My husband Edward will celebrate his birthday tomorrow. Sometimes we dine out on his special day, but since our wedding anniversary is three days later, I like to stay home and prepare his favorite foods, invite friends and toss a small party.
Edward is not a picky eater. He detests liver, lima beans and zucchini. He loves foie gras, all sorts of p�t�s and my homemade chopped liver. He enjoys fava beans and all squash that does not begin with the letter "Z."
Ask Edward to name his favorite dish and he will say osso bucco alla Milanese. It was rarely seen on restaurant menus 10 years ago, but today fine Italian restaurants everywhere have it on offer, especially during the cold-weather months. I’ve often enjoyed it while reviewing restaurants for the paper.
I always follow Marcella Hazan’s recipe when preparing osso bucco. I buy my veal shanks from Sonny D’Angelo in the Italian Market. D’Angelo, who also carries some of the best sausages in town, purchases his veal from Lancaster County farmers. The animals have been humanely raised, which makes a big difference to me.
We will begin dinner with champagne, of course. I rarely serve any type of nibble except for bowls of almonds and olives because I feel it is unwise to fill up before the "main event."
A winter salad, filled with hearty greens, will be our first course. We will follow the salad with potato gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce, since I will serve the osso bucco with peas and prosciutto di Parma instead of the traditional risotto. We will sip a fine Chianti Classico with the veal.
The birthday cake will be a rich vanilla pound cake, which is Edward’s favorite.
Here are recipes for an adult birthday dinner.
Winter Salad
Ingredients:
1 head escarole, rinsed and torn into bite-sized pieces
1 head Traviso, sliced on the diagonal
2 heads endive, rinsed and sliced on the diagonal
1 (16-ounce) bag baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
In a large bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice. Pour over the salad. Add kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Serves six.
Note from Phyllis: Traviso is in the radicchio family but looks like endive. It is named for a city in Northern Italy.
Potato Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Sauce
Ingredients:
1 pound potato gnocchi
4 ounces imported gorgonzola
1/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Directions:
Cook the gnocchi according to the directions on the package.
Place the gorgonzola, milk, butter and 2 teaspoons of salt in a pot large enough to later accommodate all the gnocchi. Turn the heat to low. Mash the gorgonzola with a wooden spoon and stir to incorporate it into the milk and butter. Cook for about one minute until the sauce has a creamy, dense consistency. Turn off the heat and set aside until you are ready to add the gnocchi.
When the gnocchi are finished cooking, turn on the heat under the sauce to low and stir in the heavy cream. Drain the gnocchi. Add the drained gnocchi and toss them with the sauce. Add all the grated cheese and mix it into the gnocchi. Serve immediately. Pass more Parmesan.
Serves six.
Note from Phyllis: I have said this before, but please only use gorgonzola imported from Italy. This great cheese hails from Lombardy and the domestic variety just does not measure up to its famous Italian cousin.
Osso Bucco
Adapted from The Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan
Ingredients:
6 meaty veal shanks
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
Flour for dredging the veal shanks
1 cup dry white wine
1 (15-ounce) can chicken stock
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their juice
1 (22-ounce) jar top-quality tomato sauce with basil
2 bay leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Wipe the veal shanks with paper towels and set aside.
Toss the vegetables together in a small bowl. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the vegetables and saut� for a few minutes, until the onion has become translucent. Remove the vegetables to a plate with a slotted spoon.
Dredge each veal shank in flour. Shake off excess flour. You may need to add another tablespoon or two of olive oil to the skillet. Saut� the veal shanks, in batches if necessary, over medium-high heat. You want to sear them on all sides. After each shank has been seared, placed the veal shanks in a large 4- or 5-quart casserole, preferably enamel on cast iron.
Add the vegetables to the pot. Add the wine, tomatoes with their juice, jar of tomato sauce, bay leaves, kosher salt and pepper. Bring the contents to a simmer on top of the stove. Using a large wooden spoon, make sure the veal shanks are totally covered with sauce. Cover the pot, place in the oven and cook for at least two hours, carefully turning the veal shanks from time to time. The veal should be fork-tender. Since all ovens are different, you may have to cook the veal a bit longer. If too much liquid has evaporated, add more white wine.
Serves six.
Peas with Prosciutto
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 fat cloves garlic, minced
2 thin slices prosciutto di Parma or pancetta
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen tiny peas
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and saut� until the garlic has just turned a soft golden brown. Do not burn the garlic. Add the prosciutto di Parma or pancetta and saut� for a few minutes on low heat.
Cook the peas in a large pot of boiling water, according to the directions on the package. Drain well.
Place the peas in a warm bowl. Add the garlic, prosciutto di Parma or pancetta and toss well. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Go easy on the salt; prosciutto di Parma and pancetta are a bit salty.
Serves six.
Note from Phyllis: Please only use imported prosciutto di Parma. The domestic variety is dark and very salty. Pancetta is unsmoked bacon from Italy and also imparts a delicious flavor when tossed with vegetables.
