Get a look at this baby:
Yes, Yes, Yes!
If you are among the many fans of the West Michigan Whitecaps, you too can enjoy this behemoth. Five burger patties, chili, salsa chips, cheese are all sandwiched in between a 1 lb. bun. The price: $20
AND if you pull a John Candy, all you will get for your solo eating efforts is a t-shirt ( Damn, not even the cost of the burger?)
Or, maybe an EKG and a chance to meet Jesus!
Braised lamb Shank with Espagnole sauce
Sunday, I made Lamb Shanks.
And you can too! This isn’t exactly a warm-weather meal, but since spring hasn’t warmed up the planet in the Northeastern U.S., you still have time to make this. And do yourself a favor–make these next year instead of tired, old corned beef and cabbage. Although easy, this treatment requires some advanced preparation ( for you slowpokes), and some time in the old oven. I imagine this could work in a slow cooker, but I haven’t tried it; so do it at your own risk. I found the lamb shanks in the meat counter at Safeway; the shanks are packaged two to a container.
For those of you not familiar with braising, it is a method used for cooking tougher cuts of meat. It involves browning the cut of meat first, then simmering in liquid in low heat. Some form of acidity is involved; either wine and/or tomatoes work together with the heat to break down connective tissue and tenderize the meat. Often, the cooking liquid is used in its natural state as au jus, or thickened to make a sauce. We will do the latter here.
Ingredients ( Serves two):
2 to 3 lbs lamb shanks, rinsed and patted dry
2 cups peeled rough cut carrots
2 cups peeled rough cut onions
1 1/2 cups peeled rough cut celery
1 head fresh garlic, peeled
3 TBL tomato paste
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
2 1/2 cups beef stock or broth
2 cups red or white wine ( I used a leftover chardonnay)
2 tsp. coarse grind pepper
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs rosemary
1/2 pkg. fresh thyme
cotton twine ( optional)
Coarse grind black pepper
Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
3 TBL. unsalted butter
5 TBL. flour
Directions:
Below is an example of how the lamb shanks are packaged for retail sale:
frozen lamb shanks
Remove the lamb from its package, and wash them thoroughly. Pat dry, and with the tip of a sharp knife, score the shanks in a criss-cross pattern (taking care to cut through the tough, silvery membrane, but not too deep int the meat. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
Lamb shanks; washed, dried, scored and seasoned
Prepare all of the vegetables and herbs, and set aside. Measure out the wine, stock , the two teaspoons of black pepper and tomato paste and reserve. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, and gather all the vegetables, stock, wine, herbs and tomato paste.
Ingredients for braised lamb
If you have cotton twine, tie the thyme and rosemary together in a bunch and set aside, if not; don’t sweat it. Over medium heat, and in a 8 qt. heavy-bottomed ovenproof stock pot, heat up the olive oil. Brown lamb shanks on all sides until evenly browned, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. In the same pan, saute all of the vegetables, cooking until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. If you find the pan is starting to brown too much, add the wine and stir, scraping the bit off the bottom. Add the tomato paste, stock and herbs, then add the shanks. The shanks should be completely submerged into the liquid.
Braise is ready for the oven
( The red things in the broth are some leftover cherry tomatoes I had in the fridge, so I threw them in the braise)
Cover pot with oven proof lid and place into the oven. Cook for three hours. Remove from oven and check for doneness by inserting the tip of the knife into a shank. If the knife slides easily into the shank, it is done. If shank offers any resistance at all, place shanks back in oven and cook for an additional 30-45 minutes, and test again for doneness.
Remove shanks from oven and braising liquid with a slotted spoon, then strain the braising liquid of all vegetables using a mesh strainer, discarding the vegetables, but keeping the liquid.
Shanks and reserved stock
Wash out stock pot and set aside. Using a spoon, skim off any fat that accumulated on top of the stock.
skimming fat off the reserved stock
Return stock pot to stove and over medium heat, add the butter and heat until melted. Add flour all at once and with a wire whisk, whisk vigorously.
Flour and butter
Cook flour and butter over medium heat until flour turns tan, about 6-8 minutes, stirring constantly. Add stock and continue to whisk until all of the flour mixture is incorporated.
A sauce is born!
Turn heat down to low and cook sauce for 10-15 minutes. The sauce is ready when it coats the back of a spoon.
coating the back of a spoon
Restrain sauce with a mesh strainer, and hold for service. Serve lamb shanks on a bed of mashed potatoes ( I have Yukon gold horseradish scented mash here).
Damn Skippy!!
Side note– I would appreciate some feedback on the photo tutorial. If I need to be a bit more detailed, please let me know!
Hey guys, I’ve had a busy week. A dear friend died this week, so I had a memorial to attend. But, I’ve joined Facebook and will post a recipe tomorrow complete with pictures I took myself!
CC
According to the readers of Shamrock Shake.com (http://www.shamrockshake.com), Shamrock Shakes are being served in the following jurisdictions:
Gaithersburg, Frederick ( jefferson st. location), Bethesda, Laurel (route 1 near eastern motors), and in Reisterstown, MD.
As soon as someone posts further details, I’ll post them!
On the minds of tens of thousands of gourmet officianados, where can they find the ever-elusive Shamrock Shake?
nydailynews.com
This minty libation appeared in the 1970′s and for awhile became a traditional St. Patrick’s Day drink for kids my age at the time. I tried it, and did’nt like it for various reasons ( I was a rather persnikety kid when it came to weird-colored food, much less detesting all things mint flavored other than chewing gum and iced tea).
