After celebrating our one year anniversary last week, Mario and I conferred with our Captain and charter a new course for this new year. We wanted to start off on the right foot and show our Captain how far we have come along. We decided on the Coniglio ai Peperoni - Braised Rabbit with Red and Green Peppers (Molto Italiano- Page 378).
We started our new adventure at Eataly in NYC and purchased the two whole rabbits at the Marcelleria. The butcher informed us that because it was almost closing time and the tables had been cleaned, she would not be able to break them down for us. This actually worked in our favor and gave us the opportunity to learn ourselves. As we walked out and felt the cold NYC air, we joked how Elmer Fudd would have been so proud of us, we finally caught that "wascally wabbit"!
I think we all joked about it because we were somewhat hesitant at actually eating a rabbit for the first time. For one, we all know them as those cute, furry, cuddable creatures and secondly, poor Angela owned rabbits as a kid. But we collected ourselves and wanted to make sure we respected the rabbit and did our best breaking them down. We had to view a couple of videos before we dove in, and found one that we could use as a guide.
I broke down the first rabbit with Mario watching closely. It went very well and we were very excited on how well it went. Mario stepped up to the plate and started the second rabbit. He was a champ, and out did me! We marinated the pieces of rabbit in a white wine vinegar mix for one hour and then dried them off with paper towels.
Earlier that day we decided to treat ourselves to a new knife and a stainless steel pan. We were like two kids in a candy store and as he read through all the comparisons and warranty info I was happy to see how involved he was in the selection process of our new tools. "We" decided on a 5 quart Calphalon stainless steel pan and an 8" Calphalon chef knife.
We browned the rabbit, removed from the pan, added in the onions, browned with white wine and replaced the rabbit for about half an hour. While the rabbit and onions cooked we fired up another pan and slowly cooked the red and green bell peppers. We combined all ingredients and seasoned with salt and pepper. We rang the dinner bell and served up the rabbit with a side of Angela's mushroom risotto.
It was delicious, and Mario and I couldn't believe how much confidence we had in the kitchen. We reminisced about our first attempt at following our Captain and were proud of how long we have come.
Ciao,
Mario and Mario
The Three Tocayos
