Pork Cheeks with Balsamic and Onions (Guancialino di maiale all'aceto balsamico con composta di cipolle)

T.G.I.F! Do people still say that? Well I just did. Mind=blown?

Yesterday I finally got around to making a photo album for our trip to Italy (and one day soon I'll even finish retroactively blogging about it) and it got me reminiscing about the wonderful meals we had while we were there. One of my absolute favorite meals that we had was at a tiny place in Modena (actually pronounced Mode-a-nah), which is famous for balsamic vinegar (duh) and to die for cuisine.  I mean, absolutely, to die for... and that is saying a lot considering my taste buds were completely shot from the monster cold that I caught two days into our trip AND I was also in a post-halloween-in-Venice hungover (Lemon Drops have Vitamin C, right?). In fact, my cold-over was so bad that I almost avoided dinner all together! Thank God for my husband and his amazing immune system because, as much as I was ready for a hot bath and a cozy bed, Richard convinced me that I was pathetic and that the phrase "when in Rome" also applied in Modena.

So, I pulled my self together and we found ourselves at Hostaria Carducci in the Centro Historico. This Hostaria is a charming little restaurant on a cobble street, off the beaten path, where the only traffic was locals zipping by on their bicycles and the only sound, other than Rich incessantly practicing his Italian, was the choir singing at the gorgeous church down the street. I know... sickeningly wonderful! Just like this restaurant, where the menu was small, the ambiance was perfect, and there were gallons of balsamico in every corner... And when I say balsamico, I do not mean balsamic vinegar, but "aceto balsamic traditzionale" which is NOT the same thing. Balsamico is to balsamic as truffles are to mushrooms. Balsamcio goes on everything from steak to vanilla gelato and strawberries... If you haven't had it, click the link above right this instant, learn about it, buy it, eat it... and thank me. And please, for the love of God, do not pour it into olive oil and dip your bread in it, or Italy will deport you.  

So, after a glass of wine and a liter or so of balsamico, I ordered "guancialino di maiale all'aceto balsamico con composta di cipolle..." I know, quite the mouthful. Let's try that again... I ordered "the pork cheeks in a balsamico and onion compote." Now, when I say that this is one of the best meals that I had in Italy, I am not kidding. The pork was melt in your mouth tender (which is ironic because it pretty much is pork mouth). The balsamico reduction was like caramel. And the onions were caramelized perfectly. I think that it actually took me over an hour to eat my meal that night because I spent 10 minutes savoring every bite. At the end of our meal, I actually asked the chef how it was prepared and he introduced me to a little technique called Sous Vide. Yup, for all of you comic book fans out there, this is the origin story for my sous vide. You know, the one my wonderful husband bought me for Christmas, which I can imagine was only for the sole purpose of recreating this dish. (You can read more about Sous Vide and what on earth it is HERE.)

So, you guessed it, this is my version of the sous vide guancialino di maiale all'aceto balsamico that I had in Modena. While they are very inexpensive, pork cheeks are not easy to find. If you are in Los Angeles, you can find them at Lindy and Grundy in West Hollywood or McCalls Meat & Fish Co. in Los Feliz (where they also have jambon iberico, the balsamico of ham.) If you are not fortunate enough to live near these wonderful butchers, you can cross your fingers and give your local butcher a call... but your grocery store definitely WILL NOT have it. And, since not everyone is fancy and can pull a sous vide out of their cabinet, you can find the braise version of this recipe below. You are very, very welcome. 

Sous Vide Method
Ingredients:
6 large pork cheeks, extra fat and cartilage removed
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
4 whole cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 cup of pearl onions, peeled
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (get the good stuff!)
1/2 cup chicken broth
Fresh parsley
Salt and pepper

Method:
Preheat the water bath to 176 degrees.

Place the pork cheeks and other ingredients into a vacuum sealed bag and place in the preheated water bath for 8 hours. 

Once cooked, keep the pork cheeks in the bag and place them in an ice bath to cool. Do not remove them from the bag until you are ready to serve. 

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, brown the onions for about 8 minutes or until caramelized. Add the balsamic vinegar and the wine and deglaze for a few minutes until reduced. 

Open the vacuum bag and add the cooked pork cheeks and the liquid from the bag to the skillet. Add the chicken stock. Gently simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the cheeks are cooked through and the sauce has reduced to a thick, sticky consistency. 

Adjust the seasoning, if needed. I served the guanciale with polenta and topped them with freshly chopped parsley. 

Braising Method
Ingredients:
6 large pork cheeks, extra fat and cartilage removed
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
4 whole cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 cup of pearl onions, peeled
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (get the good stuff!)
4 cups of chicken chicken broth
Fresh parsley
Salt and pepper

Method:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. 

