IT'S NOT LEFTOVERS - IT'S GOURMET

IT’S NOT LEFTOVERS – IT’S GOURMET

Long before Wall Street forced us to relocate to Penny Lane, Richard and I had been shopping ‘sales,’ (we’re writers – translation: we’re out of work–a lot!!) cutting coupons and frequenting places like Costco or Target for ‘deals’ on food, cleaning products, etc. I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t. Well, maybe not the cutting coupon thing which I do obsessively (but only for things I really use) because every coupon is cash to me (double cash if you go to a double coupon market) and I hate to see money thrown into the recycle bin. Hell, I still pick up a penny on the lane if I see one, even if it’s tails up... but I digress… We buy fresh salmon in Costco for ‘pennies,’ cut it up in serving sizes and freeze it. Sadly, we can’t buy produce there since we’re only ‘two’ and most of it would go bad, but the stuff we can buy on the cheap and freeze – In. Our. Cart!!!  Our freezer is packed with healthful, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, beautiful lamb chops, fish, pork chops and steaks that give us many dinners for less than $10.00.

In past blogs I’ve written about the three meals we get from a 4 pound roast chicken. And then there’s my ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ pasta I wrote about that cleans out all the leftovers in our refrigerator – a delicious supper (it’s pasta!!) that’s good for you and cheap, cheap, cheap… Why would anyone rush down the lane to a Burger King when you can eat delicious, healthful, cheap meals at home!

Until recently, however, I never thought of leftovers as “gourmet: But, remember that leg of lamb Richard bought on sale? Well, last night he made Montefin’s leftover, low carb (I’m South Beaching it while doing the Weight Watcher point thing) leg of lamb stew.” Cheap! Healthful! Delicious! But so is my pasta, right? Well, yes. But this stew kicks the leftover thing up a couple of notches to become a real gourmet leftover. I mean really… it has fennel seeds!

(Note: montefin.com is a website Richard found that features low carb recipes, among other ideas, to help me South Beach it.)\

montefin's Leftover Leg Of Lamb Stew Recipe

Serves 2. (Actually we found there's more than enough for 3 or 4)

Ingredients:
• 1 - Leftover Leg Of Lamb with about 2 lbs. of meat left
• 2 large stalks - Celery, cut into 1 1/2" lengths
• 2 - Turnips, peeled and diced the size of Vegas dice
• 1 large - White Onion
• 1 Tsp. - Fennel Seed
• 2 Tsps. - Cumin Seed
• 2 - Bay Leaves
• 2 - Carrots, cut into 1" lengths
• 2 - Green Peppers (Richard’s not crazy about green peppers – so he
•                  used one green and one red bell pepper)
• 10 - Garlic, peeled
• 2 Tbls. - Dried Basil
• 1 Tbls. - Lea & Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce
• 3 Dashes - McIllhenny's Tabasco® Sauce (Richard chose not to
•              include the Tabasco sauce)
• 1/2 Cup - Sour Cream

Directions:

Remove the meat from the Leg Of Lamb. Cut the meat into 2 1/2" cubes, cover with clear wrap and refrigerate.

Set the bone in a pot containing 2 quarts of cold water. Add the Celery and Bay Leaves. Cut the top and bottom off the Onion and toss them in too. Put the pot on a low flame and simmer it for 1 hour. Do not cover the pot.

Remove and discard the bone and onion pieces, but leave the celery and bay leaves.

Add the Lamb chunks, the Fennel & Cumin seeds, basil, the Turnips (the ones with the purple tops, not Rutabagas, the yellow ones), Carrots and Garlic cloves. Cut the Onion into eights and add to the pot. Simmer it all on low for 45 minutes.

Add the Green Pepper (and in Richard's case, red bell pepper) andWorcestershire Sauce and cook another 15 minutes.

Just before serving, dip out about 1/4 cup of the pot liquid, stir into the Sour Cream. Serve the stew out onto plates, top with dollops of the sour cream sauce and spritz the sour cream with Tabasco Sauce for color and zing.


Only 12 Carbohydrate grams per serving

NOT MY MOM'S LEG OF LAMB

NOT MY MOM’S LEG OF LAMB

My mom was a great family cook. According to Richard, she made the best stuffed pork chops in the world (she did!)… but, the meal I loved the most growing up was Sunday ‘after church dinner’ leg of lamb.

