December 2008
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Month December 2008

Entries 5 Total

Roast Leg of Lamb

Dec 29, ’08

For the love of meat, Jake Dickson of Dickson Farmstand worked in several farms, a butcher shop and a slaughterhouse. All the effort paid off and he thought of a brilliant business plan: buy your upstate produce online and pick it up in the city from the back of his truck. I bought a boneless leg of lamb from Ehrhardt Farm in Jersey Hill, one of the highest elevations in Tompkins County, New York.

I also ordered a package of fatty bacon and ground pork but I’ll focus on the leg of lamb so that you can replicate it for your end-of-year dinner.

Ingredients:
1 4-pound boneless leg of lamb, tied up with butcher’s twine
salt, pepper

For marinade:
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup white wine
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 sprigs of thyme
2 sprigs of rosemary
oil, pepper

1. Marinate lamb. Pat leg of lamb dry with a paper towel. On a chopping block as a work surface, drizzle olive oil all over the lamb and rub with pepper. Stuff every nook of leg of lamb with garlic and herbs. Transfer to a large glass container that you can use to marinate. Combine orange juice and white wine in a small bowl and pour into the container to marinate the lamb. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight. Make sure you turn over the lamb after several hours to soak the other side.
2. When ready to cook, remove the lamb from the fridge and let rest at room temperature. Arrange two racks in the oven: the middle rack to hold the lamb and the lower rack to hold a roasting pan to catch the drippings. (Spread chopped carrots, parsnips and onions in the pan for some roasted veggies to go with the lamb.) Preheat oven to 425º. Place the empty aluminum foil-lined roasting pan in the oven while the oven is pre-heating.
3. Cook the lamb. Remove the lamb from the container and pat dry with paper towels. Generously salt and pepper all sides of the lamb. Place directly on middle rack of the oven; the roasting pan below will catch the drippings. Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 300º and roast an additional hour, or about 10 minutes per pound. Using a meat thermometer, the thickest part of the lamb must be around 135º for medium-rare. Let stand for half an hour before carving. Use just the drippingsand/or the roasted veggies to serve with the lamb.

Related post/s:
Order your leg of lamb from Ehrhardt Farm via Dickson’s Farmstand
My growing list of lamb and veal recipes
Lefover lamb can turn into a delicious salad

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Pasta E Fagioli, Italian Pasta and Beans Soup

Dec 24, ’08

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house / Not a creature was stirring,…
Are you kidding me? Whoever the author was wasn’t in my parents’ house on Christmas Eve. It’s definitely not quiet in ours right now: my mother is vacuuming, my father is moving stuff around and I’m simultaneously getting the leg of lamb and pork roast ready for our noche buena, clanging around the kitchen.

I’m not a regular churchgoer, but you can count on me to attend Christmas Eve mass even if it’s cold outside and boring inside. Because it’s also the eve of my birthday, I’ve always found mass quite comforting before I turn a year older. Wherever I am, I make it a point to attend mass for my birthday. After mass, we dive in for dinner and eat until a little after midnight–Christmas Day itself is just recovering from the night before.

This pasta e fagioli recipe, or “pasta and beans” in Italian, is a hearty (and affordable!) filler to keep the hunger pangs away at least until after church, but not too heavy that you would want to skip the main attraction on the dining table. I used Goya pinto beans here because one package was on sale for 99 cents and substituted the Parmesan cheese for Manchego.

Ingredients:
1 cup pinto beans, soaked overnight in water
2 cups mini penne pasta
4 slices bacon, chopped
3 large beefsteak tomatoes, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 sprig of rosemary
2 sprigs of thyme
Manchego cheese
salt, pepper

1. Drain the water from the soaking beans. In a large saucepan, add 3 cups of water and bring the beans to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for an hour, or until tender. When done, transfer beans and water to a large container and set aside.
2. Using the same saucepan, cook the bacon until crisp. Add the garlic and sauté until light brown. Add the onions and sauté until translucent. Add the herbs, carrots, celery and tomatoes and stir to combine. Cook until carrots are tender.
3. Return the beans and the water to the saucepan and let simmer for 30 minutes. Add more water if you want more soup. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Add the macaroni and simmer for another 10 minutes, or just enough to cook the pasta. Stir occasionally. Ladle into bowls and grate cheese on top before serving.

Related post/s:
The Italians know how to make peasant dishes, I tell you
A mainstay soup in our household
You say fa-zool, they say fa-joh-lee

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Pork Roast, Gorgonzola, Pear and Walnut Bacon Sandwich

Dec 22, ’08

Ah, Internet, you kill me. It sucks to be laid off for the second time in eight years especially if it’s from a job you actually like. But shit happens, yeah? The good thing is that I can wake up without scurrying out the door and I can devote some time to the art of making sandwiches for lunch. Take for example this afternoon: leftover pernil that I carved from the bone, Gorgonzola from Di Palo Selects, a lone pear from the fruit basket on the coffee table and a handful of walnuts from a can of assorted holiday nuts; I threw in three slices of bacon in there for good measure.

