The lamb experiment

I probably went about this in a dumb way.  The smart way would have involved using leftovers to make the final meal, but naturally I started with the final meal in mind and therefore made leftovers without the meal to be left over from.  Sometimes I'm a bonehead what can I say?  Anyhow....

First, I bought a beautiful pot - suffice to say it's influencing my current culinary choices in a BIG way. But look at it - isn't she lovely?

Then, I did my grocery shopping on Fresh Direct, and got a wild hair that moved me to purchase lamb shank.  That is to say I THOUGHT I was purchasing a manageable sized piece of lamb that happened to be a shank.  What I GOT was a lamb leg. Things on the Internet are not as small as they appear.  OK.  Don't have a pot that big, but OK I can work with it... Oh, did I mention?  I don't actually like lamb.  Right.  Bonehead.

Then I learned to make my own mayo - see previous post.  And I happened to have some mint lying around, and voila mint mayo.  That needed something to be spread on.  Naturally.

Finally it was Glee night and I had guinea pigs (guests) so I took a shot at an experiment - chilled lamb sandwiches with mint mayo - sounds summery and fresh right?  Well OK then.

Oven to 325

Braised lamb;
Lamb preferably on the bone
garlic
fresh herbs - I used fresh rosemary, bay and sage leaves
I also tossed in a couple spoons of dried herbs de Provence - it's my favorite mix and goes well with  nearly everything.
Couple slices of chopped up bacon
One large onion, cut into pieces
olive oil
braising liquid (clear soup stock, or beer or wine or water - whatever you want to experiment with.)

In the pot you're going to use to braise, add the bacon.  Let the bacon cook until it starts to brown and the fat renders a little - add the onions, and a splash of olive oil, and stir until the onions start to get soft and a little translucent.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

Without cleaning out the residual oils, and in the same pot brown the lamb I was working with chunks the size of a large grapefruit.  Take the meat out and set aside.

Put the onions and bacon back in the pot, add the herbs and put the lamb on top of it all.  Add enough liquid to cover the lamb chunks about half way - they shouldn't be completely immersed.  I used chicken broth and water in equal measure - alternately you could use any kind of stock, or beer or wine or plain water as well!

Bring the whole kit and caboodle to a boil, then take it off of the stove and pop it into the oven.  Cooking time will depend on volume and size of the chunks of meat - using a 5 quart pot, with big chunks of meat, it took me about 2 and a half hours to get the meat where I liked it - falling off the bone.  Many people prefer lamb cooked to cooler temps - I personally don't actually like lamb I've discovered, so I just let it go until it was buttery.

When the lamb is done, I put mine into rectangular containers, and used a turkey baster to suck the juice out of the pot while bypassing the layer of floating fat.  This went straight into the fridge.

On Glee night, I purchased a massive loaf of cibatta bread - I think any kind of bread would do, that's just the one that was 'calling' to me at the grocery (even though I don't get to eat any).

I warmed the bread according to instructions on the sleeve, cut it into manageable servings and split those open.  On one side of the bread, I spread the Mint Mayo I made the night before;

then I added wild arugula dressed in balsamic vinegar and a touch of truffled olive oil.  When the lamb comes out of the fridge, it should have taken on the shape of the container (which is why I used a rectangle) and the juice from the pot should have formed a nice little aspic like jelly.  Cut the lamb into thin slices and add it to the sandwich.

Taa Daah!   Chilled lamb sandwiches with home made mint mayo!  If I could do anything I might consider making the sandwich out of left over lamb because that's what I ate the day or couple days before.  I'd also reconsider serving my guests sandwiches that are the same size as their heads, but I have to say Anthony and Matthew did a right job of cleaning their plates!

Homemade Mayo!

I'll admit I've always been intimidated by the idea of making mayo.  I thought it took a lot of whisking and an extra set of arms.  Not so!  I looked at various recipe and techniques and cobbled together a version that was surprisingly easy and resulted in a super creamy amazing mayo!

I may never buy mayo at the store again!  Plus since I'm making it at home, I can add different things to the mayo to flavor it (like I did for the mint mayo that I used for dinner last night - pictures and recipe to follow).

Stuff you're going to need:
A food processor - mine is a KitchenAid Chef's chopper, 3 cup food processor.  Dinky, and only one speed but fits in the cupboard.

