(The Tucci Cookbook, page 24)
Orecchiette With Broccoli Rabe And Anchovies
(The Tucci Table, page 59)
Steak Oreganato
(The Tucci Cookbook, page 251)
Asparagus With Lemon Butter
(The Tucci Table, page 146)
Bistro Green Salad With Simple Vinaigrette
(The Tucci Table, page 12)
On the road again, two aspiring chefs, looking for that special cut of beef that would be their next great meal, Grandma Tucci's famous Steak Oreganato. We headed to The Butcher Block in Cool Springs.
Opening the door, we were greeted by that euphoric combination of fresh deli meats, cheese, and roasting food. Bruce, standing behind the counter, smiled and welcomed us, and then asked what we needed. We asked if he carried 'top round beef steak'. He inquired, "For what purpose of cooking?"
The two of us blankly looked at each other, and then basically spilled our guts about this project, telling him that we had a recipe that required it.
It was very apparent that we were novices, so with a quick nod, Bruce deftly volunteered to help. He said that he had several 'select quality' top round cuts in back that they used primarily for making jerky, because they were particularly lean. Based on what we told him, he said he would slice a thickness and weight of meat according to our exact needs.
He brought the cuts out to us. They looked beautiful.
Mission accomplished!
Michelle, however, couldn't resist ordering a reuben to go.
When we got home, upon further research, we learned that the best cuts of beef are 'Prime' cuts ... followed by 'Choice' cuts ... followed by 'Select' cuts. The difference being, in most cases, the amount of marbled fat in the cut. The more marbling, the more tender the cut. The fact that top round meat was being used for jerky was an ominous sign. Nevertheless, our recipe called for 'top round beef steak' and that is precisely what we got.
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Late the following morning, we began preparations for a complete traditional Italian supper that included an appetizer, a light pasta dish, a meat entree, a vegetable, and a green salad finish.
First up, stuffed mushrooms. We cleaned the gorgeous white mushrooms and removed the stems. Setting the caps aside, we finely chopped the stems and sautéed them. Meanwhile, we mixed the dry ingredients for the stuffing. By adding olive oil, the sautéed/micro-diced stems and dry mix were made into a dough. We spooned it into the mushroom caps, and drizzled more oil before placing them into the oven.
After several weeks of cooking, we were beginning to understand some of the idiosynchracies of our oven. There had been several times when it never seemed to achieve the desired heat, and we had trouble browning dishes. This time, we opted to use 'convection bake' and it helped, but we still needed to extend cooking times to achieve optimal results. In the case of our mushroom caps, we nearly doubled our cooking time, and they could have used even more.
A small ceramic container was filled with just stuffing for Michelle, since she was not a huge fan of mushrooms. Having nibbled on the raw dough, we can both attest that the stuffing is what makes the dish. How could anyone not like a spoonful of bread crumbs, butter, garlic, and Romano cheese?
Our next course was Orechiette with Broccoli Rabe and Anchovies. Broccoli rabe ... we weren't really sure what it was ... a broccoli or a lettuce? After some study, we learned that it is actually part of both the cabbage and turnip families. Indeed, its flavor was somewhat bitter, like certain turnips.
The recipe required some fairly quick transitioning from one step to the other. Blanche the rabe, boil the orechiette, sauté the garlic to infuse the oil (without browning it), dissolve anchovies in the infused oil, add the rabe, and finally the pasta. Some of the instructions forced us to do further research. Others forced us to use WWSTD ...
What does blanching do?
How does one know when the oil is infused?
What constitutes a dissolved anchovy?
Admittedly, if we had known from the beginning that everything would eventually be mixed together in the sauté pan, we would have used a larger pan. This was clear evidence that we had failed to learn lesson number one ... read the recipe completely first.
In the cookbooks, Tucci recommended that both recipes should be eaten immediately upon completion, so we changed plans and served them as a quick lunch. We saved the remaining three recipes for later in the day.
The orechiette was fantastic!! The blending of the smoothness of butter and oil with the bite of anchovy and the bitter hint of broccoli rabe ... could we have really made this? We were getting better at cooking pasta. It was perfectly al dente.
The mushroom caps, although not perfect, were all eaten with no complaints. We were making progress.
Before long, the two of us were back in the kitchen, working on the final three courses of the day.
Michelle rinsed and cut the fresh asparagus while Tom began pounding the top round steaks into slabs one-half inch thick, as prescribed in the recipe. Before long, Michelle jumped in to help, and Dan was recruited to pound too.
The asparagus was briefly boiled and transferred (al dente) to a serving dish. The recipe called for an immersion blender to mix the lemon juice, zest, and liquified butter and neither one of us knew exactly what that kind of blender was. We did find a thing in a bottom kitchen drawer that looked like it might work ... and it turned out to be ... an immersion blender. What luck, we didn't even know what we had!
We blended the ingredients into a thick frothy whitish-yellow foam that we poured over our asparagus. It looked delicious!
Meanwhile, Dan was still pounding the meat. Frankly, we found it hard to imagine Grandma Tucci pounding top round for an eternity to get it flattened into the proper size.
Michelle pulled our hydroponic butter lettuce (roots and all) from the fridge. It was incredibly fresh. As she fine-tuned the vinaigrette, adding oil to subdue the tanginess of the white wine vinegar, Dan continued pounding.
Eventually, the steaks were beaten into submission and Tom placed them, one at at a time, into a sauté pan with preheated olive oil and butter. They almost immediately browned as they fried for three minutes on each side. The pan may have been slightly too hot, as grease was spattering in all directions. In fact, we kept a wet sponge nearby to periodically wipe off the walls.
We cut one of the steaks to check, and the inside was beautifully pink. We plated the meat and added red wine (Nozzole Chianti Classico Reserve, 2013) and oregano to the residue in the pan to create an incredible sauce to pour over the finished product.
The rest of the wine was immediately consumed, of course.
Everyone enjoyed another wonderful meal, particularly the asparagus and salad. The preparation of the meat, specifically the wine sauce, was also exquisite. The courses we chose seemed to work together well as the flavors and textures balanced each other. The overall meal was superb.
The steaks were tough, but we knew this going in due to the type of meat that it was. Still, no one left the table hungry, including the dogs.
Lessons learned: stuffed mushrooms are hard to make, and top round beef is hard to bake.
When we do Steak Oreganato again, we will use more tender cuts of meat. As for the rest of the meal, we wouldn't change much at all.