Roasted Breast of Lamb

As a special treat for me and the boys, I made a breast of lamb. Its been a while since I bought one and I was pleasantly surprised and 2 meaty slabs of ribs when I opened the pack. Usual one of the slabs is wanting for the curved ribs and lack of meat.

I prepared a rub using:

2 T olive oil
2 t salt
2 t cumin
1 t pepper
1 t Italian seasoning
1 t cinnamon
1 t coriander
1 t paprika

Mix into a paste and rub over the fatty side of the ribs and sparingly over the bony side. I placed the racks side by side in a roaster covered in parchment paper then covered in foil and baled at 300 for several hours till tender. About 3 hours. I uncovered them and placed them under the broiler for about 4 minutes to get a nice crispy crust on the fatty side.  There is a lot of fat rendered out of these. Let it harden and discard. 

Split apart and enjoy.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

The local market has had some nice looking peppers of late. Large in size and perfect for stuffing. I usually treat these with a seafood mix but we have been n a meat mode lately and I bought burger but switched to chicken when I developed the recipe.  I meant to buy Chipotles in Adobo sauce but came home with Chipotle salsa in a small can. Worked well so I went with it and added the leftover salsa to the batch of fresh salsa I was making and it added a nice heat.

4 Large Poblanos, prepped.
1/2 Rotisserie Chicken, shredded
4 ounces of mushrooms, sliced
1 med onion diced
1/2 red pepper diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
3 Tbls olive oil
4 ounces cream cheese, room temp
8 ounces shredded cheese, divided ( I had 5 cheeses Italian blend on hand)
1/4 cup bread crumbs if needed
1/2 cup cream
Salt and pepper

For the Sauce
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 cup milk
2 slices processed swiss
3 T of chipotle salsa
1/2 t chipotle powder
2 T cream
Salt and pepper


Prep the peppers by blackening them over the gas stove, torch or broiler. Place them in a bowl and cover to steam while you fix the filling.

Saute the onions, pepper, garlic and mushrooms till the onions turn translucent. add the cream cheese and allow to melt. Add the chicken and shredded cheese and cream. Allow to cook at little, if there is too much liquid, add the bread crumbs till the consistency you like.  Verify seasoning, adding salt and pepper as desired. Set aside. Start the sauce.

Melt the butter and add the flour and cook a few minutes then add the milk and stir till thickened a bit and add the cheese and salsa to taste. The salsa is spicy so add a s much or little as you like. Finish with a bit of cream. Sauce should be heavy cream  thick but quite pour-able. 

Retrieve the peppers and scrape the black skin off, split one side and clean the seeds and membranes then heap with a good amount of stuffing and place in a greased casserole. Continue using all the stuffing and peppers, mounding the extra filling on top. Flood the dish with the sauce and top with additional cheese.  Bake covered with foil for 30 minutes at 375 then uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes till bubbly and melty.  Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Eating Scotland...Edinburgh

We had a lot of cheese and salami sandwiches from the local grocer in London with an occasional great night out. Our first foray in Scotland was a treat from Mackenzie. She began planning this adventure for us last year when I was recovering from cancer surgery. One of her surprises was a seat at ‘The Table’. A very exclusive, chef run venue that accepts only10 diners a nite for a meal prepared in front of you in 7 courses. It took hours to get thru dinner and the walk was a bit underestimated and took a bit to get there. The night we went, all Americans were at the table, surprising the staff a bit.
Each course was unusual and precise, small bites but filling by the time course 7 hit the plate. If you get the chance, and there is space, book a sitting. So much fun....

Eating London....

We have been in London since Saturday and are leaving for a day trip to Paris tomorrow so we had a ‘last supper’ at a little spot in Devonshire called ‘Pitt Cue’. Nice little brew pub that features wood smoked meats (and not much else) with a full bar.

This was Mackenzie’s favorite spot from past visits to London so she ordered for us. We sampled small plates first, pickles, pork belly and a pig’s head scrumpet.
Then the main courses were duck breast with chicory and pork jowls with apple ketchup.

By by far the best was a side of bone marrow mashed potatoes. Unctuous and savory, who knew. The meal was crazy good but needed a salad and crusty bread. 

Mackenzie is a master navigator of the underground system. Once in the underground you could be as much as 4 stories down. Escalators and stairs with multiple stops, it was all we could do to keep up with her and get our butts on the right train. It’s is so amazing to have such a great way to get around town.