Category Archives: MAIN DISH RECIPES

SEATTLE CREAM CHEESE DOGS

Now I must admit I am not the greatest lover of the all-American hot dog! In fact, the only time I really liked them was when I was pregnant. And then, all I wanted with my daily hot dogs (sometimes still cold right out of the package) were several huge slices of super cold watermelon. I almost lived on that diet for my last two trimesters. It’s totally amazing my daughter Paula is as normal as she is. Hot dogs and watermelon? Good grief!

But then low and behold, after probably not eating more than 3 hot dogs since my pregnancy, along comes a Seattle Cream Cheese Dog about 2 years ago. Now granted, when you eat one of these babies, it’s not really about the hot dog. It’s really about the toppings.  Also, I must confess, I usually make mine with really good sausages rather than plain hot dogs. (I figure, if I am going to go to the trouble of caramelizing onions, and dressing up sauerkraut, I might as well go all the way and use a really good sausage too!) However you choose to prepare one of these Seattle street vendor classics, you are going to be in for a wonderful treat. There are just some foods that fall into the “guilty pleasure” category. And these “dogs” are definitely on my “guilty” list. And no, I am not going to tell you what other foods are on my list. You already know about my addiction to cheeseburgers. There’s only so much humiliation I can take at one time. I’m a cookbook writer and food blogger after all. I should have foods like fried ice cream with salted caramel sauce or homemade marshmallows covered in white chocolate and toasted coconut on my list. Not cheeseburgers and fancy hot dogs! But if truth be told, most of us who consider ourselves to be blessed with a sophisticated palate have a food or two we wish we didn’t like, but do! So just to make myself feel better about my guilty pleasure list, I’m going to imagine each and every one of you with a corndog in your hand. (And no, corn dogs are not on my list! In fact, I have never eaten one.) But happy day, I do actually possess some vestige of dignity after all!

  • ¼ c. butter
  • 2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 tsp. bacon grease
  • 1 can sauerkraut, well drained
  • 1/4 tsp. caraway seeds
  • 4-8 oz. cream cheese (amount depends on how messy you want to become)
  • 12 hot dogs or favorite sausages
  • 12 buns
  • brown mustard

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions, and cook slowly until the onions have softened and caramelized to a deep golden brown, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile combine the bacon grease, sauerkraut, and caraway seeds in a small saucepan. Warm gently while onions caramelize. Warm the cream cheese in the microwave while you grill the hot dogs or sausages. Also lightly grill buns on both sides. To assemble cream cheese dogs, spread mustard on one side of bun and warm cream cheese on the other. Add hot dogs or sausage, top with onions and sauerkraut and serve immediately.

 

 

GROUND BEEF SLIDERS WITH BACON JAM AND CAMBOZOLA CHEESE

If I were a person who didn’t really like to cook, first of all, I wouldn’t be a food blogger (yah think!) and I undoubtedly would sport a great deal thinner wallet. And why is that you ask? Because I love really good food. And if I couldn’t fix it for myself, well then, I would have to go out to eat more often at places like Skillet, one of Seattle’s fabulous mobile diners. And why would I eat there as often as possible? Because, they make “the burger” – featuring grass fed beef, arugula, Bacon Jam, and Cambozola cheese (cow’s milk cheese that is a combination of a French soft-ripened triple cream cheese and Italian Gorgonzola). Need I say more?

But because I do love to cook, and am an inveterate copycat, I can munch on my take of this fabulous burger (I like to serve them slider sized) any time my heart desires, and time permits, of course. (FYI: if I am serving any type of burger at a function, I usually make them slider sized. Many of the people I entertain are getting older and simply don’t require as much food as when they were younger. So for most of my guests, a smaller burger is much appreciated. After all, they can always come back for seconds! Or even thirds! )

So next time you plan a picnic dinner for family and friends, try serving sliders in place of standard sized burgers. Or if you want to offer a choice, feature a couple of Seattle’s own creations. Serve both this slider (thank you “Skillet”) along with halved Seattle Cream Cheese Dogs (my next post). I mean really, we can’t just be known for our coffee snobbery, more Birkenstock shod women than any other city in America, and grunge music; we also need to take pride in our own gourmet twists on hamburgers and hot dogs. After all, hamburgers and hot dogs represent American cuisine at it’s finest! (I do believe I just talked myself into a trip to Italy. Arrivederci!)

