When I first started cooking, it was not by choice, but rather because I simply had to. We used to go out a lot for dinner, then my husband, when he noticed that, after all, I could whip up some delicious meals (something he never expected) started a new trend: after the first two bites, he would ask:"Can we make this?" We of course being the key word meaning ME!!
This opened a completely new way of cooking for me. I started to explore traditional recipes (this is what my husband mainly likes to order in restaurants), and slightly modifying them to better serve our needs (basically low fat content) while making sure that they taste the same and that I don't rob them of their "soul".
Since I was never officially taught how to cook something, and all my skills came from observation and trial and error, I realized that there was no "correct" way to cook a certain dish. I taught myself to taste my food, to discern its ingredients and ultimately know how it is made. This is precisely what I mean by "If you can eat, you can cook", because "eating" here means that once you are able to recognize and capture the ingredients, the "spirit", if I may say, of the food you're eating, you'll definitely be able to duplicate it.
You don't have to have the ideal ingredients or the perfect equipment or the skills for that matter, nor do you have to have a state of the art kitchen with miles of counter space (I live in New York, and my only counter space is a small bistro table occupied in part by a toaster and some canisters). So don't give into excuses and start cooking. Let's explore together some classic recipes with a twist, because even these dishes can be prepared the way you like, especially that each one of us has his own version of the classics.
EASY OSSO BUCO
This is one of the first dishes that prompted my husband to ask his now famous question "Can we make that?". My first reaction was I guess we could. But that was many years ago, and I had not yet perfected the skill of duplicating a recipe by just eating the result, so I had to look for help. I went directly to the source Julia Child. I had just bought her book and was sure that I would find the needed recipe there. And I did. I used it as a basis for my version. Since then I cooked it several times and this is the first time I have the chance to write it down. The first time I bought the meat for this recipe, I went to my butcher and got introduced to the whole part of the veal where the osso buco cut comes from: it's the upper part of the leg, just below the shoulder. The butcher can cut it for you in the thickness you want. You'll have a round bone surrounded by a uniform chunk of meat. You'll also get the rest of the cut which has a rather bigger bone with less meat around it. Don't throw this part away, or be scared of it: we'll use it later to make delicious stock.
Try to order one piece for each person you are feeding, plus two or three extra. Lately I found at the supermarket a prepackaged 4 pieces of osso buco. I bought them and they turned out to be as good as the ones I got from the butcher, although they needed a little bit more time to fully cook.
You'll need:
8 pieces of osso buco
4 or 5 stalks of celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 can whole tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
A handful of flour
Salt and pepper to taste
2 sprigs of rosemary
4 sprigs of thyme (if you use dried make it a tsp for each and crush it between your fingers)
1 bay leaf
Enough chicken stock to cover the meat
1 cup of red wine (optional)
Mix the flour with some salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Season the meat on both sides. Lightly dust the meat with the flour on all sides. Shake to remove extra flour. Heat the oil in a skillet, add the meat and brown on all sides. Transfer the meat to a dish, and (1) if using the wine, deglaze the skillet with it, if not, use some chicken stock to do it. Or (2) you can skip this step if you consider that the skillet is too "burnt" for your taste. So in a deep pot wet the onion with a tbsp of olive oil and cook until translucent. Add the garlic, stir, then add the vegetables, stir and let cook for a couple of minutes. Add the wine if you are using it and let reduce. Add the meat and the tomatoes breaking them with a spoon. Add the bay leaf and enough stock to barely cover the meat. Cover and cook on medium high heat until the vegetables are done. Turn off the heat and let cool enough to be able to handle it. Transfer the meat to a dish. Remove the bay leaf. If you have an immersion blender, go ahead and work the vegetables in the same pot until they are all blended and you get a thick sauce. You can also do it in a regular blender, working in batches. I prefer to have all the vegetables completely pureed, some like to keep part of the veggies whole. It's up to you. Return the meat to the pot and you may add some more stock if the sauce is too thick. Cover and let cook over low heat at least for 2 or 2 1/2 hours until the meat is fork tender and almost falls off the bone. Adjust seasoning at this stage, not before. If you add too much salt at the beginning, you'll risk having a salty dish when the sauce is reduced. You may also stir in a tbsp of tomato paste if you consider that the sauce is not "red" enough. I usually don't.
Serve with a side of cooked orzo and sauteed vegetables.
TIP: you can prepare this dish ahead of time, the day before you want to serve it, and then reheat it.
Also don't be afraid of having too much leftover sauce: the next day I add some more stock to it to dilute it a little bit and serve it as a rich tomato soup for lunch with a couple of toasted slices of bread.
COOKED ORZO
This is a nice side dish, a little bit different. As usual I don't boil it, like I don't boil rice. It cooks quickly and gives you a nice departure from the same old side dish. You'll need:
1 box of orzo
1tbsp olive oil, just enough to wet the orzo
Enough chicken stock to cook it, 1 or 2 cups
Salt and pepper to taste
In a non stick skillet wet the orzo with the olive oil and cook over medium high heat turning constantly until the orzo becomes golden brown. Add enough stock to barely cover it. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil until the liquid is absorbed. The orzo now is half way done. Add some more liquid and stir. Cover and let cook on low heat. Check again after 4 or 5 minutes. If it needs more liquid add a little more and keep cooking covered. It should be completely done in about 4 minutes or so.
SAUTEED VEGETABLES
You may know by now that I really don't like to boil things, at least not the veggies. I think they lose all the vitamins in the boiling water. So I opted for a different process. You can use it for many vegetables: peas, green beans, asparagus, carrots. They cook in minutes. You'll need:
2 or 3 scallions thinly sliced white part and a little green
1 tbsp olive oil
The vegetables of you choice: 1 bag of frozen peas, 1 package of asparagus or green beans or 4 carrots peeled and cut the size of baby carrots (or baby carrots)
Boiling water
Salt and pepper
In a non stick skillet cook the scallions with the oil and salt and pepper until translucent. Add the vegetables and stir to coat with the oil on all sides. Add some boiling water, just enough to have the whole skillet bubbling. Keep cooking on high uncovered, stirring every now and then. It will be done once the water is absorbed. Don't use cold water or the veggies will lose their color. Don't add too much water or you'll have soggy vegetables. Add just what you need, you can always add more if needed. Keep cooking until ALL the water is absorbed or else the veggies will be soggy. Remember that only carrots will need more water than the other vegetables. If you are using frozen vegetables, don't add the boiling water until all the liquid from the vegetables is completely absorbed; you may not need to add water at all.
