Harissa

It’s 109 degrees in the shade and being a born and bred Southern girl, I don’t do heat.

I do air conditioning very well.

So why in the world during the hottest summer I can remember do I want to make Harissa?

You know Harissa, the North African condiment which sometimes can be so hot, you turn a totally unappetizing shade of red at the dinner table.

Bobby Flay made me want to make Harissa, that’s why.

And I’m so glad he did.

You have options on how hot you want it. You also have options whether you wish to make a paste or more of a thick sauce. I opted for the sauce.

And as a topping for grilled wild sockeye salmon or roasted chicken with chickpeas or grilled flank steak with a splat of Harissa and Tzatziki rolled in pita bread…mmm mmm mmm.

I roasted tomatoes and garlic and red bell peppers to perfection, toasted crushed red pepper flakes, caraway seeds and cumin seeds and coriander seed and threw it all in the blender. Aged sherry vinegar and dash of honey..

Just the right blend of spice and heat to make whatever you’re eating just that much better.

Without sacrificing your good looks at the dinner table.

Harissa
Adapted from Bobby Flay’s Grill It by Bobby Flay

3 fat cloves garlic
1-½ tsp crushed hot red pepper flakes
2 large red bell peppers, cut in half, remove seeds
2 small tomatoes
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
A couple of dashes aged sherry vinegar
1 tsp honey
A quick swirl of extra virgin olive oil

Roast the pepper, tomatoes, and garlic at 400 degrees until done. I did this in a toaster oven and it worked beautifully. Plan on about 20 minutes until garlic is soft.

Toast the cumin seeds, caraway seeds, coriander seeds and crushed pepper flakes in a small dry skillet until the spices are fragrant, about five minutes over medium high heat.

Put the roasted veggies in a blender and chop. Add spices and keep the blender going. Add the sherry vinegar and the honey and a quick swirl of extra virgin olive oil. Season to taste with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Makes about a cup and a half.

Click here for a printable recipe!

One Year Ago on Feeding Groom

Two Years Ago on Feeding Groom

Harissa

Mesa Grill Barbecue Sauce and a Southern Salad Nicoise

I used to walk in the mornings.
Three and a half miles a day.
Crack of dawn.
It was great. Loved doing it. Quiet, neighborhood sleeping, great start to the day, right.

I’m now walking in the afternoons when I get home from work.
Still three and a half miles.
It’s not quiet.
The neighborhood is not sleeping.
It’s cooking.

Outside.

It’s sort of inspirational if you think about it.
Take the other evening.
Now that I think about it, I am not sure I walked on one of the streets because someone was grilling chicken and basting it with something sweet. I think I was floating past that house….

It’s hard to walk and drool, but I’ve just about mastered it.

Then…I noticed a family with small children having dinner at their picnic table. Bowls all over the table, family laughing and eating, dog begging. Straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Potato salad, fried chicken…

That did it

Instead of listening to Free Food for Millionaires, which is a great book but has nothing to do with food, I started thinking about our dinner.

Started thinking about barbecuing chicken.
Thinking about potato salad.
Thought about salad Nicoise.
Tuna, Nicoise olives, hard boiled eggs, green beans, tomatoes, , potatoes, right?
Smelled that grilled chicken again.
Thought about the components of a great Southern meal.
Grilled chicken, deviled eggs, tomato basil salad, classic potato salad.
Put the two thoughts together and came up with this.

Barbecued Chicken with Mesa Grill Barbecue Sauce: a sauce everyone should keep in the fridge during the hot months.
Groom’s Devilish Eggs with Green Olives …do the basic deviled eggs…a little Hellmann’s mayo, chopped green olives, paprika
Classic Potato Salad …soak the red onions before using to get the strength out….use a bit of sissy mustard in the dressing to make it even classic -er
Fresh Herb Salad Mix…it’s good for you….
Tomato, Artichoke, Sugar Snap and fresh Basil…blanch the sugar snaps and drop in ice water to preserve the color. Use marinated artichoke hearts…provides the dressing, right? A bit of freshly ground black pepper and fresh basil.

See?

A Southern Nicoise Salad.
For lack of a better name.

I wonder what the neighbors will be cooking this afternoon?

