Leg of Lamb: Easter Sunday

Well. Yesterday was Easter. This is the Christian holiday where the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Probably the holiest of weeks for Christians like myself. It's the center of the faith. The lamb also had some important significance. In Exodus, it was the blood of a Passover lamb that was painted over the home's of the children of Israel. Every door with the lamb's blood painted over it, the Angel of Death passed that home. Lambs were also part of daily temple sacrifices in the Old Testament as well. Jeremiah also wrote about one being like "naive as a lamb

being led to slaughter (1) and through that, Israel would be redeemed through this sacrifice. Lamb was also a big item in Passover feasts as well (in particular, in the Old Testament days). In the modern day, I'm not as certain. I've heard debates on both sides (specifically, eating the entire lamb and how the lamb is prepared. Some of those who don't is due to what I understand as the Paschal sacrifice. (2)

The pictures you see are of the lamb my parents and I ate. This was Easter dinner last night. We also had sweet potatoes and white asparagus. In the moment, I was not going to touch on this. Then I recalled that I did an Easter lamb recipe a while back. Mom, as usual, did a wonderful job with it. Unlike the lamb recipe I did before, this one was much simpler. The breakdown is below.  

1. Mom purchased a 7-lb leg of lamb. I know you can get a roast or something of the like. The leg is VERY flavorful and obviously, more meat to enjoy. The bone was also left in. 

2. What did she use to season it? Pretty simple. She used Kosher salt, crushed pepper, a touch of oregano, some granulated garlic (since we had no fresh garlic on hand)  & rosemary. Maybe next time, I could create some sauce to compliment it instead of using a crust as I did before. 

3.  She roasted it at 325 degrees F (or 190 C) for about 4 hours (25 minutes/pound). She cooked it to rare to medium rare for a couple of reasons. The first is she knows that's the way I like it. Also, there's a pretty simple trick to cook it a bit more. Just put it in a skillet of stove flat top and cook a piece to your liking. I don't suggest going past medium. Next time and if time allows, I'll pull out the grill and do it there. I touched on making a side sauce like something cream-based. The thing is the meat itself is good on its own. 

As you can see, sometimes the simple works better than the complex. Any other questions, feel free to ask. Sorry I didn't show this plated so I hope this does the job. 

Work Cited:
1. Jeremiah 11:19 (The Message)
2. "Eating Lamb for Passover", Ask Rabbi Lerner, http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askrabbi_c/bl_pesachlamb.htm

The Stock Experiment

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                                 So I was on a chat session a while back and a couple subjects came up. Actually, it was somewhat a debate. The thought was the use of crock pots/slow cookers and how someone would use them. The discussion was fun but civil. As it relates to the use of a slow cooker, I'm pretty neutral as I think about it. It depends on how much time I have and what I'm making. You might be curious of how the discussion went? Well, it went like this. The question was about the use of a slow cooker and how do you use them. Well. As you can see below, the responses were pretty spirited. Please notice the comment I placed in "italics" to set the table for what I'm writing about.

1. 1. Cucina Amore ‏@cucina_amore  Mar 17

      @Culinary_Cam @MIEWFoodsLLC @emptyplateadv Hon,your not silly,cause that would make me silly as well. There just all wrong! lol ;) #FNIchat

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   2. MIEW Asian Foods ‏@MIEWFoodsLLC  Mar 17

      @emptyplateadv @cucina_amore @HamiltonBeach @Culinary_Cam There are times I appreciate the "ready" meal. #1 benefit to them #FNIchat

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   3. Culinary Cam ‏@Culinary_Cam  Mar 17

      @cucina_amore @MIEWFoodsLLC @emptyplateadv #FNIChat I don't own a microwave either! I'm silly that way.

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   4. Hamilton Beach ‏@HamiltonBeach  Mar 17

      @Culinary_Cam @cucina_amore @MIEWFoodsLLC @emptyplateadv Leave the house! #FNIchat

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   5. Culinary Cam ‏@Culinary_Cam  Mar 17

      @cucina_amore @MIEWFoodsLLC @emptyplateadv #FNIChat Yes, back 2 my original question: what can you do with it you can't do with a real pot?

