Lamb necks? Really? Well, yes, but for those of you who are grossed out concerned, you can simply substitute lamb shanks in this recipe. So why lamb neck? I admit that I am not sure how we got here. Maybe I am just following the Muse of “cool” food. Maybe I am being practical, as lamb necks can be larger and fattier (this is good) than shanks, and no more expensive. But, in the end, I think they just kept popping up somehow. A cookbook here, a TV show there and suddenly I am ordering lamb necks from our butcher (who was very cool about it, it just took a few days). And since we are getting towards spring, it seemed to me we should have a good lamb dish at the ready. Continue reading
Category Archives: Dinner
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Cioppino: California Seafood Stew
Our latest cooking saga started innocently enough. Carolyn said; “we are in California, shouldn’t we post a Cioppino recipe”? And I said, “Sure, I like Cioppino”.Little did I know that this recipe would require some real work. This is not to say you shouldn’t make Cioppino at home. It is not hard to make, but it is hard to get right. This is a dish usually made in restaurants a la minute’, rather than in a big pot at home. So little details do matter, and you need to use a good recipe or you can spend hours (or in the case of Cooks Illustrated, every dish in your kitchen) with little benefit and get an underwhelming dish. And this is a seafood dish, and that means you will be spending some real money on ingredients, so it had better be good. Continue reading
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Adventures in Home Charcuterie: Corned Beef, Part 3- The Reuben Sandwich
If you want to cook and write about food, it is good to have kids. They lack the same “filter” as most adults and if they don’t like a dish they let you know, often in crushing detail. Such was the case with our Reuben Sandwiches. We had a lot of left over corned beef and I was excited to make the Reubens, but as it turns out details really matter, particularly in a classic sandwich like the Reuben.Our first batch, while good, had some “issues”. And Sam, our eldest, let me know about it. “The meat is too stringy” and “needs more sauce and kraut”. He thought the flavor was good but I lacked in execution. He was right. I did not cut the meat completely across the grain, and I discounted that Reubens are messy and a lot ends up on the plate. What makes the Reuben so good is the perfect bite; tangy rye bread, nutty swiss cheese, creamy sauce, tart and crunchy kraut and tender, salty beef. This version did not deliver the “complete” bite. Fail (small, but still a fail). But the good thing about making 5 pounds of corned beef, is that you have enough to try again. Continue reading
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Adventures in Home Charcuterie: Corned Beef, Part 2- Corned Beef and Cabbage
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Well, let’s get right to it. Corned beef is worth doing at home. It is tender and tasty, and the pink color is fun as well. The salt and spices are very smooth and integrated with the brisket. Much better than any store-bought corned beef I’ve had. Making something like this at home sort of feels like alchemy, the creation of something special from average ingredients. Charcuterie, I am finding, is tasty alchemy at home. Continue reading
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Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya (and King Cake)
It is Mardi Gras and every year we make a basic jambalaya and king cake. Truth be told, Carolyn uses a King Arthur Flour kit for the king cake, it is one of the few things she does not make from scratch. But the cake is sooooo good and it looks great- the kids and I love it. So does everyone else. A few years age we had a houseguest (and good friend) who liked it so much he ate half the cake over a day. He is still sheepish about that, but we understood entirely. Sweet, moist cake with almond paste is hard to pass up!
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Our “Best” Recipe: Mussels Meuniere (mussels steamed in white wine)
It is the “best” recipe? No, of course not. I don’t believe that with food, there is the “best” anything. Tastes vary. One person’s epiphany is another person’s “meh”. Such is life.But this mussel dish is our best, because it has a deeper meaning to Carolyn and I. When we first starting cooking together over twenty years ago, this was one of the first dishes we made for each other and then for friends. Mussels meuniere became a starting point for a lifetime of cooking together (along with our Christmas parties, but more on those adventures later). Our repertoire has grown over the years and we make much more complicated dishes, but mussels meuniere is still something we make on special occasions. It is a simple dish, but for us it represents something more, something wonderful. You may have a dish like this. I hope you have a dish like this. If not, there is always time. Continue reading
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