Mesa Grill Barbecue Sauce
Adapted From Bobby Flay

A couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil
½ red onion, diced
1 large spoonful garlic confit
8 canned San Marzano tomatoes
¼ cup ketchup
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire
¼ cup water
3 tbsp dark molasses
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tbsp wild honey
1 tsp cayenne
1 tbsp ancho chile powder
1 tbsp smoked sweet paprika

Heat the olive oil til almost smoking in large pan over medium heat and sweat the onion and garlic confit until softened, about five minutes. Throw tomatoes into food processor and pulse two times, add to pan. Cook 15 minutes at a simmer. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 20 minutes. Put into food processor and pulse several times.
Let cool to room temperature.
Makes about 2-2.5 cups

Click here for a printable recipe!

One Year Ago on Feeding Groom

Mesa Grill Barbecue Sauce and a Southern Salad Nicoise

Chili Rubbed Short Ribs with Kale

The last weekend of November, cold and damp.

Warm, toasty fire.

Spicy smells in the kitchen for hours.

A good book.

An easy meal with inspiration from Bobby Flay.

Not a turkey in sight.

We’re thankful.

Chile Rubbed Short Ribs with Kale
Adapted from Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill Cookbook

1 Tbsp medium hot chile powder
1 Tbsp ancho chili powder
1 Tbsp chipotle chili powder
Two good pinches coarse salt
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp smoked sweet paprika
2 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
½ large red onion, coarsely chopped
½ large Vidalia onion, coarsely chopped
3 pounds bone in short ribs
3 large carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup red wine
4 cups chicken stock
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 large spoonful garlic confit
1 bunch kale, chopped


Preheat oven to 325.

Mix together the chile powders, salt, cinnamon, paprika and pepper in bowl. Rub the spice mix into one side of the ribs. Heat a couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil in Dutch oven until wavy. When wavy, add the short ribs to the pan and cook until a crust forms on all sides. Remove from pan.

Add the onions, garlic confit, carrots, and celery. Cook until golden and add the wine. Bring to a boil and reduce down til wine is almost gone and then add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add the ribs to pan and cover.

Put in oven and cook until meat is tender and falls off the bone. 2-2-½ hours.

Remove short ribs from pan and defat the sauce. Place over medium high heat and add kale. Cook for 15 minutes. Lower heat to medium and add short ribs back to pan, heat for about 10 minutes and serve. Wonderful with smashed potatoes.

Serves 4 generously.

One Year Ago on Feeding Groom

Chili Rubbed Short Ribs with Kale

Chili Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Spicy Orange Vinaigrette

I don’t cook pork tenderloin very often.
I love a bone in pork chop.
Something to hold onto.
Know what I mean?
Pork tenderloin always seemed to me to be a bit…I don’t know…light.
Boring, maybe?
It just wasn’t my “go to” pork for dinner thing.

However, I’ll go to it for this fabulous meal any time.
Bobby Flay’s way too cool rub . …lime juice and ancho chili powder and spicy hot Spanish paprika…makes you think it would be too spicy, right?

Wrong…it’s perfect.

And then the spicy orange vinaigrette to drizzle over the top when you serve it. Orange juice reduced to a sweet syrup and blended with sherry vinegar and more ancho.

And leftovers make a killer chef’s salad for lunch.

Nothing boring about that!!

Chili Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Spicy Orange Vinaigrette
Adapted from Bobby Flay's From My Kitchen to Your Table

¼ cup ancho chili powder
¼ cup hot Spanish paprika
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup fresh lime juice
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Mix in blender and pour over two pork tenderloins. Let sit for at least an hour. Remove from marinade and season to taste with salt and pepper. Grill until medium rare to medium, 10-12 minutes turning and basting with marinade. *

2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tsp ancho chile powder
¼ cup aged sherry vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Heat the orange juice over medium high stirring often. It will thicken and reduce down to about a ¼ cup.
Put ancho chili powder, sherry vinegar and salt and pepper in blender and slowly add the olive oil and let blend.

Serve over the sliced pork tenderloin. Lots of fresh cilantro for garnish.
Serves 3 generously

* I have preheated the oven to 450, heated a cast iron skillet and filmed it with olive oil and seared the tenderloins on all sides. Then popped in the oven and let cook until done, takes about 20 minutes. Works great when you forget to buy gas for the grill!

Chili Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Spicy Orange Vinaigrette

Ancho Chile-Brown Sugar Rubbed Wild Salmon with Grilled Silver Queen Corn Relish

Silver Queen corn is coming into the markets here in Middle Tennessee.

