Sunday Supper

Sunday was a perfectly lovely day. Moonsong rang early and rescheduled to clean and so I was able to kick back and read. How delightful. A nap was tossed in plus doing sheets and getting things in order for the coming week. Markie was due at 5pm to make dinner. He said he had pulled some lamb shanks out of the freezer and oh my what a treat was in store. But first up was cocktails.

I rather enjoyed trying the Blueberry vodka with diet tonic over ice. Cool and refreshing for a change of pace and since the temps had topped off just over 90 it was spot on. After a couple of those and enjoying the smells of the kitchen as Markie prepared dinner, it was time to enjoy the Atkins friendly version of Osso Bucco. Mind you I say this as I forgot to take a picture last night and the image I found that was closest to what Markie presented is on a bed of carrots. We did not have them. Mind you we did not miss them. Add a lovely salad with blue cheese dressing and viola, a great Sunday Supper. For those that have not gotten to enjoy Osso Bucco, it is an amazing melt in your mouth, fall off the bone dinner. But the sauce, oh my goodness and Markie was clever to trade out ingredients and make it so the dish was basically carb-free! Mind you, I loved the sauce so much I opted out of wine with dinner and enjoyed a couple of glasses of the sauce. There was nothing to dredge it in and so drinking it was the only option. The juniper berries added flavor and the bits of burnt garlic made it tasty. Life is not always difficult.

For those who would like to try, here is a recipe:

Osso Buco
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Prep Time:15 min Cook Time:2 hr 0 min
Level: Easy Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 dry bay leaf
2 whole cloves
Cheesecloth
Kitchen twine, for bouquet garni and tying the veal shanks
3 whole veal shanks (about 1 pound per shank), trimmed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All purpose flour, for dredging
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 small carrot, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 stalk celery, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Directions
Place the rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and cloves into cheesecloth and secure with twine. This will be your bouquet garni.

For the veal shanks, pat dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Veal shanks will brown better when they are dry. Secure the meat to the bone with the kitchen twine. Season each shank with salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge the shanks in flour, shaking off excess.

In a large Dutch oven pot, heat vegetable oil until smoking. Add tied veal shanks to the hot pan and brown all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove browned shanks and reserve.

In the same pot, add the onion, carrot and celery. Season with salt at this point to help draw out the moisture from the vegetables. Saute until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Return browned shanks to the pan and add the white wine and reduce liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and 2 cups of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Check every 15 minutes, turning shanks and adding more chicken stock as necessary. The level of cooking liquid should always be about 3/4 the way up the shank.
Carefully remove the cooked shanks from the pot and place in decorative serving platter. Cut off the kitchen twine and discard. Remove and discard bouquet garni from the pot. Pour all the juices and sauce from the pot over the shanks. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon zest.