In a medium sized dutch oven, heat the oil and brown the pork cheeks. Add the garlic, bay leaf, rosemary, and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook in the oven for 2 hours or until very tender. Set the cheeks aside. 

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, brown the onions for about 8 minutes or until caramelized. Add the balsamic vinegar and the wine and deglaze for a few minutes until reduced.

Add the cooked pork cheeks and the liquid from the bag to the skillet. Add the chicken stock. Gently simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the cheeks are cooked through and the sauce has reduced to a thick, sticky consistency. 

Adjust the seasoning, if needed. I served the guanciale with polenta and topped them with freshly chopped parsley. 

White Wine Braised Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014....

Another lovely winter day with a brisk high of 84!!! Are you kidding me, Los Angeles?!?! It's like Jimmy Fallon said, the only two seasons we have in Los Angeles are Pilot and Awards.

Some of my favorite things about "Awards Season (aka Winter)" are comforting soups, slow cooked braises, and cozy comfort food. Nothing warms you up on an 80 degree day like beef stew. Ha. Right about now I am getting in bikini shape, thinking maybe we should fire up the grill for some burgers!

This weather is stupid. I love living in southern CA, and I LOVE that we never have to shovel snow (well, that Rich never has to) or bundle up in 14 layers (3-4 is nice though, JCrew agrees with me)...  But, we are getting close to mid July temperatures while the rest of the country is dealing with the "arctic vortex/frozen tundra/other thing Al Roker made up" nonsense.

So... what to do, what to do...

Make a braise... I just don't want to feel left out, ya know? The sun may be shining outside, but my house can be filled with the delicious aromas of roasting chicken and winter scented Yankee Candles. With just a few tweaks, you can make a perfect, lightened up version of this quintessential Awards Season dinner.

Here's the plan: Ditch the rich, heavy tasting red wine for white wine. Bonus: now you can drink that bottle of Brunello you were going to cook with. And since awards season will soon give way to "Bikini Season" (which is the season Rich gives me "awards" for...) leave out the bacon and veggies and add olives and preserved lemons and voila... you've got a lighter, bikini friendly, take on a classic coq au vin.

White Wine Braised Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Ingredients:
2 sprigs thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves)

1 bay leaf

Small handful of parsley leaves, chopped, plus a few stems

6 skin-on chicken legs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

10 cloves of garlic, peeled

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons flour

3 cups white wine

2 cups chicken stock or broth

16 green, briny olives

2 small preserved lemons, cut into ⅛-inch thick rounds (**recipe below)

**Whole Foods usually has preserved lemons in the olive bar section, but if they let you down (like they did me yesterday...) you can use this recipe in a pinch.  Slice two lemons into 1/8 inch rounds. Place in a glass baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, cover with water, and bake at 250 degrees for three hours. 

Method:

Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat a dutch oven (or large braising dish) and add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When hot, brown the chicken, skin-side down for about 4 minutes until brown and crispy. Turn and brown the other side. Set the chicken aside and add the garlic cloves to the pan and sauté until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the garlic to a bowl and set aside.

Make a roux. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and the flour to the pan and whisk over low heat until golden brown, about 1 minute. Add the wine and bring it to a boil, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to pull up the brown bits. Continue to cook until the wine is reduced by 1/3. Add the stock, browned garlic cloves, bay leaf, olives and thyme sprigs to the pan. Tuck the chicken, skin-side up, into the sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 45 minutes or so. You cannot rally over cook this dish... which is the best part of a braise!

Preheat the oven t o 425 degrees. Place the chicken legs on a large baking sheet along with the preserved lemon slices. Remove the garlic, olives, and herbs from the sauce and set them aside. Then, bring the sauce to a boil and reduce it until it is a nice consistency and coats the back of a spoon. Whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and season to taste with salt and fresh cracked pepper.

While the sauce is reducing (it took about 25 minutes for me), put the chicken and lemons in the oven to brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer the garlic, olives, and browned chicken back into the reduced sauce. Place the preserved lemon slices on the chicken and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

I served this over oven roasted potatoes and it was perfect.

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Guinness Beer Braised Beef Brisket (it's a mouthful!)

Happy Monday. According to British researchers the first Monday of the year is statistically the MOST depressing day of the year. But not for me. For me, it's a day of triumph. Over mind, matter and meat.

You know those days when you are quietly keeping to yourself in your miserable post-wine-induced-couch-coma, just watching a little food porn, while waiting for delivery pizza? Don't lie. We both know that you do. Anyways. Food porn. You know what it is. I know what it is. And, a few days ago, while I was minding my own business in the lovely aforementioned scenario, I got really, really food horny. Which, according to Rich, looks very similar to the "real thing" and is very confusing for him. And yup, I went there. 