If you haven’t tried this particular kind of corn, put it on your list of things to eat.

Boiled, steamed, grilled it is a flavorful corn that lends itself to all preparations.

Which, of course, leads me to Grilled Silver Queen Corn Relish.

Just a few ears of corn, boiled for 5 minutes, then thrown on the grill for a couple of minutes to slightly brown, then mixed with a bit of wild honey, fresh cilantro , a roasted jalapeno and a bit of olive oil and lime juice.

It’s the perfect accompaniment to a couple of gorgeous Ancho Chile-Brown Sugar rubbed grilled wild salmon fillets.

Long live the Queen.

Ancho Chile-Brown Sugar Rubbed Wild Salmon with Grilled Silver Queen Corn Relish
Adapted from several recipes by Bobby Flay

Grilled Silver Queen Corn Relish

3 ears of corn, shucked and boiled for five minutes
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp wild honey
1 jalapeno, roasted, seeded and chopped
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 green onions, grilled for about three minutes and chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro*
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the grill to medium high. Place corn on the grill and cook on all sides for about two minutes. You just want it to color a bit. Remove and scrape corn off cob into bowl. Should be about 1-½ cups.

Put lime juice, honey and roasted jalapeno in blender. Blend to mix.

Turn blender on and add the extra virgin olive oil in steady stream til it emulsifies.

Add the green onions to the corn and add the jalapeno mix. Add cilantro and season with salt and pepper.

Serves 2 very generously.

Ancho Chile-Brown Sugar Rub

2 nice sized fillets wild salmon, skin left on one side

2 tbsp ancho chile powder
1-1/2 tsp ground cumin
1-½ tsp brown sugar
A really good pinch ground cinnamon
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.
A couple of good swirls of extra virgin olive oil

Combine the rub mixture, careful with the olive oil, you just want this to come together, not be too thick or thin., remember you want it to stick to the salmon and not run off.

Coat the salmon on the skinless side with the rub. Let sit for 15 minutes.

On medium hot grill, put salmon skin side down and cook for about five minutes. Then turn the fillets and cook for a couple of minutes til the sugar caramelizes.

Serves 2.

* I didn't have a lot of cilantro, so I threw in some Italian parsley to augment what I had. Stick with the cilantro!

Ancho Chile-Brown Sugar Rubbed Wild Salmon with Grilled Silver Queen Corn Relish

Grilled Steelhead Trout with Mexican Slaw and Orange Jalapeno Sauce

There are a lot of things one can do on an anniversary.

Go out to dinner. Go to a movie. Go on a fabulous trip.

Or, do what we did.

Nothing.

Nothing out of the ordinary, that is.

We lit the candles, put on some jazz and cooked a wonderful dinner together.

And took a walk with Lucy.

Why wait for a date that comes once a year when you can celebrate each other every day.

Makes perfect sense to me!

Grilled Steelhead Trout with Mexican Slaw and Orange Jalapeno Sauce
A total riff on a great fish taco recipe in Bobby Flay's Grill It

2 good sized steelhead trout fillets or salmon, seasoned with orange juice, a bit of olive oil, and freshly ground black pepper
¼ head green cabbage, thinly sliced
3 green onions, green and white parts thinly sliced
¼ cup Hellmann’s mayo
½ cup fat free Greek yogurt
1 tbsp pureed canned chipotle chiles in adobo
Grated zest of 1 lime
½ lime, juiced
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups orange juice
3 slices pickled jalapenos
2 tbsp honey

Put the orange juice into a medium saucepan. Add the jalapeno. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally til reduced to about half a cup. Takes about 30 minutes. Add the honey and season with salt. Let cool to room temp before serving.

Grill the trout.

Whisk together the mayo, yogurt, chipotle puree, lime zest and juice in a bowl and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add to cabbage and the green onions. Add the cilantro and fold to combine.

Put a bit of the slaw on the plate, then the grilled trout and then a drizzle of the orange sauce over the top.

Prepare to swoon a bit.

Serves 2 generously.

Grilled Steelhead Trout with Mexican Slaw and Orange Jalapeno Sauce

Seared Ahi Tuna with Roasted Tomatillo Sauce

It’s not the best picture in the world, by far. But it may be one of the best tuna recipes I have ever come across.

