Chocolate & Zucchini

Butterflied Lamb Leg

Knifethrower — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:35:15 GMT

Hamburger scare? Pshaw!

I made just enough lamb for two, but you can adjust it all as needed:

1 1/2 lbs butterflied lamb leg meat, trimmed very, very well
2 cloves garlic, pasted
2 tablespoons ground cumin
Zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon kosher salt, more to taste at finish
juice of one lemon-- reserved

Place in a zippy bag, marinate overnight. Remove the meat from the marinade and let excess fall away...no need to dry the meat- it makes a yummy coating. Grill over a very hot grill for just a few minutes each side (3-ish or less). Pour lemon juice over the meat upon serving.

(The yogurt has enzymes that tenderize the meat so well that overcooking the meat would be a gross injustice. It works fabulous for chicken, too.)

I am serving mine tonight with marinated cucumber salad, grilled mushrooms and Hood Strawberry (spelt) shortcakes.

Here's to liberty!!

RE: Cape Cod

Knifethrower — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:24:35 GMT

Blue Eyes,

I chilled out at the Nauset Lighthouse beachhead on rainy afternoons when I spent a little visit there. I don't recall many of the eateries- we were too busy making clam and lobster dinners at the house we rented. The supermarket left a lot to be desired, but that was pre-Starbucks and Locavores. You should have an easy time finding good things to tease your palate.

Chatham is quaint, and a visit to P-town is an absolute necessity for seafaring kitsch and to mingle with all the happy people! Its absolutely fabulous (to steal a phrase)!

Enjoy!

RE: Cape Cod

ExpatSteve — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:17:42 GMT

A nice time can be had by taking a ferry to either Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket. Make sure you try some fried clams, which are very good, and a specialty of "New England." The lobster is overrated and overpriced. But you will do well with your Euros!

Boston, of course, is close to the Cape, and there is much to do and see. Be prepared for the crowds, as these spots are jam packed for the summer months.

RE: Romantic Evening in the City of Lights for two and a half.

Barbara — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:33:58 GMT

I bought one of those scarves in the orange box on my first trip to Paris in 1996. I wore it today actually.

RE: Romantic Evening in the City of Lights for two and a half.

simona — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:38:47 GMT

I was introducing a fried of mine to the c&z forums, and this topic was the one I gave for example. Both of us ( venerable grandmothers by now, but still not very old), veterans of Paris ( post graduate studies, years of living in Paris, , twice a year mandatory visits etc) decided that you ,dear Andrew, are probably not a "boy" any more: the way you described your wife and your feelings for her, the romantic dinner you like to gift her with, the fact that you want to take the child along ( no young-age couple would do that.. what are grandmothers for )... And we were right. If anything , it's the mention of the orange little boxes with those wonderful artful scarves in them from 24, Fbg St Honore gave you away ( I read you post mentioning your age one minute after the one about Hermes). Lucky wife! Anyhow, it's certainly more affordable that a Kelly - though if you order it now, it could be ready just in time of your next romantic trip to Paris, with two children this time, the little one being at least 3 YO......
Spending most of my 20' in Paris, study-ing , drinking , eating ,party-ing
etc, etc, it's part of what I am today. Falling in love with Paris is for life, and I'm sure that after your trip , it will be a shared love with your wife.

P.S. I don't think women are unpredictable, we are wise, we know how to appreciate quality when we see it( e.g. men, scarves.. ), and we may party with the cool guys, but we do marry the nerd ones who want to take us to a romantic dinner wearing the new little scarve from the orange box..

No more war, more romantic dinners in Paris, more Hermes scarves in little orange boxes!!!

RE: Best Duck Recipe

KYHeirloomer — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:30:44 GMT

In this case, for the flavor. It is totally different than fresh gingerroot, and if you use fresh in the sauce it will be a different flavor.

Pickled ginger is mostly used as a palette cleanser, but I'm seeing more and more recipes that use it as an ingredient.

RE: Beyond Gaspacho

KYHeirloomer — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:26:37 GMT

Mine is much simpler, in terms of ingredients. But takes time, because it's a true consomme.

I'm not sure we're using those terms correctly. Brunois isn't a julienne cut, it's a dice: one that's only 1/8th inch. I have no idea what paysanne means.

Anyway, here is the celery consomme recipe. Make sure the second simmer is undisturbed, so the raft forms properly:

11 cup chicken or veal stock
12 cups chopped celery, divided
2 onions, sliced thin
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tbls celery seed
1 cup dry white wine
1 4 large egg whites, beaten
Shells from the eggs
1 cup thinly sliced celery seed (if serving hot)

In a kettle combine the stock, wine, half the chopped celery, and the onion. Bring to boil and simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve set over a large bowl, pressing hard on the solids, and return liquid to the kettle. Add the remaining celery, celery seed, thyme, egg whites, and shells. Bring to a boil, stirring, and cook the mixture at a bare simmer, undistrubed, 20 minutes.

Ladle the mixture into a fine sieve lined with dampened paper towels set over a large bowl and discard the solids.

This can be made 2 days in advance, kept chilled, and reheated without boiling, if serving hot. Put the slced celery in a heated tureen and ladle the soup over it.

Or serve, cold, in cocktail glasses, garnished with the inner leaves of the celery.

To make en gelee. For each two cups of consomme you'll need two envelopes unflavored geletin or the equivalent in sheets. Heat 1 1/2 cups of the comsomme until just below boiling. Meanwhile, sprinkle the geletin over the cold consomme and let it dissolve. Pour in the hot consomme and mix well, making sure the geletin is fully dissolved.

Pour into a shallow pan (a half-sheet works well), let cool to room temperature, then put in the fridge to firm up. Cut the gel into cubes, and fill cocktail glasses with them, mounding them higher than the rims. Garnish with inner leaves from the celery.

RE: Romantic Evening in the City of Lights for two and a half.

Andrew le Gourmand — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:25:08 GMT

Here's hoping she likes it.

Paris is a special place.

I have always loved Paris (the French custom of kissing as a greeting may have had something to do with the 14 year-old me liking the place).

I promised her before we were married that I would take her, it's taken 5 years... Not too bad.

I think we will have to mark the occasion with one of those nice scarves in the orange boxes from that lovely store at Nº 24 rue du faubourg Saint-Honoré... I may even buy the lady wife one.

If I come up on the Lotto, I won't ever leave Paris... Except to visit Provence. I also love Provence, well... I pretty much love France and the French (may have been why I had to leave England).

RE: Cape Cod

David — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:25:48 GMT

blue eyes! if you track down the list of topics in this particular forum there is definitely much to learn from the Boston and Provincetown thread. Albeit much is on Boston but if you go to the beginning of the thread there are some suggestions for Cape Cod that may be useful.

RE: Romantic Evening in the City of Lights for two and a half.

David — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:23:02 GMT

Ha!! As if Madame doesn't already know!!