Published by mel on October 7, 2009 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
They tell me it’s fall. Actually, I know it’s fall because the ice cream shop was serving pumpkin and chocolate pecan pie flavors. I know it’s fall because of college football and baseball playoffs and Octoberfest. But it actually feels nothing like fall down here. It’s all record highs and stifling humidity. And mosquitos. Sigh. At least we have the beach. I’ll always be happy at the beach.
But just because it’s hot, that doesn’t mean that I’m not in the mood for fall flavors like squash and pumpkin and cranberries. And I’m always in the mood for soup, so this week I made a simple white bean soup with mini lamb meatballs. This is definitely a soup that’s a meal. White beans, dark green Lacinato kale, whole wheat pasta and ricotta lamb meatballs. Very hearty. Very fall-like. I’ll just close my eyes and pretend the leaves are changing…
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Published by mel on May 18, 2009 in entree and recipe.
Have you ever had a Lamb Saratoga chop? Neither had I. But they looked so pretty in the butcher’s case at Whole Foods that I splurged for a fancy Saturday night dinner. According to this site, a Saratoga roll “refers to a boneless center lamb roast obtained from the blade portion of the lamb shoulder and is also known as a chuck eye lamb roast.”
Now that we got the lamb anatomy lesson out of the way, I can tell you what it tasted like. My mom was right on when she said it was like a lamb filet mignon. The chops were small, very lean and super tender. Almost melt in your mouth tender. And since they were so lean, they didn’t have as strong a game-y flavor as most lamb chops.
I grilled the chops simply with a little salt and pepper, then topped them off with a little mint gremolata. Gremolata is just a fancy word for chopped herbs, garlic and lemon zest. The mint and lemon were an extremely refreshing counterpoint to the lamb, and the raw garlic added just the right amount of bite.
I served the chops with a simple heirloom tomato salad and Pepita Rice Pilaf. It was pretty much the perfect meal for a summer night and a great way to officially kick off the grilling season.
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Published by mel on September 18, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
If you’re looking for a lovely Sunday afternoon meal for the Fall, these meatballs are for you. They simmer lazily in Parmesan Shitake broth while you read a book or take a nap. They’re great with a crusty piece of bread, on top of pasta or straight out of the pot if no one’s looking.
Adding ricotta to your meatballs will take them to a whole new level, making them soft and tender and almost creamy. They’re delicate and hearty at the same time. A quick sear and they go straight into a broth flavored with Parmesan rinds and sauteed Shitake mushrooms. The meatballs cook through in the broth, infusing it with meaty goodness. Cooking meatballs in broth may seem weird (where’s the marinara?), but they’re so flavorful that it would be a shame to cover them with sauce.
I served these with homemade gnocchi for an excellent Sunday Supper.
Related: Weeknight Meatballs for when time is short
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Published by mel on August 1, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
Who in their right mind makes a long-simmering lamb ragu in July? Well, I guess that would be me. Me who lives in a city with just two seasons – Spring (Warm) and Summer (Boiling Hot). Me who makes cold noodle salad in January and lamb ragu in July. Maybe you can bookmark this for Fall?
A good ragu is made from simple ingredients you probably already have in your fridge and pantry. Because the ingredients are so simple, it’s key that they’re good quality. Good olive oil, produce, garlic, tomatoes and meat. Throw it all in a pot and let it simmer slowly for a couple of hours until the meat falls apart and everything melds together into something deliciously comforting. A ragu is the perfect Sunday supper.
I made this for my easy, no-machine orecchiete but it’s perfect over any kind of hearty pasta or grain. And it’s even better when followed immediately by a nap.
On that note, recipes will be scarce for a bit because I’ll be exploring the Pacific Northwest with Tom. (I’ve even made a spreadsheet of all the restaurants we want to hit up.) So, I’ll post a sweet treat next week, but I won’t be as post-y as usual.
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Published by mel on April 30, 2008 in recipe and sides & bites.
It’s like everything I make lately is stuffed into a wonton wrapper! I actually made these dumplings last week, but the new steaming method I used didn’t quite work out so I didn’t want to post the recipe. I thought about it a little more and decided that didn’t matter because the stuffing and sauce were a hit.
Where did I go wrong? Well, my new microwave has a “steam” button and even came with a special dish for steaming. I thought that would be better than the pan-steaming I usually do. Nope. Wrong. The wrappers dried out and became too chewy, which was really sad!
For the stuffing, I browned Merguez sausage (no casing) with some green onions, then added some raisins and pine nuts. Dumplings are no fun without a dipping sauce, so I blended some greek yogurt with mint leaves, garlic cloves and pinch of salt because lamb and mint are a match made in heaven.
They had a great Middle Eastern flavor, and if you’re not into mass-producing dumplings, the sausage stuffing would be perfect tossed with pasta. If you go that route, I’d skip the yogurt and sprinkle some mint leaves over the top right before serving.
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Published by mel on February 21, 2008 in entree and recipe.
Tom’s family is in town defrosting from the Michigan weather. I had planned on inviting them over for meatloaf last night, but forgot that they had tickets to a basketball game. So I bought enough to feed 7 people, but instead made a meatloaf (with 3.5 lbs. of ground beef and lamb) for just myself. Needless to say, there are leftovers galore which Tom delivered to his family this morning. Can anyone say meatloaf sandwich?
Anyway. I wanted to make something a little more interesting than the traditional meatloaf, so I used Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard and lots of fresh tarragon to add more of a bite and to pair well with the bit of lamb I was using. Overall, it felt lighter and tangy-er than the traditional version. I liked that the lamb flavor was there, but not overwhelming and the tarragon gave it a super fresh taste.
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Published by mel on July 10, 2007 in dessert, entree and recipe.
I’ve never made lamb, and wasn’t really planning on it. Instead I was going to make a pizza as an appetizer with a big bowl of fettuccine for the entree. But then I passed the meat counter. It was early Saturday morning and these beautiful lamb chops caught my attention. I passed them once and then came back and stared. Menu changed, I asked the butcher to wrap some chops for me. Then i grabbed the last bunch of fresh mint and went merrily on my way.
After some quick research on epicurious.com about cooking times, I felt prepared to undertake the lamb. Since the chops were so pretty, I didn’t want to drown them in sauces or spices and opted for a nice, charring sear instead. The lamb came out beautifully and paired well with the minty, yogurt sauce I used to dress the pasta.
A big ole dinner is nothing without a big ole dessert. I had some peaches and nectarines that were slightly passed their prime, but perfect for making into a bubbling cobbler. Also, since I bought The Perfect Scoop, I’ve been trying out new ice cream recipes. This time, I went with plain vanilla so that I could make my cobbler a la mode. It turned out to be the best vanilla ice cream I’ve ever had, creamy white and studded with black vanilla seeds. Personally, I like vanilla much more than chocolate, especially when it’s made with real vanilla beans. I’m sure I’ll be making this ice cream a thousand times just to try different sauces and mix-ins.
Recipes after the jump.
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