And I don’t eat tuna that often. Wild tuna, that is.

Ahi.

I have a love hate relationship with fresh tuna. Sometimes we get along famously. And, famously, sometimes we don’t.

The times we don’t are unimportant.

The times we do are legendary.

And this is one of those times.

Seared Ahi Tuna with Roasted Tomatillo Sauce
Adapted from Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill Cookbook

4 large tomatillos, husked and scrubbed
½ medium red onion, coarsely chopped
3 fat cloves garlic, peeled
A good swirl extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 tbsp medium hot chile powder
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp wild honey
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 6 ounce wild ahi tuna steaks, each about an inch thick

Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and put the tomatillos, onion and garlic on it and swirl the extra virgin olive oil and season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast in the oven, stirring once, until the tomatillos are slightly charred and soft, about 25 minutes.

Put the roasted mix in a food processor and add the jalapeno, chile powder, vinegar, honey and mint. Process til smooth and set aside.

Preheat grill pan over high heat or set your grill to high. Brush tuna on both sides with a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Sear the tuna about 3 minutes per side for medium rare. Cook longer if you would like it well done.

To serve, put a spoon of sauce on the plate and layer the slices.

Serves 3.

Seared Ahi Tuna with Roasted Tomatillo Sauce

Ground Pork Burgers with Grilled Pineapple and Green Onion Relish

It’s been a little over a month since we started the new way of eating around here. We’re doing great.
Grilled fish, interesting sauces, smoothies, new salad combinations (watermelon, feta cheese and black pepper..oh my!) and lots and lots of water.

Lots of water.

Did I say that?

There’s still chocolate in our lives and a drink on the weekends, we’re happy and being creative in the kitchen and life is good.

Then the pork craving got us.

And got us good.

I wanted something Asian. Groom wanted a burger. So we compromised. And what used to be a Bobby Flay favorite from Boy Meets Grill took a walk on the wild side and now has become….

Drum roll please…..

Ground Pork Burgers with Grilled Pineapple and Green Onion Relish.

Grilled Pineapple and Green Onion Relish
Adapted from Bobby Flay’s Boy Meets Grill

4 green onions, brushed with olive oil and grilled for about 4 minutes til done on both sides.
1-½ cups overripe pineapple (because it didn’t get into a smoothie like it should), grilled about five minutes
A good swirl extra virgin olive oil
½ jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
½ fresh lime, juiced, seeds removed
1 good squeeze wild honey
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

To grill the pineapple, I heated a grill pan on the stove and brushed it with a bit of olive oil. Grill long enough to get grill marks, about 5 minutes.
Slice the green onions, and add to bowl with pineapple and remaining ingredients. Let sit for at least half hour to blend flavors.

Ground Pork Burgers

1 pound lean ground pork
A good swirl of toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp garlic confit (or 2 fat garlic cloves, finely minced)
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
1tsp soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine ingredients and pat out into small burgers. Put on plate, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Grill burgers over medium heat for about four minutes a side. Let sit for five before serving.

Makes 6 small burgers.

Ground Pork Burgers with Grilled Pineapple and Green Onion Relish

Grilled Chicken with Avocado Tomatillo Salsa

I’ve discussed the well stocked kitchen.

Having jars of wonderful things in your fridge ready at a moments notice to make a fast meal.
Makes life so easy.


Here‘s a typical evening at the Red Brick Ranchero.

Come home from work.

Thaw chicken thighs.

Walk 45 minutes. Come in and find that Costco has called and your new specs are ready. Which is a good thing because you can’t see to cook.

Go pick up glasses.

Come home.

See that precious dog has taken cat food bowl and torn it up because she wanted to go to with you or she wanted the cat food.

Note to self, take dog with you when you go to Costco.

Grab Roasted Pepper Vinaigrette (something you made last week and was so wonderful you know it will rock on the chicken) out of fridge and marinate chicken thighs for thirty minutes.

Start National Treasure 2 on DVD player.

Start grill.

Pause movie.

Chop avocado, tomatillos, squeeze lime, pick cilantro. Start movie. Pause movie.

Grill chicken. Start movie.

Grab lettuce. Pause movie. Bring chicken in.

Chicken on lettuce, drizzle a bit of vinaigrette over chicken. Top with avocado tomatillo salsa.

Light candles. Eat.

