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| Look at my pretty table! |
The menu was ambitious, but I never back down from a challenge. I am pretty confident in the kitchen, so I knew it would be a good meal, but I even surprised myself with this one. The lamb was so mild and tender, it made the mouth water. Holy smokes was this good! Since I was enjoying my friends, I don't have many pictures...they even had to make sure I took one of the plated dinner before we ate so I would have one to share with you all. (Thanks guys!)
Dinner Party Menu
Course One
Warm Goat Cheese Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
Course Two
Lamb Osso Bucco served on herb whipped potatoes
Sauteed Green Beans with crispy shallots
Course Three
Lemon-Raspberry Layer Cake
Warm Goat Cheese Salad
serves four
4 cups mixed greens
Anjou pear, thinly sliced
walnuts
4 ounces goat cheese
1 egg
bread crumbs
for Citrus Shallot Vinaigrette
orange zest from half an orange
lemon zest from one lemon
fresh squeezed orange juice
3 oz champagne vinegar
1 oz olive oil
3 oz champagne vinegar
1 oz olive oil
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoon honey
pinch salt
pepper to taste
Preparation
I picked up some freshly picked baby salad greens from the Natick Community Organic Farm that morning. You can of course use any store-bought mixed greens for this, or arugula if you prefer. I just say these last weekend at Maple Magic and they looked really yummy. Rinse and place in a salad spinner. I like to do this in the morning of the party and place the spinner in the fridge. The lettuces crispen up and is ready to go when you are ready to serve your first course.
I cut one anjou pear into quarters and slice off thin slices for the salad, about four per salad plate. Arrange on top of the greens. Slice four one ounce discs off the goat cheese log. Roll in bread crumbs. Dip in egg and roll in bread crumbs again. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Add goat cheese discs and fry until golden brown on both sides, approximately3 minutes on each side.
I cut one anjou pear into quarters and slice off thin slices for the salad, about four per salad plate. Arrange on top of the greens. Slice four one ounce discs off the goat cheese log. Roll in bread crumbs. Dip in egg and roll in bread crumbs again. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Add goat cheese discs and fry until golden brown on both sides, approximately3 minutes on each side.
Place warm goat cheese on the salad and drizzle salad dressing on top and serve immediately.
Lamb Osso Bucco (adapted from Food + Wine magazine)
Serves Four
4 lamb shanks (about 1 1/4pound each), cut into even sized pieces and fat trimmed
salt and pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 onions, coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
Serves Four
4 lamb shanks (about 1 1/4pound each), cut into even sized pieces and fat trimmed
salt and pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 onions, coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 parsnips, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
half a bottle dry red wine
1 - 15 oz canned crushed tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
three 3" long strips of orange zest
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil
half a bottle dry red wine
1 - 15 oz canned crushed tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
three 3" long strips of orange zest
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
6 teaspoons fresh thyme
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add half the lamb shanks, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until well brown all over, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the shank pieces to a large baking dish or dutch oven. Repeat with the remaining lamb shank pieces. Pour off any fat.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the same skillet. Add onions, celery, carrots, and garlic an dcook over medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth, orange zest, oregano and parlsey and bring to a boil. Pour the mixture over the lamb. If using a large baking dish (I used my lasagna dish and it was filled ot the top), cover with aluminum foil.
Braise in the oven for three hours, or until the lamb is tender. After three hours, if you're not quite ready for dinner yet, just turn the temperature on the oven down to "Warm" or about 200 degrees. You can't overcook this dish.
I spooned a little mashed potatoes (see recipe below) and spread them out on the plate. The lamb came next and then a spoonful of all those vegetables and a side of crunchy green beans.
I think I actually laughed because it was fall-off-the-bone good...like, knock my socks off good. I guess sometimes, experiments just work out far better than we could've ever possibly imagined. I think the guests liked it too because there were some seconds going on...yeah!
