A Lamb Tale...

 

 

Anyone who has ever read me or knows me in the flesh world, knows that I am married to an Englishman.  I mean, I whine about it a lot.  I adore my husband, don't get me wrong.  I don't whine about him the person (well, yes OK, I do, but we're not going there in this little narrative), I sometimes whine about his "Englishness."  Listen up Americans, we're not like them.  As much as you would like to think we are, we are not.  And furthermore, we do not even really share a common language with a different accent.  We do not say "whilst" or "Hark! Did you hear that sound?" or even "Stop giving me "agro."  Also, culturally, we're really different.  Just look at our huge bruhaha over a national healthcare plan.  That should be your first clue.  We won't discuss guns or capital punishment.  Of course to good ol' liberal Me, the  English ideas about these issues are the right ideas.  All this being said, this little tale (tail) isn't about the esoteric, but rather the mundane, a bonless, rolled leg of lamb available at any Costco store nationwide. (Ignore the dates on the package, some of these are photos I took last Easter)

We were at Costco last Thursday.  As usual I was lollygagging along at the meat counter dreaming of recipes yet unmade.  Husband flitted over and said, "Oh, can  we get a leg of lamb?  I fancy (see?...some more real English venacular) some lamb."  I said, "But of course, My Darling" or something to that effect.  Maybe I said, "Oh, OK, but if you get lamb, I'm buying that big box of frozen enchiladas you never want me to have, deal?"  So we got the lamb AND the enchiladas.  Yay Me for knowing how to negotiate.  Donald Trump should invite me to be on The Apprentice tv show.  I had a lamb plan.

 

Usually lamb at our house is regular roast lamb.  We have it with roasted potatoes and vegetables and sometimes Yorkshire puddings.  It's all veddy veddy English.  It's always good, but rather ummmmmm, meaning no offense here, English...plain.  Yes, that's it.  Tasty but plain.  If the English style roast leg of lamb could sing, it would croon a rendition of "There'll be Blue Birds over the white cliffs of Dover."  I want my leg of lamb to belt out "Jerimiah was a bullfrog."

 

While channel surfing, I had recently come across an episode of  that Food Network madman, Guy Fieri.  He's the kind of guy I would have dated in my younger days.  Do you know of him?  If not and you're an American with cable television, catch his show.  It's great entertainment and he features some fantastic recipes.  This particular episode featured Tandoori-style lamb done on the bar-b-que grill.  My ears perked up.  as I watched him prepare the dish I was enthralled.  As much as I love roasted lamb and potatoes English-style with all the trimmings, I began metally kissing those Yorkshire puddings and rich gravy good-bye.  I was scheming how I could don my imaginary Bedouin outfit and sneak this tandoori lamb recipe into my repetoire of cooking tricks.  Our trip to Costco and husband's plaintive request for the leg of lamb, unbeknownst to him, provided the impetus for my nefarious  Tandoori-style grilled lamb escapade.  I was giddy with the pure joy of executing the plan.

 

The plan began with me making the marinade.  It was easy to make and I had all of the ingredients called for, including plain Greek yogurt.  I did change the recipe around a bit.  Fieri's recipe calls for whole cumin seeds and whole coriander seeds that are smoked and  then ground in  a processor.  I had jars of ground cumin and ground coriander so I smoked that.  I mean, why cause extra work for oneself just to feel like a gourmet chef, right? 

 

Once I had the marinade made, I called husband in to help me with the lamb.  Usually, when I make a boneless leg of lamb, I have husband un-net it.  I lay it flat and slather it by hand with a mixture of olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper made into a paste.  Then, I re-roll the lamb and husband, using both hands, stretches the netting open (It's elasticized) and we work cooperatively to stuff the leg of lamb back into the netting.  It's somewhat like trying to help a fat lady into a girdle, lots of huffing and puffing, but we get it done.  So husband comes in  a undoes the lamb's netting/girdle. 

 

I say, "OK, lay the lamb out and make some slits in it with the knife going into the middle but not through."

 

I see him start to squint his eyes a little, but he does it. 

 

I hand him a two gallon ziplock bag and say, "Lay the lamb flat in here."

