Oxtail, the tail of cattle, has recently surged in popularity for culinary enthusiasts. It’s a bony, gelatinous cut of meat and is best braised or slowly stewed. 

I made this dish up one night in which I which I was bored and lazy. Boredom made me want to cook, but laziness made me not want to make a huge mess in the kitchen with various strainers, utensils, colanders, pans, etc that I would have to clean up. Therefore, this is what I would consider a “one pot meal”. 

Naturally, there are more refined ways to make this dish, but since I was really only feeding myself and my roommate, who cares? When I made this dish, I kept the onions and carrots used in braising the tails in the finished dish. Some people may find these too mushy and so feel free to strain the sauce and discard the veggies if preferred. 

Because of the somewhat tricky bone structure of the tail which would make it rather awkward to eat with a fork and knife, if you’re serving this dish to other people it might be best to braise the oxtails,  take the meat off the bones, and shred/return to dish (don’t forget to get the marrow out of the bones for yourself…it’s the most delicious part!!) .

For restaurant week, my roommate Caitlin and I decided to visit The Earle. For $25 it was a great deal and the portions of food were very decent for the discounted price. Portions are something that restaurants love to skimp on, especially when we are paying a lesser price. Last spring when we went to The Chop House I only received a 6oz filet and the tiniest sliver of cheesecake for dessert. Not the same case with The Earle! The restaurant had a great ambiance, and the dining room feels like a cozy cellar although the stairway down to get into the restaurant can only be described as "creepy". I had the bean soup, and Caitlin had the potato leek. Neither was outstanding, but was decently tasty. We ordered an extra calamari appetizer from the main menu, and this was delicious. The rings were tender, delicately breaded and fried to a golden crisp with a balanced dipping sauce. For the entree I had the duck breasts with potato puree which were amazing. They were perfectly cooked, and I received 2 breasts! My friend had the filo-wrapped salmon and this too was delicious...especially the sauce! Chocolate mousse for dessert was great. Overall, service was very slow but forgivable since it was packed for restaurant week. They had a great wine list with many very reasonably priced options in the $20-$30 range. (The cheapest one was only $16!) The sommelier was also very help in that selection, and we enjoyed a lovely red for $28. Overall, it was a good experience, and we left happy, full and wanting to return for another meal some time when it is not as busy. 

I reviewed 3 recipes from the new cookbook, Freshman in the Kitchen. A Potato Leek Soup, Spicy Rainbow Trout, and the Salmon and Goat Cheese Napoleon with Wild Rice Pilaf. Using these 3 recipes as a representative sample of the cookbook in general, this is a decent cook book, especially for college students (maybe not freshmen because of the dorms). It was also great that the recipe gave quantities of ingredients to serve 2, as this is more likely the case during college than standard recipes that are designed to serve 4. I made these recipes over 2 meals, serving the soup as an appetizer before the Salmon and Goat Cheese Napoleon, and the Rainbow Trout for lunch the next day. Overall the cost of the ingredients may make these not the most ideal “college cooking” recipes, as eve frozen salmon fillets cost 7 dollars for 12 oz. I’ll review each recipe separately:

This is a soup that I have made for dinners many times before, albeit with a different recipe. After trying this recipe I would say that it is really not the best Potato Leek Soup recipe around. The first flaw is that the soup is not blended. In my opinion, Potato Leek Soup is the best when creamy and smooth, with occasional chunks of potato speckled throughout. Although you can add heavy cream to get the “creamy” texture, I’ve made many other Potato Leek Soups that did not contain cream, but because the potato was blended, the starch made the soup thick and creamy. The soup was nicely flavored, although I would have preferred a specified quantity of salt, as it requires quite a bit to season “to taste”. In addition...