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Delicious slow/er-cooked food ....

 
 
ossobuco
 
  2  
Reply Sat 6 Sep, 2008 09:40 pm
@ossobuco,
As a substitute for collard greens...
rapini?
mustard greens?
dandilion greens?
ossobuco
 
  2  
Reply Sat 6 Sep, 2008 09:45 pm
@ossobuco,
Back to the chicken, yes, I turn it every so often, as it tries to float up..
msolga
 
  1  
Reply Sun 7 Sep, 2008 06:31 am
Many thanks, osso. (I knew you'd remember! Very Happy )

It's late-ish Sunday night here & I must head off to bed, pronto. I've taken a quick look at your posts (Interesting!), but will take a much slower, longer look tomorrow.
0 Replies
 
msolga
 
  2  
Reply Mon 8 Sep, 2008 01:56 am
@ossobuco,
So what is your verdict, osso? How did it turn out?
Interesting, reading the original recipe, then your version. Between the two (minus the sugar!) I think I may come up with something that suits!

Thanks again!
msolga
 
  1  
Reply Mon 8 Sep, 2008 02:02 am
@ossobuco,
"As a substitute for collard greens...
rapini?
mustard greens?
dandilion greens?"


I think we're still in the US with the ingredients, osso! Wink

... though rapini? I suspect it's one of those many splendid "European greens" I keep coming across at my local market. When I ask (the person at the counter, the folk buying, for more details) the usual response is: it's marvellous steamed then served with some olive oil! They say that about all the mysterious greens! Confused
0 Replies
 
msolga
 
  2  
Reply Mon 8 Sep, 2008 02:50 am
I'm thinking of getting my little slow cooker out of mothballs & giving it another go. But ... I recall a warning message from the manufacturer (when I bought it) - never to leave it unattended while in use. Well that kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it? I can't leave the house while my food is cooking for hour & hours & hours & hours ..? Is this just a case of the manufacturer covering themselves legally, in case of possible accidents, or should I actually take this warning seriously? I assume those of you who slow cook don't do it only when you're home for the whole day?
jespah
 
  2  
Reply Mon 8 Sep, 2008 04:18 am
@msolga,
I turn on the slow cooker in the morning before I leave for work. I come back hours later and the food is done, the house smells great and hasn't burned down.

Does your slow cooker have a warmer feature, where it stays very low (warm) once the prescribed cooking time is done? If not, that might be what they were talking about. Mine is programmable but that's a fancy way of saying I can select 4, 8, 12 or 16 hrs of cooking time -- with no difference in heating levels. There are really fancy kinds where there's more temperature and time varieties available.
msolga
 
  2  
Reply Mon 8 Sep, 2008 04:26 am
@jespah,
That's good to know, jespah! (About your house not burning down.) Very Happy
I'll have to dig mine out of storage & check. It was a cheapie, bought some time ago. Perhaps I should buy a new, more expensive model?
jespah
 
  2  
Reply Mon 8 Sep, 2008 04:40 am
@msolga,
I recall mine was, I think, somewhere between $40 and $60. Dunno what that is by you.
msolga
 
  1  
Reply Mon 8 Sep, 2008 04:44 am
@jespah,
It used to be round about double Oz dollars, jespah. But with the fluctuations of both the US & Oz dollars, who knows now? Confused
But, yes. I good reputable brand is what I need!
0 Replies
 
ossobuco
 
  2  
Reply Mon 8 Sep, 2008 11:21 am
@msolga,
My verdict is that the soy chicken concoction is fabulous.

I low-simmered it a very long time, and then added a sweet potato and two white potatoes and two cremini mushrooms and slow simmered yet more time, until the potatoes were done.

