Meals, memories

For us, most often a meal is memorable because it was good.   Several years ago, when we were spending time in the Adirondacks on a regular basis, our group of friends decided to take a supper cruise on Raquette Lake.  It was a leisurely affair, and as the captain took us around the lake’s perimeter he told the story of each grand camp that we passed by.   In particular, I remember one with a stone fireplace big enough to roast a whole cow, should the need arise to do so.   The Robber Barons did things on a grand scale, especially when it came to entertaining guests.

Our chef that night proposed to serve us a traditional German meal.  Sadly, high quality food, the type of ammunition  needed to prepare a meal whose memory will linger for years, is not easy to find at the Shur-Fine in Big Moose, NY.   But if you happen to know a nearby farmer who’s grown potatoes (Isadore Rapasadi himself, the Grand Old Man of CNY onions and spuds, is a scant thirty miles to the southeast) and cabbage—perhaps even raised a few pigs, then the whole proposition becomes entirely feasible.   Looking up at the sky we saw a fierce blueness which one finds in only the cleanest air, set off by a few lingering black clouds from some earlier rain. Looking down toward our plates we found a contrast of color and flavor– red cabbage that was pungent and sweet, yellow new potatoes with a pleasant snap and creamy finish to every bite, braised ribs.   I’ve often wanted to recreate the dinner, in spirit if not down to  the last letter. 

Here’s how we did it, should you care to know.  Finding the right ingredients is always ninety per cent of any meal , so I’ll talk a bit about that as well.  Our pig hails from Kingbird Farm,

 as do the fingerling potatoes.     We bought them both at the Ithaca Farmer’s Market  . The red cabbage and beets comprise very nearly the tail end of our allotment’s harvest, though there’s still a stand of trusty kale

braving the frost.   Our rib rub is  4T paprika, 1t ground dried smoky chipotle, 2T garlic powder, 2t  cumin, 2t powdered turmeric root, 1t cayenne, 1T kosher salt, 1T fresh ground pepper and perhaps a turn of nutmeg or a pulverized clove if you’re feeling motivated.   But don’t quote me on it, I’m not a recipe sort of guy.   Mixed well and stored in a jar it will last for at least a month.    Ideally, one would give the meat a thin coat and let it sit in the fridge overnight.    After cooking on a low rack for an hour or so at 250, enough fat had rendered to start the potatoes.    We poured it off into a glass baking dish, added an equal amount of evoo, dried the spuds thoroughly, and sprinkled the mixture with a generous amount of coarse salt and ground pepper.   This went back into the low oven.   Plenty of time remained  to slice up the two small red cabbages as if for slaw, and prepare half a large Spanish onion and two small apples in coarse dice.   After those sautéed in oil for ten minutes or so, we added the cabbage, six mission figs sliced 1/8 inch round, about 2T of cider vinegar, 2T balsamic, and 2T maple syrup.   Removing the water is adding the love, so don’t scrimp on the cooking time for your cabbage.    At least fifteen minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally.    When the meat has pulled back from the bone (plan for 2 ½ hours), remove ribs from oven and wrap each rack in foil, then tuck them into a paper bag and fold it closed.   Push the oven up to 400, take out the potatoes, give them a stir, and continue cooking until the skin becomes  golden and crinkly.    This should be about a half hour, more than ample time to dice up some garlic (but not too fine now!) and stir it in for the last five minutes of cooking.   What about the beets?   Simply boiled, peeled, salted and sliced.   

At this point the only thing left to do was open another Cascazilla from Ithaca Beer Company, unwrap the ribs and plate our meal.

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