 

I grab the bowl of marinade from the refrigerator and say, "Dump the marinade in the bag and......."

 

At this very point, my husband turns into someone I have never known.  Wait, I take that back.  At this point my husband turns into my ex-husband and I remember why we divorced.  My very gentle, sweet English husband begins screaming at me...

 

"I am NOT putting that mess on this perfectly good lamb.!"  "What are you doing with my lamb?"

 

He starts trying  to pull the lamb from the bag.  I did not know who this man wearing my husband's face was.

 

I am not English.  I am very American.  Therefore,  I always operate under the premise that a good offense is the best defense.  I begin screaming back at husband,

 

"First of all, it's not YOUR lamb.  It's our lamb.  Secondly, I am one of the few wives we know who cooks every single night.  Thirdly, I try so hard to make you meals that are interesting and flavorful and I read cookbooks like other women read People Magazine.  You eat four things, roast lamb with roast potatoes, roast chicken with roast potatoes, shepherd's pie and bangers and mash and I am sick to death of those damn french-cut frozen green beans you like.  I try so hard.  I slave away for you.  You appreciate nothing I cook."  

 

 I was running out of steam and things to scream at this point so I closed with "And, if you think that dog likes you better, well, you're just  wrong, wrong wrong.  Get out of MY kitchen!!!!!"

 

Husband stomps out and I finish the lamb myself.  I make sure that I am sniffling very loudly and muttering to myself about how hard I try to please my husband even with my bad hands, how he has no palate for the finer things in life gastronomically-speaking and so on and so forth.  I start washing up the dishes, sniffling into the dishwater.  Husband slinks into the kitchen, turns me around, hugs me and makes this huge apology.  My husband seldom apologizes so this really was score one for the Gipper for me.  I squeezed a couple of more tears out (it took every ounce of my dramatic ability to do this) and forgave him. 

 

In reality, I could give two hoots if husband liked the recipe.  I wanted to try it and if he ate it, good for him.  If not, oh well, he could always make himself a cheese and Branston pickle sandwich.  It was the principle of him acting like he was in charge of that lamb that rankled me.  I am the chef and he's the sous chef and it's as simple as that.

 

I let the lamb sit in that marinade for two days in the refrigerator.  We were having a friend whose wife was out of town for dinner friday night.  I served the lamb.  I started with iceberg lettuce wedge with blue cheese and bacon bits.  We had zucchini and yellow squash sautee'd in a bit of oil, the onions grilled with the lamb and home-made peach cobbler (Yes! I am still using up those Costco peaches!)for dessert.  I did not make a starch.  Everything was so flavorful that it was unnecessary.  We didn't miss potatoes or rice.

 

Both husband and our guest raved about the lamb.  It was delicious and absolutely the most tender lamb I've ever eaten.  The lamb was not spicy.  The flavors were very very subtle.

 

Grilled Tandoori Lamb

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds ( I used coriander powder and upped it to 3 TBS)
• 1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds (I used cumin powder and upped it to 3 TBS)
• 3 cups plain yogurt
• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt (I used French fleur de sel)
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (4-pound) boneless lamb shoulder, butterflied
• 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 2 onions, peeled and quartered with root end attached (I used 4)

Method:

 Toast the coriander and the cumin in a saute pan over medium heat until the spices become fragrant and just begin to smoke, 2 minutes. Set the spices aside to cool.

Combine the yogurt, lime, cumin, coriander, paprika, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, cayenne, sugar, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.

 

Poke the lamb several times with a fork (I made slits and hand rubbed the marinade in) and place in a large resealable plastic bag with the garlic and the onions and pour in the yogurt mixture. Move the lamb around in the bag to coat completely and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 4 to 6 hours.(I did the 2 days in the refrigerator and when I removed the lamb, there was very little marinade left in the bag.  The meat had absorbed most of it). 

Remove the lamb and the onions from the marinade and let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Discard the marinade. Heat the grill to high, sear all sides of the lamb and adjust grill to indirect heat, about 350 degrees F. Grill the lamb for about 45 minutes per side for medium. When the lamb is cooked, remove it to a platter to rest for 15 minutes before cutting. **

** our grill is a big infared grill.  I turned on all four burners to start.  After searing the meat, I turned off the two center burners and had to turn the two remaining lit burners to medium-low to keep the grill temperatire at 350 degrees.  My lamb took 40 minutes (maybe a little less) per side.  It was a nice pink color in the middle and a bit more well done at the thinner ends.