She would rub the roast w/ salt and flour, surround it with peeled Idaho potatoes and white onions and stick it in a very hot oven (450 degrees) for 20 minutes, then turn it down to 350 and roast till done, which for her was well-done – very well done. She usually made gravy, but I preferred the caramelized pan juices on my lamb slices and on my potatoes which were always crunchy on the outside and nice and mushy on the inside. The veggie was usually peas. My mom loved peas w/ lamb. And, of course, mint jelly. “You can’t have lamb w/o mint jelly” was her mantra.

I make leg of lamb the way my mom did… though Richard and I prefer it pink. And that’s what I planned to do when he found a nice size roast on sale (enough for a roast dinner, plus leftovers of lamb stew and lamb hash or whatever else he can come up with – 3 meals at least…hearty and very, very, economical). But, nooooooooooooo. Richard’s still in a ‘Julia frame of mind’ and he found a lamb recipe that he wanted to try.

 He’s never made a leg of lamb before, but who was I to argue if he wanted to cook. Not me! It’s a simple recipe (especially for Julia), but it sounded delicious…

So last night I set the table, lighted the candles, made a fresh lettuce centerpiece (you don’t need to spend money on flowers if there’s produce in the house)… then we dined on Julia’s Gigot a la Moutarde w/ Sauce Speciale a l’Ail pour Gigot. Translation: Leg of lamb coated w/ herbal mustard, and garlic sauce (gravy), and “Richard’s” roasted potatoes and roasted brussels sprouts. Julia’s leg of lamb w/ sauce wasn’t my mother’s lamb w/ gravy, but it was damn good.

Gigot a la Moutarde

(Herbal Mustard Coating for Roast Lamb)

Ingredients:
6-lb leg of lamb (ours was 5 lbs)
½ cup Dijon-type prepared mustard
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 clove mashed garlic
1 teaspoon ground rosemary or thyme
¼ teaspoon powdered ginger
2 Tablespoon olive oil


Directions:
Blend the mustard, soy sauce, garlic, herbs, and ginger together in a bowl.
Beat in the olive oil by droplets to make a mayonnaise-like cream.

Paint the lamb with the mixture using a rubber spatula or brush... and set it on the rack of the roasting pan. The meat will pick up more flavor if it’s coated several hours before roasting.

Roast in a 350 degree oven, 1 to 1-1/4 hours for medium rare; or 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours for well done. (This really depends on the oven. Richard roasted it for a half-hour longer than recommended and it came out a perfect medium rare). Do not sear first.

Sauce Speciale a l’Ail pour Gigot

(Garlic Sauce for Roast Lamb)

(This sauces used a whole head of garlic which, after two blanchings and a long simmering, becomes tamed and develops a delicious flavor.)

For 1-1/2 to 2 cups of sauce

Ingredients:

1 large head of garlic

A saucepan containing 1 quart of cold water

A 1-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan

3/4 cup milk, more if needed

1/8 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon rosemary or thyme

1-1/2 Tablespoons raw white rice (we didn’t have any so Richard used brown rice)

1 cup brown lamb stock, beef stock, or canned beef bouillon

A sieve, a bowl, and a wooden spoon, or a blender

Salt & pepper

A hot gravy boat

Directions:

Separate the garlic cloves. Bring them to the boil in the sauce pan and boil 30 seconds. Drain and peel. Set again in cold water, bring to the boil, and drain.

In the saucepan bring the milk, salt, herbs, and rice to a simmer. Add the garlic, and simmer very slowly for 45 minutes, putting in more milk by spoonfuls if the rice is in danger of scorching.

Note: this sauce takes 45 minutes – something Richard forgot and started it late. Thankfully, the lamb needed to stay in the oven a bit longer, so both were done at the same time.

Pour in the stock or bouillon and simmer 1 minute. Then force through a sieve, or puree in the blender.

Correct seasoning. If done before the lamb, set aside and reheat when needed. Then pour into a hot gravy boat.

BON APPETIT!!!

PS  - Later this week, leftover lamb stew.