Insulin, Omelettes, Gruyere and Pork

Things have been crazy around our place these past few weeks.  My head is still spinning from all that’s been going on around here.  In addition to my husband’s travels overseas and the kids and their long list of extracurricular activities, I decided it was time for me to embark on a new journey:  I got an insulin pump. 

For those of you who aren’t familiar with this fun little gadget, let me fill you in.  An insuling pump is a beeper-sized computer that attaches to my body via a skinny tube that is inserted in my waist (or belly or thigh).  It’s programmed by my Endocrinologist and Certified Diabetes Educator to dose my insulin with the push of a few buttons.  It delivers a steady stream of insulin to manage my bloodsugar when I am not eating, this is called a basal rate.  Then, when I am ready to eat, I tell it how many carbohydrates I’m going to have and what my bloodsugar is and it calculates my needed insulin and delivers it.  The whole process has been mind-numbing what with all the doctor appointments, insurance issues, finger sticks, high &  low bloodsugars, etc.  I’ve had it on live, with insulin, for 3 days now and I’m finally adjusting.  It’ll take some time to get used to something attached to me 24/7 but in the end I hope it will improve my disease management and help me lead a more normal and healthy life.  As Martha says, “It’s a good thing”.  I hate Martha though. 

To celebrate getting the pump, a friend and I went out to breakfast to a fancy, shmancy French restaurant here in town.  We had perused their menu online and simply had to try their foie gras, truffle and Boursin cheese omelette with pear compote.  Doesn’t that sound like the most amazing thing ever?  I am an admitted egg and foie gras whore and the thought of these two glorious food things combined in one dish nearly sent me over the edge.  I told anyone and everyone about my upcoming breakfast.  They listened but didn’t understand the level of my obsession.  I think I built it up too much in my mind though.  Sadly, the omelette was a major disappointment.   I know, I could’ve cried too.  The omelette itself was cooked well, but there was too little foie gras and too much truffle.  The cheese was good but what they described as “pear compote” was more like three slices of cooked pears.  C’est la vie. 

While all this fun stuff was going on, my better half was in Switzerland for a week on business.  How jealous was I when he sent me photographs, taken with his cell phone camera, of the Matterhorn and phoned to tell me of the delicious cheeses and breads he was eating?  Very jealous.  He was in Lausanne, a French-speaking city that overlooks Lake Geneva and The Alps.    But enough about that, let’s get to the food.  He promised to bring us back lots of Swiss chocolates.  Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate blanche(white) and truffles.  While he was there I got to thinking about Gruyere cheese.  It’s a slightly sweet and salty hard, cow’s milk cheese, commonly used in Quiche Lorraine, French onion soup and fondue.  Well, I did some research and I found that you can bring hard cheeses through U.S. Customs – Yay!  I put in an order with my husband for a nice hunk of aged Gruyere.  Guess what?  More bad news.  The Swiss police confiscated it  when he passed through security!  A $35 hunk of cheese gone as quick as it was acquired.  They probably had it for lunch, the dirty bastards.  Why in the name of all that is tasty, would the Swiss care if you left with cheese?  I can understand them not wanting you to bring IN cheese or other food products, but carry out is bad?  Why?  I truly don’t understand and wish someone cold enlighten me.  Man, what  I wouldn’t give for that cheese.  Having been denied it makes me want it all the more.  So sad. 

Okay, let’s move on to the pork and the yummy photographs.  I have this recipe for Slow-Braised Pork with Black Grapes and Shallots that I found in Bon Appetit a couple of years ago.  Every since we first tried it, it has become a winter staple for our family.  I’m a huge fan of the slow braise and the tough meats that are transformed into tender pull apart, silky goodness.  The rich, dark sauces that spoon so nicely over mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, polenta or egg noodles.  For me, it’s the perfect comfort food.  Here’s a brief slide show of the cooking process, which is quite easy.  All you need is patience for the slow, two-hour braise. 

 

Sear seasoned pork in a hot dutch oven.

 

Remove pork and saute shallots and black grapes in rendered fat.

