I Cook Therefore I Am

Here're a few quick recipes I have enjoyed in the past month.

Original recipe calls for Brisket:

1 bottle Pale Ale beer
1 package Lipton Onion Soup mix (dry)
1/2 bottle to full bottle of Del Monte Chili Sauce

1 huge hunk of meat.

Original recipe calls for brisket and we used tri-tip. I don't much care for brisket. The slab 'o meat was probably 3 or 4 pounds; I couldn't swear to it. You mix the chili sauce and onion soup mix into a paste and pour the beer on top of the meat. We lined a pan with foil while preheating oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook four hours. Yep. Four hours. It will fall apart. The taste is sweet and luscious. Leftovers can be made into tacos (that's what we did).

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Tonight's New Year's dinner delayed (went to neighbors for prime rib last night) was Veal Scallopini.

As I have said before I am lucky enough to work by one of the best butcher shops I've ever shopped at in my life. Tip Top Meats in Carlsbad, California, is a German meat market and delicatessen that serves amazing meals and has a butcher counter I adore. Which, given my scattered history is saying something. I picked up bacon and veal for the New Year. Bacon was breakfast New Year's Day. Tonight was the veal.

I adapted a few various recipes to make this dinner -- it sounds more complicated than it really is and it's what I consider a fast meal.

One pound of veal cutlets sliced for scallopini
Flour
Paprika
Butter
Fresh lemon

I use waxed paper but you can use a large Ziploc bag. Trim off any fat and lightly pound the meat thinner. I use a mallet but you can use a rolling pin or a thick bottle (softly!!! Veal is tender to start). What you're doing is breaking down the fat in the meat and tenderizing.

I put the flour on a plate and a few dashes of paprika to flavor the meat. Some folks add garlic powder or salt but I find that too overpowering. In a large skillet melt two tablespoons butter and drop heat to middle range. Carefully put the veal in the melted butter. Sizzle six to seven minutes. You can squeeze a fresh lemon over top; I prefer to squeeze the lemon and strain before pouring over the veal. I put the lemon on the meat before I flip it. Veal cooks quickly. Watch it to make sure you don't burn.

Pull the cooked veal off and put it on a plate.

Now here's the tricky part. I multi-task well from years in kitchen. Not everyone does that. While I prepped the veal I boiled the water for the pasta (the quick cook veal 4 minutes) and microwaved the broccoli in a bag for 4 min. You can do it however suits you. The sauce is trickier. I had a recipe for mushroom, sour cream and onion sauce. Since I had mushrooms last night and spaced buying more for tonight's dinner I did this.

Tablespoon butter in saucepan melted.

I pulled it off the heat and added two tablespoons minced onions and lightly browned them and then added four tablespoons sour cream. Recipe called for quarter pound of sliced mushrooms. I lowered heat and warmed the sauce. Serve with veal.

Enjoy!