Mmmm... goat vertebrae....

This week’s topics include “Wait a minute.. Now you’re an Italian woman?!,” a hearty homemade red sauce, “Is that goat?!,” and I show you what may be the perfect pizza!

The Perfect Pizza?  From time to time, I have waxed eloquently about pizza when it’s done right.  Some of you may recall that I have given high marks to Nu Yawk Pizza in Reno and Mofo’s in Incline Village.  Both make traditional pizzas (mostly), and do them right.

However, I have found what may be the perfect pizza.  A friend of mine, Alberto, owns and operates La Vecchia La Vecchia, an Italian restaurant in Reno.  Alberto can flat out cook and puts out awesome Italian food.  He’s also given me some great suggestions on how to improve my risottos.

But I digress.  Recently, the City of Reno took La Vecchia’s old location through eminent domain to widen a street.  Alberto had to look for a new home and he apparently decided to equip his new kitchen the way he wanted to.  One of his new toys is a wood-fired pizza oven.

Recently I had lunch with the Red at La Vecchia and ordered a pizza with a blend of cheeses, prosciutto, and arugula.  Check out the photo.  The pizza looked beautiful and tasted fabulous.  The crust had just a hint of smokiness from the oven and was nice and crunchy from the extreme heat.  Alberto later told me that it takes 3 minutes to go from raw dough to cooked pizza.  Now that’s extreme heat!

Go try La Vecchia and order anything off the menu.  You won’t be disappointed! 

What am I working on?  Homemade red sauce.  Yes, I know many of us have made red sauce in many different varieties.  But, I’m talking about old school, cook it for 8-10 hours Italian-style red sauce.

So I decided to try Michael Symon’s recipe Yia Yia's Neopolitan Sauce.  Yes, I actually use recipes once in a while.  I saw the episode where he made it and it looked fabulous. You sear some baby back pork ribs, which stay in the sauce the whole time, and you deglaze with a bottle (yes the whole bottle) of dry white wine.  Plus, there are home-made meatballs which get cooked in the sauce for 30-60 minutes. 

One of my favorite parts of the recipe is that you throw in parmesan rinds rather that parmesan cheese.  It cooks long enough to break down the rinds.  You get the full parmesan flavor with pieces you would otherwise throw away.

Side note – parmesan rinds are also great for most types of soup that call for parmesan.  I save my rinds and freeze them for future use. 

The review?  Fabulous, though the sauce needed a couple more hours in the pot and meatballs needed a tad more salt.  This was a hearty sauce and the richness of the ribs permeated the sauce.  Sear ribs, cook them in a sauce for 8 or so hours, and what do you get?  A sauce with lots of porky goodness which is leagues better than any sauce you’ll buy at the grocery store.  I particularly liked it because it taught me a basic technique which I can use for future sauces without the need for a recipe. 

Check out the photos.  WF-inspired variations of this dish will definitely become a regular occurrence in the WF household. The only challenge I face is where to find San Marzano tomatoes in Reno.

Perhaps I’m turning into an Italian woman and not a Mexican woman? 

A Foodie Afternoon with the Things.  I often take the Things with me to shop for food on the weekends.  We go to random markets, Geocache (look it up), and eat fun food. 

On a recent Saturday afternoon, we took off looking for a Filipino market in a suspect part of town.  Why a Filipino market?  Why not?!  Nothing better than wandering through an ethnic market looking at all the strange and exotic food! 

“Hey dad.  What’s this?”  “No idea.”  “What’s this?”  “No idea.  Let’s ask.”  I found this can and I’m not going to lie to you.  It sounds completely unappetizing.  Canned mackerel in  tomato sauce?  Uhh… I’ll pass.  That’s not to say I wouldn’t try it if it was served to me…..  

After shopping, we stop at a little taqueria for lunch.  This place was in ‘the hood’ and catered primarily to Hispanic people, so the WF and my two red head boys may have stood out.  Whatever.  That won’t stop me from going to a place like that and it shouldn’t stop you.  Often, these little places have some great food and you’re as comfortable as you let yourself be. 

The boys order numerous tacos (carne aside, adovada, etc.), while I peruse the menu.  I see they have birria and note that they have… wait for  it….. goat birria.  Goat?  Hell yes!  I’m in. 

 

Check out the picture.  I’m pretty sure they used every last bit of the goat as there were pieces in it that I have never seen in any dish.  Let’s just say that I don’t normally find myself gnawing on a vertebrae.  Check out the photo. 

It was very good and I’m glad I tried it.  Goat is very gamey and needs a strong broth to stand up to it.  Now I know.

Happy cooking.

WF.