(The Tucci Table, page 128)
Mashed Potato And Artichokes
(The Tucci Cookbook, page 224)
Ricotta Balls
(The Tucci Cookbook, page 234)
Cream-Filled Cannoli
(The Tucci Cookbook, page 334)
One of the most difficult tasks with this menu was the gathering of materials to make it. Juniper berries, green peppercorns, red currant jelly, cinnamon oil, and miniature cannoli shells.
The most challenging condiment to locate was quince jelly. Fortunately, while Michelle was visiting family back in Michigan, she found the holy grail in her favorite food store, Horrocks Farm Market, in Battle Creek.
Getting our hands on the primary ingredient, venison, was an adventure in and of itself. Although this may seem incredibly counter-intuitive, finding prepared venison in Tennessee was impossible. We contacted seven butcher shops in the Nashville area and none of them carried deer meat. The owner of one shop told us that with so many people doing their own hunting, there was no need for it. Another butcher informed us that it is illegal for butchers to sell fresh venison in Tennessee.
Indeed it is. Tennessee statute 70-4-201 precludes the buying and selling of wild animals, or parts thereof, and that violation of this law is a 'Class A' misdemeanor, or possibly a 'Class E' felony, depending on the size of the violation.
In 2012, a State of Tennessee Wildlife Resources officer was selling whitetail venison jerky to some friends and was caught with three bags of it in an undercover sting operation. He lost his job and was fined $2,500.
So what do aspiring chefs do? With very little road-kill to choose from this time of year, we went online and purchased farm-raised venison from New Zealand. Tam found steaksandgame.com and was able to acquire two pounds of premium-quality Cervena Venison New York Strip Loin. Described as a 'bold meat that brings flavor to the table' ... 'wonderfully rich and woodsy' ... 'flavorful but not gamey' ... and 'best served medium rare to ensure tenderness.' The customer service representative told us that it would be cut fresh at a facility in Los Angeles and overnighted to Nashville.
The meat arrived right on time and looked fantastic. We immediately put it in the fridge until needed.
Up bright and early on Easter morning, Tom began with the cream filling for the cannoli. This was done to give it time to set-up in the refrigerator. The recipe seemed easy-enough. Only four ingredients; ricotta cheese, confectionary sugar, liquid cinnamon flavoring, and vanilla extract. The most formidable part of the recipe was to add a precise "two drops" of cinnamon flavoring. It inadvertently turned out to be three drops. Oops.
Tom opted to use the KitchenAid mixer, thinking that it might spread the excess cinnamon flavoring throughout the filling more uniformly. Once mixed, the bowl was covered and placed in the fridge.
Then he made the marinade for the venison. Using a mortar and pestle, he lightly ground juniper berries and green peppercorns and placed them in a large ceramic dish, along with two bay leaves. He opened a bottle of Arrington Vineyards KB 612 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012, and poured a cup of it into the dry ingredients.
The meat was carefully unwrapped and laid on the cutting board. It was gorgeous. After splitting it lengthwise, Tom rolled both pieces in the marinade several times to cover them in berries and peppercorns, and then placed the dish in the refrigerator for three hours.
Michelle cleaned and sorted a half pound of artichoke hearts and added them to our sautéing garlic and shallots. It was not long before the delicious aroma of garlic, parsley, and thyme began wafting through the house.
The completed artichoke sauté was set aside, and Tom commenced boiling the golden potatoes. Meanwhile, Michelle launched into the ricotta balls, mixing raw egg, ricotta cheese, and bread crumbs into a soft dough.
Instead of frying them, as we had done with so many similar dishes, the recipe called for boiling the balls in water for three minutes. We did two practice balls and tasted them. At first, this poaching process made them seem somewhat flavorless. But then, the subtleness of the ricotta began to come through. Understated ... yet addictive.
The boiled potatoes were hand-mashed, and artichoke hearts stirred in, along with copious amounts of butter, salt, and pepper. They were ready to go.
Then the marinading meat was pulled from the fridge. Tom divided it into four pieces and placed them into a super-hot iron paella pan coated with sizzling olive oil. The meat roared, and grease spattered, as it instantly seared in the pan ... exactly according to plan.
Fortunately, the cookbook featured a great photograph of properly-cooked venison, so we were able to replicate the results with ease.
One of the interesting things we both noted was that as we had become more skilled at cooking, we relied less on specific cooking times, and more on our senses ... sight, smell, and texture. We were cooking with more finesse.
The meat was perfectly medium-rare when we removed it from the heat and let it rest. Michelle put the final touches on a sage-butter sauce for the ricotta balls while Tom poured the strained leftover wine marinade into the still-hot charred pan. Michelle added quince jelly (smelled like peaches), thyme leaves, and butter as the marinade reduced on the stovetop. After a few minutes, the roux had thickened and was poured into a small serving dish.
It was time to plate the meal. The venison was sliced and placed beside the roux. The artichoke mashed potatoes were spooned onto the other end of the serving dish, and garnished with salt, pepper, and a last drizzle of melted butter.
The ricotta balls were served in a separate dish. We paired the meal with the balance of the Arrington Vineyards KB 612 Cabernet Sauvignon.
P.S. The extra drop of cinnamon flavoring did give the cannoli an added burst of cinnamon flavor. They were still delicious!!
The most challenging condiment to locate was quince jelly. Fortunately, while Michelle was visiting family back in Michigan, she found the holy grail in her favorite food store, Horrocks Farm Market, in Battle Creek.
