On Saturday, January 26, 2013 5:25:50 PM UTC-6, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 26/01/2013 5:25 PM, jmcquown wrote:
>
> > Caught part of an interesting cooking show on PBS this afternoon.
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> > 'Secrets of a Chef': Hubert Keller
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> >
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> > http://www.hubertkeller.com/recipes/...-Episode-204-A
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> >
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> >
>
> > The addition of fresh cut green beans towards the end of the sauce
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> > looked wonderful. Here's the recipe:
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> >
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> >
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> > Braised Lamb Shanks Provencal
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> >
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> > 4 lamb shanks, approximately 1-1/4 pound each
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> > 3 tablespoons olive oil
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> > 2 stalks celery, chopped
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> > 1 cup pearl onions, peeled
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> > 6 baby carrots, peeled and chopped (or 2 regular carrots)
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> > 1 tablespoon olive oil
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> > 1 cup white wine
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> > 1-1/2 cup tomatoes, peeled, seeded, diced (or 1 14-oz can diced
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> > tomatoes, drained)
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> > 1/2 cup orange juice
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> > Zest of 1 orange
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> > Zest of 1 lemon
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> > 1 sprig fresh parsley
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> > 1 sprig fresh thyme
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> > 1 2-inch piece celery
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> > 3 large basil leaves
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> > 1 2-inch piece leek
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> > 2 cups chicken stock
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> > 2 cups green beans, cut in half
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> > 1 cup edamame beans
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> > 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
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> > Optional: 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
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> >
>
> > Preheat oven to 350� F.
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> >
>
> > Season both sides of the lamb shanks with salt and pepper.
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> >
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> > In 5-quart soup or casserole pot, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over high
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> > heat until almost smoking. Add shanks and sear 5 minutes on each side
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> > until golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.
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> >
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> > Add celery, onions, and carrots to same pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil..
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> > Saut� vegetables for 4 to 5 minutes, or until they begin to take on a
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> > light brown color.
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> >
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> > Add wine, 1/2 cup tomatoes, orange juice, orange and lemon zests to pan,
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> > and cook for 5 minutes.
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> >
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> > Assemble a bouquet garni by placing the parsley, thyme, basil and 2-inch
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> > celery piece inside the 2-inch leek piece, and tying tightly with twine..
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> >
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> > Add the stock and bouquet garni to the pan. Return shanks to the pan and
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> > bring liquid to a light simmer. The liquid should not come up more than
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> > halfway up the meat.
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> >
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> > Cover and place in oven for 3 to 3 1/2 hours turning shanks every 30
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> > minutes until shank meat is very tender and falling off the bone.
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> >
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> > Transfer shanks to serving platter and remove the bouquet garni. Cover
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> > the meat with foil to keep warm until the sauce is finished.
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> >
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> > Place the pan with the juices back over medium-high heat and bring to a
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> > simmer. Add the green beans, and cook 4-5 minutes or until tender but
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> > still crisp.
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> >
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> > Add remaining 1 cup tomato, edamames, and chopped parsley. Heat throughout.
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> >
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> > Generously spoon bean mixture and sauce over the shanks and garnish with
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> > sprigs of fresh rosemary, if desired.
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> >
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>
> Interesting.
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>
>
> I know that some people whine about criticism of recipes, but I have a
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> few issues with this one. First of all, it's too many ingredients.
>
> Lamb shanks are good and don't need 20 more ingredients.
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>
>
> Other issues:
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> Baby carrots? why not just carrots.... baby carrots if yo have them
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>
>
> Pearl Onions..... not n my neck of the woods. I haven't seen them
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> forever. I had a fantasy that I found a supply of frozen pearl onions.
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> No such luck.
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>
>
> White wine?????? with lamb?
>
That's the only part I didn't think ridiculous. If I were to marinate lamb in wine, it would be white. If I were to drink wine with lamb, it would be white. I do neither, but if I had to.
>
> A 2 inch piece of celery????... and a 2 inch piece of leek? It doesn't
>
> seem like enough celery to even matter, and I am not going to go out and
>
> get leeks to use 2" of one.
>
I couldn't have said it better myself, except for the wine part.
> It is probably good, but it looks too anal for me.
The whole "recipe" thing is pretty bullshit. I mean, you look at them for ideas, but some of the best recipes are three--four--five ingredients.
Recipes are great for baking. My wife baked a lovely cake today. She followed the instructions in The Cake Bible, and it turned out perfect.
For entrees, the whole *teaspoon of this, half cup of that*, seems absurd. Ditto, a zillion ingredients. A decent cook should just have a feel, and a dish should not have an exact balance of seasonings, and calling for tiny amounts of this and that is unworkable.
--Bryan