AfterTaste (by Sherry)

Last year for Valentine’s Day, as his gift to me, Matt went out on a limb, put himself in a vulnerable position, and cooked me risotto with wild mushrooms and bay scallops. He was nervous and everyone he spoke to about it scoffed and said, sarcastically, “good luck, buddy”; everyone , that is, except for his sweet mother, his eternal number one fan. It became a bit more of a group project than him cooking for me, but, to be fair, risotto can be very daunting for a beginner cook and I mostly acted as a supervisor.

We’ve decided to make Matt cooking for me a Valentine’s Day tradition. Now that he is more skilled in the kitchen, the level of difficulty of the meal has also increased. He’ll be making me osso buco with risotto Milanese.

Osso buco, that elusive comfort food from northern Italy, so rarely attempted and even more rarely successfully attempted. Real, authentic osso buco would be neither real nor authentic without a large heap of golden, saffron hued risotto Milanese. The first time I had osso buco and risotto Milanese was when I was studying Italian in Florence many years ago. The middle-aged woman that my good friend Veronica lived with was originally from Milan and offered to cook us a Milanese feast. Sick of my own perpetual diet of spaghetti alla carbonara and rigatoni with tuna, peas, and mushrooms, I gladly accepted the invitation. The savory, juicy meat fell from the bones in large chunks, landing on a bed of chewy, gooey, cheesy risotto.

Together, we’ve combed through a few recipes and settled on one by Giada di Laurentiis (I secretly worship her and her unusually large head). The whole process appears difficult because it takes a lot of time, but most of it is inactive braising time.

Anyway, I’ll be happy if we’re able to achieve 50% of the flavor and perfection of the meal I had that rainy day in Florence.

Another part of his gift to me is that he will be writing a post afterwards about his experience as a boyfriend making a complicated dinner for his cooking-crazed girlfriend. Be on the lookout for that, it should be a hoot.

Happy Valentine’s Day!