AfterTaste (by Sherry)

Hi, this is Matt [boyfriend]. Before I start I suppose I should tell you a little about myself. I am in my mid-20s and am a first year law student [hence this piece bordering on the edge of being posted within a reasonable time after Valentine’s Day]. I plan on being a prosecutor upon passing the bar and am a fanatical supporter of all things Yankees and Giants. I have always enjoyed food and eating out but before meeting Sherry never realized how fun and romantic cooking can be. This post is mainly geared towards the guys out there, but hopefully it will give the ladies some insight as to the male psyche in the kitchen.

As Sherry detailed in the Pre-Valentine’s Day post, I took a HUGE risk last year and decided to cook her a meal. Most people laughed at me since, outside of the occasional bowl of spaghetti and jarred sauce, I had little to no cooking experience. I chose something that was actually pretty easy but sounded very impressive: risotto with scallops and wild mushrooms. The risotto turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. More importantly though, I think it showed Sherry how appreciative I was that she introduced me to such an exciting new hobby that we could both share together.

Ever since then, Sherry and I pick out a new, challenging meal every few weeks to make and enjoy together. However, Valentine’s Day is my show: I choose the meal, buy the groceries, and handle most of the cooking, though of course with a little supervision from Sherry. This year, in an attempt to sort of add to what I did last year, I settled on veal osso buco over a risotto Milanese.

We settled on an osso buco recipe from Giada de Laurentiis as our base recipe and couldn’t have been more pleased. The recipe is supposed to serve 6, but we adjusted here and there to accommodate 2 people [ended up more like for 3 people, we couldn’t finish]. We had 2 shanks at a little under a pound each but didn’t really fuss with many of the measurements.

Veal Osso Buco

1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 whole cloves
2 whole veal shanks (about 1 pound per shank), trimmed and tied
¾ cup flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
1 small carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 tbs. tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
4-5 cups low-sodium chicken stock
3 tbs. parsley, chopped
11/2 tbs. lemon zest

• Lay the rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and cloves into cheesecloth and secure with twine for the bouquet garni. [I, of course, had no idea what “cheesecloth” was. After wandering around the grocery store for about 10 minutes, I found out that you can actually ask people who work there and they will tell you where to find things. To think of all the time I have wasted wandering aimlessly. This of course will not affect my policy of never asking for directions. Anyway, this step is really easy. You literally just cut off a piece of the cheesecloth, throw the stuff in, and tie it up. Off to a good start.]
• Pat the veal shanks dry with paper towels. Tie 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 any excess flour. [Again, self-explanatory. Our shanks came tied so I didn’t have to worry about that, though if you can tie your shoelaces you can handle this. And cover every inch of the shanks in flour, don’t cut corners here.]

• In a big, big pot, heat the vegetable oil until smoking. Add tied veal shanks to the searing hot pot and brown all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side. After browned, remove shanks and set aside. [I can’t tell you how many times I expressed my concern to Sherry about heating the oil until it smokes as the side of the oil container explicitly says not to let the oil smoke. However, she reassured me that as long as we keep an eye on it everything would be fine, advice I strongly recommend to anyone trying this recipe. But once you get the shanks in your worries about the original smoke will have long subsided as the smoke from the meat fills your kitchen. Just keep an eye on them, shift about every 3 minutes, and try to brown as much of the shanks as possible.]
• In the same pot, add the onion, carrot and celery to the pot of oil. Season with salt and pepper. Saute veggies until cooked, about 6-7 minutes.
• Stir in tomato paste. Return shanks to the pot and add the white wine. Bring liquid to boil and then simmer for about 6 minutes, until reduced by 1/2.
• Add the bouquet garni and 2 cups of the chicken stock. Now bring this to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for about 2 hours or until the meat pulls away from the bone when poked with a fork. The meat shouldn’t actually fall off the bone since it’s tied on. Check on the liquid level every 15 minutes, also flipping the shanks and adding more chicken stock as necessary. The level of cooking liquid should always be about 1/2 the way up the shank. [A lot of steps with a lot of ingredients here but actually pretty simple. All of the suggested times are pretty much dead on and a little common sense can go a long way. After adding the shanks and pouring in the wine, take note of where the liquid is in relation to the twine on the shanks and then you will know when it has reduced by half. As the Grandpa in 3 Ninjas advised, “Always mind your surroundings.”]

• Fish out the bouquet garni. Carefully remove the shanks from the pot (if all has gone right, the bone might slip out) and place over risotto. Cut off the twine and discard.
  
• Ladle the osso buco gravy from the pot over just the shanks (leave the risotto clear so the bright yellow glows). Garnish the entire dish with the parsley and lemon zest.

Cooking to Dean Martin’s “Sway” and Dion’s “Runaround Sue”

I won’t go into detail about how everything came out because, frankly, I really don’t know how to. However, I will say this; after having a couple bites each of the veal and the risotto, Sherry put down her fork and said this was better than the osso buco she had in Italy with her friend Veronica. I wasn’t quite sure how to respond assuming she was either: (a) so in love with me that she became delusional; or (b) was a really good liar. Either way, it made me feel pretty good and made worthwhile all the anxiety I had experienced before cooking for her.

Guys, if you take anything from this post it should be this: don’t be scared to take a chance. Cooking for your girlfriend can be a daunting task, especially if she is a foodie. But be willing to try cooking something like the risotto with scallops and wild mushrooms I made last year. Even if you end up completely screwing it up and having to toss it in the garbage and order delivery, she won’t soon forget that you cared enough to try. Trust me, the next time you’re late meeting her on the subway platform [me all the time], or get into a fight, or want to watch the game instead of Giada’s Weekend Getaway in Miami, you’ll come out on the winning end.

And ladies, no matter what, IT TASTES DELICIOUS!

A work of art