Osso Bucco (Veal Shank)

Ossobuco or osso buco is Italian for “bone with a hole” (osso bone, buco hole), a reference to the marrow hole at the center of the cross-cut veal shank. In the local Western Lombard Milanese dialect, this dish’s name is oss bus.

While that may be the Wikipedia definition, we first enjoyed it at one of our favourite restaurants in Cancun, Mexico – La Habichuela. They now have a second location in the Hotel Zone. We have not tried the location in Merida.

http://lahabichuela.com/centro/

When I finally found the meat locally, I was desperate to prepare it. Thankfully, Food Network and Giada de Laurentiis had this great recipe, which although not exactly like the wonderful one in Cancun, is still delicious! It is great served with cooked cabbage and some mashed potatoes to enjoy the juices.

Osso Bucco – Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 dry bay leaf
2 whole cloves
Cheesecloth
Kitchen twine, for bouquet garni and tying the veal shanks
3 whole veal shanks (about 1 pound per shank), trimmed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All purpose flour, for dredging
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 small carrot, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 stalk celery, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Directions

Place the rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and cloves into cheesecloth and secure with twine. This will be your bouquet garni.

For the veal shanks, pat dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Veal shanks will brown better when they are dry. Secure the meat to the bone with the kitchen twine. Season each shank with salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge the shanks in flour, shaking off excess.

In a large Dutch oven pot, heat vegetable oil until smoking. Add tied veal shanks to the hot pan and brown all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove browned shanks and reserve.

In the same pot, add the onion, carrot and celery. Season with salt at this point to help draw out the moisture from the vegetables. Sauté until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Return browned shanks to the pan and add the white wine and reduce liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and 2 cups of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Check every 15 minutes, turning shanks and adding more chicken stock as necessary. The level of cooking liquid should always be about 3/4 the way up the shank.

Carefully remove the cooked shanks from the pot and place in decorative serving platter. Cut off the kitchen twine and discard.

Remove and discard bouquet garni from the pot.

Pour all the juices and sauce from the pot over the shanks. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon zest.

Andrea’s Spicy BLT Soup (aka Tomato Gazpacho)

I know. I know. TWO recipes in one week. With the upcoming long weekend I wanted to share this with everyone because it is so great for a group if you increase the quantities. We love cold soup and this one I found in Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food magazine that I was going to throw out…yikes! It is incredible!!!!!!!

Andrea Reusing’s Spicy BLT Soup (as found in Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food Magazine Issue 84)

Comments in red are mine as usual.

Ingredients

2 pounds assorted tomatoes, roughly chopped (I used 3 average tomatoes so it would be thicker)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 small cucumber, roughly chopped
2 medium Fresno chilies or jalapenos, stemmed and chopped
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, smashed and peeled
2 teaspoons white-wine vinegar
1 slice white bread, crust removed, torn into pieces
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Chopped Egg and Garlic Vinaigrette (see below)
Croutons, crumbled cooked bacon, and sliced lettuce (We bought some of the Hormel pre-cooked bacon at Costco and I used that slightly re-heated in the microwave for 45 seconds).

Directions

Sprinkle tomatoes with 1/4 teaspoon salt; let sit 10 minutes. In a blender, combine tomatoes, cucumber, chilies, onion, garlic, vinegar, bread, oil, and sugar and puree until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing on solids; discard solids. (For a thicker soup, do NOT sieve it). Cover soup and refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours (or up to 3 days). Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with a drizzle of vinaigrette and desired toppings.

Chopped Egg and Garlic Vinaigrette

Separate the whites and yolks of 2 hard cooked extra-large eggs. In a small bowl mash the yolks and stir in 1 clove of garlic, mashing into the paste 1 T. finely grated lemon zest plus 2 teaspoons lemon juice and 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil.

Roughly chop the egg whites into the soup before serving. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

The recipe says it makes 4 servings, but as a main course, it really makes two servings for lunch.

Jane’s Lemon Chicken

This is a recipe that my oldest daughter likes to make. You can buy lemon curd at the grocery store or make your own. Infortunately, it is very hard to find in the Yucatan anymore….

Jane’s Lemon Chicken with Rice

Makes: 4 Total Time: 30 min

Ingredients:

Chicken breast sliced
2 whipped egg whites
Sesame seeds toasted
4 T Lemon curd (available in most grocery stores)
juice of one lemon

Preparation:

Dip chicken pieces in eggs whites and then the toasted sesame seeds. Fry until slightly brown and check to see that there is no pink left.

Mix juice of one lemon and 3 T curd. Heat. Pour over cooked chicken. Serve with rice.

Scallops in Herb Butter Sauce

Scallops In Herb Butter Sauce
BY JENNIFER MCLAGAN

LCBO Food and Drink Magazine EARLY SUMMER 2007
Scallops have a voluptuous texture, especially when served in a sauce enriched with butter and cream. If you have them serve scallops in individual gratin dishes. If you would like to use these scallops over fresh pasta as a main course, then I would suggest doubling the sauce as it was awesome!

