Can I just say that sometimes it is good thing to be without something that you know and to be thrown in with the lions of the unfamiliar to sink or swim.
Last night I had no aluminum foil. Say what you want about all the food loveliness that Italy has to offer, the foil is terrible. Habit is hard to break and because it looks like foil I try to make it be foil and it isn’t. Precious liquid flies from the braising meat like some kind of reverse rainstorm and you would think I would learn, but just like when I should have broken up with my no good low down cheatin’ dog of a boyfriend in the 12th grade, but instead just kept dialing the number, I went rifling through the drawers in search of anything shiny and silver that I could pretend would seal my edges. It wasn’t there, which can be the only time sometimes that you figure out something different and low and behold can be better than any Tripp Somerville that ever was. Instead of foil when you are braising ribs that you need to be fall off the bone tender, use parchment paper. Season and sear off the whole rack and then add a few heads of garlic cut in half crosswise with three or four sprigs of rosemary. When the garlic is golden and gorgeous, spill in a cup of white wine and let it reduce a bit before putting everything into a roasting pan. Cover the whole lot with the parchment. Dampen the top of the paper with water and cook at 350 degrees for about 2 1\2 hours, adding a bit of water as you need it to keep the bottom of the pan with about 1\2 an inch. It works, and better than expected.