(The Tucci Cookbook, page 129)
Lasagna With Chicken And Mushrooms
(The Tucci Cookbook, page 162)
Roasted Pork Belly
(The Tucci Table, page 116)
Blueberry Pie
(The Tucci Table, page 178)
Having experienced some difficulty acquiring ingredients for our first Tucci meal in Sarasota, we weren’t entirely confident that we would be able to find a three pound hunk of fresh pork belly, complete with fatty outer skin, for this week’s menu. But after scanning the web extensively, we found a local butcher shop that seemed to have some potential. Tom jumped in the car and drove across town to check it out.
The Butcher's Block, located in an almost-hidden strip mall on 17th Street, is slightly off the beaten path.
But good gosh! Once inside, the place is phenomenal! Ultra clean, carpeted, and comfortable, the back wall was lined with a forty-foot long meat case stocked with prime beef, pork, and poultry. The side wall cases were immaculately packed with hard-to-find game and other exotic meats. The center of the store was stocked with fine wine, cheeses, and imported epicurean snack foods.
But good gosh! Once inside, the place is phenomenal! Ultra clean, carpeted, and comfortable, the back wall was lined with a forty-foot long meat case stocked with prime beef, pork, and poultry. The side wall cases were immaculately packed with hard-to-find game and other exotic meats. The center of the store was stocked with fine wine, cheeses, and imported epicurean snack foods.
Glenn, working behind the fresh meat case, stepped out to greet me and confirmed that he had fresh pork belly. He pulled a beautiful five pound specimen from behind the glass and cut me a three pound slab. He wrapped up a huge chicken breast for me too.
Scott, the owner/manager, spoke with me briefly about our blog and assured me that he would be able to meet any future needs as far as meat was concerned. I’m pretty sure that he could.
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Bright and early the next morning, the two aspiring chefs reviewed the menu. It would be one of the most complex ones we had ever attempted, requiring a tremendous amount of preparation; pastry dough and pasta dough (both from scratch), two lasagna sauces, multi-step lasagna assembly, and a three-pound roast with gravy.
We decided to begin with dessert - blueberry pie. We looked at each other and crossed our fingers … baking was never our strong point. Using our KitchenAid mixer with dough hook, we mixed massive amounts of butter with flour into a dry, ‘bread-crumb’ texture, then added superfine sugar and salt. With only five teaspoons of ice water, it went from dry sawdust to a perfect pastry dough ball. We wrapped it in plastic and set it in the fridge to chill.
Michelle then rinsed eight cups of fresh blueberries, added lemon zest and lemon juice, butter, cinnamon, and more superfine sugar all together and set it aside until the dough was ready.
Next, we began the first of two lasagna sauces, tomato with mushrooms. We sweated garlic and mushrooms in olive oil before adding ‘smooshed’ plum tomatoes, basil, and oregano. After a quick boil, we brought it to a simmer and reduced it to the proper thickness.
Back to the pie. We pulled the pastry dough from the cooler. It was perfect. Nice and firm. But we had trouble rolling it out. It stuck to our butcher block. It stuck to our countertop. It stuck to our roller. We dusted everything with flour constantly, to no avail. We also had trouble laying it into the pie pan. The dough was so fragile that it ripped itself apart with any movement. Eventually, we got smart and rolled it onto a sheet of wax paper, inverted the pie pan, and turned both rightside-up as a unit. It was still ugly as sin, but was the best we do under the circumstances.
The blueberry filling, however, looked magnificent as it was poured into the pie pan. This victory was short-lived, because we were inadvertently short on dough, and forced to top the pie with dough strips instead of the specified solid surface (which we accomplished with the finesse of Play-Doh). We shoved it into the fridge again to set-up.
More lasagna prep: the second lasagna sauce. This one was white, simply made with butter, whole milk, flour, and a pinch of nutmeg. It too, was brought to a low boil and simmered into a thick reduction.