  • 1 lb. not-so-lean ground beef
  • ½ tsp. seasoned salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ tsp. granulated garlic
  • 1 T. grated fresh onion
  • 1 tsp. Montreal Steak Seasoning (made by McCormick)
  • Slider Buns (under Bread & Roll Recipes)
  • arugula
  • Cambozola cheese
  • Bacon Jam (under This & That Recipes)

Gently combine the ground beef, seasoned salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, onion, and Montreal Steak Seasoning. Don’t over-mix. Form into 2-inch patties and let rest for a few minutes. Meanwhile toast the buns in the frying pan you plan to use to cook your burgers. Set buns aside. Place pan over medium high heat. Once the pan is nice and hot, add the burgers and leave them alone. Do not try to flatten the burgers while they cook or all the lovely juices will escape. Don’t move the burgers except to flip them once the juices start to puddle on top. Do not flip again! How long you cook the second side depends on personal preference. For a rarer burger only cook for a couple of minutes. You can tell doneness by gently pressing your spatula in the center of the patty without breaking the crust. The squishier the burger, the rarer it is. Meanwhile, place some arugula on the bottom half of each bun. Add a very thin slice of cambozola cheese. When the patties are cooked, place on the cheese. Add a nice slathering of Bacon Jam to the top half of each bun and place on top of the cheese. Serve sliders immediately.

 

 

 

GROUND TURKEY, SAUSAGE, AND BASIL SLIDERS

So in all honesty, if given a choice between one of these sliders or a cheeseburger (my favorite food in the world), I might have to really think about which I would choose. On the one hand, cheeseburgers are as common as say, cheeseburgers. Whereas, a good ground turkey slider doesn’t just grow on every corner. So it might take me a minute or two to make my choice. And because turkey sliders aren’t as readily available, I probably would leave the cheeseburger until another day. (If of course it was a “pick either one” situation.)

Now this could not conceivably happen to me in real life. No one I know would ever be so unkind as to actually force me to make such an agonizing choice. My friends are simply too nice to even consider making such a demand of me. Plus they know I would probably crack under the pressure.  So given that I might actually consider choosing one of these sliders over a cheeseburger should be proof enough that you too should give them a try. I found this Paula Deen recipe on the internet when I was looking for a hearty appetizer to serve at one of our in-home jazz concerts. And because these sliders are just so incredibly delicious, I felt compelled to share the recipe with you. Thank you Paula! (Please note: There was no butter spread on, melted into, or otherwise abused in the making of these turkey patties.)

  • 1 (20-oz.) pkg. ground turkey
  • ½ lb. ground pork
  • 1-oz. fresh basil, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 c. mayonnaise
  • 2 tsp. vegetable oil
  • Slider Buns (see recipe under Bread & Roll Recipes)
  • Roasted Red Pepper Aioli (recipe to follow)
  • mixed spring greens

In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, pork, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, and mayonnaise. Shape the mixture into eighteen 2-inch-size patties. Pour the vegetable oil into a large skillet and place over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, add the turkey patties and cook until done all the way through, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Meanwhile, slice the slider buns and lightly toast them in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 7-10 minutes.  Spread both sides of the toasted buns with Roasted Red Pepper Aioli. Lay spring greens on the bottom halves of the buns. Top with turkey patties. Cover with the top halves of the buns and serve immediately.

ROASTED RED PEPPER AIOLI

  • ½ c. mayonnaise
  • 1 T. Dijon mustard
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  • 1/3 c. finely chopped roasted red pepper
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, and roasted red pepper. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and chill.

 

SLIDER BUNS (REGULAR HAMBURGER BUNS TOO)

Now that spring is definitely here it’s time to think about picnics and fun food. And a slider, one of my favorites, is fun to both prepare and consume. First of all, sliders are just stinkin’ cute! Now I don’t usually go for “cute” food, but even those of you with a cynical bent have to admit that sliders are nothing if they aren’t cute! And when they taste great too, well that’s just all the better. And although Mr. C. and I don’t usually go out for happy hour (we live on an island and the local restaurants aren’t exactly notorious for being outstanding “happy hour” purveyors), we have had occasion to sample a couple of sliders that are just out of this world.

