Never underestimate the healing power of nature. Throw in a 12-ounce veal chop smothered in rosemary butter … and you’re golden. Joie de vivre on steroids. This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice is Veal Chops with Rosemary Butter, a hearty lunch for a chilly September Sunday.
A 12-ounce Veal Chop
The first of September is always my personal New Year’s Day. Hold the champagne but spike the cider. If I choose to banish New Year’s Eve totally and celebrate September 1st as the official day of renewal and fresh beginnings, I suggest that it’s about time. Dorie’s version of Veal Chops with Rosemary Butter was the perfect dish for a September New Year’s Day feast.
My initial knee jerk reaction to this week’s recipe was “ewww!” Visions of cuddly calves confined to crates danced in my head. The good news is our USDA now discourages this cruel, inhumane method. Talk to your butcher and source your veal.
This week’s recipe is quick and easy, pan-roasted chops flavored with a white-wine/chicken broth mix and a generous dollop of rosemary butter. For a taste-you-can-believe-in, season the chops a day in advance. Rosemary butter may already be a staple in your freezer but, if not, it’s simple to make. I picked up Olathe corn and Colorado peaches at our Saturday Farmers Market to complete my plate. Auld Lang Syne and Happy New Year!
In the spirit of new beginnings, it was time to finally bring order to my tiny kitchen. Admittedly, I’ve been living in blissful disarray for these past few months. It was either enjoy my first summer back in the Rockies or continue unpacking, organizing and playing Martha Stewart. There really wasn’t a choice.
It’s not pretty. It’s my kitchen.
But now it’s September and my friend, Judy, a brilliant cook with a small, very organized kitchen, grew weary of my incessant whining. “This kitchen space just has me flummoxed,” I would tell her. Over and over and over again.
Judy is re-thinking our Friendship.
Finally we made a deal. If I unpacked all my kitchen equipment, dishes, utensils, pots and pans, she would spend a Saturday to bring order to my kitchen and pantry. In a flash I made friends with my storage unit again, unpacking boxes, loading my car with kitchen essentials, hauling them to my condo and praying Judy would not forget our date. (I called every day to remind her.)
I hung out by the counter. Sorta supervising.
What can I say about last Saturday. I love this woman. She arrived with her label maker, storage bottles and croissants. It took her only four hours to accomplish what I hadn’t in five months. (I admit to drinking coffee, munching on my croissant and being grateful.) My kitchen “works” in ways I never could have imagined. My pantry closets are expertly shelved. Each item has its place. Even the spices are labeled and in alphabetical order. Seriously?
Judy labeled each spice jar and placed them in the IKEA cart, A to Z. (The IKEA cart arrived in 2,500 pieces with the directions in Swedish. Don’t ask.)
“Now, Mary,” she cautioned, more than once,“the secret to a small kitchen is to return everything exactly to it’s place.”
What are the odds, do you think, that I can keep those spice jars soldiered up correctly from A to Z? There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell ……………..
Veal Chops with Rosemary Butter is this week’s recipe assignment for French Fridays with Dorie, a group working its way through Dorie Greenspan’s amazing “Around My French Table”. To visit the other blogs of my colleagues who are cooking the book, go here.
A genuine Aspen Rainbow compliments of Mother Nature
Um, can Judy come to MY kitchen and get it organised? What a great friend and glad you are starting to get settled and organised in your kitchen space. Nice chops too 😉
Oh Mary! YOU are such an amazing woman! Of course you have an amazing Judy in your life! I don’t know if I will get my veal chop done on time as I am sick (crap), but glad I have time to be sick and recover before IFBC. I love your tiny kitchen:) I always feel like the autumnal solstice ends the year and the vernal equinox begins it. I like to think of the time in between as free time. It works if I don’t think about too much! Can’t wait to meet you in 7 days!!!
Get better. Just seven days until Seattle. What will they make of all we Doristas?
You make me laugh Mary! And I love the thought of September being a new year. It’s so true, I’ve felt it in my heart but never really thought about it.
We get your Colorado Olathe corn for about 3 weeks at the local Kroger stores. I wait for it all year. I can only imagine how wonderful it is if it doesn’t have to travel across the country. 🙂 Love your organized kitchen. I’m a bit like you; I love things nice and neat but deep down I’m a messy mama. 🙂
September has always been my favorite month – It was more than my birthday and more than going back to school. I think you’ve nailed it!
Your veal chop looks wonderful.
And what an amazing friend you have! I always had to organize my mother’s cupboards & they never stayed that way!
I trust you’re far from the flooding in CO since you didn’t mention it.
Can you believe in ONE week we’ll be in Seattle (not Portland!)?!?