• 1 whole egg
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt - I used a little less because my doctor wants me to cut back on salt)
• 1 1/2 cups canola oil 

Put the egg vinegar and salt into a food processor 

Turn on the processor, and once the egg is mixed, slowly start pouring in the oil - this is the key part slowly - I mean really slooooowly.  I use squeeze bottles in my kitchen for oils - I find it's easier than dragging out the whole bottle of oil when I'm cooking - they worked GREAT to regulate the flow of oil into the processor.

Keep running the processor until all the oil is incorporated - it will magically turn into mayo!!

Took all of two minutes...


For variations of the mayo, you can add herbs, garlic, lemon - all manner of good stuff!


For example, add a healthy handfull of fresh mint for a mint mayo.  Great on a sandwich with chilled lamb!
Add grated horseradish and spread on a roast beef sandwich
Add lemon zest and smear it on multigrain with some smoked salmon
Add fresh rosemary and use it on a pulled pork sandwich


Use your imagination!

Poached Scallops

So it's Glee night, and I'm about to take a shot at making a new dish involving home made mint mayo and chilled lamb.  But in the mean time, here's a little appetizer of super fresh scallops - I'll be back later with Glee dinner food porn...

This one is super simple - the green stuff is snow pea sprouts which you can get in California at any self respecting Asian market for 99 cents for a massive bag.  Here in Manhattan it's more like 5 bucks for a couple ounces!  Still ... so delicious, so worth it...

Anyhow - scallops can be eaten raw, so poaching them seems to satisfy the need to cook your fish if you're so inclined.  And once you have the water boiled, it take like a minute to finish.

For the scallops
Boiling water with salt added

For the snow peas
sesame oil
minced up garlic
soy sauce

Set some water to boil first, this whole dish is a quick one - add salt and let it dissolve.  Turn off the heat and drop the scallops in, being careful not to over crowd the pot - if you have to cook your scallops in batches, just bring the water back to a boil in between.
When the scallops start to take on a slightly opaque look, pull them out of the water (should be around 2 min)  they'll still be raw in the middle. Yum!

Heat the sesame oil in a pan - not too long, sesame oil doesn't have the high temperature tolerance that some other oils do.  Toss in the garlic and keep it moving - letting it start to soften
drop in the snow pea shoots and sauté till the shoots are wilted but still vibrant green.

Serve along side a sliced scallop or two and drizzle the whole dish with a touch of soy sauce.

See?  Easy Peasy...

JG's Pears

Photo by Rick Bruner

One of my best friends Jeannette asked me to post this one.  These "poached" pears look deceptively difficult but are really easy to make.  I dipped these in dark chocolate, and served them with a chunky spiced cranberry sauce, with a pizzelle cookie on the side (cause they're pretty!)

In retrospect, I might have dipped the cookie in chocolate rather than the pear as that was more challenging than it needed to be, but either way it's a nice dessert warm or cold.

For the pears;
Bosc pears are my favorite because of the shape, color and flavor but you could substitute red pears as well
one and a half bottles of white wine, I suggest something like a Pouilly Fuse or a sweet Chardonnay
Cloves - whole, around a tablespoon give or take depending on your fondness for that flavor
Sugar - about a cup and a half and a second measure of about a cup
Vanilla extract

For the cranberry sauce;
One to two bags of whole fresh cranberries
Two large oranges - you're going to need both the skin and the flesh of at least one
one cup of sugar (give or take)
water - about 2 - 3 cups per bag
Dried chili powder if you want to add a little kick

Get the pears started first.  Peel and core the pears - if you found some with stems, then leave the stems in tact - don't worry about getting it perfect, part of the home made appeal are the variations you'll see in the final presentation.

In a large pot, combine the wine, cloves and the first cup of sugar over medium heat - bring to a slight simmer and dissolve the sugar.  Add the pears - they'll float but if possible arrange them so that the bulb of the fruit is submerged.  You'll probably have to move them around while they cook.

Once the pears are in, I like to bring the whole thing to a rolling boil once, then bring the heat down to low/medium- ish, cover the pot and let it simmer taking care not to let it boil again, for 30 to 45 min.

