Springtime Lamb Stew

"Marie avait un petit mouton..."

When my husband was a child, his NYC teacher asked the students to recite something in front of the class. His mom, a French American, helped him to memorize the French version of "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Translated, "Marie avait un petit mouton." 

We remember this cute little nursery rhyme fondly while making a delicious French lamb stew. This dish is from his mom's recipe book.

Nothing says French like an authentic French stew, especially on a cold springtime day, and this one adds a twist that keeps all of the flavor locked into the stew. Here we took license with the original French country recipe, by adding the peas as a side rather than incorporating into the stew, and by creating a buttery mash of pommes de terre au persil (parslied potatoes) as an accompaniment. This version retains all of the hearty meat and mushroom taste, and puts us in mind of Provençal forests, while adding perfect accents with potatoes, parsley and peas.

This recipe will take a few hours to prepare, so give yourself ample time some morning or afternoon and enjoy the process, as you lovingly craft a dinner with complex flavor for cherished family and/or friends that they can't get just anywhere. As with most soups or stews, for some reason this one tastes better after it has been cooled and reheated, or the next day.

It's a wonderful dinner to serve, feels very elegant and makes you appear an accomplished cook, especially when accompanied by a fine beaujolais and crusty baguette.

Ingredients

2-3 lbs. lamb steaks (round bone), cut into 1-2" pieces

1/2 to 1 c. hearty red wine (use only wine that you would drink at table!)

3 tbsp. flour

2 medium onions, chopped coarsely (about 1 cup)

1 lb. mushrooms, sliced and sautéed in butter

1 lb. carrots, cut into 2" pieces

1 lb. frozen peas

4 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into thirds 

1/2 c. fresh parsley, chopped coarsely

4 - 6 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 bay leaves

2 tsp. freshly chopped thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Process

1. Sauté the mushrooms in 1-2 tbsp. butter and olive oil until deeply browned and set aside.

2. In a large dutch oven, add 1-2 tbsp. butter and sauté the lamb in stages so as not to cool down the pot, until richly browned and leaving a fond or tiny bits on the bottom of the pot.

These are the crusty, caramelized bits you want to render from the meat; they are called the fond.
They will add flavor and character to your stew.

3. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set aside. In the juice of the meat, sauté the onion and garlic until wilted and soft, about five minutes, stirring frequently. 

This is how your onions will look after you've added the wine and the slurry.
4. While the onion is cooking, make a slurry of 2-3 tbsp. flour and very hot water in a small bowl, stirring to dissolve the flour completely. Add to the cooked onions and stir until well incorporated.

5. Add back the meat, add in the carrots, mushrooms, bay leaf, thyme and stir well to incorporate.

6. Add more wine, about 1/3 cup. 

7. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, stir to incorporate, lower heat and simmer on low heat, stirring every 10 - 15 minutes or so, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot.

8. Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, boil the potatoes in salted water.

9. When the potatoes are cooked (about 10 minutes, or when a fork slides through easily), drain and mash in same saucepan, using a fork or a potato masher. Add 2 tbsp. butter and freshly chopped parsley, mix and set aside.

10. Prepare the peas according to package directions, and when cooked, add butter, salt and pepper to taste.

11. After a few hours, check the stew and adjust flavorings to taste.

12. Serve with peas and potatoes, crusty bread and a hearty beaujolais.  Bon appetit!

Gettin' Our Corned Beef On!

It's almost time for corned beef and cabbage ... now as St. Patrick's Day comes near to us on the calendar, and really anytime of the year. It's always delicious and always a big hit ... day of, and day after! You'll need a big pot of water, lots of pickling spices, a quality cut of corned beef, a bunch of yellow or russet potatoes, an onion or two and time to let it simmer on the range. Here's how we do it:

Corned beef simmering in large pot of water with pickling spices (recipe below).

Add cabbage and potatoes ...

Cabbage, cored and quartered, ready to jump into the pool!

Ingredients

One 4-lb. corned beef brisket, thin cut (get the best you can find)
2-6 tbsp. pickling spices
4-6 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
One large onion, peeled and quartered
One medium head cabbage, cored and cut into 8 quarters

Process

1. Put the corned beef into a large pot and cover with cold water. Add 2 tbsp. pickling spices. Cover and bring to a boil.
2. Skim the gray residue that comes to the top of the pot. Cover. Simmer for 30 minutes. Skim residue. Add 1-2 tbsp. more pickling spices to make up for ones you skimmed away.
3. Cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours on medium heat.
4. Add potatotes, onion, more water (boil it first) to cover corned beef. Adjust spices by adding more if needed. Simmer 30 minutes.
5. Add cabbage and simmer 30 more minutes.