A new year’s toast to you & St. Judy. Good info on the possibility of humanely slaughtered veal….we do eat veal in Italy but avoid it in the “New” World.
Happy new year and thank goodness for good (and well organized) friends. Judy sounds like a life saver. I would go mad if my kitchen wasn’t well ordered. But even my spices aren’t in alphabetical order.
1) your kitchen doesn’t look so tiny to me – love it! I need a Judy too…
2) happy new year!
3) hope you are okay and not near all the weather
4) less than one week! yay.
5) nice chops 🙂
Sunny today in Denver where I still am at the Marriott. Devastation all around from the high waters, flooding and leaky houses. Truly biblical floods. Hello Noah. The state and federal gov’t have stepped in and are providing the needed assistance. Thank you for caring. Happy Birthday. Cannot wait to celebrate with you both.
September is a wonderful month! We were married in September! It really should be the beginning of the New Year! I’m on board! I love that your friend came to your rescue! My spices are all in one place, but hardly organized…would she like to come to NJ? Looking forward to seeing you in Seattle! Enjoy your weekend!
Oh Mary, this post made me laugh. And reminded me that I need a Judy in my life! I’m moving soon to a smaller place and dread the moment when I was to unload my kitchen with cookbooks and magazines. We’re like one unit, we go everywhere together! I don’t plan, unlike you I know!, so things tend to pile up. Anyway, the chops are mighty wonderful, so big and tempting!
What a funny, lovely post! I’m glad you enjoyed the veal!
Bring Judy to Seattle !!!!! She is definitely an “honorary Dorista” after this post 🙂 And those photos of you two were priceless – so glad you shared. And you kitchen prepped to be organized looks like mine on most given days….just keeping it real. Great job on that veal chop and love that you decided it was a New Year’s celebration. Fall is my hands down favorite time of year and makes me think of new beginnings dating back to my earliest memories of getting new clothes for school and those brand new school supplies. Nothing says fresh start better than a brand new notebook 🙂
Mary, I am a lot like your friend Judy and I have organized many friends closets and kitchens. I never realized what a gift organization can be to a friend, so glad you have someone to help you get things together. I have always felt Sept was the beginning of the New Year, but I thought it was because I live in NY and the kids are off from school on Rosh Hashanah the Jewish New Year… but the change in season definitely triggers a feeling of it’s time to gather my nuts and get ready for the winter. Glad you could find humanely raised veal. I’m sure if I searched a little harder I could find some, but time is limited when kids are back at school. So glad to have you back with us. Happy Autumn.
Mary, I can remember silly little things like those prices, but don’t ask me what I did yesterday..
And, I don’t believe George ever went inside a super market to even price milk. Your chop looks
delicious. See you in Seattle, can’t wait.
We all need friends like Judy…what a gem! Maybe October will be MY organization month. Your chop was even more expensive than mine…but not surprising at the Butcher Block. It is one gorgeous hunk of meat…I tried not to think of the cuddly calves either (and was wondering if I’d get any nasty comments about cooking with veal!). Happy weekend…
1) I’m a wee bit jealous of a cool September evening – we are still running in the 100’s – 107 today 🙂
2) Your kitchen is gorgeous!!!!
3) Your meal looks terrific, and the Colorado Peaches are beautifully ombred.
4) What a view!
Happy New Year, Mary! I always feel like September is a new beginning, but never actually celebrate it. I’m glad you do. I’m a big fan of personal holidays. I’m glad to hear your kitchen is organized for you. I’ll tell you, Howard alphabetized my spices too. I’m more “spatially organized”, but it helps him find things when I ask him to fetch them from the pantry. I do have to try hard to put them back in the right spot. Also, I’m glad to see from comments above that you are not near the Colorado flooding. Horrible. Why is Mother Nature so mean? Hard to believe that IFBC is almost here and we will meet in less than a week. Can’t wait. Hugs until then.
See you in a week, Betsy, and I am happy we have some special time together planned. Devastating flooding and loss of lives in the Boulder area. Biblical is the right word.
Judy can come to my place any day! I could use that kind of help. Great looking chop there – it’s ginormous!
Judy sounds incredible! It’s so hard for me to keep an organized kitchen/pantry. I have such a hard time making myself always return things to their place…I like to think of September as the start of the year too. Happy New Year!
That is one big chop! It looks fantastic! September always feels like a new beginning to me too, even though it’s been many years since I have been in school. Oh, and could you please send your friend Judy my way?
I’d love to know more about why Sept 1st instead of Jan 1st. Also, I’m tempted by the Ikea cart but reality sets in about the million pieces. Hmmm….