A small dinner party of food adventurers (Bode's & Fox's) commenced at the Fox residence in honor of a dear little lamb that gave his life for us. Ok, forget the nonsense we grubb'd up on some delicious lamb and I barely felt guilty! I know I am cold hearted, but for the sake of our adventure there are some sacrifices that have to be made. I made Zinfandel-Braised Lamb Shanks that used a whole bottle of zinfandel....ok, I admit it, I stole a couple swigs :) To go along with our little lamb I made Saffron Couscous; Lentils, Fennel and Olives; and Marinated Mushrooms with Lemon and Oregano (although there is no oregano in the recipe so I have no idea why oregano is in the title).
Zac Bode was a big fan of the mushrooms and lentils and Kit and I were a big fan of the lamb. To quote Kit, a well known food critic with an acute sense of taste, "The lamb was super tender, the lentils were good, but the biggest surprise were the mushrooms." My one advice for this meal is save your pennies for the lamb and the saffron, although you could probably leave out the saffron, because none of us could taste/see the saffron.
Four recipes down in one night, no food poisoning,
and Ian didn't throw up.....it was a good night!
8 comments:
When you leave the saffron out you will notice the difference although subtle.
Please post the recipes! Everything was SOOOOO good!....Jes
And he didn't throw up because you so kindly made him buffalo wings and french fries!!!! Jes
Zinfandel Braised Lamb Shanks
4 Lamb shanks (about 3 pounds) Cut into 3 inch slices
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 bottle hearty Zin
4 carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion, sliced
1 whole head of garlic cut into thick slices
(I just used a handful of garlic cloves chopped up)
1 t mustard seeds
3 T unsalted butter
1/4 cup fresh rosemary
Preheat oven to 500
Put lamb in a heavy roasting pan and sprinkle with 1/4 t salt & 1/4 t pepper - Roast for 30 minutes
Reduce oven temperature to 350
Add Zin, carrots, onion, garlic, and mustard seeds
Roast for 2 hours, turning and basting shanks every 20 minutes
Remove Lamb, carrots, onions, and garlic to a large platter (keep warm)
Strain the sauce through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a small saucepan.
Bring to a boil over high heat - cook for 5 minutes
Whisk in the butter
Add remaining 1/4 t salt and pepper
Pour sauce over meat and sprinkle with rosemary
Enjoy!
Saffron Couscous
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 raisins (i used dried cranberries)
2 T unsalted butter
1/2 t salt
1/4 t saffron threads, crumbled
2 cups couscous
1/2 cup pine nuts (i used slivered almonds, toasted)
4 green onions
In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring the broth to a boil.
Add raisins, butter, salt and saffron, stirring until the butter melts.
Remove from heat and stir in the couscous.
Cover tightly and set aside for 5 minutes.
Add the nuts and green onions while fluffing the couscous.
Enjoy!
Lentils, Fennel, and Olives
2 cups cooked lentils
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 small red onion thinly sliced
1 cup thinly sliced fennel
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 to 3 T lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped pitted olives such as kalamata olives
1/3 cup chopped fresh italian parsley
salt/pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta
In a medium bowl combine the lentils, olive oil, onion, fennel, garlic, lemon juice, olives and parsley.
Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Crumble feta on top and serve!
By the way this salad is really good cold too!
Enjoy!
Marinated Mushrooms with Lemon and Oregano
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 T lemon juice
2 green onions, minced
2 garlic gloves, minced
1 1/2 T chopped fresh savory or marjarom
(I found fresh marjoram at Safeway near the fresh herbs)
2 to 3 T chopped fresh italian parsley
1 pound button mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
Salt/pepper
In a medium bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, green onions, garlic, savory, parsley and mushrooms.
Season with salt and pepper
Chill for an hour
Surprisingly good!!!!
Enjoy!
looks very good
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