Okay, what am I doing making two braised dishes in the middle of July? What is the New York Times doing publishing two braised dishes in the middle of July? Well, I made both. There haven't been any recipes that piqued my interest in this column for weeks, and I love stews and braises. I have never made lamb shanks or pork, so I actually tried these.
The first, Rice Pudding Pork, is pictured here. Isn't it somewhat unappetizingly beige? Although the meat is browned on the outside, it is beigey, with a beige sauce. I had always heard of this mythical Marcella Hazan dish, where the pork is braised in milk. This is similar, but with some herbs added. I don't get the appeal. I did not bother photographing the plated portions, as they were really quite unappetizing. This would have to be served with some various colored vegetables, which I hadn't bothered to make. I made some really delicious corn, which is detailed below.
The pork smelled really good while cooking, kind of bacony with the herby overtone (thyme and bay leaves). It tastes just okay. This cut of pork is a little dry--a pork shoulder is so much better, I think. We had a lot left over, which I froze. I may use it for sandwiches, and probably much of it may get discarded. Apparently it may make a difference if you cook this in a casserole that more closely resembles the shape of the roast. Well, I don't have one of those oval-shaped Dutch ovens, and I'm not about to go buy one.
I made the lamb shanks too, which I forgot to photograph. They taste really good. I got a very good sear on them first.
Now for the real find of the weekend: I had read about a wonderful corn pudding in the latest issue of Saveur. This dish is splendid--just corn, salt and butter. Super sweet, with no sugar added. The author reminisces about her childhood making this dish, so it qualifies for inclusion here in the category of memory recipes. It is fantastic--like eating roasted corn on the cob without having to get corn stuck in your teeth! The author seems to feel it is very important to get a very broken-up feeling to the corn, but the photo didn't look that mushy. Instead of using the corn cutter she specified, I cut the corn off the ears with a knife and then pulsed the corn in the food processor a bit, so it was somewhat broken up. I used 9 ears instead of the 12 specified to serve 4. Two of us devoured it.
