Juggling the baby is a fine art. We pass her back and forth all day long, sharing the smiles and the frowns and teaching her all about the world we live in. As we share time with baby we also share a variety of tasks. The person cooking in the kitchen at any given time is the one not holding the baby.
The other morning, round about 7:30am Alex was holding the baby and spontaneously put her in the baby carrier. It's a hit and miss item so when she settled down happily against his chest I inherited the sauce the Alex was about to make. I seared off veal rib bones over medium heat, grinding up my vegetables (carrots, celery, onion, garlic & jalapeno) in the food processor while the meat cooked. When the bones were done I deglazed the pan with the vegetables, scraping up the fond with the liquid they released in the pan and then cooked them over high heat, stirring constantly until they were thick and caramelized. At this point Alex came into the kitchen and noted that he had been planning a much less hands on version of the sauce. I shrugged my shoulders and sent him on his way. I continued working, adding the better part of an open bottle of Foley Pinot Noir and some tamari. I covered the rondeau and put it in the oven to cook. About halfway through Alex added some water and after three hours my sauce was done.
Alex put it away for me because I was holding the baby. He appeared a few minutes later with a bite of meltingly tender meat pulled from the rib bones dressed with a spoonful of sauce. Being a gracious husband not only did he share the Scooby snack, he also noted that my sauce was probably way better than his would have been. Now that's true love from a chef.