Tom pounded a chicken breast flat and sautéed it in olive oil and sage until it was golden brown. Then he cut it into small cubes, to be sprinkled into the lasagna. It was also set aside until the lasagna assembly.
Tam and Michelle began preparation for the roast, coarsely-cutting vegetables (carrots, onions, celery, and garlic) that would eventually rest in the bottom of the pan and absorb the fat drippings from the meat.
The big moment. Three pounds of pork belly, sequestered at room temperature and discreetly covered with a paper towel, were placed naked into the roasting pan, where everyone circled around to have a look at it ...
Everyone also noticed that it still had hair on it … as well as three nipples. It was one of those awkward moments when no words needed to be said. After some minor surgery, Tom scored the fat with a series of cross-cuts and then Michelle rubbed a paste made from fresh thyme, fennel seeds, and salt all over the slab. The pan was set aside briefly.
Everyone also noticed that it still had hair on it … as well as three nipples. It was one of those awkward moments when no words needed to be said. After some minor surgery, Tom scored the fat with a series of cross-cuts and then Michelle rubbed a paste made from fresh thyme, fennel seeds, and salt all over the slab. The pan was set aside briefly.
The pie was pulled from the fridge, brushed with an egg-wash glaze and placed in the oven for forty minutes. We hoped for the best, but once again, when it came to baking, we had some doubts.
Conversely, home-made pasta had become a specialty of ours and Michelle expertly produced a superb dough-ball that we made into wide lasagna strips and set to dry. Piece of cake!!
The pie was removed from the oven. It looked better than when it went in. We were satisfied, although not particularly proud of the results. Even though neither of us mentioned it, we both knew that we needed further practice with baking.
Tom slid the massive pork belly into a four-hundred-seventy-five degree oven. Within minutes, the fat was swelling and snapping and popping. This was what Stanley Tucci called ‘crackling’. Try to imagine it as a huge three pound piece of bacon in the oven …
Watch the pork belly crackling!!
Once the skin and fat hardened and turned golden brown, vegetables and wine/chicken stock were added, and the oven temperature was reduced to facilitate a longer, two-hour roast.
The lasagna pasta was quickly cooked al-dente and drained. We built the lasagna casserole with alternating layers of white sauce, pasta, red sauce, chicken, flat parsley and pecorino romano cheese. Five layers deep. It was placed in the oven, beneath the pork pan, during the roast's last thirty minutes of cooking.
After two and a half hours of roasting, the pork was removed and set to rest on our cutting board. The meat looked fantastic and fully-cooked, albeit not quite as charred as presented in Tucci’s cookbook. But we decided not to return it to the oven, since we had made that mistake already with pork in Kiss Of Death.
Likewise, the vegetables were not as soft as was needed to mash them into a gravy. We used a blender to puree them, but we were not able to produce a usable result. It dawned on us that the oven was running slightly cooler than stated. We agreed to make a note of it and adjust accordingly in the future.
The lasagna, on the other hand, was magnificent!! It made us so hungry, that we did not allow it to set-up before eating.
The lasagna, on the other hand, was magnificent!! It made us so hungry, that we did not allow it to set-up before eating.
The pork was outstanding, too. The main course was served with Tinuta Di Renieri Chianti Classico Reserva 2013.
... and the pie was gone before it was cold!!
We considered this challenging meal a success (even though we set off the smoke alarm twice). Perhaps more important, it provided us with another learning experience along our shared culinary journey.
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DEDICATION:
This chapter of In Cucina Con Tucci
is dedicated Daisy Wigglebutt Olin
(2002 - 2018)
is dedicated Daisy Wigglebutt Olin
(2002 - 2018)
Daisy was an important member of the “Tucci Team” … serving as cheerleader, taste-tester, and clean-up crew. She was literally in the kitchen every minute we were cooking. We will forever cherish her enthusiasm and ever-present support.
We love you, Daisy.