Stracotto - Pot Roast with Porcini Mushroom, Red Wine and Rosemary Infused Sauce

In the winter, I love braised meats. The beauty of this type preparation is that once you add all the ingredients, you can walk away and forget about it for several hours. Braising delivers moist, tender meat every time and succulent pan juices that are delicious over polenta or potatoes of any kind. In Italian, stracotto literally means "overcooked."

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pat a 5 pound boneless beef chuck roast dry with paper towels and sprinkle generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat a couple tablespoons olive oil in a heavy 6-quart pot or Dutch oven. Add beef and brown on all sides, about 12 minutes or so. You do not want to rush this step. It is what creates the deep rich flavor in the finished dish. remove the beef form the pan to a large plate.



reduce the heat to medium and add 2 chopped onions to the pan and saute until tender, perhaps 5 minutes, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan as you do. add 6 coarsely chopped garlic cloves and saute for 1 minute more. Stir in 1 cup dry red wine and boil for 1 minute.Stir in 1 14-ounce can of low-salt beef broth and 1/2 ounce of dried porcini mushrooms.








Return the beef to the pot, cover and put in the oven. Braise the beef until fork tender, about 3 hours. be sure to turn the beef over halfway though the cooking time.










Transfer the beef to a cutting board, tent with foil and let rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, spoon excess fat off the top of the pan liquid. Transfer the liquid and vegetables in the pot to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. In a medium heavy sauce pan, combine the sauce with one large rosemary sprig. Bring to a boil, then season the sauce with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. let gently simmer until meat is done resting.





The sauce is amazingly flavorful and infused with the fresh rosemary at the end brings it to a whole other level. A real taste sensation.

Pesche Marinate in Vino Rosso - Peaches Marinated in Red Wine

My favorite way to end a meal is with fruit and/or cheese. This is a very simple and popular Italian preparation. You can marinate peaches, berries, oranges, or cherries in red wine, sweet Marsala wine, or lemon juice and sugar. My fathers favorite way to eat sliced strawberries was by sprinkling them with sugar and marinating them in sweet Marsala wine.

To make this lovely simple dessert; peel, pit and slice one peach per person. I always remove the hard red area on the peach where the pit was since it is tough, rough and not pleasant to bite into. Place sliced peaches in a bowl. If your peaches aren't sweet enough on their own, add granulated sugar to taste. Pour red wine over just to cover fruit; mix gently. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour. Fill a pretty serving glass, stemmed glass or dessert bowl with peaches and enough wine to almost cover them, serve and enjoy. My favorite wines to use in this dish are VJB Vineyards & Cellars (Kenwood, CA) Syrah or Zinfandel, an Italian imported Lambrusco, or Schugs (Sonoma, CA) Sparkling Pinot. You can also use Prosecco for a different taste.

La Macedonia de Frutta Fresca - Fresh Fruit Salad:

A fresh fruit salad I understand is a favorite way for Italians to end a meal in a Trattoria. It is a favorite way to end my meals at home. Here are some tips to create one in your kitchen; use a variety of fresh fruits that are in season, peel those that need it, and cut all approximately the same size. On the small size, perhaps an inch, and place in a large bowl, add sugar to taste and stir in with sweet Marsala wine, brandy, fresh lemon juice, port, or sweet white wine. It should be refrigerated for an hour or so, and served cold.