This is an update on my Italian dinner that you were so helpful with. My entrée was to be Osso Bucco with risotto; we have a limited number of markets in my area for fresh veal shanks so I ordered them from Fresh Market to be picked up two days before the dinner. Of course, they did not arrive on their truck as promised; I obviously need Palma’s 101 course on entertaining. I quickly switched to option # 2, which was Rosticciana con le Olive (baby back ribs, browned in rosemary infused olive oil, braised in wine and slow cooked in a tomato wine sauce with black olives) served over soft polenta. I used Debp1’s oven recipe for the polenta with a little parmesan cheese and butter stirred in at the end – great recipe, thanks Deb. The dish was amazing and was a huge hit.
We started the evening with Bruschetta, the bread being toasted on the grill, rubbed with fresh cut garlic on rosemary sticks and served with an assortment of toppings. It was a fun interactive appetizer course served by the pool. We moved to the dining room for a terrific butternut squash soup, topped with crushed almond biscotti and parmesan cheese crumbles (thanks for the tip, Alice). For desert we had Raspberry Tiramisu (thanks to Bags Packed for sharing the recipe) followed by a dessert wine with biscotti for dipping. A small glass of ice cold Limoncello was the finish.
It was a great meal, and fun to use so many recipes from this site. Thanks again everyone for your help and suggestions.
Palma, How could I not share with you, you have been so generous sharing your wonderful recipes. This really was a delicious dish and I loved that both the ribs and the polenta cooked while we were having appetizers and drinks.
Rosticciana con le Olives (Pork Ribs with Black Olives)
4 lbs. baby back ribs salt & freshly ground pepper ¼ c evo 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 fresh rosemary sprig 1 bay leaf 1 sm. onion chopped 2 stalks celery chopped ½ c dry white wine 1 can (1 lb) crushed Roma tomatoes with juice pinch of ground red chili ½ c pitted black olives
Pull away the thin membrane that covers the underside of the ribs slabs. Divide the ribs into smaller sections (2 ribs per section worked well), salt and pepper.
In a lg. frying pan or dutch oven warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add, garlic, rosemary, bay leave, onion and celery and sauté gently until fragrant (at this point I removed the sauté to keep it from over browning). Raise the heat to high, add the ribs and brown well on both sides, turning often. Drain off most of the fat from the pan (as much as possible without losing the brown bits in the bottom).
Pour the wine over the ribs, reduce the heat to med-high and cook, turning the ribs to coat them in the pan juices until the alcohol evaporates and the wine reduces slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, ground chile and add back the sauté, cover and cook over low heat for 2-21/2 hours. Sauce should maintain the consistency of tomato sauce; if it becomes too dry add a small amount of water. The ribs are ready when the meat is moist and tender and fall away from the bones.
Just before removing the ribs from the heat, discard the bay leaf and rosemary. Add olives, cooking them just long enough to flavor the sauce, about 3 minutes. Serve the ribs over creamy polenta topped with the sauce.
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