1967 NY Times: Veal Chops Beau Séjour

New York Times' recipes are ones that people preserve, whether they are from newspaper clippings or handwritten notes. NY Times has been publishing recipes since the 1850s! Amanda Hesser from NY Times had a brilliant idea six years ago to collect the best of the best for a big community cookbook - The Essential New York Times Cookbook.

Among the collection of classic recipes, I saw Veal Chops Beau Séjour that was released in 1967. A reader wrote to the NY Times, "I'm still using the original copy from the paper, now deep yellow with age, fragile, held together with Scotch tape." I don't know what it was, but it made me want to try it almost immediately.

Veal Chops Beau Séjour

I served the veal chops with a light lemon arugula salad and Welsh Rabbit mac n' cheese.

for the Lemon Arugula Salad... 
Whisk together 1/6 cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, 2.5 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp of grated lemon peel for the lemon vinaigrette. Toss with 2 cups of baby arugula.


for the Welsh Rabbit mac n' cheese...
Make Welsh Rabbit (see the recipe here). Mix with cooked rotini pasta. Bake for 20-30 minutes in a preheated 350F oven.

Veal Chops Beau Séjour
Adapted from the NY Times (I mainly revised the servings from 6 to 4)
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 French-Cut Veal Chops (if it's not frenched already, ask your butcher to do this for you)
• Flour
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 4 tbsp of unsalted butter
• 4 peeled cloves of garlic
• 2 small bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup of chicken stock

Recipe

1. Lightly dredge the chops on all sides in flour. In a lidded skillet large enough to hold all 4 chops, heat the oil and 3 tablespoons of the butter. Brown the chops on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes total.
2. Scatter the garlic cloves around the chops. Cut each bay leaf in half. Place 1 piece on each chop. Add thyme, salt and pepper. Cook the chops, tightly covered, over moderate to low heat for about 20 minutes, or until they are cooked through and the natural sauce in the skillet is syrupy. Transfer the chops to a hot serving dish and keep warm. Leave the garlic and bay leaves in the skillet.
3. Add the vinegar to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until it has evaporated. Add the stock and ¼ cup water and reduce to your liking. Check the seasoning. Turn off the heat and swirl in the remaining tablespoon of butter. Pour the sauce over the chops and garnish each chop with 1 clove of garlic and 1 piece of bay leaf. Serve immediately.