Veal Shanks And Dead Trees

Veal Shanks And Dead Trees

Last weekend was my first full weekend at home after my camping trip and I had a lot of chores to do. The first was to mow the lawn. My housemates kept the lawn mowed while I was away and mowed the back yard last week. The front was ready to get trimmed, so that was my first order of business. After mowing the lawn, I planted a small garden. 

The backyard seen from the levee.
Lots of branches to trim.

Next I trimmed limbs and branches on the trees. While I was trimming I remembered a situation I was in about ten years ago. I had a friend over and he noticed a had a few dead trees in my yard. He said that he’d lend me a chainsaw I could use to take them down. 

I said that I don’t really like to borrow tools. A few days later, after little league practice (right near his house) he insisted I grab the chainsaw. Reluctantly I said ok.

Right away I was confused when we walked past his house, to another house on the block. He led me up to the door and knocked. A man I’d never met before answered and my friend said “He needs to use your chainsaw.” I think I turned three shades of red in embarrassment. The fellow, who didn’t know me from Adam, went to the garage and handed me his chainsaw. I mumbled a thank you and went home.

That afternoon, I started up the chainsaw and the chain promptly fell off the darn thing. It took me about 15 minutes to get it back on and I quickly drove out to return the saw. I didn’t want to break the mans chainsaw (again, I didn't even know this guy).

A week went by and I had a few days off for Thanksgiving. I was looking out my window at the big dead tree and decided I could cut it down with my bow saw. 

The tree had grown on a crooked angle and was leaning so it couldn’t hit anything but other tree branches. With my saw, I cut a wedge on the leaning side and then cut through until the tree started to fall. 

The tree fell exactly the way it was leaning ... until it hit a stout branch and stopped falling, then leveled out, so that the whole tree was balanced in a horizontal position fifteen feet in the air. Why do these things happen to me? The whole tree was fifteen feet in the air teetering precariously above my yard!

Well, my tree cutting was over for the day and I was frustrated to say the least. I eventually got a neighbor to help me get the tree down. 

You don't want to be anywhere nearby
when he's cutting trees down.

In the meantime, to sooth my frustration and lower my blood pressure, I decided to have some veal shanks. These shanks are a sure way to cope with mounting frustration. I recommend them.

Olive oil
4 veal shanks, about 2-1/2 lb. total

2 stalks of celery chopped

1 large onion chopped

3 large carrots chopped

40 cloves of garlic, peeled 

1 tsp. thyme

salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 bottle of dry red wine
1 lb. mushrooms - halved

Preparation

Heat a cast iron skillet until hot. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom and sear the veal shanks on both sides. Season with salt and pepper and set them aside. 

In a large roasting pan with a lid, place the celery, onion and carrots evenly in the bottom. Place the veal shanks on top of the vegetables. Add the garlic cloves and the thyme and season again with salt and pepper. Pour the red wine into the roasting pan.  Cover the roasting pan and place it in a 300 degree oven.

Braise the veal for one hour and add the mushrooms. Stir to settle the mushrooms in the pan and place the covered roasting pan back in the oven. Lower the temperature to 275 degrees and roast for another hour or so.

Remove the shanks and the mushrooms to a platter and use a blender to blend the vegetables and the cooking liquid together. Return the sauce to the roasting pan and boil a few minutes to thicken the sauce.

Serving 

I'm really much better at eating dinner
than I am at yard work.

Serve each shank next to some roasted potatoes and cover both with some of the sauce. All you need to add is your favorite steamed vegetable - go ahead, you pick. Then add warm fresh baked bread and a fine Cahors from France. For dessert, I’d recommend blueberry pie with a scoop of ice cream, why not!