We were flipping through the tv channels yesterday and stumbled upon "Adventures with Ruth." Ruth Reichl and guest Diane Wiest were visiting Venice and taking a cooking class from Enrica Rocca. Well, every single thing they made had us salivating, but we were particularly tantalized by the Pork Spare Ribs.
Ok, I'm not a big rib fan, but these looked so delicious that we had to try them. So try them we did. I don't know if it's my lack of skill (though I followed the recipe to the T for once) or just preference, but I didn't care for them as much as I thought I would -- not as flavorful as I had imagined. But maybe you'll like them.
(Note 100125): In the sober light of morning, I'd recommend draining off the excess fat after browning the ribs and before adding the wine and water. This would result in a far less greasy, much more flavorful dish. Maybe if I wasn't testing out the wine so much last night, I would have followed my instinct. Maybe next time...)
(Note 100125): In the sober light of morning, I'd recommend draining off the excess fat after browning the ribs and before adding the wine and water. This would result in a far less greasy, much more flavorful dish. Maybe if I wasn't testing out the wine so much last night, I would have followed my instinct. Maybe next time...)
What did turn out surprisingly well was an impromptu salad, inspired by the farmers market. Ray urged me to try a fresh English pea, which I kind of shrugged off. But then I tried one, and was so surprised by the sweetness, the burst of fresh green. We bought some on the spot and decided to eat them raw.
I had also bought a bulb of fennel, fresh spearmint and we had an oro d' blanco grapefruit left from last week. I sliced the fennel thinly, segmented the grapefruit, slivered the mint, and added a few sprinkles of the fresh peas. No dressing, just the juice of the grapefruit. It was deliciously refreshing.
Another pleasant surprise was polenta. I'd tried to make polenta once before and thought it was horrible, not attempting it since. Well, the rib recipe recommended polenta with the dish, and my dear friend Kathy had just given me a copy of Scott Conant's New Italian Cooking. I flipped through and saw his Creamy Polenta recipe and decided to try it.
With a big modification: Instead of the cream and milk, I substituted rice milk and left out the butter. I'm sure it's beyond luscious with all the goods, but our systems couldn't handle it with the pork, too. But the modified polenta ended up so light, creamy and delicious that I'll definitely be making this again. It does take a while to cook, but it was worth it. But I hope you try it either way. Cheers!
2 comments:
Hi Unja:
Thanks for the recipes and the commentary. I know what you mean about the ribs. You do the work to a tee but the taste just isn't there. Happens to me all the time...well not ALL...but it has happened!!
By the way, I had your blog link on my "SAUCY LIST" but had to remove it. It just wouldn't connect...? This is correct address? http://unjapark.blogspot.com ?
Perplexed Saucy!
Thanks! And yes, that's the right url. Maybe Blogspot's being a bit temperamental. Thanks for trying, though.
Yeah, it's disappointing when things don't quite come out how you expect. Part of me wants to try it again to make sure I didn't mess it up and end up missing something wonderful. But there sure are a lot of other delicious things to try, so cheers to whatever's next on your list. :)
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