Osso delicious!

There are certain things that get me swooning like a lovesick teenager. A steaming bowl of cassoulet. New York Steak, perfectly medium-rare at Jack's Bar & Grill. And of course one my all time obsessions, savory, saucy, veal-a-rific osso buco. Oh, in case you're wondering, there are several non-food things that make me all giddy, too, but this is a food blog, ya know?!

As mentioned previously, we had our friends J&K over the other night on a cold, blustery evening. In the kitchen math that I practice at home, cold weather + good friends = slow braising. To ward off the chill, I knew it was time to the pull the Cadillac of cookware (aka my beloved Le Creuset) off the shelf, and properly inspired by The Bible, it was and time for my first ever osso buco. I had lusted after the veal shanks (right) at our local Zupan's Market on many an occasion. Each time their pale, beefy flesh would call out to me, but until I got hold of Molly Steven's All About Braising (aka The Bible), I had never heeded the siren song. Now as alluded to above, in my Deliciousness Hall of Fame, osso buco...I'm talking a tender, fall off the bone osso buco with a side of classic risotto Milanese...would absolutely be in my top five things that get my food wood on. I always order it out when I get the rare opportunity. But after making (that's the osso buco right before its oven time at lower left) this amazing creation from Steven's book that was as good as ANY osso buco I've ever had, now I know that instead of drooling all over the meat case at Zupan's, all I need to do is grab some shank and whip up this way easy, get-the-crowd-raving dish in the comfort of the kitchen at 1309, which is always my favorite place to eat!

Wine choice: I've gotta agree with Molly that this classic of Italian cooking calls for your best Italian red. I popped that 2000 Barbaresco that killed, but a good Barbera or Chianti Classico would also work.

Also, don't worry about the long list of ingredients or length of the recipe, it really does come together quickly!
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Osso Buco alla Milanese
From Molly Stevens "All About Braising"

What, no recipe below? Hey, in her book it covers three pages, so transcribing it seemed a bit daunting with my fifth grade level typing skills. I'll get the recipe up eventually, I promise. But trust me when I say BUY THE FREAKING BOOK and make it yourselves (she also has a very good risotto alla Milanese recipe right after the osso buco recipe). It is absolutely an awesome, show-stopping dish. Plus this book is jammed with temptation cover to cover. I bought one copy at Powell's here locally for $35 for a friend's birthday, and grabbed my copy online at Amazon for $24.
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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: a simply fabulous Lamb Stew with Figs!

Cellar Report: 2000 Produttori "Moccagatta" Barbaresco; 2004 Vietti Barbera d'Asti "Tre Vigne"

If ever I needed a rationalization for having all that bottled grape juice down in the basement, last night provided it! The event was a big pot of osso buco (kick ass by the way...recipe soon!), my first time making it, and our friends J&K were over after an extended absence from our presence. Awesome food and better friends demands equally satisfying liquid indulgence, so down to the archives I went.

The 2000 Produttori del Barbaresco "Moccagatta" Barbaresco was one of those wines being caught at the height of its pleasure inducing powers. Barbaresco is one of the three great wines of Italy (along with Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino) and like its Piedmontese neighbor Barolo it is made from 100% nebbiolo. This wine from the great Produttori co-operative also illustrated differences in vintages. Both the 1999 and 2001 vintages are still young'uns, needing probably five more years or so to start showing their stuff. This 2000, from an excellent but much warmer vintage...which meant riper grapes which leads inexorably to earlier drinking wines....was loaded with absolutely delicious blackberry, blueberry, smoke, earth, and floral aromas and flavors. The tannins are just starting to mellow, and the finish just lingered on and on. This is going to be good to go for at least 5-10 more years, but it is so good those other bottles of various 2000 single vineyard Produttoris downstairs better get ready to be corkscrewed! Produttori does several different single-vineyard wines, and the Moccagatta vineyard where this came from always delivers the goods. This just got better and better as it sat open, delivering head spinning, sensual deliciousness. With the osso buco it was freakish, the flavors of the wine and food both enhancing the other. One of those wines where it was almost as much fun to smell as it was to drink. Almost.....

I followed that with a bottle of 2004 Vietti Barbera d'Asti "Tre Vigne" (Three Vineyards), which like all good Barbera's did nothing but confirm my feeling that Barbera may be the best food wine on the planet. 2004 was also a fantastic vintage, and Vietti is one the finest practitioners of winemaking witchcraft in all of Piedmont. This was all cherries, earth, and spice, so rich and complete with vibrant acidity, which is the one component that makes these wine so astoundingly satisfying with dinner. Young, very fresh, maybe just starting to mellow, this is going to be good drinking over the next 3-4 years. And wouldn't ya know it I just happen to have a few more bottles stuck away. The future looks bright indeed, at least on my dinner table!
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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: what I mean by "unrelated indulgences".