Add the onions to the grill and cook until caramelized and tender, about 10 minutes. I did this while the meat rested.  Remove the onions from the grill and serve with the lamb.

  

 

  

Curry Chicken Salad with Free Joke

Joke: Why did the Buddhist rotisserie chicken quit crossing the road?

Answer: So she wouldn't have to keep being reincarnated as a new dish/recipe at Dana's house

Yuck, Yuck, Yuck...OK, not so funny, but I just made it up and humor isn't my forte'.

---

I was determined to use every last bit of that chicken.  About three years ago I had a wonderful Curry Chicken Salad at the Norton Museum of Art restaurant.  I tried making it once, but couldn't quite nail it.  Today though...well,  today was a home run.  I used what I had on hand.  Be creative when you try this.  The salad at the Norton had grapes and almonds.  I had dried apricots and cashews.  Recipe follows: (ALL MEASURES ARE APPROXIMATE)

 Curry Chicken Salad

2 cups diced chicken

3/4 cup diced onion

2 stalks diced celery

1/2 cup chopped cashews

3/4 cup diced dried apricots

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsely

2T curry powder*

1T cumin

salt

freshly ground pepper

3/4 cup sour cream OR plain yogurt OR yuck, but if you like it, ok...a high quality mayonnaise like Dukes

*my advice is to start with lesser amounts of spices, sour cream etc and keep tasting until your taste buds start doing the happy dance...you can always add more seasoning if needed, but you can't remove it once added.

**this version is soo good it's a sacrilege to overpower it with bread.  We ate it naked (the chicken salad, not us...those days are long gone) accompanied by multi-grain crackers...wonderful!

K.I.S.S.(Chicken and Dumplings)

In the Keep It Simple Sweetie (I like Sweetie better than Stupid, don't you?) department, I had to figure out, once again, what to do with left over rotisserie chicken from Wednesday evening's dinner party.  Most of the white meat was eaten, but we still had 4 legs, 4 thighs, 4 wings and both carcasses left.  We also had the wings, but I hide those as a special snack for me.  I keep the carcasses for making stock (that I freeze for a multitude of later uses), but haven't gotten around to that yet.  I had no clue what to do with the leftover dark meat, which by the way, is so much moister and tastier than the white as far as I am concerned. 

I am over my horrendous meltdown and later whine of Thursday, but still feeling somewhat fragile emotionally.  I needed and wanted comfort.  How else to get it but through food?  We try to eat in a healthy manner, but we never deny ourselves anything.  We just try to control our portions.  After a bit of thought I realized nothing would make me feel better foodwise than receiving the big ol' loving embrace of a pot of chicken and dumplings.  So, that's what I did. 

I haven't made chicken and dumplings since the children were small and we lived on the Canadian border in upstate New York.  We'd be in snow up to our armpits.  My day with the children would be, clothes on, snowpants on, sweaters on, jackets on, hats on, mittens on, boots on, kids out the door....oops, son forgot to pee, boots off, mittens off, jacket off, snowpants down, pee, reverse order of clothes, finally out the door, kids bang door fifteen minutes later, undress them, throw everything in dryer, dry everything, an hour later when they whine to go out start all over again, this time it's daughter who forgets to pee.  In between, I'd stand at the stove making a big pot of chili or spaghetti sauce or chicken and dumplings.  At the dinner table that evening their Dad and I would sit across from two rosey cheeked children and watch them inhale their bowls of steamy goodness.  My children played outside every single day all year long.  They were never ill like the children kept inside during the cold weather.  As I type, I can see it all.  I so miss those days.  I really didn't appreciate them for what they were nor realize how fleeting childhood is.  I was the Mom, they were the kids and we just did our lives.  I didn't think much of it...silly me.

