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A Birthday Dinner

Yum Community — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 03:14:52 PDT

Lauren recently enjoyed the most delicious-looking birthday dinner. Here, she tells us about the courses!

Any birthday should always involve the person's favorite foods to celebrate, so when it was my great uncle's big day it was time for sweetbreads, veal, and cheesecake, of course not all together! My chef brother-in-law prepared the first two amazing courses and the cheesecake was picked up from Cheesecake Factory and jazzed up with some local and fresh raspberries! A great party and celebration for everyone!

Have you celebrated a birthday with a memorable meal? Share it with us in the YumSugar Community.

Do You Eat Veal?

Katie Sweeney — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:56:09 PDT

At the Food & Wine Classic last weekend in Aspen, I attended a lunch that was hosted by Stella Artois and cooked by Top Chef All-Stars champ Richard Blais. One of the best dishes was the final course: crispy veal cutlets with pickled cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, and buttermilk dressing. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the tender, succulent veal, which is a cut of meat that comes from younger cows. While I eat lamb all the time, I rarely eat veal, but after tasting Blais's cutlets, I might start ordering it more. They were awesome! How about you?

Monday's Leftovers: Veal With Mushroom Sherry Sauce

YumSugar — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 09:15:04 PDT

Follow up on last night's classic veal number by making an equally sumptuous Italian specialty. Use leftover steaks, pounded thin, to make a variation of the renowned dish known as veal marsala. Rather than following a traditional recipe, which calls for marsala wine, flour, and cream, try a lighter, more contemporary version with sherry. The fortified wine, when combined with mushrooms and a bit of mustard for emulsification, transforms into a fragrant, boozy sauce that coats the tender meat. Don't care for veal? Try using chicken scaloppine instead. For the recipe, keep reading.

Sunday Dinner: Veal Piccata

YumSugar — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 06:30:44 PDT

Now that I know where to find humanely-raised veal, I'm going to start experimenting with this meat more in the kitchen. Tonight, I'm whipping up an Italian classic, veal piccata.

It starts with flattened meat that's flashed in the pan, then served with a sauce made from butter, capers, lemon, and pan drippings. If you're not a fan of veal, you can substitute another type of protein, such as turkey paillards or thinly pounded pork tenderloin.

Serve the piccata over a bed of steamed egg noodles, and a crisp white wine on the side. For a gourmet Italian dinner in minutes, read on.

Consumers Warm Up to Humanely Raised Veal

YumSugar — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:50:04 PDT

While the vegetarian trend has continued to rise, a meat movement is also gaining popularity. The latest subject in sustainable agriculture? Pasture-raised veal. Compared to conventionally raised veal, rose veal, as it's been dubbed, is leaner, with a blush color.

Eating veal has long been an animal-welfare issue, with opponents pointing to calves confined in stalls so tiny that livestock are unable to move. But producers of pasture-raised veal argue that the meat comes from hormone- and antibiotic-free calves who drink their mother's milk, consume pasture grass, and freely roam pastures.

Animal-rights activists are against the slaughter of young animals who have strong maternal bonds - yet according to veal proponents, calves are the same age as lamb and older than pigs when they're slaughtered. Where do you stand? Would you be more likely to eat pasture raised veal?

Definition: Saltimbocca

YumSugar — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:00:10 PST

Saltimbocca
Popular in Italy and especially Rome, saltimbocca is a dish made traditionally with veal cutlets but sometimes with chicken or pork. The meat is usually pounded thin and wrapped in or topped by prosciutto and sage leaves.

Often cooked in white wine and butter or oil, the veal is then seasoned with its own sauce and sometimes capers. Saltimbocca means "jumps in the mouth" in Italian.

Source

The Leanest Cuts of Meats Revealed

FitSugar — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:30:00 PST

Sick of chicken yet? You're not alone, but how does someone who's trying to watch her calories and fat intake pick a lean type of meat? I found a basic breakdown on the leanest meat choices on Yahoo and I thought it would be helpful in deciding which meat meets your needs. Here are the highlights:

Bison: We hope you’re ready to expand your dinner horizons because bison (aka buffalo) is the big winner. (Deer and elk are right on its hooves, er, heels.) Believe it or not, bison has slightly less fat and fewer calories (2 grams and 122 calories per 3-ounce serving) than skinless light meat chicken (3g and 144 cals). Plus, it’s a terrific source of protein (24g) and iron. The taste? Similar to beef, though slightly sweeter and richer.

Bonus: With bison (wild game, too), you aren't exposed to the cancer-linked growth hormones and antibiotics administered to farm-raised cows.

Beef and Veal: Beef and veal are skinniest when they’re loin or round cuts, such as beef bottom sirloin (6g fat, 150 cals) and top round veal (3g, 128 cals). Avoid veal cutlets and breast meat.

