Food Minia

On Rue Dauguerre last fall, the night the Beaujolais Nouveau was released, I sat at the banquette at Le Plan B , next to a well dressed gentleman who was diving into a plate of marrow bones. Cross cut ones, like in the picture below. With a tiny spoon. Very much enjoying himself.   Julia has a recipe of sorts for marrow bones (MAFCI p. 19), but it's for poaching them quickly to get the marrow for sauces, like sauce Bordelaise . ( You can pull the marrow from stewing bones for this as well, like Osso Bucco.) The fleur de sel is crucial . I got some when I was in La Rochelle --raked from the Atlantic salt flats nearby (and very expensive , for salt). When J first had it, she was skeptical, b u t one taste and she became a believer.      You can eith er split the bones len gth - wise or crosswise. But because I buy dog bones at Fareway, they are always cross-wise . And they are not a s long as I would like . The longer they are, the longer th ey take to roast....

There are all kinds of 'abats'--organ meats. (French for slaughterhouse is abattoir .) But liver is the easiest and fastest and healthiest and, well, easiest to take for many people. Julia has liver exactly right when she says it "cooks hardly more than a minute on each side. Overcooked liver is gray, dry, and disappointing—perfectly sautéed, it is a rosy pink when you cut into it. " The photo shows pork liver, my favorite, cut by the Meat Lab into lamelles, a little thicker than the usual. So it took about two minutes a side. A lot of paper towels or newspaper will help--to blot the liver and dredge it. If you put it on the counter it makes a huge mess. 4 slices (about 1 pound) calf's or pork liver sliced about ½ inch thick Salt and freshly ground pepper ½ cup or more seasoned breadcrumbs or flour in a plate 3 tablespoons butter and olive oil combined, or clarified butter Heat the butter and/or oil over high heat. Season the liver on one sid...