Chicken and Gravy

Since I hadn't yet made my stock, I dug around in the pantry and found a 2lb (4 cup) container of store-bought (for shame) chicken broth.  I put it in the pan and added the dark meat, bone in.  I added 2 carrots, 2 stalks of celery and nothing else as the broth was pre-made.  I simmered it all covered for about an hour.  Then, I removed the chicken and deboned it before returning the meat to the pot.  I brought it to a boil.  I added 1/2 cup of flour (Wondra) whisked with 1 cup water to the pot and made the gravy...easy, peasey.

Dumplings:

1 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons oil

dash of herbes de provence

Mix dry ingredients, add wet, stir until soft dough forms.  Drop by rounded tablespoonful on top of gently boiling chicken and gravy.  Cover and cook until done but not tough.

Salade de Carottes Rapees

We had two other couples over for dinner on Wednesday evening. Both couples are longtime friends, one couple neighbors and the others old friends from husband's time in Washington D.C.. I had vowed a simple summer dinner and I kept my promise. Costco provided two rotisserie chickens. All I had to do was provide a starter, sides and dessert. Since I had sworn not to knock myself out, I pulled a big container of Cream of Tortilla Soup from the freezer. It freezes wonderfully and is, if anything, even better after freezing. OK, what else? What else indeed. How about the no-fail sure to please everyoneTarte a la Oignon.  I had bought a new tart pan, a rectangular one and wanted to try it out.  I had a gorgeous head of leaf lettuce and also some really expensive, but wonderful Jersey tomatoes, a true luxury here in south Florida.  I decided to get some fresh mozzarella, snip some fresh basil from my little herb garden and offer up a summer salad of all those ingredients.  I felt like I wanted something else, some true harbinger of summer.  I wanted color.  I personally find color and texture of food so important.  I began thinking of all the wonderful summer meals I've had in France and I experienced an epiphany...Salade de Carottes Rapees!!  This is a national dish of France, right up there with crepes and coq au vin.  It has everything I was desiring, color, texture, summer freshness and simplicity.  Salade de Carottes Rapees is shredded, dressed down carrots and is served absolutely everywhere in France.  It is national, not regional and versions can even be found in clear plastic containers in every charcuterie and hyper marche.  Some versions contain rasins.  I avoid them.  Too much of a reminder of the years I spent keeping rabbits.  There was no recipe for Shredded Carrot Salad in my little French cookbook/bible so I closed my eyes tightly and whispered, doing my best Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ imitation"There's no place like France...There's no place like France" and voila'! I became inspired.  I begged husband to peel seven organic carrots.  Then, I kissed the Cuisinart processor gently and lovingly and shoved those carrots against the shredding disk...abracacadabra...thirty seconds later the foundation for Salade de Carottes Rapees.  The rest wasn't nearly so mechanical and scientific.  It was all taste and adjust and use what I found on hand.  Here's what I did to the best of my recollection...

Salade de Carottes Rapees

7 fresh carrots, organic preferred, peeled and shredded

3 large spoonfuls of high quality olive oil (I used my salad set spoon so the bowl of it is probably more than a tablespoon.  In the salads, it's proportion of oil to acid that's important, not the amounts)

1 and a little bit more salad spoonful of fresh lemon juice

1/2 handful fresh mint

1/2 handful flat leaf parsley

1/2 cup sliced almonds

salt

freshly ground pepper

That's it, really.  Dress, taste, adjust, repeat until you're happy with it.  So simple.  So incredibly good.  It add such color to a summer meal.

A note about fresh spices....

 Fresh spices are so easy to have on hand.  I just plant all of mine in a big planter I keep on the side patio.  It is a veritable cornucopia of tastes...in the one pot I have sage, tarragon, mint, parsley, thyme, basil and for good measure, a single dwarf yellow pepper plant stuck in the middle.  All the spices love each other and jumple together happily.  I  love grabbing handfuls as needed when I'm cooking.

Moroccan-ish Lamb Stew Over Couscous

It all started with a craving for Moroccan Lamb Stew over Couscous.  I adore my husband, but he's English.  He has an English palate.  If you're English, please don't take offense.  It may be just my husband.  He likes his food plain...meat, potato (not pasta or rice or couscous, just potato) and tasteless steamed vegetables.  If I make the same four things all the time, he's happy so in that respect he's easy to feed.  Me, I need variety in food.  Potatoes are my least favorite starch.  Hence, my craving for the Moroccan Lamb Stew and the couscous.  I started digging around and found the recipe below on the internet...

