Roast Lamb with Whiskey and Prunes

I really hate that I didn’t get a picture of this gorgeous lamb roast before we sliced it up, but like most times, I was living in the moment and couldn’t wait to eat this meal. We had friends over and more important things were on my mind. The recipe was adapted from a collection of recipes from the Puketapu School in New Zealand and my mother-in-law swears by it. The recipe in the book calls for lamb shoulder which I couldn’t find so I switched to boneless leg of lamb. I also added shallots to the roasting pan because I felt like it needed a touch something more. Wow, this recipe did not disappoint and my friends said it was some of the best lamb they had ever tasted. I can’t wait to make this recipe again and again.

I made a few small tweaks and did a rough conversion from the metric system.

Here is the original recipe:

I used a 3.5 lb boneless leg of lamb that had been tied by the butcher. I used Dorot frozen garlic and ginger cubes. I used about 3 tsp (3 cubes) of each and rubbed the lamb with garlic and ginger, salt and pepper. I seared the lamb in the roasting pan directly on the stove top so that it was nicely browned on all sides. Meanwhile, I made the sauce and did a bit extra since I knew the leg of lamb wouldn’t melt in the same way a shoulder would (I think I did 1.5 cups chicken broth, 1/2 cup whiskey, 2-3 tbsp honey, 4 tbsp cider vinegar) and made it in a separate sauce pan. I added 2 large shallots that had been roughly chopped, about 1 cup of prunes, and 1 lb of peeled carrots to the roasting pan. I deglazed the pan by pouring the sauce over the lamb. I also added a small sprig of rosemary because, why not?

The oven was preheated to 350 and I put the lamb in for about 1.5 hours. I pulled the lamb when it was 138 degrees so that it would finish cooking to its ideal temp (145) while resting. I removed the lamb from the roasting pan and placed it on a plate and tented it with foil. Meanwhile I put the roasting pan with the carrots back in the oven and cranked it up to 425 so they could finish browning for about 15 minutes while the lamb rested. All of the delicious sauce was poured into a gravy boat so guests could spoon it over the lamb and carrots themselves. We sliced the lamb it and served it with the carrots and prunes, a side of smashed potatoes, and a yummy kale salad. This was the perfect dinner party recipe and was relatively hands off so I could enjoy the company.

And….in case you’re wondering we later enjoyed the ”famous” chocolate bourbon pecan pie (search pecan pie at the top and you’ll find the recipe). The quality of the photos is due to the mood lighting and copious wine….forgive me : )

Calabrian Cod Stew

What’s better than a bowl of hot stew on a brisk fall day? Johnny and I love a good fish stew, despite the fact that I once spilled almost a whole bowl of bouillabaisse on my wool sweater when we were traveling. We had to leave the restaurant and go to the store so I could buy some woolite and hand wash my sweater in the hotel sink….we managed to get the fish smell out eventually, and I still love to eat fish stew.

I’ve tried Cioppino, Bouillabaise, Provençal and this stew is similar in the fact that its hearty and full of tomatoes, wine, and garlic. This was born out of what was in the kitchen and gets a ton of complex flavor from the Calabrian chilis. The chilis are smoky, spicy, and sweet. It comes together in under 30 minutes but tastes like it simmered for hours because it has so many layers of flavor. The fish cooks at the end in about 5 minutes and I think you could replace cod with any meaty white fish, you could also add shrimp, calamari, mussels or whatever fresh seafood you prefer.

What you need:

Olive Oil

1 tbsp butter

1 celery stalk

1/2 a yellow onion

1 peeled carrot

4 cloves of garlic

pinch of salt and pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine (I used a delicious Pouilly Fusse)

14.5 oz can of unsalted tomatoes

14.5 oz can of cannellini beans

1 1/2 tsp dried parsley

5 Calabrian Chilis from a jar packed in olive oil, sliced (make sure to keep the seeds)

1/4 cup kalamata olives

1 tsp capers

1 tbsp ketchup (hear me out, I stopped buying tomato paste years ago….you use a tsp and then the can sits in your fridge for weeks and you eventually throw it out. Ketchup has a strong concentrated tomato flavor and adds a subtle sweetness to recipes. Trust me)

1 lb of fresh cod, sliced into large chunks

Begin by gently warming your butter and olive oil in a pot and adding chopped onion, celery, carrot and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sweat the veggies and stir occasionally for about 5 minutes. Add your parsley and garlic. Stir the garlic and veggies frequently so as not to burn the garlic and after about 1-2 minutes when the garlic starts to smell very fragrant add your white wine. Now add the tomatoes, chilis, olives, capers, and ketchup. Let this all come to a simmer. Simmer for medium/low about 15 minutes. Add your beans and cook another 5 minutes. Lastly, stir in your cod and allow about 5 minutes to cook through. A little drizzle of the oil from the chili jar is a great addition at the end. Enjoy.

Pineapple Fried Rice

We ordered takeout from a new Thai place in town last week and I ordered the pineapple fried rice. WOW, it was so delicious. Spicy. Salty. Sweet….and so many different textures between the crunchy cashews, tender pineapple, and crispy rice. We had a takeout container full of white rice that we never got to and I figured I had most of the ingredients at home so I could try it myself. This did not disappoint, in fact I’m eating the leftovers for breakfast while I type this up.

What you need:

2 tbsp vegetable oil (or coconut…just not olive oil)

1 1/2 cups precooked white jasmine rice (or brown rice if that’s what you prefer)

1 tbsp yellow curry paste

1/2 sweet onion, diced (I also think scallions would be really good here but I didn’t have any)

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

1 red pepper, sliced into thin strips

1/2 cup frozen peas (thawed)

1 14 oz can pineapple chunks, drained

1/2 cup salted cashews

2 eggs

*optional pickled hot red peppers, soy sauce

*Thai fried rice isn’t typically made with soy sauce but I’m not in Thailand and I like soy sauce so I added 1 tbsp at the end

Begin by heating a wok or fry pan over medium-high heat and drizzle in your oil then add your onion, carrots, and pepper. After the vegetables have sweated for a minute or two add the curry paste and everything listed before the eggs. Stir occasionally for about 10 minutes. Allow some of the rice and pineapple to brown and crisp. When everything is cooked thoroughly scoot everything to the outer edges of the pan and crack 2 eggs into the center (maybe crack them into a separate bowl first to avoid getting shells in the pan) and swirl them around to scramble them before mixing them into the rest of the fried rice. At the end I added about 2 tbsp hot red peppers because we like things spicy and 1 tbsp soy sauce. I like the savory/sweet/salty mixture of all of these ingredients.

With protein from the eggs and cashews this could be a meal all on its own but we served it with hot honey salmon (also posted on the blog) and it went really well together.