This sandwich is not for the faint of heart. Substitute the pork with sweet ham and add some spicy arugula to make a sweet-salty version.

Ingredients:
leftover pork roast, chopped
3 slices of bacon
half a pear, sliced thinly
a small chunk of Gorgonzola, sliced
a handful of walnuts, crushed
4 slices of whole wheat bread
a small knob of butter, melted in microwave

1. Cook bacon. Using a skillet, cook about 4 slices of bacon until crisp. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.
2. Using the rendered bacon fat in the same skillet, heat up pear slices. Remove to same paper towel-lined plate.
3. Assemble sandwich. On a chopping board, spread one side of each bread slice evenly with some melted butter using a pastry brush. With buttered sides down, spoon some pork roast on two slices of bread and top with Gorgonzola slices. Add bacon and pears and sprinkle with walnuts. Feel free to moisten with leftover bacon fat. Layer with remaining bread, buttered side up.
4. Place large skillet over high heat and brush remaining butter. Reduce heat to medium-low and add sandwich. Using an iron grill press, put on top of the sandwich and press. Cook until browned and crisp on both sides, about 4 minutes a side. Transfer to a platter lined with parchment paper. Cut in half and serve.

Related post/s:
Di Palo Selects has some good Gorgonzola
The cast iron grill press is one of the most used items in my kitchen
A year ago, I made my first pressed sandwich
Pork Shoulder Roast recipe

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Pernil, Pork Shoulder Roast

Dec 18, ’08

I texted Lily when I saw a $9 pork shoulder at Fairway: what do I need to make pernil? Pernil, or roasted pork shoulder, is a Latin dish served as part of a feast, usually with rice and beans. I grew up in Washington Heights with my Dominican friends and have always eaten pernil at their birthday parties. Years have passed and they’ve all moved out of their parents’ houses and I haven’t had a decent pernil since.

Thankfully for Lily’s birthday this past summer, she decided to keep it low-key and invited us to her mother’s house. I thought I ate the best pernil there. Her mother even wrapped some leftovers for me to take home because I couldn’t stop picking from it even after dinner was over. My friends’ parents are all too familiar with the Asian friend who raves about the roasted pork.

This is in preparation for Christmas Eve dinner. My first try didn’t come out as tender as I would have liked: Lily’s version melts in your mouth and it’s impossible to slice the meat because everything just falls off the bone. I’ve revised this recipe and made some corrections. I’ll be ready to try it again for my birthday dinner and I’ll make Lily proud.

Ingredients:
1 pork shoulder, no more than 5 pounds
1 head of garlic, peeled, crushed
4 tbsps cumin, grounded
a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce
salt, pepper

1. Marinate the pork shoulder. Score the pork with a sharp knife and insert garlic cloves in every nook. Splash Worcestershire sauce all over the pork. Using your hands, liberally rub the pork with cumin, salt and pepper. Put in a large container and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
2. When ready to cook, heat oven to 300º. Remove the pork from the refrigerator and let rest at room temperature until oven is ready. Roast pork for 3 hours on a rack in an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan filled halfway with water, turning every hour until meat is tender. Add water to the pan as necessary.
3. Remove pork from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes before cutting it up.

Related post/s:
If you don’t want to roast, try sweet and sour pork picnic
I once carried an 8-pound pork shoulder in my tote bag

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Hakata Tonton

Dec 17, ’08

61 Grove Street off Seventh Avenue South
212/242.3699
$30 each for four, with a bottle of sake, with tip
♥ ♥

I love pigs’ feet. There I said it. I’ve caramelized them before with a tart salad and I’ve grilled them to serve at a summer barbecue party. Hakata Tonton worships the tonsoku. Hakata Tonton and I were made for each other.

The grilled version is so gelatinous, succulent and generously fatty, you can’t help but suck every part until you’re just spitting out the small bones. The hot pot comes with tofu, dumplings and pork belly, as if the trotters weren’t enough to make the broth rich and tasty.

There were four of us, hungry after a few glasses of wine and beer, so we didn’t just stay with the pork but also ordered the chicken wings in sweet soy sauce and the beef short ribs. We threw in the yellowtail sashimi salad in there for a palate cleanser. The yuzu paste and ponzu sauce were just perfect for slathering and dipping because they provided the right amount of kick in each dish. (When I was in Vancouver, I bought a few jars of yuzu paste from the Japanese grocery store to take home with me.)

A few beer and sake bottles later, we left full and a little tipsy. Our wallets weren’t empty and we were happy to be escorted out with free Pez candies from the waitress.

Related post/s:
Walk around the area for P*Ong
Mas (farmhouse) is a more expensive option around the neighborhood

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