Really delicious falling off the bone chicken, but not overcooked. If I changed anything, I might add a little less soy sauce (I'd used something like 1- 3/4 cups, since what I use for a measuring cup would have to be filled to the brim to make a full cup). Next time I might make it 1-1/4 cup.
msolga
 
  2  
Reply Tue 9 Sep, 2008 02:33 am
@ossobuco,
Hey osso, that sounds just delicious!
You really impress me - the way you know - instinctively - what will work. Wish I had that skill!

Have you ever considered writing The Osso Cookbook? You're a natural! Very Happy
ossobuco
 
  2  
Reply Tue 9 Sep, 2008 03:38 pm
@msolga,
Well, there are so many cookbooks out there, some of them so good.. by people who really know food.
Besides, I'm too lazy.
mismi
 
  3  
Reply Tue 9 Sep, 2008 03:40 pm
@ossobuco,
I just tagged this thread...some amazing recipes here.
ossobuco
 
  2  
Reply Tue 9 Sep, 2008 08:20 pm
@mismi,
Just found this one on an old thread of mine about braising.. (little watched thread, this was the only recipe in it).


The Ultimate Beef Stew

By Ray Zara, La Lama Mountain Ovens

One of life's truly great comfort foods is a piping hot bowl of beef stew. Since stews are seldom featured on Italian restaurant menus, you may think they are not authentically Italian. Actually, there are a number of dishes in different regions of Italy that fall into this category. Great stews are prepared by all ethnic cuisines throughout the world and the Italians are no exception to the rule.
With my rather adventuresome taste, I have tried all types of stews, from Dinty Moore's to extremely complex concoctions utilizing exotic ingredients and complicated techniques. The end result was to return to the basic dish that mom used to make.

Beef stew in our family went through an evolution of sorts. My mother's recipe for stew was passed to our sister Gloria, who added her refinements to the recipe and the results were excellent. CeCe and I have added our little twists as well, evolving our version of the "ultimate beef stew".

The best stewing beef comes from the chuck. Although it is very flavorful, beef chuck has a tendency to be a little tough and chewy. The object of this recipe is to retain that great beef flavor and transform the rather chewy beef chuck to fork tender. This recipe also takes a little extra care with the vegetables so that they retain their integrity and individual flavors. The resulting dish is tender beef with identifiable vegetables in a flavorful and rich gravy.

When I purchase the meat for this dish I like to start with a 3 pound bone-in chuck roast, then cut and trim the beef myself, and cook the bone with the stew. However, using pre-cut stewing beef from your local supermarket is perfectly acceptable.



Beef Stew

Serves four:
2 lbs. well trimmed stewing beef
3 Tblsp. olive oil
2 Tblsp. butter
1 large onion, diced
1 Tblsp. salt pork, diced
2 garlic cloves, mashed
1-½ Tblsp, flour
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 whole bay leaves
1 Tblsp. fresh rosemary, minced
1 stalk celery, diced
10 sprigs fresh parsley, leaves only
½ cup dry white wine
2 cups brown stock (or beef broth)
3 medium carrots, ½ inch pieces
3 large potatoes, 1 inch cubes
1 green bell pepper, cut in strips

Step One: Prepare the beef
Trim any excess fat and remove any signs of gristle. Cut the beef into bite sized cubes.

Step Two: Brown the beef and combine first 7 ingredients

Place butter and olive oil into a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. Add beef cubes, salt pork, and onion. When beef is browned and onions are translucent add the garlic and sprinkle the flour over all. Rapidly stir the mixture until the flour is absorbed.

Step Three: Cook the stew and add the next 9 ingredients

Add the diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, bay leaves, rosemary, celery, parsley, white wine and brown stock. Bring to a slow simmer for one hour. Cover with a lid slightly askew, to prevent excess reduction, and continue cooking at a low simmer for an additional hour.

Step Four: Add three remaining ingredients and finish the stew

Add the carrots, potatoes and bell peppers. Slowly simmer the stew until the potatoes are done: approximately 1 hour.

