What can I say? It’s not even August and I am already suffering with an acute case of back-deck-cold-salads-and-grill-cuisine fatigue. Enough with the steaks, burgers, kebobs and tomatoes stuffed with tuna salad! I needed a “time out.” But I really wasn’t interested in diving into my snow-beating-against-the-window-panes recipes. What to do? I settled on a “tweener” veal recipe. There is a chameleon aspect to veal dishes. Veal takes on the “color” of ingredients, seasonings & methods of cooking used. I was interested in a dish that was direct, uncomplicated and without elaborate prep. Good flavor, but not heavy. And more to the point, a welcomed relief from my Weber grill.
For wine I could go either into a fuller white like a Pouilly-Fuissé or a Greco di Tufo, or a light to medium bodied red like a Pinot Noir or Beaujolais. I opted for a modest red Burgundy I had recently tried: the 2019 J.P. Marchand Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits. Over the years I have enjoyed many wines from this vigneron – including 1er Cru and Grand Cru wines — but none can surpass this wine in its pure enjoyment. A beguiling floral (violet) is a thorough delight to the senses. Smoooooth on palate, and a soft finish (and here I will steal one of my favorite lines from Johnny Carson), soft as a field mouse backing into a patch of pussy willow!
J.P. Marchand Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits ’19 (Burgundy, France )
The Marchand vineyard was started while Napoleon was still in power in 1813 . Head of the winery is Jean-Philippe Marchand proprietor and winemaker, and is the seventh generation of Marchands to guide the winery. This Burgundy is picked from vines that are minimum of 55 years old. It is classic in that the wine is dark in colour, with aromas of fresh red fruits when young, and candied fruit when matured, with occasional tones of gamey aromas. The flavour is firm, enhanced with a good acidity, firm tannins, and excellent balance.
EASY VEAL STEW
Ingredients
6 ounces of Tanqueray Gin
½ ounce of Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
3 olives stuffed with blue cheese
4 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2lbs of veal, trimmed and cut into stew-sized pieces
1 can of tomato sauce (80z)
½ cup of white wine
fresh chopped chives for garnish
salt & pepper to taste
Directions
1. Put gin and vermouth into a glass pitcher, fill with ice, stir vigorously while incanting, “You who know all, thank you for providing us juniper and all the other obscure ingredients responsible for creating this sacred liquid!” Strain into a pre-frozen Martini glass of admirable size. Skewer the olives on one of those tacky cocktail swords, place in glass. Immediately begin consuming. Now you can begin the food prep, and the cooking!
2. In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic; cook and stir ‘til onion is tender.
3. Add meat to the pot and brown evenly.
4. Stir in tomato sauce and white wine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 ½ hours, or until tender.
5. Garnish with fresh chopped chives.
n.b. I served the veal with buttered wide egg noodles. I think pappardelle would also work.
Non sequitur of the week From the film “What’s New Pussycat”: “My father, the most beloved gynecologist in Vienna, before they took him away on a morals charge for indecent exposure at the State Opera House, said, and I quote: “Please do not take me away, I will not do it again.”