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   6. Mar 17

      Hamilton Beach favorited your Tweet
      Mar 17:
      @cucina_amore @MIEWFoodsLLC @HamiltonBeach @Culinary_Cam Good for when youre coming home & dinner is ready to eat. #FNIchat

      
   7. Cucina Amore ‏@cucina_amore  Mar 17

      @MIEWFoodsLLC @emptyplateadv @Culinary_Cam I know, i've seen recipes & it kinda disturbs me. I'm also against microwaves ;) lol #FNIchat

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   8. MIEW Asian Foods ‏@MIEWFoodsLLC  Mar 17

      @emptyplateadv @cucina_amore @Culinary_Cam Apparently you can make cheesecakes & bread... Not that brave. My oven DOES work #FNIchat

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   9. Cucina Amore ‏@cucina_amore  Mar 17

      @MIEWFoodsLLC @HamiltonBeach @emptyplateadv @Culinary_Cam lmao, you guys have me rolling! Use a pot for your stock! ;) #FNIchat

                                     So this is how it went down in a nutshell. There was more so if you're curious, use the #FNIChat and go to the date of the discussion. So being somewhat the outside thinker, I decided to try something different. Someone did mention using the slow cooker for making stock. I bought a whole rotisserie chicken from a local store. As I drove home, it dawned in me. What would I do with the carcass once I ate the chicken. Then decided to embrace a "Mind of a Chef" moment (or my version of it anyway). What if I decided to make a stock from my slow cooker? That's what I did and there were some pluses and minuses but neither were too difficult to overcome. As I said before, things on this blog do not always look pretty but it will taste good.

This is what I did first. I deboned the chicken (which you can see on the right) and separated the meat from the bones). You may not see this, but I did leave some meat on the bones (not very much but enough).  Then I took the remaining chicken meat and put it in the fridge. That was the easy part. 

Now before I put the chicken away, I decided to mix some tomato salsa and sun dried tomatoes for some extra flavor. 

Here's what remains of the carcass. Before I put the bones in the slow cooker, I decided to season the bones before I put them in the slow cooker. I covered the bones with grape seed oil (since I didn't have either olive or avocado oil). I used the basics (salt, pepper, and garlic powder since I had not fresh on hand) as well as 1/2 a yellow onion, Hungarian Hot Paprika (since I'm the only one eating this), peppercorns, and crushed bay leaves. I felt that would make a nice mix and figured than some of that flavor would stick to the bones and meat. 

This is the mix I mentioned just before adding to the slow cooker. 

What you see below is the result. I left this cook for 12 hours on low temperature (since I knew I was going to be gone all day). The result was pretty intense but good. That is what I went for. It took about 45 minutes to fully cool down. I took a strainer and took out most of the excess onion and all the bones. This stock was intense enough to the point where I could dilute it with some water and still be edible. I used probably 1 quart or so

I will revisit this stock within the next week or two. What I found out caught my attention. One of the pluses of this is that if you don't have time to sit in front of a pot, this could be a solid way out. As a whole, I'm very pleased with how this turned out. In other words, put on and forget it. While you do what you need to do, this stock can cook and will be ready when you get home. VERY convenient as I see it. Now the minus side. The biggest one is seasoning. Some debate one way or the other but most people I know season their stock as they go. In this case, I couldn't. I found myself seasoning this as it began to cool down. I did wait about 15 minutes before turning the cooker off but did begin to season the stock at that time. It took about 45 minutes for me to season it to my liking. It took about that long to cool down as well. In other words, the seasoning could be tricky to get right if you're in a hurry. If you wanted to thicken the stock, that could a trick especially with that much water (about 3 quarts). So if you want something thicker, you'll definitely want to do that in the early stages while the water is still cold. Or at the very least, consider that. You also must remember what you put in the stock (e.g., peppercorns in this case). I may also add the salsa after the stock has cooled down or at least more of it than I used. I did strain and put away the remaining stock (about a quart). 

