Adventures in Cooking

So, I'm cooking tonight and there's meat that needs heat. Upon asking what the plan for said dead critter is I'm told, "Well, I was planning to make 'Blanquette du Veau' with the veal." "No problem," says I, "I'll lookup the recipe." ( Note, you'll get the non French sites by searching for "blanquette veal". )

When planning a recipe I usually research at least a half dozen variants and look for the common elements. So... this is the fussiest fucking stew I've ever seen, damn French. It's apparent that the goal is something very blond and mild and clarified and, well, foofy. Most recipes finish with a white sauce variant, after basically making a stew.

How foofy? One Blanquette du Veau recipe called for sticking cloves in pearl onions. Stir constantly, skim rigorously, etc. This isn't happening.

I could just say to hell with it and forage for simple fare. I'm on my own for dinner, after all. Not on option, really. It would just suck to hear the words, "I'm home early, what's for dinner?" as I finish off a nuker pizza. Not that that's ever happened...

Turns out the veal is in a nice safe cryovac enclosure. The islandic sheep, however, is bleeding in the baggy. Mutton, it's what's for dinner. One of the blond broth recipes had mentioned putting the uncooked meat in cold water, bringing to a boil, and skimming. Another called for the traditional browning first, because the poach alone is too mild.

A non browning and skimming recipe makes sense for meat that has unpleasant fat or is a little over the hill. Cow fat is succulent, sheep, goat and game tend to be a little much. ( Note, many people who don't like lamb have simply never had it cooked right, ) So, here's the recipe for tonight's Sheep Surprise ( it was initially mistaken for veal, yay! ). And, yes, it was dinner for two.

( Sheep Stew Surprise )