Serve with Irish soda bread and a pint of Guinness! Top of the evening to you, mateys!

Lentil Soup When It Snows!

In the middle of a big late winter snowstorm ... time for lentil soup with kielbasa. Here's our version of a hearty lentil soup that fills the bill ... It's easy to make, fills the house with amazing aromas, and with the addition of kielbasa, makes a meal unto itself. Just add your favorite beverage and hot crusty Italian bread!

Ingredients
1 16 oz bag dried lentils
2-3 T extra virgin olive oil for sautéeing
1 large onion, chopped
1 lb. kielbasa, cut into 1/2" pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, cut into 1/4" pieces
1 lb. carrots, cut into 1/4" pieces
4 c beef broth (heated)
6 c water (heated)
1 bay leaf
French fleur de sel to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Process
1. In a large Dutch oven, sauté the kielbasa in 1-2 T of olive oil until browned.
2. Add chopped onion, garlic and celery. Sauté until wilted. Add more olive oil if needed.
3. Add carrots, mix with kielbasa, onion, garlic and celery and sauté one-two minutes more.
4. Add warmed beef broth, bay leaf, warmed water, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well.
5. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to simmer for 1-1/2 hours.
6. Let cool slightly and serve with your favorite beverage and hot crusty Italian bread.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! May good fortune, good health and abundant joy be yours in the year to come!

DRY ROASTED RIBS 

Low-carb, almost no sugar

Our recipe for dry roasted ribs is a delicious alternative to slathering sugary, high-calorie, carb-laden sauce. Containing almost no sugar, all you need is an oven set at 300F for four hours, a little water, and the delicious ingredients that are listed below. We serve them with our Poblano Cornbread. This rub works equally well with chicken, just turn up the heat to 375F after 3 hours and roast for another 30 minutes, until brown and crispy.

Preheat oven to 300F

Ingredients

2-4 lb. rack of ribs

1 T high-quality smoky paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 T cumin, or more if desired

1 T ground chili seasoning, or more if desired

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp onion salt

Generous grind 5 pepper medley (Williams Sonoma)

2 T dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt or fleur-de-sel (Williams Sonoma)

Water

Take ribs out of refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature (about 20 minutes).

Mix spices well in bowl, rub generously into both sides of a rack of ribs. Place ribs on a sheet pan that has been fitted with alum foil to catch drippings and place ribs on a wire rack over pan with 1/4 c water beneath rack. Roast in oven 4 hours, turning every 20-30 minutes, replenishing with 1/4 c water as needed.

Here's what they will look like when they are ready. Carve and enjoy!

Christmas Eve Paella (Also: New Year's Eve Paella)

Paella is one of our family's favorite dishes, and even though I've heard it's "easy," there are many ingredients and the assembly is tricky. Ron's dad had a great recipe that goes back three decades (which uses the oven), and I found a fantastic version by Janet Mandel, a Spanish cooking authority (which uses the stove top).  I put the two of them together, and also added my own touches.  I decided to use a large earthenware casserole dish and the oven method.  (Note: Assembly time: about an hour; cooking time, approximately another hour. Give yourself ample time, don't rush and enjoy the experience!)

Ingredients:
4 small chicken thighs, bone-in
4 small chicken breasts (or two breasts cut in half), bone-in
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
10 strands of saffron, steeped in boiling water
2 cups long grain white rice
8 cups chicken broth
1 green pepper, cut in 1/2" x 1/4" strips
1 ripe plum tomato, chopped
1 lb. Spanish chorizo (sausage)
18 raw, peeled and deveined shrimp
18 mussels
18 littleneck clams
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large Spanish onion, chopped (approximately 1 cup)
1/2 box frozen peas
4 oz. roasted red peppers

Note: Prepare your mis en table in advance; chop all tomatoes, onion, pepper, garlic, clean all seafood, etc. so the cooking and assembly process goes smoothly.