So I thought I would share two of my favorites with you over the next couple of days. And in my humble opinion, the filling of a perfect slider isn’t worth its weight in ground meat without a perfect bun. And I know, some of you think a perfect bun isn’t all that necessary. Well, too bad. It’s my blog and I am not going to leave the rest of you searching for slider buns at your local grocery store! Because, undoubtedly you will find what I did when I was in a hurry recently and decided to purchase buns rather than prepare my own. For some ungodly reason, grocery stores charge an exorbitant price for slider buns that are fully half the size of regular hamburger buns. Now, I may not be a math genius, but I know when I am being hoodwinked! Let’s see, half the ingredients, twice the price. What about this equation just does not compute? And that’s if your grocery store even deigns to carry slider buns in the first place! Now granted, the slider buns I have purchased (not from my local grocery store, I assure you) have been really good. Pricey, but good. Not as wonderful as homemade of course, but tasty none-the-less.

So next time you get a hankering for a truly fabulous slider, remember this recipe. The buns are inexpensive to make and terribly easy to prepare. If you have yet to tackle yeast bread, this recipe would be a good place to start. And because it’s just the size of your cutter that determines how small or large your buns eventually become, you can use this same recipe for regular sized burger buns too. Of course there is the old adage that “the larger the buns you consume, the larger your own buns become”, so I think personally, I’d better stick to the smaller cutter. Wish me luck on that one!

  • 1 c. warm water
  • 1 T. or 1 pkg. active dry yeast
  • ¼ c. sugar
  • 1 ¼ tsp. salt
  • 4 T. butter, room temperature, divided
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 3 ½ c. flour (or more)
  • vegetable oil

Combine warm water, yeast, sugar, salt, 2 tablespoons butter, and egg in the bowl of your stand mixer. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes to *proof. Add enough flour to form a soft dough. Pour a very small amount of oil over the dough, form a large ball with your hands, cover the bowl with a clean tea towel, and let rise for 1-2 hours or until nearly doubled in bulk. Punch down and divide in half. Shape each half into a rough disk. Roll dough to about 1/4-inch to 1/3-inch thickness. Cut out with a 1 1/2- to 3-inch cutter, depending on whether you want slider buns or regular sized hamburger buns. Repeat with the remaining dough. You will end up with quite a bit of left over dough. Combine it into a ball and let the ball rest for about 20 minutes. Roll out again and make as many more buns as possible. Arrange on a lightly greased baking sheet about 2 to 3 inches apart. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter; brush each bun. This will give them a soft, golden crust. Bake the buns in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, or until they are a light golden brown. Cool on rack. Split and use with any of your favorite fillings.

Proof: After 5 or 10 minutes, the yeast should begin to form a creamy foam on the surface of the water. If there is no foam or any apparent action in the bowl, the yeast is dead. Time to start over with a new packet of yeast.

ROASTED SWEET POTATO RAVIOLI

I believe I have mentioned on earlier postings that I love pasta. And for some reason (excessive profit I believe it’s called) makers of fresh ravioli seem to think it’s OK to charge an arm and a leg for the same amount of product I can make for about a dollar. Now granted, I don’t have manufacturing, packaging, shipping, and delivery costs to consider, but really, the markup is astronomical. So when I can make my own ravioli with won ton wrappers, I feel great about myself. And coincidentally, the ravioli happens to taste pretty darn good too. And of course I know I am cheating by not making my own pasta, but you all know that finding shortcuts (aka cheating) whenever possible in the kitchen is what I strive to achieve! (I’ve learned to live with my little addiction. In fact, I no longer even ask for forgiveness in my evening prayers.)

So if you too want to save a little time and money, build yourself a batch of these incredible ravioli. And when you serve them tenderly blanketed with Butter and Sage Sauce, you won’t think to ask forgiveness for cheating a little in the preparation either. In fact, serve this dish to your loved ones, and they might forgive you just about anything! After all, it worked for me when I happened to throw out one of Mr. Cs favorite shirts. Even if the darned thing was 25 years old, the most putrid shade of green I had ever seen, was frayed and stained around the collar, and last fit him about 20 years ago; he loved that shirt. I simply asked for forgiveness at about the same time he took his last bite of the pasta on his plate. It really is very hard to stay mad at someone who is fully capable of denying a second helping!

