Oven Baked Apple Slices - Master Recipe #9

I'm behind in my blogging. But I'm back. But something is wrong with the photo uploader, so I'll have to try it again later. When I first saw this recipe in the book, I thought I might wait until fall to make it when apples taste best. But the pragmatist in me took over, as I had extra apples and didn't want to waste them. This was a lot like making apple pie - without the crust. Arguably, the crust is the best part of apple pie, but don't let that stop you from this alternative. Peel, core and slice the apples, add sugar and cinnamon, lemon juice - and of course - butter (unsalted - best for baking). Then bake for about an hour or until the apples are soft and the liquid like syrup - and let the great smells take over your kitchen. Eat warm. Yum. Boys loved it.

Grated Sauteed Zucchini - Master Recipe #8

Zucchini is wet and messy. I did not fully realize this until this recipe. I knew it had a lot of water in it from the Ratatouille experience, and my usual form of sauteing, but not to this degree. It started with an old PRESTO SALAD SHOOTER, which I've owned for nearly 20 years and usually use to grate cheese or potatoes. Grated Zuchs are sticky. All that water. I will never do this again. What a pain. Once you've grated it and sprinked it with salt, you pick it up in handful and SQUEEZE and TWIST into a clean soft kitchen towel to get the extra water out.

It took two towels and they were soaked afterward- and green - and I'm sure they were also missing trace fibers later found in my zucchini.

After you squeeze, sautee your mushy zucchs in butter and scallions. It only takes a few minutes.

Note: I usually like to sautee zucchini and yellow squash. Here's how I normally do it. Melt half a stick of butter in a pan. Add sliced zucch and squash. Sprinkly lightly with salt. Cook until soft. Yes the the butter gets watery. Use a slotted spoon. Serve. :))

Special Note #3 - Mustard Coating and Marinade for Roast Lamb

This is the marinade we used for our main dish. Pureed garlic, soy sauce, rosemary, thyme, lemon juice, olive oil and - Dijon mustard - AND of course, I had everything but the right mustard, so I used stone ground. It turned out really brown. I confess I didn't measure everything exactly, and I think I over did it on the soy sauce. The recipe says it's supposed to be like a mayonaisse-like cream. Uhhhhh - not so much. I'm going to try this one again, since nothing about this resembled a mayonaisse-like cream. It was more like muddy water. But it tasted great, and that's what's important!

Roast Leg of Lamb - Master Recipe #7

I feel fortunate to have grown up eating lamb. I can understand why people not raised on it might have an aversion to eating it. If you are one of those people, please try it. Gyros do NOT count!. It's tender and delicious and lean. You can marinade it lemon juice and garlic and it will be perfect. It's easy to make. Even, JC style.

So I made the marinade, and followed the instructions for the lamb. There was hardly any fat, because I skimmed the directions again and trimmed off the thin layer of fat I was supposed to leave on to make a sauce later - hence, no sauce. But we didn't need it. The lamb was brushed with the mustard marinade, and simply roasted until the internal temp reached 145. This is a nice medium pinky gray. Do not be afraid. Pink is good.

Yeah, well, in spite of the T-shirt, I can see that real men don't do pink at my house easily. I had to put it back in the oven for the scardey pants that like their meat overcooked. 145 kills the bacteria!!! No one listens to me. I didn't overcook it though, they still got pink, but less pink than before.

It was so lean, there were no pan drippings that didn't dry immediately. Tender and perfect!! Carved, and served with whole grain rice, tossed salad, stuffed tomatoes provencale, french bread and red wine. An excellent Saturday night meal.

Stuffed Tomatoes Provencale - General Recipe #1

The most important part about making Tomato Provencale is to make sure your sous chef has a clean little finger. This is no easy task, because asking is met with rolling eyes, and the inevitable grunt. Yes, parents have the audicity to hope, when asking is just too much. Select 4 ripe tomatoes, cut in them in half crosswise, scoop out the seeds with your little finger, and turn upside down to drain out the rest of the juice. While the tomatoes are draining, make the stuffing.





I bought a loaf of french bread to have with dinner and we tore off a hunk for fresh bread crumbs. While it's a pain to clean the food processor, fresh bread crumbs are so good. We made too much. Mix with oil, scallions, pureed garlic, olive oil and chopped fresh parsely (thank you, herb barrell - I need some more!). Salt and pepper the inside of the tomato and stuff, then drizzle with olive oil and bake for about 20 minutes. You can prepare this in advance and wait until your main dish is nearly ready to bake. Eat them while they are hot. A perfect side dish with lamb. ( next post)

Tossed Salad - Master Recipe #6

Oh yes - a master recipe for tossed salad. It doesn't get easier and better than this, especially when you have tasty, beautiful, organic romaine lettuce from a work connection. Thanks, Jessy! You can use just one type of lettuce or several, wash thoroughly, dry with a spinner or on a clean cloth, arrange or tear, and toss with dressing. Voila! Even though the dressing was only so-s0 as previously mentioned, green was good.

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Oil and Lemon Dressing - Master Recipe #5

Easy peasy - but better when you actually HAVE dijon mustard, which I did not, so I faked it with mustard and mayonnaise and kept my fingers crossed.( I swear I thought I had some - This is a staple for sandwich lovers like us - but I only had stone ground mustard - delicious, but not dijon). I did buy a zester for this endeavor, because the recipe calls for fresh lemon peel - I usually grate when I have to use peel, but I'm working on my skills here. Zesting is fun. Even Jack liked it. I love the smell of lemon. Anyway, you zest and mash with salt - sort of of like pureeing garlic. I think I'm going to have to invest in a mortar and pestle. I didn't know how much you had to mash to be a master cook.

Anyway, mash and mix with with fresh squeezed lemon juice, mustard, fresh ground pepper and "fine fresh oil" I never think of oil as fine or fresh, but I use EVOO - Good enough! You have whisk well and add the oil slowly for proper emulsion. JC says you can dump it a jar and shake it too, but the oil doesn't mix well that way.

There is a glimpse of this in the next post - a beautiful yellow. It tasted OK, but more bland than I'm accustomed to in a salad dressing. I like spices. Feedback- Jeff and Jack thumbs down - Harrison - OK, but don't go out of your way to make it again. Agreed. It probably would have been better with dijon.