We were watching some wonderfully over-produced show where a semi-overweight man was stuffing his face with tender, fatty BBQ (it is much "food-sexier" than it sounds...) when I got the overwhelming desire to cook the biggest piece of meat that my butcher could cut for me. I'd pick it up early in the morning and spend the next 36 hours with it. You know, one of those day dates that turns into dinner and "stuff."  So, our butcher got a visit from his favorite ginger and I headed home with a nice, big piece of meat. (Note: Rich said this is the one of the only times he's okay with me "talking about spending so much time with another piece of meat." He's dirty. So are you. Get your mind out of the gutter)

I think that brisket might be the most underrated cut of meat... EVER. It is pretty much perfect in every way if you can give it the kind of love and attention it demands. You have to warm it up nice and slow...to temperature! Jeez, now I'm being dirty. Oh well, this recipe deserves my unrequited lust. Brisket needs to be cooked low and slow and pretty much wooed into the juicy, tender perfection it's capable of. And since it's winter and the smoker is off for now, I decided the best woman to guide me through the process was one of my personal favorites, Suzanne Goin. So, I broke out my Sunday Suppers at Luque's cookbook and found a superb recipe that I followed pretty much to the 'T.' I paired the brisket with beluga lentils and sautéed broccolini with garlic and shallots and everything turned out absolutely perfectly. Plus, the best part of my day today was eating last night's leftovers for lunch. Absolutely DELICIOUS!

*Note that you need to marinate the brisket with the dry rub at least 24 hours before cooking. You can also cook the brisket 24 hours in advance for a dinner party. It can be served hot or chilled. Ok, that's all of the notes... now to the good stuff...

Ingredients:
1 beef brisket, about 5-6 pounds with a 1/2 inch fat cap. Do not have your butcher remove the fat cap, it is essential for moist and flavorful cooking. 
2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves, crumbled
10 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
3 chilies de arbol, crumbled with your hands (do NOT touch your face after... ouchie...)
2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons coarse salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into thirds
2 stalks of celery, cut into thirds
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
3 cups Guinness Beer
4 cups beef stock

Method:
Combine the thyme leaves, garlic, bay leaves, chilies de arbol, and cracked pepper and rub the spice mixture onto all sides of the brisket. Place the brisket in a shallow baking dish, cover, and refrigerate over night. 

Take the brisket out of the refrigerator 1 hour prior to cooking it to bring it to room temperature. 30 minutes before, season the meat with salt. 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 

Heat the olive oil over high heat in the largest sauté pan you have. Scrape the garlic and chiles off the brisket and reserve them. When the oil is shimmering, add the brisket and sear well on both sides—you may have to do one end of the brisket at a time, depending upon the diameter of your pan. It will take about 8 minutes per side, a bit more if you’re searing only a portion of the meat at one time. Once the meat is well browned, transfer to a large roasting pan or dutch oven, big enough to accommodate the entire piece of meat.

Add the vegetables to the sauté pan over medium high heat and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until they’re nicely caramelized. Stir often with a spoon to scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pan. 

Add the reserved garlic and chiles and cook another minute or two more. Turn down the heat and add the vinegar and the beer to the pan. Bring to a strong simmer and reduce the liquid by one-quarter. Add the stock and bring the mixture to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan again to loosen any crusty bits on the bottom. 

Add the vegetables to the pan with the brisket, tucking them around the meat, and then carefully pour the hot stock mixture over the meat. Cover the pan tightly with foil—use two layers if it doesn’t have a lid, or one layer if your pan has a lid. 

Braise in the oven for 5 to 6 hours. The meat will be done when a fork slides into it easily.

When the meat is done, remove from the oven.  Let it cool in its juices for 30 minutes, then remove the whole brisket from the sauce to a baking sheet. Allow it to cool completely, and cover and refrigerate if you’re not serving right away.

Strain the braising juices into a saucepan, pressing down on the vegetables to extract all their liquid. Chill the liquid, and when cold, remove the top layer of fat.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Slice the cold brisket against the grain, and put back into a large roasting pan. Heat the braising sauce (you may want to allow it to reduce a bit to thicken—that’s up to you) and pour a bit over the meat enough to just cover the bottom of the pan and moisten the meat thoroughly. Put the roasting pan in the oven and cook about 20 minutes until the meat begins to get crispy on top. Serve with horseradish creme fraiche (recipe below.)

Horseradish Creme Fraiche
1 cup creme fraiche (or sour cream, but creme fraiche is preferred)
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
Coarse salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Mix ingredients together. Serve over brisket. Even if you are not a fan of horseradish, this is quite possibly the most delicious sauce ever. 

Serve. Enjoy. Brag. Eat leftovers.