So sure, I get it. It's cheating a bit. Not the pure "foodie" play. Let the cooker do the work for you.What can I do with a slow cooker that you can't do with a normal pot? Very little at face level but there's more than meets the eye. Drop it and forget it. If you're not home for long periods but need to eat, what are you going to do? Take out not only gets expensive but gets as played out as a Spice Girls song. I don't want to be rude, but I'm going to use what's at my disposal when it comes to cooking. This is especially true if you live alone. Would I PREFER to use s stove top? Absolutely. Sometimes, that isn't possible and the slow cooker is just one avenue to achieve a good meal. I won't say sorry for that. For a first time experiment, I think this turned out well. Soon, you'll see what I did with the remaining stock. I have a few ideas but need to give this more though. Now when you can say you've stood over a BBQ grill (charcoal) for over 6 hours, call me. I think that alone give me the right to cheat just a little bit.

   
   Work Cited:
1. Picture taken from: http://lumdimsum.com/2009/12/14/soup-nazi-herbal-cafe/

Sweat the Technique

While finalizing pictures for my final Eataly post, I got inspired. It was moments ago while bouncing between various social media pages where I said what the heck, let's do this. Then as I toyed around Pinterest, I noticed myself drawn to a certain subject. It's also the inspiration from one of my boards. My Sweat the Technique" board is about cooking techniques. Now if you're of a certain age and listen to "Golden Era" rap, you might get the pun here. So after a few pins, I decided to place them here.

taken via Pinterest.

                                  Many of you probably already know this so let it serve as a reminder. In other cases, some of you may not know these things and could be of help. So here goes nothing.                                       Now if you're of a certain age and listen to "Golden Era" rap, you might get the pun here. So after a few pins, I decided to place them here. Many of you probably already know this so let it serve as a reminder.



In other cases, some of you may not know these things and could be of help. So here goes nothing.

On the right and left address how foods should be stored and for how long these foods may be kept. While I personally like my fruits cool. Nothing says yuck like warn guacamole.                                                                                  

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This is really more for visual purposes. For those who know what these terms are, pay no attention to this (like I had to say that anyway). For those who may not understand or may not know these terms, they speak for themselves. The featured Facebook page is actually the page for an English teacher. There are some good materials there but the emphasis is speaking English. 

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 Now what you see on both sides are cooking methods and volume conversion. You will notice on the left picture explaining the type of cooking and the temperatures and times to cook something. It also makes the distinction of cooking with dry heat (e.g., baking, roasting, pan frying, etc) versus moist heat (e.g., simmer, steam, boiling, etc). On the right, you'll notice volumes and I think this is pretty relative and some more exact. For example, I noticed 60 drops will equal 1 teaspoon. Now that can actually be measured. Same with converting tablespoons and ounces to cups as well as cups to pints and quarts. Now when I notice the "pinch" and "dash" descriptions, that could be pretty relative. My hands are exactly dainty but not huge either. Someone with a bigger hand may have a bigger "pinch" than someone with smaller hands. Again, this is no deal breaker but serves as food for thought.

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Ok. Slow cookers are making a comeback. Above are cooking times on each setting. Most I've seen have 3 settings- high, low & warm. Warm temperature is actually cooler than low in many cases. That setting is meant to do one thing. That's to keep the food warm. 

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I'll end with mixing methods. You can see that this features everything from making angel food cake, muffins and just about anything that can be baked. It also suggests the tools and mixing methods best suited for what's being baked. It also shows what steps on when and what ingredients are to be added. In some cases, you are encouraged to add certain ingredients in steps and others add all at once. This also will also mention a technique such as whipping or folding. 

OK. A pseudo-cooking school moment. I hope this may help those who are starting the culinary journey. When you really thing about it, we're all on a journey. Some are much further than others. As long as the journey is fun, that's all that matters. Become a better cook than you were the day before. 

Works Cited:

1. Photo taken from :https://www.facebook.com/santinoenglishteacher

2. Pictures were taken from http://chasingdelicious.com/ via Pinterest. 

3. Taken from Pinterest.com with no direct source mentioned or cited.

4. Pictures was taken from http://chasingdelicious.com/ via Pinterest.