Photograph © 2010 by Judd Pilossof. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Update: Congratulations, Kris, the winner of this contest! Her Sunday Supper? “I made one of our favorite dishes with ground lamb, onions, apricots, prunes, green beans, and noodles topped with yogurt and garlic. With a spinach salad it was perfect.”
On the other hand, if the veal is dark rose, I know it’s been allowed to roam free until slaughter. As a carnivore, I’m evolving, but at this point, I’m OK with veal that’s been raised like this. Before Christmas, I spied some dark rosy, farm-raised veal shanks and picked them up, thinking we’d enjoy them over the holidays.As I’ve reduced my meat consumption these last few years, I’ve also had to rethink how I feel about veal (euphemism for baby cow). As with all animals, my main concern: how they were raised. When I see veal in the meat case, I can tell a lot about its life. If it’s the usual pale pink, I know it’s likely been separated from its mother and crated, the better to keep those muscles nice and pale and tender.
Turns out there was so much rich food those few weeks, there was never the right moment to really enjoy and appreciate them. So they stayed in the freezer until this past Sunday morning. Sharon and new husband Anthony were stopping by for a quick lunch en route to New Haven after a fun Saturday night with her sister Maggy and brother-in-law Andy in New York. What to serve them?
I opened the pantry, I opened the fridge–no inspiration. I opened the freezer, and there sat those eight beautiful veal shanks. I pulled them out to thaw, but then I realized a meal like this needed time and deserved a great bottle of wine. Occasionally I love leisurely Sunday lunches, but there wasn’t time for a nap after a meal like that. The shanks were thawed. What to do?
I made soup and salad instead. As Sharon and Anthony were leaving, I realized I didn’t need eight veal shanks. Would they like four of them? Yes! Perfect. I braised mine. They took theirs home to braise.
Around dinnertime I got a text from Sharon, “Just sitting down to braised veal shanks with wild mushroom and Corsican goat cheese polenta : ) yum!”
Hmm. I didn’t have polenta, but I had grits, and I had goat cheese too!
With the goat cheese addition, it turns out three animals contributed to my dish–prosciutto to flavor the braise, the veal shanks of course, and then goat cheese in the grits. Felt a little wrong, but then again so very right.
Thank God today’s Meatless Monday, but I’m looking forward to the two remaining shanks for dinner later this week!
P.S. It’s cold today and it feels like a great day to give away my last cookbook Perfect One-Dish Dinners
- 4 veal shanks, tied around the circumference with butcher’s twine
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large each: carrot, celery stalk, and onion, cut into small dice
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 4 thin slices prosciutto (about 2 ounces), minced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) petite-diced tomatoes
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup quick grits
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- Heat a large heavy-bottomed deep skillet or soup kettle over low heat. Coat both sides of shanks with oil and season generously with salt and pepper. A few minutes from browning shanks, turn heat to medium-high. Add shanks to hot pan and cook, turning only once until brown on both sides, about 6 minutes total. Transfer to a plate; set aside.
- Remove pan from heat to cool slightly, then add butter, and return to medium-high burner. Add carrots, celery, and onion; sauté until soft and lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, prosciutto, and Italian seasonings; sauté until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute longer. Add tomatoes, wine, and broth, bring to a simmer, and return shanks to pan. Turn off heat and place a piece of heavy-duty foil over the pan. Using a potholder to protect hands, press on foil so that it touches the stew. Seal foil completely around the edges. Place lid on skillet to create a tight seal. Turn burner on medium-high until juices bubble. Set pan in oven and cook until shanks are fork tender, 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- When ready to serve heat 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt to boil in a large saucepan. Whisk in grits; continue to whisk until soft, but thick, 4 to 5 minutes. Whisk in goat cheese. Spoon a portion of grits on each of 4 plates. Top each with a veal shank and a portion of sauce. Serve.
I made your “Shove-It-In-The-Oven Chicken Stew” ’cause I had some boneless, skinless chicken thighs and chicken breasts and it was the easiest thing I could think of to do with them (and I had all the ingredients in the house!) so I could hunker down in the cold snap that we had here in Toronto over the weekend and watch movies with my kids. The stew, a green salad and pie for dessert – perfect Sunday supper.
I made sloppy joes with sweet potato fries last night. It was a cold, drizzly afternoon in Austin, TX and this comfort food really helped the mood of the day.
I made one of our favorite dishes with ground lamb, onions, apricots, prunes, green beans, and noodles topped with yogurt and garlic. With a spinich salad it was perfect.
Italian chicken in the crock pot!
A big Yes!!
I had cajun style fish tacos with a mango salsa. So good.
Sushi with great friends!
Mediterranean pizza – salami, feta, kalamata olives, pepperoncini. Yum!
I had leftovers all by myself! When living on your own there are always lots of leftovers 😉
Needed something simple and fast so Sunday’s supper was pizza.
I had butternut squash risotto! It was the first time I’d made it. Delicious.
Sunday night is almost always pizza night at our house, especially during football season.
Beef and barley crockpot stew from Epicurious. Giants game demanded strict attention.
Berry buttermilk soup! Haha =>
http://www.gourmetrecipe.com/recipes/berry-buttermilk-soup
High Tea with finger sandwiches and petit fours
Okra and lamb sauce over millet porridge. It was wonderful.
I have to think about this……Homemade Cream of Tomato soup, Milton’s cornbread crackers and green salad.
Energy bars, I am sorry to say, because I was traveling.
We had a one-dish meal — chicken vegetable soup.
We had a chicken/pasta dish at my Mother in law’s. I made a salad and banana cake.
We had a pork chop/wild rice casserole with peas and wheat rolls on the side.
Kettle corn
I made braised pork with cabbage, roasted potatoes and a butternut squash salad. Lovely.
I had scallops with risotto while visiting with friends in Boston
We had shrimp tacos, they were so good!
For dinner on Sunday, we had a creamy chicken fajita concoction. It was yummy. =-)
Chicken and wild rice. Not nearly as inventive.
Sunday night we had Cuban-style Ox-tail with Congri (spanish style rice and beans). Sooo yummy!!!!
It must not have been that memorable! I can’t remember! But I did have Spinach Parmesan Noodles for Meatless Monday though!
I’ve been fighting bronchitis and head cold so Sunday dinner consisted of a hastily thrown together spaghetti with meat sauce. Husband liked it but I couldn’t tell you if it tasted good or not. I’l just take his word as truth!
We had these amazing Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Potatoes on Sunday night. They were awesome 🙂 We will definitely be making them again.
It was my grandson’s birthday, and so we had pizza, salad and birthday cake.
Miso salmon and edamame, yum!
I actually made Chicken Mushroom Crepes from “Perfect Recipes for Having People Over.” For dessert we had Instant Strawberry Ice Cream! My boys loved the crepes, but they really really loved the ice cream! I love your cookbooks, Pam, thanks!
Awesome! My mouth start drooling 🙂