Du'in It in the Kitchen » holidays

Herb Roasted Lamb

Du — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 21:00:36 +0000

I think the only time I eat lamb is at Easter. It’s not that I don’t think of it – I associate it with Easter as it’s pretty much the only time my mother made it. Occasionally though, she would make a lamb stew…

This is so simple. You can serve it with roasted potatoes or mashed. I like a green veggie and chose asparagus, simply because it looked good in the grocery store. I made gravy from the drippings, flour, a splash of red wine, some water and seasoned with salt and pepper. It would have been better had I used stock but… you make du with whatcha got!

Herb Roasted Lamb

3 – 4 lb boneless, shoulder lamb roasted

Herb Roasted Lamb

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped

2 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

6 -7 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper to taste

In a small food processor, combine butter, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper. Rub herbed butter over roast and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for a couple of hours. Take meat out of fridge about 30 – 60 minutes before roasting.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Place roast in roasting pan on lower rack on oven for 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325 and continuing roasting until desired doneness.

For boneless shoulder roast:

Medium rare – approx 30 – 35 minutes per pound (internal temp 140 degrees)

Medium – approx 35 – 40 minutes per pound (internal temp 155 degrees)

** for this particular roast, it took just under 90 minutes at 2.85 lbs. I meant to pull it out of the oven at 140 degrees but my quick read thermometer decided to “die” just as I was taking a reading. I sent my “man” out to get another one… he came back with a regular meat thermometer (love him – it’s the thought that counts). The roast came out at 145 degrees and after resting went up to 150. It still came out medium instead of medium rare.**

Chocolate Stout Cuppers

Du — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:07:32 +0000

I love to make these once a year for St. Patrick’s Day. Yea, I’m Irish (what’s it to ya!) but I’m not really a beer drinker. That being said, the stout brings out (ooo, a rhyme!) a nice flavor in the cupcakes that all will enjoy.

Erin go braugh!!

Mini and Regular size Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

Chocolate Stout Cuppers

1 cup chocolate stout

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)

¾ cups Dutch-processed cocoa

2 cups all purpose, unbleached flour

2 cups evaporated cane sugar

1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs (room temp)

3oz sour cream (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Place butter and stout in a double boiler (or a large metal bowl over a pan of simmering water). When butter has melted, remove from heat and stir in cocoa powder. Continue to mix until smooth. Cool to room temp.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Mix in sugar. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat eggs and sour cream together. Add the stout mixture and combine.

Add the flour mixture, mixing at a slow speed, scraping sides of the bowl. Mix an additional minute.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop batter into lined tin, ¾ full and maybe a tad more.

Place muffin tin on center middle rack in the oven and bake for 22 minutes until toothpick or cake tester comes out clean (approx 14 minutes for mini cupcakes).

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Frosting

8 oz bittersweet chocolate (72%), chips (or broken into small pieces)

1 cup of heavy cream

½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

Place the chocolate in a large, heatproof bowl. Heat cream in saucepan to a simmer or heat in microwave almost to a boil. Pour hot cream over chocolate and let it sit for one minute. Stir cream and chocolate together until completely combined and smooth. Stir in vanilla.

Set frosting in fridge for 1 – 2 hours until it begins to set up but is still spreadable.

Using a small spatula, frost the top of each cupcake. Decorate with green sanding sugar if desired.

Brown Butter “Spoon Cookies”

Du — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 16:06:13 +0000

As the holidays quickly approach, this is the time of year I have cookies on the brain. I love cookies… but I never seem to get around to baking them except at the holidays or by special request. Always on the search for something different, I came across a recipe a few years ago in the December 2005 Gourmet magazine for brown butter “Spoon Cookies” by Celia Barbour. The accompanying article was what did it for me…

“You really have to wait,” says Barbour. “After a couple of days, the cookies’ texture becomes lovely and melting.”

I must say – that is an under statement. I really love these cookies and only make them once a year… to keep my waistline from expanding. They are truly addictive. The dough is tricky to work with… no egg to hold everything together so it’s very crumbly. Instead of using a spoon, I use a small ice cream scoop (same one I use for truffle making) and then gently flatten then. As crumbs break off, I gently mold them back together, sometimes dipping my fingers in a little water (please don’t water-log the cookies). My favorite preserve of choice is Red Raspberry from St. Dalfour but feel free to use your fav.

The following is the original recipe and photo from the December 2005 Gourmet Magazine…. I wish I had the article but am grateful to still have the recipe. CAUTION: This cookie is highly addictive!!

Happy baking!!

Brown Butter “Spoon Cookies”
2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Brown Butter Spoon Cookie - Gourmet Magazine, December 2005

3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt, slightly rounded
1/3 cup fruit preserves (your choice)

Make dough:
Fill kitchen sink with about 2 inches of cold water. Melt butter in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until butter turns golden with a nutlike fragrance and flecks on bottom of pan turn a rich caramel brown, 10 to 12 minutes. (Butter will initially foam, then dissipate. A thicker foam will appear and cover the surface just before butter begins to brown; stir more frequently toward end of cooking.) Place pan in sink to stop cooking, then cool, stirring frequently, until butter starts to look opaque, about 4 minutes. Remove pan from sink and stir in sugar and vanilla.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and stir into butter mixture until a dough forms. Shape into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and let stand at cool room temperature 1 to 2 hours (to allow flavors to develop).

Form and bake cookies:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F.

Press a piece of dough into bowl of teaspoon, flattening top, then slide out and place, flat side down, on an ungreased baking sheet. (Dough will feel crumbly, but will become cohesive when pressed.) Continue forming cookies and arranging on sheet. Bake cookies until just pale golden, 8 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies on sheet on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Assemble cookies:
While cookies cool, heat preserves in a small saucepan over low heat until just runny, then pour through a sieve into a small bowl, pressing hard on solids, and cool completely.

Spread the flat side of a cookie with a thin layer of preserves. Sandwich with flat side of another cookie. Continue with remaining cookies and preserves, then let stand until set, about 45 minutes. Transfer cookies to an airtight container and wait 2 days before eating.

Cooks’ notes: · Dough can be made 12 hours before baking and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature to soften slightly before forming cookies, about 30 minutes. · Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 2 weeks.