Lamb with Artichokes

So I was not satisfied with the leg of lamb last time,  I have to keep working on it..  The recipe before is not really all that Greek, so this time I am going to try to capture a true seasonal springtime lamb dish.  I am making it with artichokes, spring onions and dill.  Greeks LOVE dill and spring onions.  Anitho and kremithakia,  they refer to them with excitement in their voice.   Also, the artichokes are in season and on sale.  I picked up leeks too,  they are springy and yummy - why not?

I have all my ingredients,  ready to go,  then I get distracted.  How could I possible get distracted?  There is nothing to do here on the prairie,  but somehow,  time slips by.  I get into the kitchen get my stuff together and begin.   Suddenly I get a text message,  Wheezy play date down the street in 15 minutes.  Augh!   I kick Wheezy and Scratchy out of the kitchen and as I start to rush when around.  In a quarter of an hour I must clean, chop, sear deglaze and simmer.   Then reality struck again.....turns out I have to clean these artichokes.  Not rocket science I know,  but quite a bit of effort to get to the heart.   Quickly had to go watch a video online...got it,  just have to make sure to get all those nasty little hairs.  I am Greek I get that.  Of course because I am a novice at this I cut my fingers and got blood on the artichoke heart.  Gross I know,  but luckily it washed off pretty easily.   Then I chop the rest of the veggies while my meat is searing,  somehow I got it all done in about 20 minutes and popped it into the oven and ran out the door for the play date - note: I am bio-hazard at the play date because my fingers are still bleeding.  But I am only about 5 minutes late - nothing!

I braised for about 3 hours and it turned out great!  A bit salty  - not surprising given my frenzied preparation, but the flavors are herby delicious!  I did not put lemon in it as I have this fear that it will make the meat tough,  I think next time I may want to add lemon perhaps a couple slices of the rind,   or preserved lemon wedges,  or maybe just sprinkle the juice afterward....


Here is the recipe:
1 bone-in leg of lamb
4 artichoke hearts quartered
3 leeks chopped
4 spring onions quartered
2 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
2 cups white wine
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup chopped dill
salt and pepper to taste

Add two tbs olive oil to a dutch oven, season lamb and sear well.   Remove lamb and place on a plate. place onions and leeks into the dutch oven and cook until soft.  Add garlic and cook one minute then pour in wine to deglaze,  another 2 minutes.   Add stock and dill then the lamb back into the pot,  cover and place in oven for 3 hours.    Be sure to check periodically to make sure there is enough liquid,  if not add more stock.  Also half way through turn the meat over.

As you can see, the leeks chokes and onions are all soft and mushy and yummy.  The sauce was thick and salty and I put it over some couscous.  I used a 3lb leg which in my last post I said was a bad idea,  but obviously I was wrong,  the size was fine and the meat was soft and tender.  I think you just have to make sure there is enough liquid!

Lamb

Easter Sunday has passed and I did not have any lamb. If there are any Greek Orthodox readers out there they may be gasping in shock. But wait there is more, we went to my sister in law's for the holiday and she made...wait for it........salmon. Do not get me wrong, it was delicious and I love any excuse to gather and eat. But fish has no business anywhere on Easter Sunday.   It is a huge buzz kill.  She might as well have served cucumber tea sandwiches - same diff.

Obviously I wanted to make lamb as soon as possible. That was last night and it was not good. I have made leg of lamb four times in the past eight months, and I the last two times were bad. I think it was the size of the cut. To properly slow roast a leg of lamb you need a minimum of 5 lbs, if they are too small they seems to just dry out. My recipe is as follows:

Sear seasoned lamb (a big 5-6 lbs leg or shoulder)
Deglaze with white wine
Toss in 6 to 8 whole garlic cloves (peeled) and herb bundle of rosemary, thyme and bay leaf
Cover and roast for 4 hours at 300F

This should make a very tender braised meat. The past two times were with smaller cuts (2-3 lbs), they did not fill the cast iron casserole I used and they were tough and dry. So I say if you want to make lamb spend the $ and buy a big piece and roast it long and slow.

Christos Anesti everyone!

Success!

My son Wheezy had a play date in the afternoon. I sent him and his buddy outside and put the accompanying parent straight to work. There was measuring, mixing, and cookie forming to do and I realized that I could not do it alone. Poor fellow thought he could sit in the sunshine and watch the children flit and frolic about. What a fool, I told him I HAD to make Easter cookies. I made him an espresso so that he could keep up the pace.

Anyway after about 3 hours of measuring, mixing, flour poofing in the air, and numerous rings of the oven timers, 3 dozen sweet, crispy golden twists emerged. We had another espresso and sampled. They are great! Truly! It only took 3 tries and I think I got it.

They are good enough to give away, so I wrapped three little gift plates that I will hand out tomorrow. One for Wheezy's teacher, one for the school office (not sure why but I just do not know that many people in town and there are 3 dozen) and another for my accomplice, play date's father.

Now about koulourakia, until this moment I never really cared for them. I always thought they were boring and bland. Not now, I have a whole different appreciation for them. They are scrumptious little vanilla butter yumminess. Perfect for coffee. Italian biscotti have nothing on these. Do not even mention those horrid British butter cookies, that is blasphemy.

I know I said that internet recipes are useless in my last post,  but as this one is mine,  I will put it up and let you decide. 










Here is the recipe I followed:

4 sticks of softened unsalted butter and one tub of salted whipped butter
9 egg yolks
4 whole eggs
2 1/2 to 3 cups of sugar (depends upon your sweetness preference)
1/3 cup heavy cream
5 tsp baking power
Seeds of 3 vanilla bean pods
12 cups of cake flour (almost 2 boxes)
2 tbsp brandy

Beat eggs and sugar for 20 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Beat the butter, vanilla beans and brandy separately for another 5 minutes. Mix the egg and butter mixture together and beat until combined.

Add baking powder to cream and mix into the batter. Add flour slowly into egg butter mixture. This takes a bit of judgement, but when the dough easily rolls and sticks to together, you have incorporated enough flour.

Roll the dough into small and logs and create small twists. There is also the method preferred by Wheezy which involves smashing it into the cookie sheet. Of course it is up to you. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350f for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Well Smokey is on the road, so I will write the first post. Should I introduce myself , tell my story, blah blah blah, no I will tell you of my afternoon plans here on the prairie. I will be making koulourakia for the 3rd time in under a week. First batch was too dense, the second not sweet enough, this time they will be good enough to give out as gifts.

I just got a picture from Smokey, a shot of these gorgeous pastries in Paris. She mocks me, it is torture. I sit here making bad cookies, whilst she nibbles tartes and sips cafe au lait with accordion music in the background. Hmmf

Refocus, I am going to get out my stand mixer and rock these Greek Easter butter cookies! They will be light crunchy and sweet. I am going to use real vanilla beans. Might seem extravagant, but seems as though the locals here do not know what to do with them, so they are on sale at the one good supermarket in town. I bought several jars. To complete my task I am using a combination of experience from 2 botched attempts (priceless), a recipe I found online (useless) and an extensive phone interview with my Thia (confusing). Wish me luck!