When finished, adjust for salt. Add a little more brown stock if you prefer the stew a little thinner. Enjoy this hearty beef stew with a nice garden salad, a crusty slice of home made bread, and a glass of red wine. After serving four there should be enough left for a couple of second helpings - a requirement in our house.

This is one of those recipes that seems to get better with age. Making the stew a day ahead improves the flavor. Reheat gently until all the ingredients are hot throughout.

Altitude Adjustment: At 8,000 ft add an additional ½ cup brown stock and increase over all cooking time by about twenty minutes.

0 Replies
 
ossobuco
 
  2  
Reply Tue 9 Sep, 2008 11:06 pm
I've posted this recipe in my Romagnoli's cookbook before ---- but it's still good:


The recipe is from the book The New Romagnoli's Table by Margaret and G.Franco Romagnoli, put out by The Atlantic Monthly Press. Mine is a paperback from 1988; I got it at either Amazon or Powell's, used. (hint, use a2k way to get to amazon, see the home page.) The whole book is good, not just this recipe.

Porchetta alla Perugina

Intro: "This is an old fashioned way to prepare a nice pork loin. The final taste is very similar to that of the real porchetta, a full-grown pig cooked on a spit over an open fire and then sold in slices at street corner stands. We recommend, as do the Perugini, this recipe as practical for the family kitchen."

Ingredients:
For the battuto: 2-3 fresh sage leaves, 1 sprig rosemary, 2 fresh basil leaves, 1 clove garlic, 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt, freshly ground pepper

4 - 5 pound pork loin, boned (Osso - I prefer pork shoulder to those long bland loin packages available now, and yesterday I cooked it with the bone in, still good. If you buy one of those long loins, you can use a fish poacher.. )
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil.

Procedure
"Prepare the battuto by mincing all the ingredients together until they are practically a paste. Spread this mixture on the thinner side of the loin (where the bones once were), and then tie the meat up as if it were a sausage, so that the herbs are held tightly inside. (Osso - if you buy one of those packaged loins, cut into it and stuff that, then wrap with string.) Put it in a heavy pot, just big enough to hold the roast, add enough water almost to cover the meat, add 1 teaspoon salt, and put over a low heat.

Cover and bring slowly to a boil, and then uncover and boil slowly until all the liquid has evaporated. (osso - I turn it at least three times; for a 4 lb porchetta this took over two hours at moderate simmer.) Pour on enough olive oil to coat the loin thoroughly, and continue cooking, turning the meat over and over until a good golden crust has formed. Slice and serve."

Let's see, first of all your home will smell good. Secondly, the only hard part was finding string. Grocery stores don't always have it, I had to go to the drug store to find string. Next, I tend to add more garlic, what could it hurt? When I did the pork shoulder yesterday, I sliced deep along the bone and stuffed the battuto in there all along the bone length. The timing didn't change.
msolga
 
  2  
Reply Wed 10 Sep, 2008 12:37 am
@ossobuco,
I think I'll definitely have a go at this one, osso. Though a smaller version (than 5 - 6 lbs.) What weight/quantity would you usually cook for this recipe?
ossobuco
 
  2  
Reply Wed 10 Sep, 2008 12:48 am
@msolga,
I've usually used about 4 lbs.. hard to remember, I don't do it that often. Meat is expensive to me.. I might have used somewhat less.

I do have to say I'm getting tired of that soy sauce chicken. Not something I want to eat three days in a row. I might dump the sauce - and freeze the chicken - and make some kind of potato onion soup..
msolga
 
  2  
Reply Wed 10 Sep, 2008 12:53 am
@ossobuco,
I know what you mean, osso. Living solo, if you create a big soup or cook a big casserole, you either eat it day after day, or else clog up the freezer. I must say though, at times I've been very glad of that frozen soup or casserole (if they were great in the first place), after a tiring day at work !
ossobuco
 
  2  
Reply Wed 10 Sep, 2008 10:26 am
@msolga,
Yes, it's a quandary. My freezer is a sight to be seen..
0 Replies
 
 

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