Start movie… at the beginning.

Every night should be so easy.

Grilled Chicken with Avocado Tomatillo Salsa
Avocado Tomatillo Salsa
Adapted from Bobby Flay Boy Meets Grill

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, chopped
2 tomatillos, peeled, washed so they’re not sticky, chopped,
Red onion…take a knife and slice paper thin..about 4 small slices and chop.
1/3 cup cilantro, torn
1 lime, squeezed
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Mix well. Makes about 1-½ cups.

4 boneless chicken thighs, marinated in ½ cup Roasted Pepper Vinaigrette. Season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Grill til done, takes about 4 minutes per side.

Red leaf lettuce, a couple of pieces per plate.
Put chicken on top of lettuce, a drizzle of the vinaigrette and top with the salsa.

Serves 3 generously.

Grilled Chicken with Avocado Tomatillo Salsa

Grilled Pork Chops with Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce and Black Olive Tapenade

Flush from the success of the Shrimp with Toasted Almonds and Garlic Confit, I continue my experiment in cleaning out the refrigerator. We had some beautiful bone in pork chops that desired a turn on the grill.

It was a wonderful Friday night. Groom mixed some Silver Bullets (shaken, not stirred) to celebrate two more days of work before ten glorious days at the beach and once again I turned to the fridge to decide what to do with those porkers.

I remembered a Bobby Flay recipe from years ago that used roasted yellow pepper sauce with a pork tenderloin, so it stood to reason that this would work beautifully with the chops.

And it did.

Silver Bullets ..love these Martinis!

Fill a shaker with ice and one cup Grey Goose Vodka.
Then 3 capfuls of Bombay Sapphire Gin.
And finally 1 capful Noilly Prat dry vermouth.

Put the top on and shake your groove thing around the kitchen along with the martinis.

Strain into up glasses, plop an oversized green olive in it, and enjoy.
Makes three martinis.


Grilled Bone In Pork Chops with Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce and Black Olive Tapenade
Adapted from Bobby Flay’s From My Kitchen to Your Table

Black Olive Tapenade

¼ cup toasted pine nuts
1-¼ cup pitted Nicoise olives
1 tbsp garlic confit (or 4 fat garlic cloves, peeled)
4 anchovy fillets
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Put pine nuts, olives, garlic, anchovies and olive oil in food processor and pulse off and on til thick but not mush. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.

Makes about 1-½ cups.

Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce

2 yellow bell peppers, charred, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp garlic confit or 5 fat garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
Good pinch Spanish saffron
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp coarse Dijon mustard
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

In blender, combine peppers, vinegar, garlic, saffron, honey and mustard and blend. With motor running slowly add the olive oil until it emulsifies. Season to taste with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Makes about 1-½ cups.

The Chops

2 good sized bone in pork chops, about 1-½ inches thick
1 tbsp sweet Spanish paprika
1 tbsp ground ancho chili powder
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix the spices together and rub on both sides of the pork chops. Grill chops 5-6 minutes per side.

Plate with the Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce on the bottom, chop and top with a spoonful of the Tapenade.

You will have extra sauce to save and use another time!

Grilled Pork Chops with Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce and Black Olive Tapenade

Grilled Flank Steak with Arugula, Baby Romaine, Fresh Oregano Vinaigrette and Manchego Cheese

Spring has sprung here at the Red Brick Ranchero!

I’m out in the garden (believe me it’s a stretch to call it that) picking fresh oregano, tarragon, sage and thyme on any given day. The ginger mint and the peppermint are up. The Italian parsley, which has come back for years in the same pot, and the rosemary are rockin’! The grill has been officially cleaned and has been working hard.

It got a great workout last week with this recipe.

Perfectly grilled flank steak marinated for just a bit in splashes of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A sweet spicy fresh oregano vinaigrette tossed with arugula and baby romaine and shavings of Manchego cheese. If you don't have Manchego on hand, of course a bit of Parmesan Reggiano works just fine.

A grand combination and a nod to the new season in one great meal.

Grilled Flank Steak with Arugula, Baby Romaine, Fresh Oregano Vinaigrette and Manchego Cheese

Small flank steak (you know the size you like to buy)

Sprinkle a bit of extra virgin olive oil on both sides of flank steak and season with salt and coarsely ground black pepper. Then sprinkle a bit of balsamic vinegar on both sides and let sit at room temp for about 30 minutes.