  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 1 T. butter
  • 3 T. minced shallot
  • 3 T. half & half
  • 3 T. grated Parmesan cheese
  • pinch nutmeg
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • wonton wrappers
  • 1 recipe Pasta with Butter and Sage Sauce (under Main Dish Recipes)

Wash and dry the sweet potato. Stick it with a fork in 3-4 places, place it in a pan, and bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool until you are able to hold it in your hand comfortably. Peel and mash the sweet potato; set aside. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté for 1 minute. Add the mashed sweet potato and cook until the mixture is slightly dry, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the half and half. Continue to cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheese and the pinch of nutmeg. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Don’t over salt because there is plenty of salt in the Butter and Sage Sauce.) Lightly flour a clean work surface. Set a small bowl of water nearby. Lay wrappers on the surface. Place a small scoop or heaping teaspoon of the sweet potato mixture on every other wrapper. Dip your finger in the water and wet the outside edge of each wrapper. Gently place the wrappers without the filling over the wrappers with the filling, wet edges together. Gently but firmly press down on the edges of each ravioli with the tines of a fork. Refrigerate in a single layer until ready to use. (This recipe makes about 11 ravioli.) When your sauce is ready* place the raviolis into boiling salted water one at a time (to prevent initial sticking).  Reduce heat if necessary and cook for about 2 minutes. They will float to the top when they are ready. Gently lift out of the water and place on plates. Serve covered with Butter and Sage Sauce or any fairly simple pasta sauce.

*Hint: always have your pasta sauce ready before your pasta is finished cooking, not the other way around. Pasta is much more time sensitive then most sauces. And if possible, always cook your pasta al dente unless otherwise instructed. Mushy pasta is simply not very appealing.

 

 

GRILLED RUBBED CHICKEN

I grew up on a farm. My grandfather sold eggs for a living, so we had eggs coming out of our ears. And who knows which came first, the chicken or the egg, but along with the eggs, we had chickens. Funny how that works! And every Sunday after church, my mom (we lived in a separate home on the farm property) would fix the side dishes, and my grandmother, after first killing, de-feathering, and butchering some unlucky rooster or hen (and I refuse to go into the details of how this was accomplished) would prepare the fried chicken. Now I know I’ve told you that my grandma was not a good cook, but boy could she fry chicken! So at about 2:00 p.m. every Sunday we would sit down to a dinner of fried chicken with all the trimmings. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Then long about 7:00 p.m. we would have a late supper. Often it was as simple as a Spanish omelet (like I said, we had eggs in abundance) and toast. Lovely in its simplicity.

Now logically you would think that as an adult I would hate eggs and chicken. But I still have an egg every morning for breakfast. Love them. And as far as enjoying the taste of chicken, well, in all probability, if I had to choose just one meat to eat for the rest of my life, it would be the delectable Gallus gallus domesticus. And after having grown up on a chicken farm, as far as I’m concerned, the only good chicken is a dead chicken anyway! Chickens are mean critters. They will literally peck one of their fellow chickens to death if the poor thing happens to have even a tiny scratch or scrape. And as a small girl trying to help her grandfather gather eggs, well those old biddies were unmerciful! So like I said, better dead is a Rhode Island Red, or however that cold war saying goes!

So for me, a lovely piece of chicken that has been rubbed with spices, spent a few hours of well deserved incarceration in the refrigerator, then cooked over low heat on a BBQ and slathered with BBQ sauce; well life just doesn’t get much better. Actually, the only thing I can think of that would be better, is if I could fry chicken like my grandmother. But to do that, I would have to raise my own chickens (not out of the question) and then slaughter them (satisfying but completely out of the question), churn my own butter from my own dreamy eyed cow (I believe we have a covenant in our development that expressly states that cows are prohibited), and own a well seasoned cast iron frying pan! Well I’ve got the pan, but as for the rest, not going to happen, so I will just have to cherish my memories. If I am lucky enough to end up in heaven with my grandmother, I know she will be waiting for me with a plate of her fried chicken. In the mean time, I will gladly content myself with this BBQ’d chicken. Hope you enjoy it too.