24 scallops
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp (15 mL) plus ¼ cup (50 mL) unsalted butter
1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil

Sauce:
½ cup (125 mL) white wine
1 tbsp (15 mL) whipping cream or Media Crema (in Mexico)
¼ cup (50 mL) chopped chives
3 tbsp (45 mL) chopped parsley
1 tsp (5 mL) thyme leaves, chopped

NB – if you have some great Herbs de Provence, use them in place of the chives, parsley and thyme.
1. Preheat the oven to 300ºF (150ºC).

2. Place the gratin dishes in the oven.

3. Pat dry the scallops and season with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan heat 1 tbsp (15 mL) of butter and the oil over high heat. Add the scallops and cook for 2 minutes. Turn the scallops and cook for another 2 minutes or until opaque in the centre. Transfer the scallops into the gratin dishes and keep warm in the oven.

4. Add the white wine to pan and bring to a boil, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Continue to boil until the wine is reduced by half. Cut the remaining butter into cubes.

5. Whisk the whipping cream into the reduced wine and then gradually whisk in the butter. Add all the chopped herbs, stir to mix and then check the seasoning. Spoon the sauce over the scallops and serve immediately.

Serves 6

For even more delicious recipes, drinks and wines, visit the LCBO Website – http://www.lcbo.com

June Vance’s Four Bean Salad

It has been so long since I started making this recipe that I do not even remember who June Vance was! If anyone can refresh my memory that would be great…I know for sure she wasn’t a sister of Vivian Vance…LOL (only you old folks will know who that was). Anyways, here is June’s recipe –

Four Bean Salad

4 – 16 ounce cans of beans (I like to use kidneys, cut green or yellow beans and garbanzos (also known as chick peas)

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced onion

Mix them all together in a colander and let the juices drain off.

Mix the following dressing and pour over the beans in a serving dish and then let it chill before serving.

Dressing

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 cup sugar or less

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/4 teaspoon cumin

This makes a great salad for a summer gathering and can easily be doubled. Hope you will try it….

Balsamic Glazed Carrots/Maple Glazed Asparagus Bundles

Whether you use these as appetizers or side dishes is not important. We had both of these at our friends’ Sandy and Ted’s in KW and thoroughly enjoyed both. They are great Summer additions to any menu.

Balsamic-Glazed Carrots:

8 servings, 25 minutes prep and cook time.
10 carrots (1 1/4 lbs.) peeled, quartered lengthwise.
1/4 cup Kraft Calorie-wise Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing (optional: 1-2 oz. augmentation of real balsamic vinegar)
3 Tbsp. brown sugar.
1 Tbsp. butter.
1 Tbsp. finely chopped Parsley.

Cook carrots in boiling for 4-6 min. or until crisp- tender.
Meanwhile, cook dressing, sugar and butter in small saucepan on low heat for 3-4 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.

Drain carrots, return to saucepan. Add sauce and stir. Cook 2-3 minutes until heated through and evenly coated with sauce.
Sprinkle with Parsley and serve.

Maple-Glazed Asparagus Bundles:

1 Large bunch Asparagus, 24 to 32 spears, trimmed.
1/2 Red Pepper, sliced into long thin strips.
8 Prosciutto Ham trimmed, 4oz.(125g.) thinly sliced.

1/3 cup (75 ml.) Diana’s Sauce, (Maple flavour) OR real maple syrup
2 tsp coarsely cracked black pepper.
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp each, lemon juice and melted butter.
Optional: 2tsp. Balsamic vinegar added to the sauce for basting the bundles on the grille.

Blanch the Asparagus in boiling salted water for 3 minutes.

Rinse under cold water until cool. Drain and pat dry.
Divide asparagus into 8 bundles (I use 3 per bundle).

Add a few red pepper strips per bundle.
Lay out a prosciutto slice, lightly cover with sauce or syrup and add 1 proportion of Asparagus and red pepper strips.

Roll the prosciutto tightly around the trimmed based asparagus bundles base, secure with toothpick(s). Repeat.
Cover bundles with sauce. Prepare grille to med-high heat.
Grille bundles for 2 minutes turn and brush with remaining sauce or syrup.

Grille additional 2 minutes. Turn as needed until vegetables are marked and ham is lightly crisped.
Remove toothpicks to serve. Makes 8 servings.

FYI….new look!

Hey there everyone! Just wanted you to know that starting with the NEXT blog (and I guess this one too), the Buen Provecho blog will have a more streamlined look. For weeks I have been tortured trying to get the photos behind the banner to be clearer. Alas, I have given up! Just maybe this will take less time for you subscribers to open them. Obviously it will save me more time too.

Stay tuned for some great appetizers/side dishes tomorrow! Thanks for following the blog and hope you continue to enjoy the recipes. I am always looking for new ones, so please feel free to send me yours. Once I have tried a recipe then I will post it. Be assured that I NEVER post a recipe which I have not tried!!!