Fire up the grill. Grill the flank steak for about 5-7 minutes per side. Let sit for five minutes before you slice so the juices stay in the meat.

Fresh Oregano Vinaigrette (a nod to Bobby Flay…this came from one of his books, but I can’t remember which one!)

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup aged sherry vinegar
2 tbsp honey
¼ cup fresh oregano leaves
Salt and coarsely ground black pepper
1 shallot, chopped

Combine in blender until mixed. Season to taste. Can be stored in the fridge.

Slice the flank steak and arrange on platter. Mix the arugula and baby romaine with a bit of the vinaigrette and put on top of the flank steak. Shave a bit of Manchego over the top and serve.

Serves 2-4, depending on how big your flank steak is.

Leftovers? Stuff a pita pocket and add some avocados and toasted pine nuts.

Grilled Flank Steak with Arugula, Baby Romaine, Fresh Oregano Vinaigrette and Manchego Cheese

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Lamb shanks turn me on. Seriously. I see a recipe for lamb shanks and I’m there. A few Christmas‘s ago, I ordered ten lamb shanks for the family from Fresh Market and each was the size of my hand and halfway down my arm. I did a Mediterranean version with olives that was to die for. It did appear rather Henry VIII’ish on the plate…there was room for nothing else on the bone china. Pretty hilarious when you looked at the table, much less everyone in various stages of gnawing on their respective bones, or digging the marrow out with my great grandmother‘s silver, smearing the plate with their fingers.

I’ve done Moroccan takes on lamb shanks. I’ve substituted them for veal shanks in Osso Buco. I can eat a steak all day long. I just can’t do the veal thing anymore. It’s a neighbor’s fault. A good friend who has enough land to have cows in the suburbs and I drive past them four times a day. The big ones standing around in the field chewing and chewing and chewing, no problem. Fire up the grill.The little brown ones with the cute faces and gamboling around the fields. No way. Not going to do it. Thank God she doesn’t raise lamb.

When Whole Foods opened, Groom and I wandered in to make our appearance and check it out and they had beautiful lamb shanks very reasonably priced. Visions of Christmas past danced in my head and I started the recipe hunt. I didn’t want to do something I’d done before. I wanted interesting and different and even go so far as to get a bottle of wine specifically to go with the meal. I rarely do this, mainly because I usually don’t know what I am going to cook ahead of time. Being a Gemini, though, I do surprise myself sometimes.

The search was on and after surrounding myself with inspiration from Patricia Wells, Julia, Perla, Jennifer Hess, Joyce Goldstein (who ran a very close second this time), my main man Bobby Flay won. I had just bought his Mesa Grill Cookbook, opened it up and there it was. The perfect lamb shank meal. Do the whole recipe…the Sweet Potato Risotto with the Roasted Chanterelles is excellent with his Lamb Shanks with Serrano Vinegar Sauce. Josh at the Wine Shoppe in Green Hills paired a wonderful Domaine les Pailleres Gigondas with this and it was incredible. Having one oven made me organize myself just a bit. I roasted the sweet potato and the chanterelle mushrooms ahead of time, so I wouldn’t have to deal with opening the oven while the lamb shanks were braising happily away. This was such a success we did it for company this past weekend. Afterwards, Orangette’s wonderful Roasted Pears and Frank’s amazing Flourless Dark Chocolate Beast, lots of dancing in the living room and a grand Saturday evening was had by all.

Lamb Shanks with Serrano-Vinegar Sauce and Sweet Potato Risotto with Roasted Chanterelles from Mesa Grill Cookbook by Bobby Flay

This serves 2, so adjust accordingly.

3 tbsp olive oil
2 one pound lamb shanks
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ large red onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 cup dry red wine ( I used Vigneti del Sole Montepulciano d‘Abruzzo 2006 a great dry red that is EASY on the pocketbook)
Fresh thyme
2 cups chicken stock
1 Serrano chili, finely diced
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup red wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 350.
Heat oil in large Dutch oven and season shanks on both sides with the salt and pepper. When oil is almost smoking, sear lamb on all sides for about 10 minutes till nicely browned. Remove from pan and add onion, carrot, celery and season with salt and pepper and cook about five minutes. Add wine and cook till reduced by half, three minutes. Add several sprigs of fresh thyme, stock and bring to boil. Cover it up, stick in oven and let cook till meat is very tender 2-2.5 hours.
Remove shanks and tent to keep warm with foil. Strain sauce into medium saucepan and put on high heat. Add Serrano chili and sugar and cook till reduced to sauce consistency (coats spoon) takes about 20 minutes. Add vinegar and cook one minute and season.