chicken pieces, any type or number of pieces you need

Dry Rub for Chicken:

  • 5 T. kosher salt
  • 1 T. freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 T. granulated garlic
  • 3 T. onion powder
  • 1 T. dried thyme
  • 1 T. ground sage
  • 1 T. paprika
  • 1 tsp. ground savory

Mix all dry rub ingredients together. Wash and dry the chicken pieces. Thoroughly rub each chicken piece with the dry rub. (Store any unused portion of the dry rub in an airtight container at room temperature.) Place chicken in a zip lock bag and refrigerate for up to 12 hours. Grill over medium low heat and serve with Bourbon BBQ Sauce (under This & That Recipes)

 

SMOKED DRY-RUBBED RIBS

I like to get messy. I love to work in the dirt, play with grout when I make one of my mosaic pieces, mix meatloaf ingredients with my hands (sans wedding ring), and eat BBQ until my fingers are so sticky I can’t pry them apart. No dainty knife and fork action for me when I’m eating BBQ. I want the full BBQ experience, sticky hands that adhere to my napkin(s), BBQ sauce on at least one of my ears; the full meal deal! And eating these ribs dipped in Bourbon BBQ Sauce is guaranteed to make you just about as messy as it gets. A little information about BBQ sauce: There are many styles of BBQ sauce, but basically they all fall into 4 “general” types. Style number 1 (going back literally hundreds of years) is very simply a combination of vinegar and pepper (maybe a little brown sugar). The 2nd type is a mustard based sauce, commonly served in South Carolina. Not a bit of tomato to be found. Type number 3 is referred to as a light tomato sauce (basically tomato ketchup with vinegar and pepper). And number 4, the most common sauce of all – heavy slightly sweet tomato sauce. (BTW – Bourbon BBQ Sauce under This & That Recipes definitely lives behind door number 4!)

Now, you may be wondering why I am telling you about different BBQ sauces on a recipe for ribs, but there is a method to my madness. These ribs are absolutely fantastic with nary a sauce in site. And many people prefer to eat their ribs with no embellishment. I personally don’t understand why anyone would eat naked ribs, but who am I to question other peoples’ food choices. All I can say is that (A) these ribs + (B) Bourbon BBQ Sauce = (C) Heaven. Now that’s my idea of a perfect standard form linear equation! 

2-3 racks baby back or spareribs (we prefer baby back)

Dry Rib Rub:

  • 2 T. paprika
  • 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 T. kosher salt
  • 2 tsp. granulated garlic
  • 1 tsp. cayenne
  • 1 tsp. ancho chili powder (found in most upscale grocery stores in bulk)
  • 2 tsp. dried oregano
  • 2 tsp. dried thyme

Combine all Rib Rub ingredients. Spread the rub liberally over the meaty side of the ribs. Then either wrap or cover the meat and refrigerate overnight.

The next day place the ribs in a smoker with hickory or alder wood chips on low heat for about 3½ hours. (If your smoker only has two temperatures (on or off), no problem. You are not cooking the meat; you are merely adding a lovely smoky flavor.) (Of course, if you have a Traeger or similar fancy  outdoor appliance for both smoking and cooking the meat, knock yourself out. Just make sure the internal temperature of the meat reaches 190-degrees before it goes on the grill.) But for those of us with less exotic equipment, after the meat smokes, bake the ribs in a covered pan* at 275-degrees for a couple of hours, or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 190-degrees. (Check after an hour.) Why 190-degrees? Because 190 is the temperature at which the fat and collagen start to melt, making for a tender and better tasting rib.

*Use a high sided pan when you bake the ribs because there will be a considerable amount of liquid accumulated in the pan while they bake. Remove from oven. At this point, the ribs can be set aside until needed.

When ready to serve, heat your grill to 400-degrees. Cut the meat into individual ribs, and heat on the grill for 4 minutes on each cut side. Serve with Bourbon BBQ Sauce.

