Recipes Collection: sunday

Showing posts with label sunday. Show all posts

Monday, May 19, 2014

Palm Sunday Dinner of Spring Lamb Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes and Fresh Spinach Gratin

Spring lamb is something I look forward to throughout the long winter months. Fortunately, Spring has arrived and Palm Sunday Dinner is the perfect opportunity to enjoy this richy delicious meal.

We purchased a small, boned lamb roast as we were only serving a few people. Most of family does not enjoy lamb, and since they were off visiting other family members, we took advantage of the situation and prepared a fantastic roast. Actually, my uncle who lives in North Carolina, fixes the most delicious lamb roast, so I consulted with him on the technique. First, I cut little slits directly into the flesh of the roast and studded it with about 7-10 small cloves of garlic. Then, I rubbed the outside of the lamb with a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and olive oil and seasoned it with a combination of kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, chopped rosemary and garlic powder. The lamb roast was place on a rack in a shallow backing dish and roasted in a 375 degree oven for 2 hours. After the lamb resting for about 20 minutes, it was sliced thin and was the most tender, flavorful and succulent meat you could imagine!

While the lamb was roasting I cleaned and dried about a dozen medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes, cut them in half and placed them in a large mixing bowl. I seasoned the potatoes as I did the lamb, drizzling over balsamic vinegar, olive oil and a spice combination of rosemary, kosher salt, pepper and garlic powder. Aftering stirring well to coat each potato I placed in the baking dish, directly under the lamb so they could absorb the delicious lamb drippings. The potatoes reach the perfect degree of crispy skin and tender flesh in about 45 minutes.

In preparing to make the fresh spinach gratin, I washed, dried and chopped 1 large bag of leafy spinach. Not the baby spinach, but the more mature variety which will hold up better to the cooking process. I preheated a large sauce pot and added 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter as well as 1/2 small chopped onion. They cooked together for about 5 minutes and the onions were translucent. Next, I added 1 minced clove of garlic and allowed those flavors to cook together for another minute or two. To the onion, garlic, olive oil and butter I added 2 tablespoons flour and cooked them together just long enough to remove the raw flour taste, or about 2-3 minutes. The next step is to add about 1 1/2 - 2 cup of milk while wisking the flour mixture to avoid lumps. Bring this to a simmer and let cook for about 5 minutes until thick and creamy. If it gets too thick add a little more milk. Season with salt and pepper, a pinch of cayenne and a smaller pinch of nutmeg. Add the chopped spinach, turn off the heat and stir to combine. Transfer the spinach mixture into a baking dish and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese and panko bread crumbs. Top with a sprinkle of paprika and bake in the same 375 degree oven with the lamb for about 20 minutes or until bubbly and brown. Serve with the sliced lamb and roasted Yukon Gold potatoes for the perfect springtime holiday meal!

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Bacon Rolls on Sunday

We always have bacon rolls on Sunday morning. This bacon was called One Happy Pig it was very tasty but not really any more than the usual bacon I buy, which tends to be the best quality supermarket bacon.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Sunday Dinner at Nans House

Happy Monday!

One of my favorite things about my family is that we were raised having dinner together every night. Even if one of us had a softball or baseball game we would pack up a picnic dinner and enjoy subs or fried chicken, generally from Marias Sub Shop in Timonium, MD where I grew up, and dine field side. (There was even a thermos of wine so Mom and Dad could enjoy their evening cocktail...though shell probably kill me for sharing that little tidbit). Times change, family dynamics evolve over time and, like most good things, the simple, comforting tradition of eating dinner together is all but extinct for most.

Fortunately, for me and for the next generation of little ones, in our family, old habits die hard. While we have our own lives, families and jobs, we do still get together every Sunday night at my Moms house (now named Nan by my niece Sophia) for a meal together. This is such a great time for all of us to catch up and to spend time with each other discussing the past weeks events, upcoming plans and, occasionally, current events and politics (fortunately, we all have the same views...most of the time).

While my family loves to cook (though we hate to clean up) and tends to make big Sunday meals, the thing that makes this time together so enjoyable is the company not necessarily the meal itself. So, I encourage you to try to get the family together for at least one meal per week. Life moves ahead so fast, why not step back in time for just an hour or so and bring your family back to the dinner table!

Yesterday evening Nan prepared a traditional Sunday meal which was fabulous! She made a Bottom Round Roast with Oven Baked Potato, Crispy Steamed Broccoli and Mixed Green Salad. You may notice the broccoli missing from my plate....I did not like as a kid and have never developed an appreciation for it...alas, some things dont change.

Do you have a family tradition that you would like to share? I would love to hear it and you may provide some inspiration for others who are bringing their families together.

Please share your thoughts!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

A Rainy Sunday Rerun – Sticky Ginger Garlic Chicken Wings

Its a cool, rainy day in San Francisco, and I still have a very full day of cooking and photography ahead, but I wanted to take a minute to post this picture, and rerun the video, for sticky ginger garlic chicken wings.

I had to make a batch yesterday to photograph for the cookbook, and Id forgotten how great this recipe is. Its definitely my favorite chicken wing recipe, and the one I find most addictive.

You can make these really mild or super hot, but thats really between you and your endorphins. If by some rare chance you havent seen or tried these yet, do it. Enjoy!

Get the ingredient amounts here from the original post...

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Sunday Soupday

Well it seems that I am always making soup on a Sunday and blogging about it! This week it was French Onion Soup as I just had a fancy for it. Im not going to post the recipe, you can see it on the BBC Good Food website here if you fancy making some. Im not sure it is the best recipe Ive used but it did the job.

I know it looks better with a big bit of baguette and cheese on the top, but as Im trying to cut back on the cheese, we had it without.