Roasted Beef Marrow with Oxtail Marmalade AND Roasted Scallops & Sea Bass, Kohlrabi Puree & Iwa Nori

One of the most decadent dishes I've had is bone marrow spread on toast with oxtail marmalade.  I'd thought about making it several times in the past, but just never found my way to it.  With the making of the Pho broth the other day, I already had the oxtail cooked.  So, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to put this together.  I already had the marrow bones in my fridge.  I had actually picked up a package at the store as a treat for Pacino.  I'm thinking I should feel strange about eating something I had initially intended for my dog.  Hmmm.  

For the marrow bones, soak in salted water for at least 24 hours, changing the water once.  This will draw out the blood from the marrow.

Sprinkle with kosher salt and roast at 450f for 20 minutes.  You want the marrow to come away from the bone a bit, soft in texture, but not melt away.

For the oxtail marmalade:

1 1/2 lb braised oxtail, meat removed from the bones and shredded, about 1 1/4 cup

1 lg shallot minced

1 sm carrot finely diced

pinch of thyme

1 bay leaf

3/4 cup red wine

1/8 cup port

1/4 cup veal stock

3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp butter

1 1/2 Tbsp flour

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Saute shallot in 1 Tbsp butter until softened.  Add in carrot and saute for another 5 minutes or so over medium low heat.  Pour in red wine and port and add the thyme and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil and cover and simmer for approx 7 minutes.  Add veal stock, brown sugar and red wine vinegar and bring back to boil.  Toss in oxtail, cover and simmer for 15 minutes more.  Remove the bay leaf.  Melt the tablespoon of butter and add in the flour to make a paste.  Add to the marmalade a little at a time to thicken.  You may not need all of it.

Normally, if you don't happen to have cooked oxtail hanging around, I would braise them in red wine and beef stock for a few hours.  This is probably what's kept me from making this in the past as it's really a condiment and a lot to go through unless I was going to make a large batch.

I served this with toasted slices of Grand Central's Rustic Baguette.  Spread a little marrow, top with a little oxtail marmalade.  Super rich and hardy.  Two slices was my limit.  

On the slightly lighter side of things, I decided to try yet another Momofuku recipe.  It must be obvious by now that I am hooked.  Sorry, at this point, you will have to just go out and buy the cookbook as I will continue to navigate my way through it until I've tried everything.  His recipe calls for diver scallops, but my kids are not fans of scallops, so I bought some sea bass as well.  

The star factor in this dish are the brilliant components.

Bacon dashi - smoky, salty, with a scent of the sea

Kohlrabi puree - Sweet, mild, kind of turnipy

Pickled fennel - his recipe called for chanterelles, but also said to substitute fennel if needed.  

Iwa or unpressed nori - something crispy is always nice

Thinly sliced scallion

In lieu of the chanterelles, I decided to just saute some Eryngii (king oyster) mushrooms in a little olive oil and salt.

Delicate and ingenius blending of flavors.  My only change?  Go with all sea bass.  It out shined the scallops.