BOURBON BBQ SAUCE

¼ c. unsalted butter

¼ c. minced onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ c. brown sugar

2 tsp. whole grain mustard

1 c. ketchup

1/3 c. Worcestershire sauce

¼ c. fresh lemon juice

¼ tsp. hot sauce, or to taste

¼ tsp. cayenne

2 T. bourbon

Melt butter in a medium sized covered saucepan. Sauté onion until translucent; add garlic and cook until garlic releases its aroma, about 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover pan, and simmer gently for 30 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally. Basically, cook the sauce until you it reaches your desired thickness. (Sauce will thicken as it simmers. If the sauce is still too thin after 60 minutes, remove the lid. But be warned – simmer at a very low temperature or you will have BBQ sauce all over you and your kitchen!) Serve sauce warm or at room temperature.

 

 

STUFFED BONELESS LEG OF LAMB

Once upon a time (I have always wanted to start a preface to a recipe or story with this ever so rarely used story opener) there was a really good Italian restaurant in Redmond, Washington that offered cooking classes. For the life of me I can’t remember the name of the restaurant and in my defense, I did take the class along with my dear friend Jim 16 or 17 years ago. Anyway, the restaurant is long gone! What remains is this fabulous recipe. Now I am a lamb lover. I love grilled ground lamb patties served with Tzatziki, lamb curry, rack of lamb, marinated and grilled lamb chops; basically all things lamb. But my favorite all time way to cook lamb is this stuffed leg recipe.

The first time I made it for guests was for a cooking club that has been going, more off than on unfortunately, for over a decade. The thing that stands out most about serving this dish was the reaction I received from my 2 cooking buddies Ken and Paul. (And yes it does seem like all my best cooking pals are male. My mom never raised no dummy!) But back to my story. The leg of lamb was happily resting under its aluminum foil blanket and it was time to make the sauce. The first thing you need to know about this lamb preparation is that it produces just about the best sauce you will ever taste. And this evening’s sauce was no exception. I actually invited the guys to try the sauce/gravy as it was reducing. I wanted to demonstrate the difference a touch of lemon juice could make to the overall flavor of the sauce when it was added just before serving. Well, that was one of the worst mistakes I ever made! The guys were eating spoonfuls of the sauce before it ever got to the table. They even asked if I had any straws! They wanted to suck it up right out of the pan!

Now I have to be honest with you. This recipe is easy once you build the demi-glace. But making demi-glace is a pain in the bucket. It’s not hard to make, it’s just time consuming. So when I make it, I make about 4 cups and that usually lasts me for an entire year, if not longer. But making your own demi-glace beats the heck out of buying it. You want to experience sticker shock, go on line and figure out what a cup of demi-glace costs.  Of course, if you’re super rich, no problem. But if you are ordinary folk like Mr. C. and me, well suffice it to say, I build my own. I usually make it when I know I am going to be futzing around the kitchen for several hours anyway. That way I can periodically give it a check while I perform whatever other cooking projects happen to be in the works. (It also helps that I have an outdoor kitchen. I can put my pot of bones, meat, veggies and water on to boil outside and not have to worry about messing up my kitchen.) So next time you want to prepare a dish that will knock the socks off your guests, give this baby a try. You will not be disappointed. Well maybe just a little. Leftovers for next evening’s meal are simply not going to happen.

  • 1 medium sized boneless leg of lamb
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 T. finely chopped fresh sage
  • 2 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 7-8 slices prosciutto
  • 2 T. vegetable oil
  • 1 c. Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris, your choice (Both come from the same grape, but are made differently.  Italian style Pinot Grigio is typically lighter-bodied, crisp, fresh tasting, with a vibrant stone fruit flavor, floral aroma, and a touch of spice. Pinot Gris, from the Alsace region in France, is more full-bodied, richer, spicier, and has a higher viscosity.)
  • 1 c. demi-glace (see recipe under This & That Recipes)
  • ½ c. heavy cream
  • additional wine, if necessary (so don’t drink the rest of the bottle while the lamb is cooking)
  • ¼ tsp. fresh lemon juice