Getting our hands on the primary ingredient, venison, was an adventure in and of itself. Although this may seem incredibly counter-intuitive, finding prepared venison in Tennessee was impossible. We contacted seven butcher shops in the Nashville area and none of them carried deer meat. The owner of one shop told us that with so many people doing their own hunting, there was no need for it. Another butcher informed us that it is illegal for butchers to sell fresh venison in Tennessee.
Indeed it is. Tennessee statute 70-4-201 precludes the buying and selling of wild animals, or parts thereof, and that violation of this law is a 'Class A' misdemeanor, or possibly a 'Class E' felony, depending on the size of the violation.
In 2012, a State of Tennessee Wildlife Resources officer was selling whitetail venison jerky to some friends and was caught with three bags of it in an undercover sting operation. He lost his job and was fined $2,500.
So what do aspiring chefs do? With very little road-kill to choose from this time of year, we went online and purchased farm-raised venison from New Zealand. Tam found steaksandgame.com and was able to acquire two pounds of premium-quality Cervena Venison New York Strip Loin. Described as a 'bold meat that brings flavor to the table' ... 'wonderfully rich and woodsy' ... 'flavorful but not gamey' ... and 'best served medium rare to ensure tenderness.' The customer service representative told us that it would be cut fresh at a facility in Los Angeles and overnighted to Nashville.
Up bright and early on Easter morning, Tom began with the cream filling for the cannoli. This was done to give it time to set-up in the refrigerator. The recipe seemed easy-enough. Only four ingredients; ricotta cheese, confectionary sugar, liquid cinnamon flavoring, and vanilla extract. The most formidable part of the recipe was to add a precise "two drops" of cinnamon flavoring. It inadvertently turned out to be three drops. Oops.
Tom opted to use the KitchenAid mixer, thinking that it might spread the excess cinnamon flavoring throughout the filling more uniformly. Once mixed, the bowl was covered and placed in the fridge.
Then he made the marinade for the venison. Using a mortar and pestle, he lightly ground juniper berries and green peppercorns and placed them in a large ceramic dish, along with two bay leaves. He opened a bottle of Arrington Vineyards KB 612 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012, and poured a cup of it into the dry ingredients.
The meat was carefully unwrapped and laid on the cutting board. It was gorgeous. After splitting it lengthwise, Tom rolled both pieces in the marinade several times to cover them in berries and peppercorns, and then placed the dish in the refrigerator for three hours.
Michelle cleaned and sorted a half pound of artichoke hearts and added them to our sautéing garlic and shallots. It was not long before the delicious aroma of garlic, parsley, and thyme began wafting through the house.
The completed artichoke sauté was set aside, and Tom commenced boiling the golden potatoes. Meanwhile, Michelle launched into the ricotta balls, mixing raw egg, ricotta cheese, and bread crumbs into a soft dough.
Instead of frying them, as we had done with so many similar dishes, the recipe called for boiling the balls in water for three minutes. We did two practice balls and tasted them. At first, this poaching process made them seem somewhat flavorless. But then, the subtleness of the ricotta began to come through. Understated ... yet addictive.
The boiled potatoes were hand-mashed, and artichoke hearts stirred in, along with copious amounts of butter, salt, and pepper. They were ready to go.
Then the marinading meat was pulled from the fridge. Tom divided it into four pieces and placed them into a super-hot iron paella pan coated with sizzling olive oil. The meat roared, and grease spattered, as it instantly seared in the pan ... exactly according to plan.
Fortunately, the cookbook featured a great photograph of properly-cooked venison, so we were able to replicate the results with ease.
One of the interesting things we both noted was that as we had become more skilled at cooking, we relied less on specific cooking times, and more on our senses ... sight, smell, and texture. We were cooking with more finesse.
The meat was perfectly medium-rare when we removed it from the heat and let it rest. Michelle put the final touches on a sage-butter sauce for the ricotta balls while Tom poured the strained leftover wine marinade into the still-hot charred pan. Michelle added quince jelly (smelled like peaches), thyme leaves, and butter as the marinade reduced on the stovetop. After a few minutes, the roux had thickened and was poured into a small serving dish.
It was time to plate the meal. The venison was sliced and placed beside the roux. The artichoke mashed potatoes were spooned onto the other end of the serving dish, and garnished with salt, pepper, and a last drizzle of melted butter.
The ricotta balls were served in a separate dish. We paired the meal with the balance of the Arrington Vineyards KB 612 Cabernet Sauvignon.
We enjoyed a magnificent alfresco Sunday afternoon feast, giving thanks for our many blessings on this special day, and enjoying the fruits of our efforts. Tam, who initially had to be goaded into one bite of venison, ate several. We all agreed that the meat was 'tenderloin-like' and without the gamey-ness we expected. The potatoes and ricotta balls were also huge favorites.
After cleaning the kitchen, Michelle and Tom pulled the cannoli filling from the refrigerator and stuffed forty-eight mini-shells using a technique that Michelle had seen on YouTube.
She used a resealable plastic freezer bag and filled it like a pastry bag, cutting the corner out of it. The idea was brilliant, saving us hours of time spoon-filling cannoli shells.
She used a resealable plastic freezer bag and filled it like a pastry bag, cutting the corner out of it. The idea was brilliant, saving us hours of time spoon-filling cannoli shells.
We also made variations with the filling, adding chocolate chips to some, and crushed Butterfinger candy to others. We recommend freezing them briefly after filling to allow them to harden slightly. There were a few easter egg candies left, and we used them as a garnish. A tasty finish!!
P.S. The extra drop of cinnamon flavoring did give the cannoli an added burst of cinnamon flavor. They were still delicious!!
Next Chapter: Fortitude