Now, you could zest the orange but I like the texture of slivers so carefully slice the orange skin off of at least one if not both oranges - leaving the white part or the pith behind.  Slice the orange skin into slivers and set aside.

Remove the pith and membrane from the orange, and cut up the flesh to chunks and set aside.  Squeeze the juice out of the second orange and set aside (you can use the same dish as the cut up orange).

In a separate pot, combine cranberries, oranges, orange juice and skin, sugar.  Add water till the top layer of cranberries is almost but not completely covered.  Over low heat, stew the berries, with a lid on the pot stirring occasionally - you'll start to notice that the cranberries 'burst, let them - but don't make an effort to smash them, part of the pleasure if the chunkiness of the sauce.  Stir in the chili powder if you want to add a little kick.  Set aside - refrigerate if you're going to serve the dessert chilled.

Give the pears a poke with a fork - you're looking for "al dente" here - soft enough to get the fork in, firm enough to keep their shape. Better to err on the side of firm here.  When you like the texture, turn off the heat and fish the pears out of the liquid.  If you have a rack - like a cooling rack, place the pears on it to drain a bit, if not set them aside on top of a stack of paper towels.  They need to be a little drier to dip and hold the chocolate.

Now tend to the liquid in the pot - give it a taste, do you like the level of sweetness?  Do you need to add more sugar? Turn the heat on to the low side of medium, and bring it to a simmer.  Slowly add the remaining sugar stirring as you go along until the liquid becomes syrupy.  Add a couple of drops of vanilla extract here (only if you want to)  Set aside.

In a microwave proof bowl large enough to dip the pears in, melt the chocolate  - yes I know, it's so much cooler to do it in a double boiler but we're trying to keep it simple here.  If you want to do the extra dishes, have at it.  Otherwise back to the microwave.  I find microwaving in 30 and 60 second intervals with a good stir in between results in the smoothest melt.

Now, one at a time take a pear, dry it lightly in a clean paper towel (just pat it, don't rub!) and holding the stem, dip it in the chocolate.  This is going to make a huge mess unless you're particularly adept at handling chocolate.  Personally I'm still trying to figure out how I got chocolate on my knee.  a tidier option would be to dip the cookie, but where's the fun in that?

Set the dipped pears on a cookie sheet lined with a silpat or wax paper or parchment, and when you've dipped them all, move the tray to the fridge to get the chocolate to harden.  Now if you're like me and in a NY apartment this takes some maneuvering.  Go ahead.  We'll wait.  You have a choice here - either let the entire dish cool through to serve dessert cold, or pull it out of the fridge the second the chocolate sets.

To serve;
Place a spoonful of the chunky cranberry sauce on a plate making a little pile, put a pear down in the center and let the cranberry sauce help to hold it up. Drizzle a little bit of the syrup on the pear, add a cookie - and poof!  It looks way fancier than it really is.

Mini Frittatas

This is another example of the liberties I take with portions and amounts.  I like the idea of NOT measuring whenever it makes sense.  It's just one less thing to be intimidated by if you're not a trained cook.  Besides cooking should be FUN.  Freestyling is way more fun than measuring.  What's the worst that can happen - you make something you don't want to or can't eat.  Cest la vie - try again.

That said, I needed to find a use for my muffin pan now that I"m off carbs (again). Found it to be the perfect size for mini frittatas! Aside from the eggs all the ingredients are totally optional - get creative!

Oven to 325

One egg for each cup
splash of heavy cream
Mini - heirloom tomatoes
sliced ham (and turkey)
spinach
Sliced mushrooms
shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)

whisk eggs with cream (just 2-3 tablespoons)
spray muffin pan with non stick spray (totally optional but helps to not have to pry them out later)
place one slice of ham/turkey into each cup
add spinach or whatever vegetable you like
add the cherry tomato
divide whisked eggs evenly into each cup
top with cheese
bake until cheese starts to brown slightly about 20 min

the results are 6 single servings - super low in carbs and great for WW to since you can measure out and track points!

Alternate ingredients;
Instead of ham, try smoked salmon or turkey or chicken breast
instead of cherry tomato, maybe diced peppers
instead of spinach, try asparagus or zucchini
mozzarella can be replaced with cheddar, goat cheese, asiago etc.