 

After braising liquid has reduced, return pork to pot w/ fresh herbs and it's ready for the oven

 

Once you put it in the oven you forget about it for an hour.  Then, take it out of the oven and, using tongs, flip the pork over in the juices.  Replace the lid and return it to the oven for 45 minutes.  When it’s finished braising remove the pork from the pot, tent it w/ foil and boil the juices to reduce some more.  Remove herb stems, seaon the sauce and serve it over the pork.  Yum!

  

The finished product served over mashed potatoes with steamed French beans & broccoli

 

 

Slow-Braised Pork with Black Grapes and Balsamic

Bon Appétit | October 2005

 

1 3 1/4-pound boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), trimmed, cut into 3 equal pieces
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 

 8 large shallots, halved, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 3 cups)
3 cups seedless black grapes (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 large fresh sage sprigs
4 large fresh thyme sprigs
2 large fresh rosemary sprigs
Preheat oven to 325°F. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add pork to pot and cook until browned on all sides, about 13 minutes total. Transfer pork to plate; discard fat in pot.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in same pot over medium heat. Add shallots and grapes; sauté until shallots are golden, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add sugar; sauté 30 seconds. Add vinegar; bring mixture to boil and cook until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Add broth, all herb sprigs, and pork with juices from plate. Bring to boil. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Braise pork 1 hour. Using tongs, turn pork over and continue braising until meat is very tender, about 45 minutes longer. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to platter; tent with foil.

Remove herb sprigs from pot and skim fat from surface of cooking liquid. Boil cooking liquid over high heat until thickened, about 7 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour over pork and serve.

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Make Like A Tree & Leave!

I love all things Autumn!  The cooler weather, the colorful leaves, football, apples, squash and warm, stick-to-your-ribs foods.  My two most favorite cold weather foods: chili & short ribs.  I’ve already cooked both of these dishes and I’m ready for more. 

A few weeks ago I visited my favorite butcher, Vic, at What’s Your Beef butcher shop in Waxhaw.  I went in, not knowing what I wanted, and poked around to see if anything inspired me.  Vic was giving me a hard time, the way only upstate New Yorkers can, and then he mentioned those two lovely words: short ribs.  A light bulb illuminated and I knew that I was having short ribs and polenta that night.  He sent me on my way with my short ribs and his house-made breakfast sausages and I was a happy, happy girl. 

Once home, I got online and logged onto Chowhound (this links to my thread) and started a thread asking for help from my Chowhound friends for braised short ribs recipes.  I have plenty of recipes in my personal archives, but I wanted to try something new.  I got many of good suggestions but one stood out above the rest:  John Besh’s Red Wine Braised Short Ribs.  John Besh is a restaurant owner and executive chef in New Orleans.  He’s a C.I.A. grad and a  James Beard award winner.  This recipe probably produces the best short ribs you can possibly imagine.  They are, of course, fall off the bone tender and the richness balanced with a touch of sweetness is just, well, orgasmic.  IT IS!  Serve it over a creamy polenta and you will think you’ve died and gone to heaven.  Here’s a photograph of the dish.  FYI, the plate is hand made by well known potter Bill Campbell who has a large studio/gallery in northwest Pennsylvania.  I have been collecting his pieces for years and have found a gallery here in Waxhaw that sells his wares – Stewart’s Village Gallery.  Incidentally, I took a pottery class at Stewart’s last spring and I learned something – I suck at pottery.  I’ll stick to cooking and taking photographs. 

 

 

John Besh’s Braised Beef Short Ribs

Your grandparents might have made this braised short ribs recipe. Some recipes age well.

I grew up on the Bayou and never strayed far because New Orleans has always been, and still is, a hell of a place to cook. Food has more cultural significance here. No matter where in the world early settlers came from — Italy, Spain, Senegal, Haiti — and whether free or enslaved, they assimilated into the Creole culture, embracing everything from language to cooking. That’s why dishes like gumbo and jambalaya have so many ingredients — every culture stirred a bit into the pot.

