I fully realize that I should have made New Orleans cuisine tonight, but fridge and pantry required otherwise, since my attempt to secure some good fish was foiled.
One of the many benefits of slow-cooking a big hunk of lamb in the oven for 7 hours is, of course, having both meat and liquid left over for future meals. The deep, complex flavors and meltingly tender texture are an incredibly luxurious jumping-off point, even for something as simple as pasta (which is what I made.) Some garlic and herbs, the meat and juice, a can of busted-up tomatoes, and a nice simmer to unite the new with the old, then tossed with penne and served with a side of steamed pak choi from the garden via the freezer. No picture, because you've seen a bowl of pasta before.
But MAN, the rich, elegant decadence of this sauce- hitting winter comfort and refined subtle chords at the same time- made me wish hard that I had cranked out some fresh fettucine to take this into the realm of pure perfection. Getting it most of the way there, though, with a noble assist, was a 2000 Thackrey sangiovese from the year it got no labels or capsules in between being named Centaur and Aquila. After the still-reticent schoolmarmy Brunello from last night, this wine is a wanton harlot. But, you know, classy, with a really great personality.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Ah, but if you had made your own noodles, you'd have had to skip the canned tomatoes.
(You see Bittman today?)
It's true, though had I thought it through properly I would have made pasta and grabbed a jar of our own tomatoes from the pantry. (Remember those? No botulism so far.)
I like to keep a commercial can around, though, because otherwise we'd have eaten through our stash in no time.
Eat your stash! It's the good stuff.
:)
You don't need to worry much about botulism with home canned tomatoes - they are pretty acid-y and that keeps the bugs from growing. I used to can tomato juice and as long as the jars sealed, life was good.
Cookie was concerned back when I was canning them. I used a little lemon juice so they're definitely fine.
Post a Comment