Veal Milanese – Leaning Shed Farm’s Tomatoes & Greens, Bufflao Mozzarella, Caper Vinaigrette

I have a confession – I don’t eat many of the dishes I create.

I definitely taste all of the components and vouch for the quality and commorotory of the ingredients, but when it comes time for me to sit down and grab a bite towards the end of the shift, I crave comfort food.

I remember Anthony Bourdain’s visit to El Bulli in the video Decoding Ferran Adria, and recall Ferran saying that every evening he sits down and experiences his entire menu… upwards of 30 courses. That’s devotion. Or perhaps it was more a publicity stunt than anything. Or – more likely –  this is one of many reasons he has 3 Michelin stars and (this isn’t a complaint Mr. Vettel) I have 3 Chicago Tribune stars.

Still, the idea of sitting down and eating most of my dishes seems like overkill after spending the entire day conceiving, producing, refining, and executing the food. In any case – when I’m not eating the pizza we serve in In Room Dining – or our unheralded, yet unctuous signature burger – this is the kind of item right up my alley.

The veal we brought in is a free range veal from Strauss in Wisconsin. Veal is one of the items I am a little divided on. The quality of the meat in animals raised in confinement is something I have always found to be of a better quality than free raised animals. As the blood of the animal doesn’t get the chance to work itself into the meat, it retains a clean flavor, white color, and also a firmer texture.

Can I be conscientious regarding veal and not feel that way about foie gras?

Perhaps favoring the free raised veal has to do with feeling more of an affinity with cows than I do for ducks and geese – which is true. Or maybe that there really isn’t a viable alternative to foie gras. Anyhow, it seems better to me that a baby cow is drinking its mother’s milk and grazing in the open air rather than eating a formula while couped in a cage. I’m willing to sacrifice a small amount of the quality to know that.
And I also applaude Strauss for making the challenging decision to convert their outfit to veal raised by these means. Though there has been a shift recently towards humanely raised veal, it takes some pretty big balls – and a lot of money – to actually convert a company’s entire philosophy.

In regards to the Milanese preparation itself, we use the top round that is sliced thin, pounded, and breaded. To cook it, we begin with about an inch of olive oil in a sauté pan with a tablespoon or so of butter. Once the butter browns (that is the tell tale sign for most of my sautéing), the veal is placed in the pan, browned, and flipped. Just before it comes out, the oil is poured out of the pan and the veal is seasoned with salt on one side, flipped like you would an omelet and seasoned on the 2nd side. The sauce is a simple lemon-caper vinaigrette and I love how the salinity and acidity in this traditional sauce complements the veal.

The tomatoes and lettuce are from Dave and Denise at Leaning Shed Farms. On this afternoon, I happened to be at the market as most stands were breaking down. I went to visit them and bought them out of their gorgeous tomatoes. We amicably bartered over the price, and they also threw in their remaining lettuces for free. Then I felt a little  guilty for bartering. The early birds can have their worms, just leave me the bargains left at the end of the day when the worn out farmers don’t want to load the belongings back up.