I try to deliver some of that complexity in this one-pot meal while keeping the ingredient list short by using a reduction of naturally spicy zinfandel with a touch of sugar, a combo that adds backbone and works wonders with the fattiness of the meat. There was a time when you couldn’t give short ribs away in American restaurants. It was fillet of beef this and lobster that. But as we’ve grown more comfortable — culinarily speaking — we’ve begun to identify with peasant-style cooking, the kind of food our grandparents might have made. This is one of those dishes. The ribs come from the chuck section, where the meat contains a lot of connective tissue and needs slow, moist cooking. –John Besh

Serves: 4

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: About two hours (with little labor)

 

• 4 lbs beef short ribs, cut flanken style (across the bone) or English style (parallel to the bone). Flanken are easier to deal with but slightly more fatty.
• Coarse salt and black pepper
• 3 cups zinfandel
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 oz canned chopped tomatoes
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, picked off stem
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 oz canola oil
• 1 large onion, diced (2 cups)
• 2 medium carrots, diced (1/2 cup)
• 2 stalks celery, diced (1/2 cup)
• 2 oz dried mushrooms, preferably porcini

1. Season short ribs with salt and pepper; be rather generous. In a mixing bowl, whisk together zinfandel, sugar, tomatoes, beef broth, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, and a pinch of salt.

2. Pour canola oil into a heavy pot or Dutch oven (at least 5 quarts) and place over high heat. When oil is hot, working in small batches, brown the meat. Turn each piece to brown on all sides before removing from the pot.

Tip: A sturdy pot that conducts heat well has a lot to do with the success of this dish. Get yourself a cast-iron pot. It’ll outlast you.

3. When all beef is browned and removed from pot, add onion, carrots, and celery, allowing onion to cook until browned, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

4. Return beef to the pot along with wine mixture. Allow wine to come to a boil before reducing heat, skimming fat from surface.

5. After simmering for several minutes, add mushrooms. Cover and simmer over very low heat until meat is fork tender and nearly falling off the bone, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

6. Once the beef has cooked, remove from pot and keep warm. Turn up heat and reduce the pot liquids until thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

7. Transfer ribs to four shallow bowls, spooning liquid over top.

John Besh is the chef and owner of August in New Orleans.

**Taken from Esquire Magazine, 10/22/07

 

In addition to making chili and short ribs, I finally tried my hand at canning Italian peppers.  This is an old tradition common back home in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.  Many Italian families buy up bushels of banana peppers to make their canned Italian peppers.  Locals engage in friendly debates arguing who has the best bread peppers (Italian peppers).  They are a very simple concoction; banana peppers sliced into rings, salted and tossed in canning jars with smashed fresh garlic and oregano.  Some folks add canned mushrooms or olives but I always preferred just the peppers.  All the mom & pop Italian restaurants serve them with Italian bread and butter before your meal arrives.  They are also eaten on hoagies, pizzas and salads.  The best Italian restaurant back home, The Columbia Hotel, was owned by Leo & Vicky Taddeo who were good friends of my parents (Leo & Vicky have since retired and sold the place).  We went to The Columbia weekly for dinner.  Leo always checked my sisters’ and my hands for clean finger nails.  If they were clean we were awarded with a Reese’s peanut butter cup.  My Dad would sometimes take me there on Saturday afternoons.  He would have a beer (or two) and chat with Leo, who would often let me go behind the bar and wash glasses.  I loved washing the bar glasses and pouring sodas from the soda gun.  Uncle Patsy, a bar regular, would give me a quarter and teach me Italian words. 

Vicky Taddeo was kind enough to share her Italian peppers recipe with me several years ago.  I never had the patience or the peppers to make them before now.  Fortunately, another dear friend of mine had a huge garden this summer which produced an over abundance of banana peppers.  Here is what I did with the bounty (the jars are a tad cloudy because I used table salt rather than canning salt):

 

 

If you are interested in knowing how to make these crunchy, tangy beauties let me know.  I won’t give you any of mine, but maybe I’ll share the recipe with you – if you beg <wink>.  I’ve got a homemade Italian boule I picked up at the farmers market and it’s lunch time, so I think it’s bread and peppers for me.  Ciao!

