Veal Saltimbocca

For Valentine's Day, I was on a mission.

Now, in principle, I'm not a huge Valentine's Day fan. I dislike the "give me diamonds or I'll think you don't love me" mentality that the jewelry stores go hog-wild with, and I don't think that how The Professor treats me for one 24 hour period is indicative of his feelings more than any other 24 hour period.

I'm also a hopeless romantic.

And lately, I've been over-scrutinizing every penny I spend on food.

So for Valentine's Day, I decided to make up for my recent "we will save money at all costs" mentality with a meal I know he loves. And that I've never attempted.

It's not perfect. I have a hard time with sauces, and this didn't come out perfectly. But I told him I would keep trying - only on special occassions - until I get it right. He agreed to keep eating the results.

And that, my friends, is romance.




Veal Saltimbocca

• 5 pieces Veal Scallopini
• 2 tsp rubbed sage
• 3 oz Prosciutto
• Italian flavored bread crumbs
• 1 Tbsp oilive oil
• 1 Tbsp butter
• fresh ground pepper

Lay the veal out on a flat service. Season lightly with freshly ground pepper, then rub a sprinkle of the (ahem) rubbed sage into the top of each piece. Lay a piece of Prosciutto over each piece of veal and fold in half. Secure with a toothpick or metal skewer. Lightly dredge veal in bread crumbs.

Heat about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a skillet, and add veal to pan. Cook for about two minutes per side, and remove to a plate.

Honestly, I don't think these need a sauce. But the Professor does, so:

Add another tablespoon of butter to the pan, and scrape up any bits on the bottom. Add another quick dash of pepper and then pour in a half cup of dry white wine. Simmer until reduced and spoon over the veal.

I served this with some wilted spinach and some angel hair pasta tossed with butter and Parmesan. The Prosciutto and Parmesan combination made for a slightly salty explosion - but the garlic bread made that heavenly.

Notes:
I'm going to try a thicker cut of veal next time. The saltiness of the Prosciutto overwhelmed the delicacy of the veal a bit too much for me.

Veal a la Barone

Yes, the name is completely my invention. One time when my in-laws came for a visit, I looked around for a few veal recipes, trying to decide how I wanted to cook my veal. Of course, I found 20 that I liked (the main criteria for me to approve was for it to require A.) Veal and B.) some type of wine). In the end, when it was time to cook, I just cooked on my own. I briefly thought about looking up one of them, but then forgot about it by the time I was finished drinking the first glass of wine chopping the onions. So I tried to remember what I did, cause it was yummy. It very well might be extremely similar to something that has a real name. But don’t tell me. Let me believe I’m original. (If you want specific amounts, you’re out of luck, but you can look through the recipe and see what I put down. Welcome to my ADD way of cooking.)

You’ll need:
veal cutlets (we had 7)
bread crumbs
olive oil
a couple of egg whites
pearl onions
shallots
fresh garlic
fresh sliced mushrooms (I got a package of the gourmet mix from Publix with Baby Bella, Shiitake and Oyster mushrooms)
Your choice of wine (I had also intended on making a Marsala sauce, but couldn’t find any Marsala. Or Madeira for a Madeira sauce. So I used the open bottle of Sangiovese from our local winery).
chicken broth
cornstarch
salt and pepper to taste.
And whatever other seasonings you like.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in large skillet.Dip veal cutlets in beaten egg white, then bread crumbs. When oil is sizzling, put the veal in the pan.Cook for about 3 minutes on the 1st side, and 2 or 3 minutes on the second side (you may have to add another tablespoon of oil).
While the veal is cooking, finely chop 5 or 6 pearl onions and 2 or 3 shallots. When the veal is finished, remove it from pan (leave the oil) and place on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Put veal on cookie sheet and put in a very low temp oven while you cook the sauce. It’ll get nice and crispy.

Put chopped onions and shallots in remaining oil in pan, and press fresh garlic into pan as well. Crack fresh pepper to taste into skillet. Sauté-until well cooked (about 5 or 6 minutes, longer if you added fresh oil after veal). Dissolve 2 tablespoons corn starch in ¼ cup of wine, and set aside.Pour ½ to 1 cup of wine and 2 cups of chicken broth into skillet. Add the mushrooms. When mushrooms are cooked as much as you like (about 5 minutes if you’ve got thick slices), add the cornstarch and wine mixture, stirring constantly. Cook until the gravy is the consistency you like. Place Veal on serving platter and either pour the gravy over the top or serve on the side. Eat with a really good red wine. We had another bottle of Sangiovese with it, then opened a Valpolicella.