Super Fat Tuesday

I fully realize that I should have made New Orleans cuisine tonight, but fridge and pantry required otherwise, since my attempt to secure some good fish was foiled.

One of the many benefits of slow-cooking a big hunk of lamb in the oven for 7 hours is, of course, having both meat and liquid left over for future meals. The deep, complex flavors and meltingly tender texture are an incredibly luxurious jumping-off point, even for something as simple as pasta (which is what I made.) Some garlic and herbs, the meat and juice, a can of busted-up tomatoes, and a nice simmer to unite the new with the old, then tossed with penne and served with a side of steamed pak choi from the garden via the freezer. No picture, because you’ve seen a bowl of pasta before.

But MAN, the rich, elegant decadence of this sauce- hitting winter comfort and refined subtle chords at the same time- made me wish hard that I had cranked out some fresh fettucine to take this into the realm of pure perfection. Getting it most of the way there, though, with a noble assist, was a 2000 Thackrey sangiovese from the year it got no labels or capsules in between being named Centaur and Aquila. After the still-reticent schoolmarmy Brunello from last night, this wine is a wanton harlot. But, you know, classy, with a really great personality.

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5 Comments

  1. cookiecrumb
    February 6, 2008

    Ah, but if you had made your own noodles, you’d have had to skip the canned tomatoes.
    (You see Bittman today?)

  2. peter
    February 6, 2008

    It’s true, though had I thought it through properly I would have made pasta and grabbed a jar of our own tomatoes from the pantry. (Remember those? No botulism so far.)

    I like to keep a commercial can around, though, because otherwise we’d have eaten through our stash in no time.

  3. cookiecrumb
    February 6, 2008

    Eat your stash! It’s the good stuff.
    🙂

  4. Zoomie
    February 8, 2008

    You don’t need to worry much about botulism with home canned tomatoes – they are pretty acid-y and that keeps the bugs from growing. I used to can tomato juice and as long as the jars sealed, life was good.

  5. peter
    February 8, 2008

    Cookie was concerned back when I was canning them. I used a little lemon juice so they’re definitely fine.

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