Autumn, 🍂🍁🎃🍎 My Favorite Season
Plus a Cozy Recipe: Rabbit Pappardelle
A little over a week ago, we hit up Nashoba Valley Winery and brought home a massive bag of apples. I didn’t even bother to make anything with them…we’ve just been snacking on them every day. There is nothing that says fall more than the perfect, crisp apple. And finally, this week, the leaves in Boston have really started to change color. The temperature is cooling enough for jackets. All the things are pumpkin spice. And the Halloween aisles at Target are a complete disaster. In other words, I love it.
I’m also loving all the photos of people reading my book. It’s such a strange thing to have a new book out in the world and having people either connecting or not connecting with my words. If you are one of those who connected, I’d be ETERNALLY GRATEFUL if you could post a review. I’ll even make it easy for you:
Thanks Tall Poppies, for making this easy for me to share!
Another thing I love about fall is that cozy food starts showing up on menus again, and we’re making more of it at home. This dish appears in my novel, In The Garden of Monsters. I didn’t include it in the companion cookbook (which is free!) because renowned Boston chef, Charles Draghi, shares a recipe for Rabbit Ragu. The dishes are similar, but also very different, and really you should try them both.
Many people are shocked by the idea of eating rabbits because marketing programs in the early 20th century created the Easter Bunny, and suddenly, rabbits became a family pet. In addition to that, there is difficulty in raising them commercially, and they’re not common these days. But we should be eating them over other meats for a few reasons. The taste is similar to chicken but a bit heartier. If you can’t find it locally, I highly recommend Fossil Farms.
Rabbit Pappardelle
By Crystal King and Joe Doucette
This dish has roots in the Renaissance. We took our inspiration from Bartolomeo Scappi, who included some of the earliest recipes for pasta in his 1570 cookbook, L’Opera di Bartolomeo Scappi.
Serves 8
Ingredients
1/2 cup (65 g) minced carrot
1/2 cup (75 g) minced onion
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 stick (57 g) butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 lbs (680 g) rabbit (meat removed from the bone and finely chopped)
1 rabbit liver chopped (or two chicken livers chopped)
3 oz (85 g) pancetta diced small
1 1/2 cups (355 ml) dry white wine
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk plus 1/2 cup (120 ml) reserved
1 tablespoon sage (fresh minced)
1 tablespoon rosemary (fresh minced)3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground clove
salt/pepper to taste
28 oz (800 g) can of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon grape must
Two 16 oz. (800g) bags of pappardelle pasta
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano to taste
Preparation
Sauce
1. Melt butter in a Dutch oven or big sauce pot with olive oil. Add carrot, onion and garlic. Sauté over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Add meats. Cook for about 10 minutes or until cooked through.
3. Add white wine. Cook until wine is about 90% reduced, 15-20 minutes.
4. Add 1 cup of milk. Bring to a simmer; add spices. Reduce to about 1/4 about 10-15 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes, 1/2 cup milk, and grape must. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Cook for two hours, stirring occasionally.
Noodles
1. Fill a large pot with 4-6 liters of water and add 1-2 tablespoons of salt. Bring the water to a rolling boil.
2. Add the dried pappardelle to the boiling water. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are al dente (firm to the bite).
3. Drain the pappardelle and immediately toss with the sauce.
4. Serve over cooked pappardelle with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
WHAT’S BRINGING ME JOY
Nostalgia, with one of my favorite shows of my youth, The Young Ones. You can find all the episodes on YouTube these days.
This is just WOW.
If you love food and love Italy, and haven’t read THE CHEF’S SECRET or FEAST OF SORROW, click the links to learn where to buy your copy! And now you can order IN THE GARDEN OF MONSTERS!
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