Q). Regarding the slow-cooked
Corsican lamb shoulder; should it be covered for any (or all) of the
cooking time? I really look forward to your column.
Sharon Rowland
Via e-mailA). Boy, oh boy,
slow-cooked lamb – is there anything better? To prepare the
Corsican-style lamb, first buy yourself a whole shoulder of lamb and
have the butcher saw it into 3" X 3" pieces. Next, rub each piece with
olive oil, salt and pepper, fresh minced garlic and fresh thyme. Throw
in some black olives and put into a slow oven (250 degrees) for 3 hours
or more. You want the meat to come out with that wonderful lamb flavor,
but still with plenty of moisture. Serve your lamb with |
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roasted potatoes and a big green salad. To
answer your question, cover it the whole time and, here’s a secret – add
some olive oil during the last hour. The succulent meat will fall off
the bone. While in Nice, France
last week, sat down to dinner in my favorito gnocchi and ravioli
restaurant L’Escalinada,
www.escalinada.fr with wife and traveling mates David and
Terice Clark. Who should sit down next to us but some fellow American
folks. The first thing they said was, “Oh my, we travel all the way to
France and sit next to Americans.” Hmmm; anyway, they said they were
from Missouri and had read an article in the New York Times about this
restaurant. I told them that we come especially for the gnocchi and
ravioli, I highly |
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recommended the same for them as some of the
best I’ve ever had. They ordered one of each and when they were mostly
finished, I asked if they thought I was right. The one woman said she
thought they were “okay”. “Oh, really? and how about you, Ethel?” Ethel
insisted that they were a lot like the ones served in Italian
restaurants in Missouri that they frequent. In fact, she added, “The ka-nochi
were actually pretty good.” We all said, “the WHAT?!” Oh, you mean the
gnocchi, oh constant consumer of Missouri Italian food. “Darling, it’s
pronounced without the gh.” She said, “You know what I mean.” “I sure
do, darling. By the way, did you know that pastrami is really Italian?”
Next… |
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Q). Hi John. We’ve never met, but
I've enjoyed dining at your restaurants over the (33) years that I’ve
lived here and read your Herald column regularly. I have a friend from
Texas coming to visit the West Coast for the first time next month. He
has never seen the Pacific Ocean! He wants to go out to lunch with a
small group and taste abalone for the first time. I was thinking a good
choice to fulfill this wish would be Domenico’s – am I right? Is abalone
on the lunch menu there?
Wendy Johnston – Camel Valley
A). Wendy, at one time fairly inexpensive and plentiful, wild
abalone is no longer available for commercial consumption. The only
abalone available is farm-raised. They are not as large as |
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wild although Monterey Abalone Company now
has different sizes from 31/2” to 71/2”. The beauty of farm-raised is
that, as they are raised in an enclosure, their muscle is not used much
making them more tender requiring less pounding. The flavor is the same
but the texture is much better. Abalone has now moved into the luxury
category as with caviar, Kobe beef, foie gras, etc. We serve the
farm-raised abalone at Blue Moon, Abalonetti and Domenico’s. Call ahead
to make sure they are available. If you want to try to do it yourself,
call the boys at Monterey Abalone Company on Wharf #2 (646-0350) and
they will harvest right out of the ocean and give you recipes. They also
ship live anywhere in the U.S. |
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Q). What exactly is Oysters Casino?
How do you prepare them and can you use clams?
Anthony Kirsch
CarmelA). I believe you
mean Clams Casino, Tone. But I see no reason why you couldn’t use
oysters, providing of course you use small to medium-sized oysters.
Oysters that are too large have a tendency to gag you so, that being
said, there are many recipes and the only thing they have in common is
bell pepper and cooked bacon. Out of six recipes, I found this to be the
best and can also be used for scallops and mussels – why not? The clams
should be small – 3/4 to 1-inch – much smaller than cherry stones. You
have to try hard to eat only 6. |
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Clams Casino Recipe
1 pound unsalted butter to
stand until softened at room temp.
1 whole sweet red pepper
1 whole green pepper, skin on, insides removed
2 cloves garlic – index finger size or if you’re a garlic freak, thumb
size
1 large sprig Italian flat leaf parsley
4 peeled shallots
zest of one lemon
tablespoon of horseradish
1 shot of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco
salt and pepper to taste |
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Put all ingredients, except butter, in a
blender (or food processor) and reduce to liquid or as close as
possible. Next, stir into warm room temperature butter until thoroughly
mixed. After all ingredients are mixed, taste for salt and pepper – add
as needed. Using lightly salted butter for this just will not do. Place
mixture in refrigerator to harden – if use is immediate – or put in
freezer if for future use. Open clams to half-shell and save juice.
Place calms, on the half shell, on a baking dish and pour sieved clam
juice over them. Place one teaspoon of |
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Casino Butter on each clam and a one-inch
square of bacon over that. Bake at 400 degrees until bacon is just
eatable, basting the calms while cooking. This is absolutely the best. |
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