Sweet Potato Risotto with Roasted Chanterelles

1 large sweet potato, scrubbed
8 ounces chanterelle mushrooms (I couldn’t find fresh this weekend and substituted dried, reconstituted in hot water for 30 minutes)
Olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
The other half of the red onion you used in the lamb, coarsely chopped
1.5 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
A couple of tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted.

Preheat oven 425. Roast sweet potato till soft about 45 minutes.
When cool enough to handle peel it and smash it up.
While sweet potato is roasting, toss mushrooms small baking dish with olive oil and season with salt and pepper . Roast till golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Bring six cups water to boil heat remaining olive oil and 2 tbs butter in medium pot over medium high heat. Add onion and season with salt and pepper and cook till soft. About four minutes. Add rice and toss to coat in the mixture and cook for two minutes. Add wine and boil until completely reduced, takes about three minutes. Add two cups of the boiling water and cook, stirring until its’ absorbed. Keep adding one cup of water at a time and cook, stirring until nearly all of the liquid is absorbed. Rice should be al dente in about 30 minutes. Stir in sweet potato puree and add 2 tablespoons butter and parmesan and season to taste with salt and pepper and fold in the pine nuts and the roasted chanterelles..plenty of leftovers if you do this recipe and serve 2.

Thanks, Bobby! You Rock!!!

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Smoke from a Distant Fire

You know, there are times that only one thing will do for dinner.
Only one kind of fish. Only one preparation of same. That happens with salmon around this house. It has to be Wild Sockeye Salmon. And it has to be Bobby Flay’s Sherry Vinegar Glazed Salmon with Fresh Tomato Relish and Arugula (my touch). It doesn’t matter who is here for dinner, it doesn’t matter if they hate salmon. They eat this and fall out. Seriously. Facial expressions change. Silence descends on the island (otherwise known as the dining room table because we don’t have one because Groom gave it away during the kitchen renovation, which is another story). Actually he gave away the sofa, the chairs, hutch, table and sideboard. The Sideboard. My claim to fame. I have danced on that sideboard so many times, I can’t tell you. I think I’ve gotten over it. But this subject may resurface in another blog post. Maybe not. Then again there are people who read this blog that can tell you things I can’t remember. But smile and say, “wasn’t that fun” when they bring it up.

Anyhoo…silence and then it’s “what the hell did you do to this salmon?"

Can’t lose with this recipe, people. Can’t lose at all. Plus the fact that ITUNES has one of the

best songs EVER ( hence the title of this blog) available for downloads and it makes you dance with guys you danced with years ago ( and you are SO cute when you dance in your mind) while Groom sips a bit of Glenlivet and smiles while the salmon rocks on grill. Life is good!

Wild Sockeye Salmon Fillets with Sherry Vinegar Glaze and Spicy Tomato Relish
(thanks Bobby!)

Spicy Tomato Relish:
2 medium ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
Small slice off side of red onion, finely diced
Fresh Italian parsley, chopped.. Eyeball it
Good shake or two of red pepper flakes
Big splash of red wine vinegar
Several good turns of extra virgin olive oil

Salmon:
1 cup good Sherry vinegar
Two big tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp ancho chile powder
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2-4 good sized fillets of wild Sockeye salmon, skin on

Put the Sherry vinegar in small saucepan and reduce it down to about a quarter cup. In small bowl, put honey, mustard, vinegar chile powder, salt and pepper and whisk together. When cool, pour over salmon fillets.
Combine all ingredients for the tomato relish and let sit for about half an hour.
Get the grill going and cook till skin on salmon is crisp; don’t turn and salmon is firm to touch. You can heat a cast iron pan with a bit of oil in it and do the same thing. People have their own way they like to do salmon or any fish, so when it’s done for you, rock on.
Put a “paw full“, my mother’s expression, of Arugula on your dinner plate. Top with salmon and the tomato relish. Remember one of your favorite songs and light a candle with dinner. Enjoy!

Smoke from a Distant Fire