If the leg of lamb came in a sweet little mesh blanket bag, carefully slide the lamb out of the netting and set aside. Open lamb out on a cutting board and taking a sharp meat knife carefully slice the boned side of the meat here and there to achieve an even thickness. (I used to pound the meat with a mallet, but I have found slicing the meat here and there works better. Doesn’t leave the meat kind of mushy.) Rub the meat with a moderate amount of salt and pepper and sprinkle with the garlic, sage, and rosemary. Lay prosciutto on top. Roll the meat to approximately the same shape it was before you started messing with it. Tie with string so it keeps its shape while braising, or carefully stuff it back into the wire mesh bag. Heat oil in a heavy lidded roasting pan or Dutch oven. Brown the meat on all sides in the hot oil. Remove from heat and add the wine and demi-glace. Cover and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes. Remove lid, reduce heat to 325 degrees, insert instant read thermometer and continue roasting until meat reaches an internal temperature of 140-145 for medium rare. Remove meat from oven, transfer to a cutting board, remove string or mesh bag, and tent gently with aluminum foil. Let rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing into ½-inch pieces. Meanwhile, add an additional fourth to half cup of wine to roasting pan if there is less than a half cup of liquid remaining after the roast was removed. Add the heavy cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer a few minutes or until the sauce has reduced to a medium thick consistency. Adjust seasoning and add lemon juice. Remove from heat. Arrange 1 or 2 slices of meat on each plate. Spoon a small amount of sauce over each slice. (Don’t be too generous. The sauce is really, really rich. I usually serve whatever sauce is left in a small gravy boat and place it on the dining table for guests to help themselves.)

Side Dish Suggestions: Oven Roasted Fingerling Potatoes (recipe below), a steamed veggie like green beans or broccoli, a salad such as Winter Fruit Salad or Coleslaw, and a nice homemade Beer Bread. And for dessert – how about Cherries Jubilee or French vanilla ice cream with Spiced Rum Sauce (recipe found under Bread Pudding with Spiced Rum Sauce)

Wine Suggestion: Let’s see, how about starting with the left over Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris that has been happily waiting for you in the refrigerator? Or if that’s already gone, open another of the same!

Oven Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

  • 2 lbs. fingerling potatoes
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • seasoned or kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely minced

Place potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour on just enough olive oil to coat the potatoes lightly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add rosemary, and garlic. Mix with your hands. Bake in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. (Your potatoes can be roasting while your leg of lamb is resting.)

 

 

 

 

 

MAPLE SYRUP GLAZED SPIRAL HAM

So, I never intended this blog to be holiday specific, but things sometimes take on a life of their own. And my blog seems to be doing just that. It thinks that since Easter is just about here, I ought to offer up some of my favorite Easter recipes. Well, who am I to argue with my blog when it is so obviously correct! So for the next few days, I am going to post a few of our family’s favorite Easter recipes. And the obvious first choice for me is the star of most of our Easter dinners – baked ham. Now I believe I have alluded to the fact that I love almost all things pork! (I do draw the line at pickled pig’s feet and pork rinds, but most other piggy products are high on my beloved foods list.) And for the most bang for the buck and ease of preparation, spiral ham is a really good choice. I just slap it in the oven, prepare a simple glaze, slap that on just before I’m ready to serve, and call it good. Actually, what I really should be calling “good” is this recipe! I found this Dave Lieberman (I really like his recipes, by the way) masterpiece on-line when I wanted a new way to prepare baked ham to serve in addition to turkey last Christmas. I immediately knew that this was now going to be my favorite way to prepare ham. I absolutely loved the flavor of the glaze as did all the rest of my family. And the ham sandwiches the next day were just over the top wonderful. You know, ham is really versatile. You can serve it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Which makes me wonder why I don’t buy it more often? So I decided to do a little research on ham. It turns out that most lean ham is about 5% fat, 2% of which is saturated. Not too bad. But the killer, so to speak, is the sodium content. For an average 3-oz. portion, there is roughly 1170 mg of sodium. Yikes, that’s more than I should eat for the whole day! And only 3 ounces? I could no more stick to a 3-oz. portion than I could recite the Gettysburg address from heart!  So, although I love ham and will continue to serve it for holidays, I’m going to have to personally leave it at that. Oh well, life is a game of choice. And because I want to continue eating an occasional piece of bacon, I am going to choose not to research the fat and salt content in bacon. I can only take so much bad news on any given day! So if you will excuse me, I’m going to go start practicing my reciting skills. Fourscore and seven years ago……

  • 1 (9 lb.) partial bone-in spiral cut ham (I use Hemplers spiral hams, butt end (more meat)
  • 3/4 c. water
  • 1/2 c. real maple syrup
  • 1/2 c. dark brown sugar
  • 2 T. whole-grain Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Place ham in a roasting pan and pour water into the pan bottom. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a pre-heated 300 degree oven for about 90 minutes or until heated through. Meanwhile whisk together the maple syrup, brown sugar, mustard, and spices in a saucepan until smooth and heat until simmering. Simmer for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Set aside. When ham is heated through, remove the aluminum foil, and pour or brush the glaze over the top to cover completely. Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. Return the ham to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until glaze is caramelized and bubbly. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing pieces off bone.

