I nailed it!

Veal is not a meat I really grew up eating - the closest thing I had to it was pork... but it happened that I married someone who is quite fond of the veal chop. He orders it when he sees it on menus, and though I don't tend to order it, I have looked upon it fondly and wondered, could I make a nice veal chop at home?

I believe I have tried to do this before, and found I had myself an overprice dry pork-chop-like piece of meat. But tonight, the result was different.

I had purchased a couple of nice veal chops from Bristol Farms in Long Beach, and instead of seasoning them dry, I seasoned them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and coated them with a generous amount of vegetable oil. I would have used olive oil if I had it on hand, but canola oil was what I had, and that's what I used. The reason for this coating is that my last experience with a veal chop produced an excessively dry chop, and I had heard that a Tuscan style of grilling meat involved a generous marinade of olive oil. Hence the oil. And there was a smidge of Dijon mustard added for flavor.

The result was good. The chops were broiled in the oven, just a few minutes on each side, then left in the oven after the broiler was turned off so the insides could cook a bit after both sides had browned. The chops were nicely golden brown and crisp-appearing on the outside, and on the inside, just a hint of pink but not too rare - they were beige/pink on the inside. Perfectly moist, delicious, flavorful, a tad gamey but not excessively - I basically nailed the recipe and was very happy with the turnout. I would definitely make these again, in this manner!

I served it with steamed baby bok choy, because it was what I had.... any greens would have been a good accompliament.

Finally, the wine. We did have some with the chops - something perfect, in fact: 2004 Paulo Scavino Barolo - delicious, aromatic on the nose, silky on the palate, with just the right amount of fruit (ie not too much goopy fruit), a tiny bit of grip but not too much, not too acidic - a soft wine, really, but perfect with the delicate flavors of the veal - this is a wine that didn't need a steak or heavy game meat - it was delicious with the veal and by itself, and it only made me think I really don't drink enough Italian wine - I really need to get myself down to The Wine Country and stock up on maybe a 6-pack of an assortment of delicious Barolo. That would be serious fun.

So there you go - barolo and veal rib chop - if you haven't tried it before, do experience it, because it is a whole lot of goodness!