Short Ribs Alla Genovese

News and Fun Facts Last week’s newsletter was about getting tired of cooking. Today’s is about inspiration. The website Yummly is a great place to get inspired. It’s chock full of recipes from many sources and famous chefs.   Check out some of those and, at a click of a button, order the groceries for your recipe to be delivered right to your door. ! The online Zoom pie class went well so now I’ve posted a bread making class which some of my readers have suggested. Bread making is indeed a long process so I’ll do some hocus pocus to capture the key points in an hour lesson.

Top Tip While watching “The French Chef” Julia Child shows an easy way to peel and prepare those delicious mini onions aka pearl onions. In class we slaved away at the peeling when we made this dish a few months ago. She makes it look so easy. Just toss the onions in boiling water to loosen the skin. Put a cross mark with a knife on the root end to allow them to cook well but not fall apart during the cooking. If using a French recipe calling for bacon it means fresh bacon which is hard to come by in the U.S. The workaround is to blanche your American smoked bacon in water for a minute or so then use it as specified in the recipe.

What I’m Reading I’m reading the A16 restaurant cookbook, “A16 Food and Wine”.   A16 in San Francisco is well known for their pizza A16’s menu focuses on the cuisine of Campania, Italy. A16 is well known for its wood-fired pizza. Other dishes include braised octopus, fettucchine made with black pepper served with pig’s trotters, sirloin steak and goat chop.

What I’m Watching TIt’s been fun to watch the iconic show “The French Chef” by Julia Child. I didn’t see her drop a chicken on the floor and an not entirely sure if that really happened or if that’s a cooking myth. In her “Beef in Red Wine” episode watch closely to see her “oops” moments. I saw an onion roll out of her hands onto the table, she clangs the lid on the counter and spills a bit of the sauce. It was refreshing to see even Julia isn’t perfect. Just fun, write to me if you see others. What is also funny is her old fashioned electric stove with ringed burners and her usage of basic mined salt in a cylindrical cylinder.   What is also a bit funny is that it’s funded by Polaroid and Hillsboro coffee. Now when is the last time you heard mention of those companies?

What I’m Cooking The A16’s Short Rib recipe was a crowd favorite. Okay, I’m getting a bit ambitious as my “crowd” was just our immediate family of 5, including my 92 year old mother. She loved it so much she packed up a few to take home. It’s not too challenging and it’s so worth the time hanging around the house while it cooks for 2 ½ hours in the oven.   The sauce with it’s red wine vinegar and reduced red wine is a must so don’t skip out on it. It’s seriously good.