 

CURRY SAUCE FOR CHICKEN, SHRIMP, BEEF, OR LAMB

While I understand that many of you are older and don’t have children at home anymore or even had children to begin with.  But since I did, and even after 20 some years of not having hungry children waiting for me when I arrive home from work, I still remember what it was like. So if it seems like many of my recipes are aimed at folks with little time to spare in the kitchen, it is because some of my best recipes were developed during my years of being a working parent. And you know, I still make many of those same recipes today even though Mr. C. and I are happily retired and presumably I have all the time in the world to spend in the kitchen. Don’t get me wrong, I love to while away the hours preparing new dishes. But some evenings, it’s just delightful to serve a favorite old standby that I know we are both going to enjoy. So when I find myself with a bit of leftover meat in the fridge, I often make a curry. I almost always have the other necessary ingredients in my fridge or pantry, so to build a curry sauce is a snap. But before I go any further, a word about curry powder. The curry powder I use in this recipe is based on the spices used in Indian cooking. But In India, there is no such thing as curry powder.  Every Indian dish that requires powdered spices combines a number of individual spices unique to that particular dish. So there is no “one combination curry powder fits all” in an Indian kitchen. An Indian cook will roast and pulverize whole spices or they might use a combination of already ground spices. Much the same way in which we would decide the variety and amount of spice to use while preparing an apple pie. One baker might use only cinnamon and allspice, whereas the next pie maker might swear by a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.  So how did curry powder, which is a combination of spices including coriander, cumin, fenugreek, cayenne, turmeric, allspice, cardamom, cloves, fennel, ginger, mace, mustard, and black or white pepper, come about? The British, of course! From the early 1600s when Britain had just a scattering of trading posts on the Indian coast until 1947 when India gained its independence from Britain, British citizens living in India were exposed to Indian cuisine. And of course, as British soldiers and other government officials returned home from their stay in India, they wanted a way in which to bring those wonderful flavors home with them. Their solution was curry powder. And why not, it’s easy!  And many of the blends readily available to us today are really good. Instead of having to add multiple spices to an Indian dish that is otherwise quick and easy to prepare, curry powder is usually the only “spice” required. Such a deal! And all you parents out there, don’t be afraid to introduce your kidlets to curry at an early age. Curry was one of dishes all my children loved. They were eating it before they realized they really shouldn’t like it. Being children after all comes with certain responsibilities, like being fussy about what food you will and will not tolerate. Get your little darlings hooked young enough and they won’t know enough to object! And even if you aren’t lucky enough to still have children at home (I can say “lucky” and truly mean it now that my children are all grown) as an excuse to prepare a curry, be brave and give it a try anyway. Remember, you’re never too old for the “three bite” rule!

  • 3 T. butter
  • 1/3 c. julienne cut carrots
  • ½ c. thinly sliced mushrooms, opt.
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 T. vermouth, opt.
  • 1 T. minced fresh or dried parsley
  • 2 T. flour
  • 3-4 tsp. curry powder, or more to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  • ½ c. milk
  • 1 ½ c. sour cream
  • 1 c. cooked chicken (cubed), shrimp, beef (cubed), or lamb (cubed)
  • chopped cashew nuts (opt.)
  • finely chopped green onions (opt.)
  • chutney (opt.)

Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan. Add carrots and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook until garlic is just starting to brown. Deglaze the pan with vermouth. Whisk in the parsley, flour, curry powder, black pepper, cream of mushroom soup, and milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Carefully whisk in the sour cream and add your cooked meat of choice. Adjust seasoning. Serve over steamed rice garnished with cashews, green onions, and chutney, or any combination thereof.