Tonight, we roast

Feeding those we Love

Nightly we set the Table

A crisp day is warmed by their Smiles

Braised Pork Loin with Rice Dumplings – serves 4 to 6

3-pound pork loin

2 large onions – roughly chopped

8-10 whole garlic cloves – carefully peeled

2 celery stalks – sliced thinly

6 stems of thyme

1½-cups cooked rice

2-tablespoons fresh mint leaves – chopped

1-tablespoon thyme leaves – chopped

½-cup chickpea flour

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven 325-degrees.

Heat a 3-quart casserole dish over a high flame, and add the pork loin. Brown the pork on all sides. Remove from the casserole dish, and immediately add in the onions, garlic, celery and thyme. Cook for a few mintues, and return the pork to the dish. Pour over 1-cup of water, and season with salt and pepper. Cover securely, and place in the oven. Cook for 2 hours.

In the meantime, to make the dumpling place the rice, mint, thyme and ½-teaspoon salt in a food process along with ¼-cup of water. Process the rice mixture until particularly smooth. Transfer the rice puree into a bowl, and with a spoon thoroughly mix in the chickpea flour. Form the rice mixture into approximately 14 balls (the size of a walnut – it is easiest if you keep your hands dmapened), and hold on a plate mositened with a thin film of water.

After the pork has cooked for two hours, add in the rice dumplings and replace the cover. Retun to the oven and cook an additional 1-hour. Serve.

Not so lucky

We eat the same meats again and again: pork, salmon, chicken, beef, and shrimp repeat.

I fall victim to the easy, familiar and accessible though I have cooked and eaten: frog legs (does not taste like chicken), alligator (does not taste like chicken), kangaroo (definitely does not taste like chicken) and guinea pig (most definitely does not taste like chicken). However, I cannot claim that any of these alternatives occurs with any regularity on my dinner table even with my desire to less the burden on the genetic and environmental stress by consuming a mere fraction of the animals available to us.

I am trying to expand the repertoire of our nightly meals incorporating duck, goat, and buffalo. And, most recently rabbit. I remember the first time I was served rabbit. I was eighteen and on a solo trip to Paris, right out of High School. I accepted an invitation to dinner at a friend of a friend’s apartment. I bought a bottle of vin de table feeling all French and sophisticated, and climbed the four flights of stairs to the tiny apartment.

We chatted awhile and not once did I feel the sting of disdain due to my lack of any native language skills. Then dinner was served – Lapin au Moutard. Sounds delicious. Then I was offered the translation, and all I could think is that is a bunny’s foot is not all that lucky. I eat the meal, being a polite guest and not wanting to tip my hand as being a culinary Neanderthal. It was good; reminded me of chicken.

I have cooked rabbit since then on numerous occasions in kitchens from San Francisco to New York to Nice. Though be warned the rabbit in France comes with the head and feet still attached so you better be ready for it. It is not a meat that takes to the grill, and is definitely best braised, making this time of year the prefect time to put it on my shopping list. If you are fortunate your butcher will break it down for you though don’t go looking for the wings.

Braised Rabbit – yeilds 4 servings

Appox. 2-1/2 pound rabbit -cut into 6 pieces

2-tablespoons all-purpose flour

3-tablespoons coconut butter

1-large onion – sliced thinly

1 fennel bulb – sliced thinly

4-small carrots – sliced julienne

¼-cup freshly chopped parsley leaves

1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme leaves

2-tablespoons roughly chopped loveage

½-teaspoon lavender

2-heaping tablespoons Dijon-style mustard

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Toss the rabbit with the flour and season with salt and pepper.

Heat a 10-inch skillet over a high heat, and add the coconut butter. Brown the rabbit on both sides – doing this in two batches. Remove the rabbit from the pan to a bowl and hold.

Add the onions, fennel and carrot into the skillet, and cook until the vegetables start to wilt. Then mix in the parsley, thyme, loveage, lavender and mustard. Return the rabbit to the pan, and pour over a ½-cup of water. Reduce the heat to low, and cover with a lid.

 

Braise the rabbit for 75 to 90 minutes. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve hot over polenta. 

Bracing ... oh that chill

Ticking off the first month of the New Year also means the coldest, roughest month is about to begin. Thankfully, it is also the shortest month of the year. I don’t remember looking for to the next 28 days except for the two years I lived in Australia. Today’s chilled, blustery winds is the keynote speaker for the weeks ahead. What do I hope the groundhog sees in two days?

Fortunately, the freezer is still packed with summer tomatoes and I will be pulling those gems out of suspended warmth to comfort this household with soups, stews, braises and sauces over the coming weeks. The sun-dried tomatoes I dehydrated over the course of several searing August days is going to enrich more than my palate – maybe, next summer I should try my hand at sun drying my own tomato paste.

Until, I find myself in shorts and a tank top spreading my tomato puree out onto a sheet of ply wood in the blazing sun I will go to the stores I already have to keep me warm physically and emotionally. 

Braised Short Ribs - yields 4 servings

3-pounds short ribs

2–large onions

6-cloves cloves

3-ounces wild mushrooms – such as morels, trumpets, chantrelles

2-ounces sun dried tomatoes – roughly chopped

1-1/2 pound tomatoes – roughly chopped

1-tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary –leaves only

¼-cup chopped Italian parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat an eight quart casserole dish over a medium heat, and add the short ribs and brown them deeply. Remove the ribs to a bowl, and immediately add into the pot the onions and garlic. Cook the onions and garlics for about 5 minutes stirring frequently. Return the ribs to the pot and add the wild mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, dried mushrooms and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, and lower the heat to a simmer. Cover, and cook for 2 to 3 hours. About half hour before serving stir in the rosemary and parsley.