Saturday, June 6, 2009

Roasted Leg of Lamb

I'm Greek so loving the flavor of lamb is in my DNA. I'll take lamb just about any way I can get it. Chops, loin, leg, roast - Gimme! When I was a kid my uncle Tony would sit out in the garage with his makeshift BBQ pit (he put down bricks then piled coals ontop of them and hand cranked an old Q he got in Greece... He would sit out there all day with a leg of lamb (or 2 or 3 or 4) drink ouzo, smoke cigars and talk to his buddies or my other uncles. I'll never forget the first time he let me come and hang out with him. It was truly a right of passage in our family. Anyhow - Tina and I do lamb once a month or so and here's a good one we did...

1 Bone in leg of lamb
1 Cup Olive oil
6 cloves garlic minced
3-6 Tbs rosemary
9 Anchovy fillets (no we're not kidding)
Salt
Pepper

Put your leg of lam on a rack in a roasting pan. In a bowl combine the olive oil, rosemary, anchovy, a bit of pepper and mix well. Cut small slits into the lamb and stick in some garlic and spices into each hole. Cover the rest of the lamb with the oil/spice mixture. Let sit for an hour covered or put in the fridge for 5 hours or so. Preheat oven to 400 degrees - cook lamb for about an hour or until medium rare - about 160 degrees F.

There are other things made in this video - beats, beat greens, rice... I'll let you watch the video to see how they're done...

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

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As someone who loves animals - Make sure you buy your meat from ranchers/companies who treat their animals well...

Monday, June 1, 2009

Pizza Sauce - Version 001

So I love pizza - especially making my own pizza. The ultimate would be to make my own dough, sauce, and make my own cheese for it - all the veg grown in my own garden, wheat harvested from my own field, meat butchered from my own animals... Talk about quality control... Ok - enough with the dream and back to the pizza sauce. I make by batches based on using one box of the Pomi strained tomatoes. That's the base for all my pizza sauces. They're the best I can find so that's what I use... Ok sometimes I will use fresh tomatoes...


3 Tbs Olive oil
1-2 Cloves garlic minced
1 Box Pomi strained tomatoes
1 Tsp Crushed red pepper flakes (or to your liking)
1 Tbs Oregano
1 Tsp Basil
Pepper
Salt
1 Tsp Dark brown sugar (it adds an interesting richness to the sauce)

In a heated heavy bottom pan add the olive oil and let it get to temp. Add the garlic and let it permeate the oil - do not let it brown! Add your tomatoes and spices. Mix well and let simmer for 30-60 minutes. Cool the sauce and let stand in refer for at least 12 hours so everyone gets happy happy...

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

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