May 19, 2011


Never did I think this would be the suitcase I would pack to go to my first Blogher conference!

I am excited, terrified, anxious and thrilled to be heading to Atlanta tomorrow morning. Kim and I, and Sean from Punk Domestics, will be doing a little sausage making demonstration and Charcutepalooza party on Saturday at 2:30, so if you’re there, please come to the session!

We’ve been plotting and planning for months, and the folks at Blogher have helped us out with kitchen access, meat sourcing and more, so hats off to Jennifer Morris and the whole Blogher team. And big big big shout out to KitchenAid (and Jessica) for generously providing mixers and sausage stuffers and grinders.  We couldn’t have done any of this without you.

While I’m gone, why not make this easy veal demi-glace. Yes, easy. Really.

I read this food52 post from Jennifer Steinhauer), and that’s what got me thinking.

I know that naturally raised veal is available at this time of year. I have missed veal season in recent years and really regretted it. This year, I  thought I would play with the technique Jennifer used, haul out that crock pot, and make some demi-glace.

Read Michael Ruhlman‘s recent piece about veal stock for some solid reasons to make it. And then do it. The prep time is under an hour.

So I put everything in the crockpot and forgot it for 15 hours. That’s some really good demi-glace. It’s deep and rich and satisfying. And packed up in 1/2-pint jars in the freezer.

You will be so happy to have this rich goodness at hand.

And, by the way, if you’re not going to make it to Atlanta, check in on the Twitter-based Blogher Pity Party (hashtag #BHF11PP) for all sorts of fun and games, as well as videos, podcasts, and amazing swag giveaways.

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Slow-Cooker Veal Demi-Glace a la Jenny
Makes 3-1/2 – 4 pts.

8 lbs. rose veal marrow or other bones
3-4 Tbls. double strength tomato paste
2-3 Tbls. olive oil
3 yellow onions, quartered, peel left on
3 carrots, cut in 2″ chunks
3 celery stalks
One head of garlic, cut in half
10 peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, 8 sprigs of thyme, generous bunch of parsley
2-3 qts water
1/2 bottle red wine

Preheat the oven to 450°
Rub the veal bones with the tomato paste and place them in a roasting pan. Add the onions and the head of garlic, cut in half. Drizzle the onions and garlic with a little olive oil.
Roast the bones for 20 minutes, turn them, and roast an additional 20 minutes until they are well browned all the way around.
Put the bones, onions and garlic in a slow cooker.
Add the celery, carrots, sachet, water and wine to fill the slow cooker.
Start on high until the liquid boils, then turn it down to low and cook for 12-18 hours.
Turn the slow cooker off and remove the insert.
Strain the stock through a fine chinois or through cheesecloth.
Chill immediately using an ice bath.
Skim the fat, pack into jars and freeze.
(I read somewhere – can no longer recall where – the idea of freezing stock in mini muffin tins. Seems like a brilliant way to store little perfectly proportioned amounts of demi glace and I wish I had done that!)

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8 Responses to “on the way to blogher food”

  1. Molly Chester

    Love, love, LOVED your class! My favorite at the conference. All of your hard work paid off. You should speak to the people at the Weston A. Price Conference – Wise Traditions about doing a session at their conference. I go every year and love it. I feel like a session with you would fit right in!

    Thanks so much for all the planning… it paid off!

    Warmly,

    Molly

    Reply
  2. AntoniaJames

    Wondering if you’ve ever tried making veal or chicken stock without peppercorns or celery . .. . If you look at Ruhlman’s recipe, you’ll see he uses neither. I ran out of peppercorns once when I was a young bride in NYC, at a time when I making veal stock on a regular basis. The veal stock tasted so much better without them. People have looked at me as if I were crazy when I’ve suggested leaving the peppercorns out, but then I noticed that the proprietress of Boulette’s Larder in the Ferry Plaze Building doesn’t use them either. I did some research and found an article in the local paper about her, in which she said she doesn’t use peppercorns for the same reason. I recommend that you give it a try. I noticed in something Ruhlman has written in the past five or ten years that he does not use celery, either, due to the bitterness. I have since stopped using it in stock and am very pleased with the results. I also cook the vegetables for only 45 minutes, at the end, as he suggests. That’s a great idea, too. ;o)

    Reply

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