Who Likes Their Lamb gamy?

Well, I like it somewhat gamy, because it tells me that I'm eating real lamb and not some other red meat. Sometimes when I burp, the air is laced with that gamy odor even after eating for many hours. The gamy flavor reminds me of the pastures that the lamb once grazed on, and now I feel as if I had been there.



Yesterday, I roasted a leg of lamb.



After generously salting the lamb, I put a nice dry rub of freshly ground spices: mustard seeds, coriander, black peppercorns, turmeric powder, allspice powder, and star anise. The meat is then put into the frige to hang for a couple of hours. Before you cook it, preheat the oven to 450F. Bring the lamb to room temp before you stick it into the hot oven. Set the timer for 25 minutes so that the lamb gets a nice golden crust. Then cover it with foil and continue to cook at 350F until desired doneness (160F for medium). Let rest otherwise the juices will flow everywhere.

I'd pair this up with sauteed broccoli and toasted almonds, or any kind of veg, like ratatouille.

Enjoy!

Best Homemade Chinese Beef Noodle Soup Ever

There was some left over pasta dough from V-day, so I took out the old pasta machine and made noodles; the thinnest...I think they were called taglioni, sort of like flat vermicelli. Anyway, I made beef stock using a beef bone and a charred onion. Let this stock cook for about 2 hours; if the liquid reduced by half, add fresh water; just cook the heck out of it. Add star anise to your preference (1 or 2), and season with soy sauce to your taste. You'll get this rich and flavorful (Umami...) stock. On the side, take a small sauce pan and add 2 cups water, 1/4 cup dark soy sauce, 3 star anise, 2 cloves, 2-3 tsp five-spice powder, and a couple tablespoons of dark brown sugar. Let that boil then simmer. Add a piece of beef shank to the simmering liquid and simmer for about an hour or so until tender. Cool completely, then slice thinly. Cook noodles until done. Divide noodles into serving bowls. Break Shanghai bok choy into leaves and cook in broth until almost tender. Divide veges between bowls. Add a few slices of beef to each bowl. Sprinkle chopped scallion to each bowl. Add broth to the bowls and serve with chili paste of your choice (I prefer Lao Gan Ma brand). Enjoy!

V-Day

Last night, I cooked for my wife a 3 course dinner. The first was a bruschetta of fresh tomato puree with kalamata olives and EVOO. Lightly browned French bread cut on the bias and then lightly spread the tomato mixture. EVOO was drizzled onto the bread prior to toasting, and it made the bread so delicious.

Second course, steamed fresh mussels with Yellowtail Chardonnay, fresh chopped tomatoes, red bell peppers, carrots and onions. Perfect for dipping the juices with bread.

Last course, homemade raviolis. Stuffing included ground pork, diced ham, dill, sauteed onions, and cream cheese; an interesting mix. After boiling the raviolis, they were then sauteed lightly with sliced mini portabella mushrooms in a butter and marsala wine sauce.

CNY Dinner

Tonight we went to City Cafe (136-11 38th Ave) in Queens to have dinner with some relatives. They specialize in Cantonese cooking. All of the dishes were pretty good, but small. The best dish was the roasted quail. With a little squeeze of lemon juice, the flavor of the quail just opens up. Crispy and delicious.

Happy Chinese New Year

For the eve of the new lunar year, I though it would be appropriate to get the head of a tiger. But to no luck, so I got next best thing...a roasted pig head. The skin is so crisp and the meat is juicy and fatty!! The meat around the mouth is tender and flavorful. The snout is chewy. For something that tastes this good, it's a crime that it only costs $3!!

Ugly or Ugli?

Well it's Ugli. I was at the farmer's market today, and I came across this strange looking fruit. It looked like a shriveled up pomelo. Definitely ugly. So I looked it up online and it's a Jamaican Tangelo, a citrus fruit hybrid. According to Wiki, it's a cross between a pomelo, an orange and a tangerine. And it tastes like those, not like a blend of all of the flavors. It's very juicy, and you eat it like a pomelo, peeling the membranes away to get at the pulp.

Chicken is so easy...

Last night, I had taken out a whole chicken out of the freezer, but I didn't know what to make. On the way home from work, I was thinking to myself that I hadn't had roast chicken for a long time. I came home, turned on the oven to 350 degrees and started preparing my bird. Well, the oven beeped at 350, but when I checked my new oven thermometer, it only read 250! Damn it; 100 degrees off, what a piece of crap. Crank it up to 450. After rinsing and drying the bird, I laid the bird out, made some incisions around the wish bone, pulled it out and cut down the middle to separate the breasts...Seasoned both sides with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. I had some left over pesto from a long time ago, but it seems to be alright....drizzle that on top of the bird skin side up. I got this cool cordless electronic thermometer as a gift, where I can be in the office while keeping my eye on the temperature of the bird (180F). Before it reaches 180, it says, "Your food is almost ready!" Few minutes later, it goes "Your food is done." Perfect! I poke it and the liquid runs clear.

I make angel hair pasta sauteed with some garlic, olive oil, frozen spinach (rinsed and squeezed) and this roasted red pepper tapenade. They go so well together (the chick and the pasta). Try it!

TH