Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb

I'm not a huge fan of lamb...Jerry and Jami are. My favorite part is the bone from the lamb chops with the little bit of meat and carmelized fat lining the edge of the bone.... but...if the lamb is exceptionally made, I could actually start to like it....

Before Jami Cakes left for Tanzania, I picked up a boneless leg of lamb as requested by the boss of our kitchen....except that there was no time left to make her creation. Yesterday, Jerry had a hankering for lamb and I remembered it was in the deep freezer chest...so he fished it out and defrosted it. I'm not about to wait 5 months to use it. We can pick up another one upon her return.

Sorry people....can you believe I forgot to take pix...ME...forget the cam? OY....so we'll have to go by description only.

I fired up the oven to 500˚ for about 20 minutes. While that was happening, the 4 lb lamb roast was close to room temp, tied up and ready to go. Yeah..I know what they say for food safety...out of the fridge and into the oven..but not me...Meat just does NOT cook optimally this way. Timing for me is everything and when that pan enters the oven....I know exactly when it's going to come out by the temp of the meat when it went in...and we're all healthy here.... Personally, I think it's from where you get your food. Mine is from a local butcher and they know the animal.

While the oven is heating... I make a Proveçal paste. One of my "tricks" is I buy a big bag of dried Porcini mushrooms once a year and in a coffee bean grinder, I grind them up into dust, pack them in tupperware containers for the freezer. This way, when I need mushrooms for sauces, rubs or pesto, I use the dust...it's fantastic....and yeah...I know I should make my own herbes de Provence..and I will when I'm out, but a friend brought me back a couple of excellent bags from France and it's convenient. OH...and for you foodies, yeah..I know this is more of a winter dish...but so what....on a cool summer night as it was tonight..it works out beautifully!

Provençal Rub

1 TBSN Porcini mushroom dust

9 minced garlic cloves

1 TBSN herbes de Provence

Rosemary from 3 stalks, chopped finely

1 TBSN ground black pepper

1 TBSN hot red pepper flakes

1 TBSN kosher salt

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine the above ingredients in a small bowl and mix with a fork.

Place the 4lb lamb in a dutch oven or a pan..make sure the pan is about the size of the lamb. You don't want it much bigger so the juices and the wine baste it. Cover the lamb entirely with the rub.

Poor in 1/2 bottle of a tasty bottle of dry red wine...and make sure it's tasty. It really is important that the flavor of the wine is happening because otherwise, you'll make a sub par dish!

Pop it into the oven and turn the heat down to 200˚. Check it in 2 hours to turn it over and pour in the rest of the wine.

Notice the aroma....your nose will lead you to the oven when something is ready.... and in this case....about another 2 hours later....you'll have a tender delicious succulent lamb roast ready for the table...if it makes it there! In our case....that's a lot of meat for 2 people...so...I'll be putting mine in a salad or having it with rice and lentils and Jer will be making some sandwiches.

Try it...you might like it! I did and I'm hooked!

Bec's New England Clam Chowdah

One of our favorite meals in the summer is a bowl of New England Clam Chowdah (Chowder for you non-New Englanders) and some warm crusty bread.
Here's my version:

INGREDIENTS:
2 TBSN Butter
3 pieces celery, diced 1/4"
3 large potatoes, diced 1/2"
1 lb fresh clams or 4 bottles whole clams
4 - 8oz bottles of clam juice
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 tsp white pepper
Kosher salt to taste
red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
1.5 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream (can use light cream if you prefer)

Roux:
10 TBSN Butter
5 oz All purpose Flour

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large pot, melt the butter and sauté the onions on medium heat until they are translucent (don't brown).
2. Add celery
3. Add potatoes, clams, juice, wine,white pepper and salt (and optional red pepper flakes)
4. Turn up heat to high and bring to a boil.
5. In a heated saucier (sauce pan), melt the butter completely and with a wire whisk, stir in the flour until well blended. Reduce heat to low and cook while other pot is coming to a boil.
6. When the soup pot is boiling and the potatoes are done, stir in the roux. Bring it back to a boil and remove it from the heat to cool.
(note: when using a roux, whatever it is added to must return to a boil or go rancid).
7. In a separate pan, pour in the milk and cream. Now slowly add some of the stock from the soup to temper it, bringing it up to equal temperature and then add it back to the soup.
8. EAT!!!!
9. Make sure the soup is cooled properly on a cooling rack until it is ready to be refrigerated if there's any left.

Great with a loaf of warm crusty bread....

Yield 8 cups