We finished off the evening with an over the top Lemon-Raspberry Cake recipe from Joanne Chang's cookbook. I am not posting this recipe for fear of my dinner friends freaking out at the amount of sugar, eggs and butter that went into making it. I have to admit, this was probably the most technical cake recipe I have ever baked, but it was well worth it. One change I would make would be to use a different frosting. I'm not sure what, but butter cream can be finicky, especially in a kitchen where the oven has been on for four hours.
The long and short of it was that while this was an amazing dinner by any measure, and I enjoyed trying some new recipes out on my friends, the best part of the evening was spent getting to know these wonderful people a little bit more over the dinner table...I can't wait for our next dinner party together!
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| Vaccuum-Packed from the Farm |
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| After the grocery store butcher kindly cut the shanks up for me...they said this was the nicest lamb they had seen. |
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add half the lamb shanks, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until well brown all over, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the shank pieces to a large baking dish or dutch oven. Repeat with the remaining lamb shank pieces. Pour off any fat.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the same skillet. Add onions, celery, carrots, and garlic an dcook over medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth, orange zest, oregano and parlsey and bring to a boil. Pour the mixture over the lamb. If using a large baking dish (I used my lasagna dish and it was filled ot the top), cover with aluminum foil.
Braise in the oven for three hours, or until the lamb is tender. After three hours, if you're not quite ready for dinner yet, just turn the temperature on the oven down to "Warm" or about 200 degrees. You can't overcook this dish.
I spooned a little mashed potatoes (see recipe below) and spread them out on the plate. The lamb came next and then a spoonful of all those vegetables and a side of crunchy green beans.
I think I actually laughed because it was fall-off-the-bone good...like, knock my socks off good. I guess sometimes, experiments just work out far better than we could've ever possibly imagined. I think the guests liked it too because there were some seconds going on...yeah!
We finished off the evening with an over the top Lemon-Raspberry Cake recipe from Joanne Chang's cookbook. I am not posting this recipe for fear of my dinner friends freaking out at the amount of sugar, eggs and butter that went into making it. I have to admit, this was probably the most technical cake recipe I have ever baked, but it was well worth it. One change I would make would be to use a different frosting. I'm not sure what, but butter cream can be finicky, especially in a kitchen where the oven has been on for four hours.
The long and short of it was that while this was an amazing dinner by any measure, and I enjoyed trying some new recipes out on my friends, the best part of the evening was spent getting to know these wonderful people a little bit more over the dinner table...I can't wait for our next dinner party together!
Herb Whipped Potatoes
Serves Six2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 sprig rosemary
6 stems thyme
8 sage leaves
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 cup whole milk
1 stick unsalted butter
Preparation
In a large stock pot, bring potatoes to a boil. Cook until knife tender. Meanwhile, in a small sauepan, heat butter, milk, garlic and herbs until butter is melted and milk is warm.
When potatoes are ready, drain off and put back in the stock pot. Place pot back in the stove with the burner on low. Remove herb stems and garlic cloves from milk mixture and pour half mixture into pot with potatoes. Using a masher, mash potatoes until combined with milk mixture. Add more liquid if needed. I like my potatoes a little loose, so I ended up using all the milk mixture. To make sure I got all the lumps taken care of, I used my immersion blender to whip them up even more.
1 sprig rosemary
6 stems thyme
8 sage leaves
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 cup whole milk
1 stick unsalted butter
Preparation
In a large stock pot, bring potatoes to a boil. Cook until knife tender. Meanwhile, in a small sauepan, heat butter, milk, garlic and herbs until butter is melted and milk is warm.
When potatoes are ready, drain off and put back in the stock pot. Place pot back in the stove with the burner on low. Remove herb stems and garlic cloves from milk mixture and pour half mixture into pot with potatoes. Using a masher, mash potatoes until combined with milk mixture. Add more liquid if needed. I like my potatoes a little loose, so I ended up using all the milk mixture. To make sure I got all the lumps taken care of, I used my immersion blender to whip them up even more.
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