Preparation

Cook the chicken: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Salt and pepper both sides of all pieces of chicken in oven-proof frying pan. Sauté in olive oil on both sides until deep golden brown.  Pop into oven for 20 minutes.

Cook the chorizo: Fry chorizo in non-stick pan. When cooked through, cut into small pieces. Drain pan of excess fat. Return chorizo to pan. Add onion, garlic, chopped tomato and green pepper, adding olive oil if necessary. When onion and garlic are translucent, remove from heat and set aside.

Steep the saffron: Bring one cup water to a boil. Remove from heat, add saffron. Set aside.

Assembly
When chicken is cooked, arrange around edges of large open casserole or paella pan.  Sprinkle with rice and add chicken stock, chopped tomato, chorizo/onion/pepper mixture, saffron with water, stir and cover tightly. Cook for 40 minutes, stirring half way through.

Remove from oven, uncover, stir. Add peas, roasted red peppers and shrimp. Cover, put back in oven for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, add mussels and clams. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, or until clams, shrimp and mussels are cooked. Shrimp should be firm and pink. Discard any mussels or clams that are not open.

Serve with salad and crisp white wine, such as Pinot Grigio (or Sangria, for you purists).

Paella also makes a fantastic party dish, as perfect for a crowd on New Year's Eve as on Christmas Eve.

Basic Roast Chicken on a Wintry Night

There's nothing quite like the aroma of a chicken roasting in the oven! 

Here's our can't fail method for a savory chicken.  Best of all, your oven does all the work!

Preheat oven to 375F.

1. Cut a 4 lb chicken into 8 pieces.

2. Put into roasting pan, and sprinkle liberally with herbes de Provence, 

3. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over all.

4. Add a tad French salt (we use fleur de sel) and freshly ground pepper melange, some crushed fresh garlic cloves and a few tablespoons butter cut into small bits. 

5. Roast at 375F for 90 mins, basting half way through. 

Serve with your favorite smashed potatoes and haricots vert.

A made for all seasons dinner, not just for a wintry night. Use any leftovers for your chicken pot pie!

Time to get ready for Thanksgiving!

It's never too early to start planning your Thanksgiving meal.  As always, the turkey -- roasted to a golden brown and stuffed with savory bread and sausage stuffing -- will be the centerpiece of your dinner table.

Next, the all-time, most-requested favorite on our table is our Southern sweet potato and pecan casserole. Both crunchy and smooth, sweet and savory, this casserole can be prepped two days in advance and cooked up in 45 minutes on Thanksgiving Day. Recipes below.

Here's a suggested table setting, with mini pumpkins and Granny Smith apples for color:

May you have a blessed Thanksgiving Day, filled with good things, loving family and faithful friends.

Grandma's Turkey Stuffing
(For 18 lb. bird)

Ingredients
1 package seasoned bread crumbs for turkey stuffing (Arnold)
1 stick butter
1 to 1-1/2 cups chicken broth
1 lb. good quality Italian sausage, out of casing
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmegianno Reggiano cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 eggs, slightly beaten with fork
Onion and garlic salt -- approx 1/8 tsp each
1 cup white raisins (optional)

1. Sauté sausage until cooked, about 10 minutes. Drain fat from pan. Set aside.
2. In large deep sauté pan, melt butter and broth. When butter is completely melted, add breadcrumbs, stir to combine until all liquid has been absorbed.
3. Pour breadcrumb mixture into a large deep mixing bowl.
4. Add seasonings, cheese, eggs and spices, mix well to combine.
5. Add sausage. Combine.

Stuff bird, reserving any extra stuffing for casserole to bake separately @ 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

Southern Sweet Potato & Pecan Casserole
Preheat oven to 400F degrees.


Ingredients
For casserole:
6 cups cooked sweet potatoes
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
2/3 cup butter, melted
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs, beaten with fork
For topping:
2 cups flaked coconut
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup butter, melted
2 cups chopped pecans

Roast sweet potatoes for 40-60 minutes, or until soft. Cool, remove skin, and mash in a large bowl. Combine sweets with next five ingredients. Mix well. Spoon into a lightly-greased 13" x 9" casserole (or oval casserole of similar size).

Reduce oven temperature to 375F degrees.

Combine remaining ingredients, and sprinkle over the top of the sweet potato mixture. Bake @ 375F for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Yields 12+ servings.