Pork: Choose leg cuts, such as ham, or loin, as in boneless sirloin pork chops or top loin chops (both have about 7g fat and 170 cals).

Lamb: Try cuts from the shank half of the leg (if labels aren’t clear, ask the butcher). Well-trimmed shank-half cuts have 5-6 grams fat and about 155 calories per serving.

Fit's Tip: Meat is generally higher in cholesterol and saturated fat than chicken, fish or vegetables, so use the choices above for those times when you just need some red meat.

Source

Get to Know the 5 French Mother Sauces

Laura Marie Given — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:15:00 PST

Ever heard of the five French mother sauces? Originally classified by Antonin Carême in the 19th century and later updated by Auguste Escoffier in the 20th century, the sauces include béchamel, velouté, espagnole, hollandaise, and tomato. Most other sauces find their origins in these five types, hence the term "mother." Here's a brief rundown on the ingredients of each sauce, plus common pairings:

Béchamel. This classic milk-based white sauce was named after Louis de Béchamel, chief steward to Louis XIV. It's composed of three main ingredients: flour, butter, and milk. The thickness of this cream sauce depends on the ratio of flour and butter to milk: the more milk, the thinner the sauce. It's usually served with eggs, fish, steamed veggies or poultry, or pastas, like macaroni and cheese.
Velouté. This sauce is made just like béchamel, only milk is swapped for stock. Whether it's made from chicken, veal, or fish stock, velouté is typically not flavored with extra seasonings, and it's regularly used on veal, eggs, fish, steamed vegetables, poultry, or pastas.
Espagnole. A brown stock-based sauce that may sound Spanish but is actually French in origin. Espagnole includes rich meat stock, browned vegetables, browned roux (a butter and flour mix), plus herbs and tomato paste. Unlike velouté, though, it's served mainly with roasted meats.
Hollandaise. Egg yolks and fat, usually butter, are the basic ingredients for this yellow emulsified sauce. Like mayonnaise, this rich, creamy sauce tends to top eggs, vegetables, light poultry, or fish.
Tomato. Whether it's made with raw, stewed tomatoes or a tomato paste, tomato-based sauce is generally used on pasta, fish, vegetables, veal, poultry, breads, and dumplings.

This list is still up for contention today, as still others believe that different sauces (like allemande, the egg-enriched velouté sauce, and vinaigrette) belong in the category of "mother sauce." How many of these have you made at home or sampled at a French restaurant?

Grillades and Grits: Get Your Brunch on!

OnSugar Blog — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:00:06 PST

Grillades and grits are a trademark dish in New Orleans. If you can't make the trip to Nola, Food Orleans shows you how to recreate the experience in your own home.

If you've never had or heard of grillades and grits, then I apologize for not mentioning them earlier. They're one of the two most wonderful things to eat for brunch in New Orleans (shrimp and grits being the other). I've never been to anyplace in town for brunch that didn't offer one or both of these goodies. Grillades (gree'-awds) are made of beef, veal, or pork; I haven't encountered a rabbit version yet, but I won't be surprised when I do. The beef is a thin, flat cut of top round or chuck - something that can withstand a long, slow cooking. It simmers in a pot with the trinity (onion, celery, bell pepper), garlic, and a little jalapeno - not traditional, but I really like it - until the rich broth thickens and intensifies, so what you get is a powerfully flavored beef "stew" that is perfect over creamy cheese grits. This is a great Louisiana recipe to try if you're hankering for some thick, rich goodness but you don't feel up to stirring a roux, because you don't have to. The small amount of flour used in the browning of the beef will produce all the roux you need.

Read ahead for the grillades and grits recipe.

Reader Recipe: Nap-Time Bolognese

OnSugar Blog — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:50:10 PDT

If November has you craving comfort foods, cook up a rich, nap-inducing bolognese sauce courtesy of OnSugar blogger Food Orleans.

Rainy, gray November days beg for something warm and fortifying, and this is certainly both. You might not be ready to run a marathon afterward, but you'll be ready for a marathon sleep. Cheers to that!

Sauce Bolognese is perfect on fettucine, penne, or ladled over gnocchi, with lots of fresh Parmigiano Reggiano (that's the real stuff) grated over the top. One of its traditional uses is as the sauce component of lasagna, as in Lasagna Bolognese - but you could also turn it into a baked ziti, or a soup, or even a very cheeky chili. It's also highly adaptable, so feel free to add veggies or substitute other meats (or non-meats) as you wish. In other words, you have permission to get artsy with your food. Just another perk of living in the best restaurant city in the universe: a great tip from a neighbor about using veal, which was spot-on

Read on for the recipe.