Couscous with Lamb Stew Gourmet | May 1954; reprinted September 2001

Active time: 1 1/2 hr Start to finish: 3 1/2 hr This recipe, which accompanied our 1954 article on Tunisia, called for what were then two very exotic ingredients. One, the granular pasta called couscous, is now commonplace in supermarkets across America. The other, dried rose petals, is available by mail order. Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings   For lamb stew 2 lb boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes 1/4 cup olive oil 3 large onions, thinly sliced 8 large tomatoes (4 1/2 lb), peeled, quartered, and seeded 4 cups canned tomato juice 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 fresh habanero or cayenne chile, finely chopped, including seeds 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary 1 bay leaf (not California) Pinch of saffron threads 4 carrots, sliced 1/2 inch thick 4 turnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-wide wedges 3 red or green bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1 lb pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1 1/2 lb zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise 1 1/2 inches thick 1 (19-oz) can chickpeas (about 2 cups), rinsed, drained, and skins slipped off For spicy tomato sauce 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1 tablespoon crushed dried rose petals (pesticide-free; optional)* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste For couscous 4 cups water 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 teaspoon salt 2 (10-oz) boxes quick-cooking couscous (3 1/2 cups)   Make lamb stew: Pat lamb dry. Heat oil in a 7- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown lamb in 3 batches, transferring to a bowl. Add onions to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes. Stir in lamb with any juices that have accumulated in bowl, tomatoes, tomato juice, salt, black pepper, chile, herbs, and saffron and simmer, covered, 1 1/2 hours. Stir in carrots, turnips, bell peppers, and pumpkin and simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Stir in zucchini and chickpeas and simmer, covered, until zucchini is tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Make spicy tomato sauce: Pour 1 cup broth from pot into a small heavy saucepan and add tomato paste, whisking until smooth. Simmer, stirring, until thick, about 10 minutes, then stir in paprika, rose petals, and cayenne. Cook and serve couscous: Bring water to a boil with butter and salt in a 4-quart heavy saucepan. Stir in couscous, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Mound couscous on a platter and top with stew, using a slotted spoon. Serve broth and tomato sauce on the side. *Available by mail order from Kalustyan's (212) 685-3451.

The recipe had every element I was looking for.  It also looked like one hell of a lot of work.  It seemed to make a huge amount.  The rose petals seemed way over the top.  I really wanted to not have to make a trip to the store (since I had bought the lamb the day before and then looked for a recipe, silly Me) and wanted to use ingredients I already had on hand.  I didn't have chickpeas so forget them.  I didn't want it spicy so forget the chilies and I  had no green peppers so they were also left out.  I just used what I had.  I really simplified the process.  I mean, a stew is a stew.  My version is delicious and ever so much easier.  This recipe will serve 4 generously.  So....here's what I did....

Dana's Version of Moroccan Lamb Stew Over Couscous

Ingredients:

2 lbs. lamb stew meat cut into 2 inch cubes

3 large onions, thinly sliced

1 large can crushed tomatoes (imported tastes best)

1 small zucchini (corgette), cubed

1 small yellow squash, cubed

4 carrots, cubed

1 potato, cubed (for husband)

1 cup water

olive oil for browning

small handful of fresh tarragon

oregano

fresh rosemary

salt

pepper

4 bay leaves (laurel)

fresh thyme

1 cinnamon stick

Process:

Cook lamb cubes in oil until it loses it's red color, but is not yet browned.  Add sliced onion and cook until meat is browned and onion translucent.  Add crushed tomatoes, water and all spices.  Simmer 1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender.  Add vegetables and cook until vegetables are crisp tender.  In other words, NOT mushy.  At this point, I shut off the stew and let it sit on the stove for an hour or so for the flavors to marry. 

Reheat stew.  Remove laurel (bay leaves) and cinnamon stick.  Five minutes before serving prepare couscous.  Fluff couscous and ladle hot stew over.  Absolutely wonderful. 

Husband took a minute, teeny portion.  I was insulted.  He tasted the stew and then went back for two more full helpings.  I am so proud of him.