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Shrimp @ The Beach

 

 

For me, summer at the beach is synonymous with shrimp.  But not just any shrimp will do.  They have to be fresh Carolina shrimp – the big ‘uns – and they have to be made with this Southern BBQ Shrimp recipe I scored from Bon Appetit two years ago.  Brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay, lots of butter and lemon… half the sauce is used to cook the shrimp in and the other half at the table to dunk your shrimp and crusty bread.  Doesn’t that sound gorgeous? 

We were down in Hilton Head Island SC over the 4th of July and my nephew Ben and his wife and two kids came to visit for a couple of days.  We made these shrimp and served them with corn-on-the cob, tomato & cucumber salad and crusty bread and we were in finger-lickin’, shrimp heaven. 

The secret to good shrimp is to not overcook them!  Whether pan-sauteing, grilling or broiling, they should only cook for 3-5 minutes tops.  If they curl up into a circle, throw them out, they’re overcooked.  Ain’t much worse than an overcooked shrimp – blech!  Don’t turn your back on ’em.  Shut your mouth and focus because as soon as you divert your attention… yep, and you know you’ll be pissed! 

  

Southern “Barbecue” Shrimp

1 pound uncooked large shrimp, deveined but with tails and shells intact
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning or other seafood seasoning
Lemon wedges
Crusty baguette slices

Preheat broiler. Cover rimmed baking sheet with foil and spread shrimp on sheet. Mix melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, and Old Bay seasoning in medium bowl for sauce. Pour half of sauce over shrimp and stir to coat. Broil until shrimp are just opaque in center, about 2 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer to platter; serve with lemon wedges, baguette slices, and remaining sauce.

Test-kitchen tip: To devein the shrimp for this recipe, use scissors to cut shells down center of backs and pull out veins. Even easier: Many supermarkets sell uncooked deveined shrimp with the shells and tails intact.

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Italian “Crack-Stuffed” Peppers – They’re Addicting!

It came out of nowhere, this hankerin’ I had for Italian stuffed peppers.  I don’t know what sparked it, but I had to make me some – quick like.  I pulled out my trusted recipe box and searched and searched and came up empty.  I remembered Mrs. Miele, a family friend, many years ago had made peppers and her son Louie and I polished off a couple and they were so good.  Back then, in my late-teens early 20’s, I told Little Louie I needed that recipe.  I scored!  Sadly though, over the years, I’ve misplaced it. 

I hit the WWW in search of the perfect recipe.  I wanted it to include ground beef and/or Italian sausage, rice or orzo, tomatoes, onions, garlic, Romano & Mozz cheese… you know, just the basics.  I wanted good ole’ Italian-American fare.  Typically, if I don’t have a recipe to work from, I’ll search online and read many different ones.  Then I’ll pick and chose what I like about a few and come up with my version.  Sometimes, you just have an idea of what the dish should include and then you get inspired by different recipes and the next thing you know – voila- new recipe!  Well, here is the end result.  They were good, although I thought they needed more seasoning.  Next time I’ll salt the inside of the peppers before I stuff them. 

 

 

Italian Stuffed Peppers

6 green bell peppers, halved lengthwise & seeds removed

1 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed

1 cup or more cooked rice or orzo

1/2 cup grated Locatelli Romano cheese

1/2 grated mozzarella cheese

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 -1 cup diced onion

Add to your taste – red pepper flakes, oregano, basil, s&p 

Fresh tomato sauce

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown sausage in a large skillet with onion and add garlic last.  Stir in rice and half of both cheeses.  Season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, basil and whatever else you wanna toss in!  Line bottom of glass baking dish w/ a layer of tomato sauce.  Salt the inside of bell pepper halves and then spoon in sausage mixture until it is heaping out of peppers.  Arrange them in baking dish.  Spoon small amount of sauce over peppers and top with remaining cheeses.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 30 minutes, or until browned and cheese is melted.  Serve with remaining heated sauce.

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