Lamb Stew

Lamb can be a little daunting. This is a great introduction for people who haven't had it before, or even people who generally aren't lamb lovers. No mint jelly here! Start with some chicken stock-- about 2-3 cartons. Add some sauteed carrots (one bunch), onions (2 medium), and mushrooms (8 oz. package). In a soup pot, put two large yukon gold potatoes, cut into bite-size chunks, in cold water and bring to a boil. They're ready when they are just barely starting to soften. Repeat the process with two sweet potatoes prepared the same way. Now for the lamb. If you haven't already, get to know a good butcher at your local market or grocery store. Ask lots of questions-- what cuts are good for which kinds of dishes and how to prepare them-- they're professionals in their line of work! For this stew, I used 2 lamb steaks and 1 lamb shank. Lamb steaks aren't easy to find, so you could do the whole thing with 4 lamb shanks, or, if you have that great butcher, ask for lamb stew meat. When lamb is trimmed, the trimmings are cubed and often inexpensive, but not kept in the meat case. Some markets will even do it for you if you call ahead. Sear the meat, cubed into bite-sized pieces, in grapeseed oil-- it has a high smoke point and gives a great sear before the smoke alarms go off. Throw everything together in the chicken stock. Add 1/2 tsp. of rosemary and 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder, let everything marry together, then add salt and black pepper to taste. If you like, a few splashes of red wine and/or worcestershire sauce will deepen the flavor even more. Simmer on the stovetop for up to 2 hours. You may want to strain out the rosemary if the leaves are tough. And that's it! It is a great fall/winter soup and I hope you enjoy it!

Simple and Versatile Breadsticks

I made these to go along with the mushroom bisque in the previous recipe. They are, without a doubt, leaps and bounds above the kind in a can, which I made last time. And they take very little time, and no crazy ingredients. Plus, you can use them in a bunch of ways! More options later. Let's start with the basics. Use a food processor. If you try a mixer (hand or stand) it will seize up well before you're done. Steel blade. In the processor bowl, combine 3 1/2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of instant or active dry yeast, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Pulse for 30 seconds to mix. While pressing and releasing the pulse button, add 1 Tbsp. of honey. If you spray the measuring spoon with nonstick spray, the honey will slip out much more easily. Continue pulsing and add 2 Tbsp. of olive oil, butter, lard, or shortening. I used standard Crisco vegetable shortening-- available everywhere, shelf-stable, and has a long shelf-life. Add 1 1/3 cups of water while still pulsing. The dough will form a ball in the processor bowl, and not be too sticky or too crumbly. (Too sticky? Add flour. Too crumbly? Add water.) Take the dough and put it in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Let it rest and rise for at least 1 1/2 hours-- I let it rise overnight. For spraying measuring spoons and bowls, I like a butter-flavored cooking spray. When it has rested, turn it out on a large surface/cutting board that has been lightly floured. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then pound it a bit-- you want to get rid of the bubbles formed from the yeast. You can now do pretty much anything you want! I used a pizza cutter to make strips about 10 inches long, and twisted the breadsticks before putting them on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. And more options!!!! I sprayed the breadsticks with the butter-flavored cooking spray, then sprinkled them with kosher salt, ground pink pepper (you'll notice I use it a lot-- it doesn't burn as quickly as black pepper does), and shredded cheese-- in this case, "italian blend" of asiago, romano, parmesan, mozzarella, and monterey jack usually, and some queso quesadilla 'cuz I had it leftover in the fridge. :) I used about a cup total. OR you can go sweet, and after spraying with cooking spray or basting with butter, pour on sugar, cinnamon, and cream cheese/confectioner's sugar icing drizzle. OR you can go with chili seasoning, sesame seeds, or even drizzle with butter, sugar, honey, and crushed walnuts or pistachios for a baklava effect. OR Olives? OR Sundried tomatoes? Absolutely. OR sprinkle with crumbled bacon. OR cover with powdered sugar and dip into chocolate or fruit preserves or yogurt. So many ORs!!! Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on them depending on what you top them with. The bread itself will be ready at the 15-20 minute mark. However busy you are, give this one a try. And if you have any other variations, please add them in the comments!