Then the super-smart brainiacs at McHeadquarters decided, Hey, let’s take this ever-so-popular flavor, and stop making it. Every year. I would overhear someone say, “I had a Shamrock Shake and it was sooo good!” Then, rumors swirled around that the shake’s flavor wasn’t the same. McDonald’s denied any changes to the recipe but now it was too late: If you were a fan of the shake, you could’t find it. Last year, the kind folks at McDonald’s re-released the Shamrock Shake for a limited time.
Here is the dilema, if you will. Why on earth would McDonalds discontinue this shake, or have they? If you have enjoyed a Shamrock Shake in the last few days, please post the location of the MickeyD’s where you purchased the shake here so that others can find the drink. Don’t be shy, you’ll help a fellow lover of the green shake!
At last: Success!!!
Oh. My. God!!!
It turned out sooo well this time!! I cut the recipe in half, used more yeast and added more liquid to make the dough softer. It is PERFECT for sandwiches this go around. I think I have a winner, folks. Also, I’ve managed to figure out how to use the camcorder I aquired last year to take these pictures. So without further delay, here is a photo of the Sous-Chef!
Sixty-five pounds of wiggling love!
I am very lucky to have Lucky, the Sous-Chef! She didn’t have any bread with me, as I try to avoid giving her table scraps!
Have a good weekend!
Oh, Lawdy Lawd!!!!
Apparently , someone in merry-olde England got the lovely idea of the following:
Cajun Squirrel-flavored Potato Chips
The Sun reported the crisps are part of a marketing campaign, and that no real squirrels went into making the snack. This is based in part on a southern Acadian delicacy, allegedly. Sheesh, don’t those guys have something else better to do? Why doesn’t someone send me some photo-shopped example of some outrageous take on this idea, and i’ll post them here on the site!
culinarychick@comcast.net
There is actually a group called The Fat Panel in Great Britain, and they\’ve released a report saying the recipes celebrity chefs prepare and present on television are laden with a day\’s worth of saturated fat. The summation of the report is in an article in The Guardian. This group is the equivalent of our food Nazi, the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Well, let me tell you something: Don\’t look to me for your healthy living and eating advice, there are plenty of other websites out there that care about that crap. What I will tell you is to eat everything you want, just not everyday of the week. You see, I\’m not one of those sheep that obsess about calories, fat and effing carbs everyday.
And neither should you. What you should do is what I do; I eat in moderation, and I don\’t have seconds of anything. I eat a range of foods, but I make sure I always eat something green twice a day, along with lean protein and every night, the Sous-chef and I have an apple for dessert ( Yes, my dog LOVES apples). I also work out three times a week, so I get plenty of exercise. And don\’t think those celebrity chefs ( with the exception of Paul Prudhomme and his doppleganger Dom Del Louise), eat like that everyday either. So, we don\’t need another \”entity\” leaning on us telling is what not to eat.
Listen; what and how you eat is entirely up to you, I\’m just saying that you wont find anything super healthy here. If you choose to visit my site, then that\’s swell. If not, then that\’s okay too.
Everybody deserves something decadent once in a while.
I want you guys to try something different for St. Patrick’s Day. Instead of eating the usual New England Boiled Dinner (that’s Corned Beef and Cabbage in layman’s terms, and I will promise a anecdote about this later), try grilling lamb chops or braised lamb shanks with this deep-brown savory sauce. No need to go all out and use Jameson’s or Bushmills; John Powers will do just fine. The bonus is that this is good with chicken as well as beef.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced onions
1/4 cup diced celery
4 Tbl. butter
4 Tbl. flour
1 bay leaf
1 Tbl. tomato paste
2 cups beef broth ( or stock), hot
1/2 cup John Powers Irish Whiskey
salt and black pepper to taste
1 Tbl. unsalted butter, chilled (optional)
In a heavy bottomed 3-4 quart saucepan, melt the four tablespoons of flour over medium heat. Add carrots, onion and celery and saute for about six or seven minutes, stirring constantly until vegetables are caramelized. Add the four tablespoons of flour and cook for four minutes stirring constantly, scraping the bottom of the pan to release some of the bits on the bottom. Be careful not to burn the pan at this stage.
Mix 1 cup of hot stock with the whiskey in a separate container, then add to the pot of vegetables and flour. With a wire whisk, whisk the sauce together until smooth, then add the remaining stock, tomato paste, bay leaf and rosemary sprig. Turn the heat down to simmer, then allow sauce to cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper as desired, and remove from heat. Strain off sauce through a fine mesh sieve. Press vegetables gently to release any juices and discard. Vigorously whisk in optional tablespoon of butter until melted and serve with gusto.
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I’m baking bread today
27 MarI often write checks my ass can’t cash later. That’s what happens when you talk before thinking.
I’m going to visit my sister and my husband-in-law tomorrow, so I promised them bread. Now, I’m too tired to make it. But I will, ’cause I loves my sis and her lovely husband. Ill take pictures today and post them tomorrow.
Persnickety Alert: She will only eat white bread (never mind that raisin bread is sort of brown. Only white bread). You know, that’s like liking American cheese, but only eating the yellow kind.
I love you LadyBass, you finicky girl. But tomorrow, your ass is getting Oatmeal bread!
CC ( with all the love my heart can carry)