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Guinness Lamb Stew
![DSC_5396 [1600x1200]](http://whats4dinnersolutions.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/dsc_5396-1600x1200.jpg)
We had plenty of lamb left over from that crockpot leg of lamb yesterday so it seemed a no brainer to make an Irish stew for St Pat’s Day. This one started with browning bacon in the pot. Remove the bacon to a paper towel and cut up a carrot and potato to brown in the bacon fat. I had plenty of onion from the dish yesterday or I would cut one up to go with the other veggies here. (If you are starting with fresh lamb pieces you would brown them in the bacon fat before the veggies go in.) Let the potato get a little color, then add a tablespoon of tomato paste and a good sprinkle of flour and stir that for a minute to cook the flour a bit. Now add beef broth and a bottle of Guinness or whatever other dark beer you have, and then dump in the leftover lamb that you’ve pulled apart or cut down to bite sized. Add back the bacon and a spring of fresh rosemary and a bay leaf. Simmer for a couple of hours, then serve with some nice crusty bread.![DSC_5397 [1600x1200]](http://whats4dinnersolutions.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/dsc_5397-1600x1200.jpg)
Recipe Exchange Updates, Rosemary and Author Wiley Cash
Kirk Spencer had a terrific suggestion in an email this morning. We were talking about bamboo skewers (and how you MUST soak them before grilling to avoid flaming kabobs) and he said he’d used rosemary stems as skewers. I thought this sounded just wonderful. Maybe a lemon marinated chicken skewered on rosemary. It wouldn’t need much other seasoning, that’s for sure, and of course you’d really need to like rosemary. Lamb would probably hold up well with that type of seasoning. Yum. Can’t wait to try on something.
Now for some news on the Thursday Recipe Exchange. This week it will be postponed to Friday because the wonderful Wiley Cash will be live blogging over at Balloon-Juice about his book A Land More Kind Than Home
Friday night is where it’s going to stay for the time being, because of some special events planned at B-J on Thursdays. I’m good with that, hope you are, too.
Back to Mr. Cash, first of all, has there ever been a better novelist’s name? I read his book when it first came out and gave it as gifts over the summer. It’s worth a read, sets a beautiful North Carolina mountain scene as the backdrop to a dark mystery. It’s a quick and compelling story, told from the perspective of several characters in the first person.
I think that covers everything. Hopefully Kirk and I will have a big cooking announcement in the coming weeks.
Until tomorrow….
Roasted Orange Chicken
A while back, JeffreyW roasted a duck and glazed it in a nice looking sauce. I thought I would use that glaze on my Thanksgiving turkey, but since I didn’t end up cooking on Thanksgiving, a chicken was going to have to do. I stuffed it with oranges, onion and a spice bag. I roasted it at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then let it finish out at 350 degrees until it was about 150 degrees. Then I coated it with the glaze (recipe below) and continued to roast until it was 165 degrees. I pull it out and let it rest for 15 minutes. It was really good.
EDIT: I forgot to add that I did the herb butter/oil paste under the skin (that’s why there is that small tear in the skin – half the time it tears, half it doesn’t). I added a bit of orange zest into the herb mixture.
I was a bit concerned because when I do the orange turkey, it’s usually in a cooking bag, so the flavor of the orange is intensified. I wasn’t sure roasting was going to give me the same flavor. But between the oranges in the cavity and the orange glaze, it had a nice spicy-orange flavor.
It looks like it burned, but it was just a trick of the light, making the darker spots look really dark.
Sweet & Spicy Orange Glaze
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 1/2 tbsp teriyaki, ponzu or soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp. Sriracha chili sauce (adjust to taste)
- 1/2 to 1 tsp cornstarch
In a small saucepan, bring all the ingredients, except orange juice and cornstarch, to a low boil. Mix together orange juice and cornstarch until smooth and add the to boiling mixture, stirring constantly until it thickens. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 5-10 minutes before applying to the chicken.
Thursday Recipe Exchange: Stuffed Peppers
Photo by JeffreyW
I decided that we’d do stuffed peppers tonight and when I went trolling around the blog, found we’ve done a few variations on them over the years. Tonight’s featured recipe is from my cousin Scott. He mentions in the original post that we’re a family who loves to cook and I couldn’t agree more. On his side of my family, I think everyone has the gift in the kitchen. I have memories of my grandparents’ farm and the great food we’d have there. My Grandma Lois made the best fried eggs in the world that I have never been able to duplicate. They were crisp on the bottom (a treatment my family always called “shoe leather” –though that does not do that crust justice), perfectly medium on top and covered in so much pepper you’d sneezed just looking at them. Try as I might, I’ve never been able to come close to those eggs. I asked my mom a few years ago what I was missing and she replied, “lard”. And I’m sure it was previously used lard at that. Grandma Lois kept a can on the stove. It’s probably why her fried chicken was so amazing, too.
Anyway that story has nothing to do with tonight’s recipes. Stuffed peppers. We have several takes on them:
JeffreyW does a traditional Stuffed Peppers with homemade tomato soup (recipe here).
I have a pretty easy stuffed Red Pepper recipe – though you can use green peppers, no problem (recipe here).
And our featured recipe, below, from my Men Who Cook series, is a vegetarian treat.
How about you, any favorite memories of foods from childhood you can’t recreate? Do you have a different take on stuffed peppers that you like to use? Hit the comments and share.
Now for tonight’s featured recipe:
This comes from my cousin Scott Adams. Scottie follows in the footsteps of many in my family – the love of cooking (click here for the full story). These peppers are practically gourmet!
Scottie’s Stuffed Pepper’s
- Salt
- 1/2 pound short whole wheat pasta
- 4 large red bell peppers, tops cut off and reserved, seeded
- Black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus more for drizzling
- 4 jarred roasted red peppers
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 small portobello mushroom caps, chopped
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 sprigs rosemary, stems discarded and leaves chopped
- One 28-ounce can fire-roasted crushed or diced tomatoes
- 2 cups arugula or baby spinach (a few generous handfuls)
- 1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
- 1 cup grated pecorino-romano cheese
- 1 tablespoon of Oregano
- 1 teaspoon of Dill
Preheat the oven to 425°. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente.
Trim the bottoms of the bell peppers, without cutting a hole, so that they stand. Season inside with salt and black pepper. Turn the peppers bottom side up in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, set the tops alongside and drizzle with EVOO. Roast for 20 minutes.
Using a food processor, puree the roasted red peppers. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add the red onion, garlic, mushrooms, crushed red pepper and rosemary and cook until softened, 7 minutes. Stir in the pureed peppers and the fire-roasted tomatoes; season with salt and black pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pasta and toss. Add the arugula and basil and cook until wilted.
Preheat the broiler. Turn the peppers upright; fill with pasta. Top with the cheese and broil until melted, 2 minutes. Cover with the tops and serve with any extra pasta.
Cross-posted at Balloon-Juice sometime this evening.
