"An hour later, after Robert’s spaghetti and sauce and Jen’s brownies—beds for ice cream and hot chocolate sauce—the group is sufficiently mellow to move to the pillowy living room.
Robert changes out foggy stems––memorials for once-vibrant juice––for translucent crystal, etched microscopically to aid the breathing.
“There’s more wine. Channel 9 news in five minutes,” says Robert, passing the sixth Lagrange, under a hovering 60-inch HD set. “My modern-art,” he calls the big rectangle, an endlessly alluring black hole."–––From the story "Dog Park"
Robert's fav winter dish is a hearty chuck roast, simmered for four hours or more with vegetables and stock. The braising liquid is then pureed into a thick substantial sauce. The meat is carved up and added back. The dish is so rich it can be ladled alone. Or, cook some tubed pasta such as rigatoni, portion out the beef in a sauce pan and add the carbs. No need for cheese with this rich steamy concoction. Leftovers mature in the fridge.
Rexville has suffered through an especially cold winter which makes this dish doubly good. "Comfort food" does not do it justice. Robert opened one of his 2005 Lagrange's, a bordeaux so much at its peak right now that the liberated aroma permeated the entire dinner party of Robert and Jen.
One, three-pound chuck roast
Four cups chicken stock
One can Italian plum tomatoes
One cup white wine
Tomato paste
A few carrots
Medium onion
A few ribs of celery
Smashed garlic clove
In a stock pot, sear the meat on both sides in olive oil. Rescue to a plate and add the chopped vegetables. After 5 minutes, a few dollops of tomato paste. Fry the collection for another five minutes, then add the liquids and tomatoes, which you break up with a potato masher. Or squeeze in your hand one at a time. Salt and pepper the beef and the liquid. Then add the chuck and its juice. Move it around until most submerges like an amphibian. Now, the lid, slightly ajar. The work is done––for now. After four hours, use two big spoons to move the meat to a plate. Let the liquid cool. Then attack it with a stick blender until it surrenders into a silky sauce. Taste for more seasoning. Cut up the beef, reintroduce the two and simmer for an hour. At that point, if you like herbs, Thyme and oregano will inject another layer of flavor. Not a summer dish. But man, does it hit the spot when the temperature plummets in Rexville.
Watch It Come Together Live (Almost)
Robert changes out foggy stems––memorials for once-vibrant juice––for translucent crystal, etched microscopically to aid the breathing.
“There’s more wine. Channel 9 news in five minutes,” says Robert, passing the sixth Lagrange, under a hovering 60-inch HD set. “My modern-art,” he calls the big rectangle, an endlessly alluring black hole."–––From the story "Dog Park"
Robert's fav winter dish is a hearty chuck roast, simmered for four hours or more with vegetables and stock. The braising liquid is then pureed into a thick substantial sauce. The meat is carved up and added back. The dish is so rich it can be ladled alone. Or, cook some tubed pasta such as rigatoni, portion out the beef in a sauce pan and add the carbs. No need for cheese with this rich steamy concoction. Leftovers mature in the fridge.
Rexville has suffered through an especially cold winter which makes this dish doubly good. "Comfort food" does not do it justice. Robert opened one of his 2005 Lagrange's, a bordeaux so much at its peak right now that the liberated aroma permeated the entire dinner party of Robert and Jen.
One, three-pound chuck roast
Four cups chicken stock
One can Italian plum tomatoes
One cup white wine
Tomato paste
A few carrots
Medium onion
A few ribs of celery
Smashed garlic clove
In a stock pot, sear the meat on both sides in olive oil. Rescue to a plate and add the chopped vegetables. After 5 minutes, a few dollops of tomato paste. Fry the collection for another five minutes, then add the liquids and tomatoes, which you break up with a potato masher. Or squeeze in your hand one at a time. Salt and pepper the beef and the liquid. Then add the chuck and its juice. Move it around until most submerges like an amphibian. Now, the lid, slightly ajar. The work is done––for now. After four hours, use two big spoons to move the meat to a plate. Let the liquid cool. Then attack it with a stick blender until it surrenders into a silky sauce. Taste for more seasoning. Cut up the beef, reintroduce the two and simmer for an hour. At that point, if you like herbs, Thyme and oregano will inject another layer of flavor. Not a summer dish. But man, does it hit the spot when the temperature plummets in Rexville.
Watch It Come Together Live (Almost)
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