Ossobuco Alla Milanese

Ingredients for two people:
Two Ossobucchi - about 2 fingers
Butter - 150g
Flour
Dry white wine - 6oz
Broth - veggie/chicken/beef

For the Gremolata
Flat leaf parsely
Lemon peel
Garlic
Anchovy

The wine bottle in the background has the symbol of Rome and the symbol of the Roman soccer team! Imagine the Mariners putting their logo on some booze!

Melt most of the butter in a saute pan over a medium-high heat. Lightly flour the meat and brown it on both sides. Once browned on both sides, add some salt and pepper (strange but that's the recipe). Continue to brown until you have a golden brown color. At this point add the wine. When the wine evaporates add about the same amount of water (or some of the broth). Lower the heat and cover the pan.

Risotto Alla Milanese

Let it cook for a good hour. Keep an eye on the amount of liquid in the pan. The meat should still be firm and not quite falling apart.

Five minutes before they finish cooking, finely chop the parsely, a little bit of the lemon peel (just they rind, not the pith), half of an anchovy, and the tip of a garlic clove. Once you've removed the ossobucchi to let them rest, add a bit of the broth and mix that with leftover liquid. Add a knob of butter to the liquid and cook for a few minutes to create a sauce.

I almost didn't make the gremolata because it just sounded kind of strange but it was a welcome bit of freshness that provided some contrast with such a rich dish. I would suggest making it and maybe keeping it off to the side if you don't dig it.

I went into the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life...to put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
~Henry David Thoreau

Take Thoreau's advice and suck the marrow from the ossobuco!

Suppli Al Telefono

Suppli are even more ubiquitous here in Roma than the free water fountains. They are found in just about every pizzeria and trattoria with differing levels of quality and different ingredients inside. Generally, they are risotto rice, ragu, egg and mozzarella rolled in fine bread crumbs but the combinations are only limited by your imagination.

Meganne, ace suppli maker and eater!

Next time you make a ragu, reserve a little or make a little more than you need. Freeze it or use it the next couple of days. Cook your rice (risotto rice is used here) add the ragu. Let the mixture cool. Test for salt. Add an egg and mix. In the palm of your hand form half of a little egg shaped ball. Then add a little mozzarella or some other melty cheese. Add the other half of the "egg" and then form it in your hand. Roll them in the bread crumbs (add a little salt to the bread crumbs). Deep fry at 350 for about 4 minutes depending on the size of the suppli. Since everything is already cooked you just want the cheese to melt.


This is something that I tried (and failed) to make back home for my family. They were a total failure though my lovely family placated me by telling my they were good. Why? Because I forget the egg that binds everything together so when you drop them in the oil they don't fall apart!

They are called "Suppli Al Telefono" because when you break them open the melted cheese stretches and looks like a telephone line! Well, at least to the Italians it does!

Gnocchi di Patate Alla Romana

Gnocchi aren't easy to do. My previous three attempts went straight from the pot to the trash so with this in mind give it your best shot. They are a bit time consuming to make but the end product can be great. If nothing else, you'll have a great ragu and you can always boil some pasta if the gnocchi don't turn out well! I think this is something best done with friends and loved ones because everyone can join in making the gnocchi.

Ragu for 6:

2 pounds of ground beef
6 oz of diced prosciutto or ham
2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
finely chopped parsely
extra virgin olive oil
half a glass of dry red wine
2 small onions or a big one finely chopped
1 finely chopped carrot
2 finely chopped stalks of celery
chicken broth or veggie broth
1 can of peeled tomatoes

In a large pot, heat the olive and then add the diced prosciutto and the garlic. Next add the ground beef and a little salt and pepper. Once you've browned the beef, add the red wine and cook until the wine has evaporated. At this point, remove it from the pot. Add a little more oil and all of vegetables. Saute the veggies slowly and once they've softened, return the ground beef to the pot. Add enough chicken broth to cover the meat and veggies. Cook for about ten minutes, you may have to add a bit more broth to keep the mix covered. After ten minutes, add the crushed tomatoes, lower the flame and cover the pot with a lid. Now you simply let it cook for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally and tasting for correct amount of salt.

Gnocchi for 6:
4 pounds of Russet or Idaho potatoes
14oz of flour
A large clean table

Place the potatoes in a large pot of cold water and bring it to a boil, when you stick a knife in them and it slides out they should be about right. I continued to cook them for a bit after that point. Drain the water and let the potatoes cool for a little bit. While they are still warm you can peel the skin off very easily. With the skins removed you should mash the potatoes or put them through a food mill. You want to have a smooth and uniform texture without any lumps.

Meganne - The Sous Chef

After you've boiled, peeled and mashed the potatoes you can combine the flour. You may need more or less flour. The dough should soft but not wet after you combined it well. Flour your table well and begin to roll out the dough into dowel shapes. Cut them to about the size of the first knuckle on your index finger. Flour the individual pieces so they don't stick together after you've cut them.


Cook the gnocchi in a large pot of vigorously boiling, salted water. Add them slowly. They are cooked once they are floating at the top of water after about 3 or 4 minutes depending on how many were in the water. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water. Add the gnocchi to the ragu and combine the two ingredients in a pan or in a large mixing bowl if the ragu is still hot.

Add a little or a lot of grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Buon Appetito!

Coniglio alla Compagna - Big Ed's Country Rabbit

Back in the day, when the family would make trips out to Grandpa's house, it was always fun to play with his rabbits. Why, oh why, did Grandpa have so many rabbits? I always assumed they were his pets and I doubt I ever asked my parents why he had so many rabbits. Years later, after eating some delicious rabbit here in Roma, I put two and two together and realized Grandpa ate the rabbits! Perhaps he acquired the taste while living in Italy as well. He was on to something. Rabbit is really delicious and healthy, just don't name the things and you'll be eating well. Once you put a name on it, you certainly can't eat it!


A four and a half pound rabbit will feed about 6 people. Have your butcher do his thing. You still have them in America, right?

In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add a cup of olive oil and four whole cloves of garlic. Rinse the rabbit but do not dry it. Add it to the saute pan and let the brown the rabbit on both sides. Once you've browned the rabbit, add a pinch of salt, pepper and and some chopped, fresh rosemary. Next, add a cup and a half of white wine. Stir everything together and cover with a lid. Reduce the flame to a medium-low heat. Let the rabbit cook for about an hour, keep an eye on the wine, you may have to add a bit of water if it looks like it's getting too tight. After an hour, the rabbit should be pulling away from the bone and the wine and oil should have become a fairly viscous sauce. Pull out the garlic cloves and serve immediately. On the side, I suppose we could make one last joke and serve carrots. In effect, we eat the animal AND what he wanted to eat.

My only problem with this dish is that rabbit tends to have a lot of small bones. You have to get down and funky and just get at it with your paws. This isn't date night cuisine. Buon Appetito!

Sorry, Pete!