taste.

This dish is really easy and that kind of comfort food that you need during the summer months once in awhile. Corn bread would be good with it, but I save that for a cooler month. I try not to use the oven too much during these hot days.

One note to you - if you need to hold this dish, say you are having company but you want to get things prepared before hand so you can enjoy a glass of wine with them as they arrive, I would omit the rice and cook it separately. Otherwise the rice will absorb all of your juice while you are waiting to serve. Then you can just put the rice in the bowl and top with the Jambalaya sauce with shrimp.

Sounds good ? You bet ya it is!

Cheers!