Reno Fever
Eight months of home renovations are finally over! We re-did the floors, the basement, the laundry room, painted the house …. We even spent an entire month sleeping on a mattress in the living room. We piled our furniture into the garage until no more could possibly fit, then we started packing it into the master bedroom. I felt like I was part of that show called Hoarders. And, can we say “dust”?
Anyway, we survived, and, call me crazy, but I’m already thinking forward to the next reno.
After the last bit of dust settled, and the yelp of the nail gun could no longer be heard, we cracked open a bottle of Francis Coppola 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon. It was corked! Oh well, I guess I can’t blame that on the renovation. One wonders, however, how the rest of our wine fared. Heat, movement, floor vibrations — none of these make the wine gods very happy.
We celebrated the return to normality with this recipe.
Veal Saltimbocca
Adapted from Salumi by John Piccetti and François Vecchio
Serves 4
6 slices veal, pounded thin
6 fresh sage leaves
6 slices prosciutto
Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup meat broth
1/4 cup vino cot (or dry Marsala)
2 Tbsp butter
1. Spread veal out. Lay one sage leaf and one slice of prosciutto on each cutlet. Secure sage and prosciutto with a toothpick. Season the other side of the cutlet with salt and pepper.
2. In a large pan, heat a little of the olive oil over medium heat. Place the veal in the pan, prosciutto side down, without over-crowding. Sauté until golden, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side, about 3 minutes longer. Keep warm, and repeat with remaining veal. Add oil as necessary.
3. Discard excess fat from the pan, return the pan to high heat, add the broth and the wine. Deglaze the pan. Reduce the liquid by half. Swirl in butter.
4. Pour the pan sauce evenly over the veal and serve, as I did, with a glass of Barbera D’Asti and side of polenta.