Indulgent Velvety Mushroom Bisque

This recipe serves about eight, so don't be alarmed by the quantities. The base is one carton of mushroom broth and two of chicken stock. You'll need about a pound each of whatever mushrooms you want to use-- at least 3 lbs. total. I used large white button, cremini, and oyster. Other options would be porcini, enoki, maitake, matsutake, shiitake, chanterelle, portobella, or lobster mushrooms. Morels don't work in this recipe. Slice the mushrooms into thick slices and saute with 2 bay leaves, 5 sprigs of thyme, 1 large shallot, 1 small onion, and 5 cloves of garlic in butter. You want the mushrooms to take on some color, so don't add salt or they'll just get watery. In a large saute pan, make a roux of butter, flour, and cornstarch. I love the addition of duck fat, so if you can find it, substitute about tbsp of butter with rendered duck fat. I can't give exact measurements for the roux, since you'll know how much thickening you need. Just make sure you keep your fat and flour/cornstarch in equal amounts. You want the roux to cook on low to medium heat until it turns a chestnut color-- like a cafe au lait. I also took about 8 little baby yukon gold potatoes, boiled them as if making mashed potatoes, and then pulsed them in a blender with some of the broth & stock, and added them back to the soup base to add some texture. Take your sauteed mushrooms, and now that they are browned, cut them into smaller chunks. Combine everything into the soup base, and check your consistency. It can be anything from thin to chowder-- it's whatever you like best. Add salt and pepper to taste, and if you want to go all out (you're using duck fat, why stop now?) add a quart of heavy whipping cream. Make you remove the bay leaves and the thyme sprigs. I served the bisque with homemade breadsticks. (That recipe will also be posted soon!) The consensus from diners was that the soup was rich and satisfying, just enough to feel indulgent without tasting pretentious or inaccessible. I hope you love it as much as I did!

Steak marinade

Tonight I'm making steak frites for my husband, Luke, and moules frites for myself (that's mussels, by the way). I thought a marinade would go well with the steak, and Luke's kind of a steak purist, so this strikes a balance between the two. Any boneless, well-marbled steak will do-- don't worry too much about the cut, as long as it's 3/4 to 1 inch thick. I put the steak into a gallon-size freezer bag, and added the following: about a 1/2 cup of olive oil; 1/4 cup of worcestershire sauce; a large pinch of whole black peppercorns; a teaspoon of ground black pepper; 1/2 a teaspoon of ground pink pepper (green peppercorns would be good too!); a large pinch of kosher salt; 2-3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped; a medium-sized shallot, roughly chopped; and about four stalks' worth of celery leaves (left over from celery in other recipes). You'll notice there's no garlic salt, celery salt, or onion salt. Although I love those for other recipes, that's a hell of a lot of salt when you put it all together! Get as much air as you can out of the bag, then seal it well, and put it flat on a shelf in the fridge-- anywhere from 2 hours to 12, but I wouldn't do more than that, since the worcestershire can get strong and a little overpowering. Then grill the steak on med-high or high heat to get a good sear, and plate it on top of crispy french fries!

Udon Update!

Last night I served seafood udon to a group of awesome artists at Urban Fable Studios in Hamtramck, MI. Here's the udon version I made: 2 cartons of chicken stock, and 1 of seafood stock, 4 packages of pre-cooked packaged udon noodles (I tossed out the seasoning packets), celery, onion, white mushrooms, and about a tablespoon of fish sauce. The seafood was: "crab" (surimi mentioned earlier, chunk version), 1 lb. of swordfish steak, cut up into large chunks, (I asked the fishmonger to give me a thick steak), 1/2 lb. of calamari (both tubes and tentacles-- tentacles trimmed and tubes sliced into rings), 1 lb. shrimp, and 12 oz. of bay scallops (those are the little ones). I browned all the seafood slightly in vegetable oil until they were just golden. I heated everything through on low heat for about 45 minutes, then dished it into bowls and topped each one with a crispy tempura shrimp.