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Tuscan Meat Roll with White Wine and Porcini Mushrooms

DIRECTIONS

Put the bread and milk in a small saucepan, and turn on the heat to low. When the bread has soaked up all the milk, mash it to a pulp with a fork. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
Put the ground meat in a bowl and crumble it with a fork. Add the bread and milk mush, the chopped onion, salt, pepper, the chopped prosciutto, pancetta, or ham, the grated Parmesan, the garlic, and the egg yolk, and gently knead the mixture with your hands without squeezing it.
When all the ingredients are evenly combined, shape the meat into a firmly packed ball. Place the ball on any flat work surface and roll it into a salami-like cylinder about 2-1/2 inches thick. With your palm, tap it sharply in several places to drive out any air bubbles. Turn the roll in the bread crumbs until it is evenly coated all over.
Choose a heavy-bottomed pot - possibly an oval or a rectangular roaster - that can snugly accommodate the meat roll. Put in the butter and oil and turn on the heat to medium. When the butter foam subsides, put in the meat. Brown it well all over, using two spatulas to turn the roll to keep it from breaking up.
When you have browned the meat, add the wine, and let it bubble until it is reduced to half its original volume. In the process, turn the roll carefully once or twice.
Turn the heat down to medium low and add the chopped reconstituted porcini mushrooms. Add the tomatoes and their juice to the pot together with the filtered mushroom liquid. Cover tightly and adjust heat to cook at a gentle, but steady simmer, turning and basting the meat from time to time. After 30 minutes, set the cover slightly ajar, and cook for another 30 minutes, turning the meat once or twice.
Transfer the meat roll to a cutting board. Let it settle for a few minutes, then cut it into slices about 3/8 inch thick. If the juices left in the pot are a little too runny, boil them down over high heat, scraping the pot with a wooden spoon to loosen any cooking residues stuck to the bottom and sides. Coat the bottom of a serving platter with a spoonful or so of the cooking juices, place the meat slices over it, arranging them so they overlap slightly, pour the remaining juices in the pot over the meat, and serve at once.