recent food musings

pot roasted rosemary lamb with fingerling potatoes
this is what i made for new year's eve dinner and it was amazing. so super easy and so succulent, tender, and flavorful. the gravy was the most luscious i have ever had.

goat cheese, pesto, and sun dried tomato terrine
i first ate this totally delicious combination in giant form at a weeding in the berkshires. realizing that i could easily replicate it, i googled it and found this recipe. its a true standby appetizer that everyone loves. i made it for both thanksgiving and christmas eve this year.

maine shrimp season
seth has a goal of cooking with maine shrimp as frequently as possible. so far he has made shrimp quesadillas, shrimp cocktail, and shrimp curry. the shrimp curry is a variation on a thai chicken curry he has been making for years. i asked him to add less water so it would be more saucy. he threw the shrimp in at the absolute last moment so they wouldn't over cook.

duck fat
i read somewhere reports of soggy fries at duck fat. i am happy to report that my last two visits have resulted in delicious crispy fries.
favorite dipping sauce: truffled ketchup

slow cooking

last night i made my first slow cooker meal of the season: lamb shanks with white beans. this is something i usually braise on the stove top or in the oven. but we had plans to have a little happy hour over at jen and andrew's house and i knew that by the time we got home it would be too late to start a braised dinner. so the night before i went about searching for a good slow cooker recipe for this dish.
one thing i love about the slow cooker is the ease. i love the idea of throwing a bunch of stuff in a pot before work and coming home to a beautiful dinner. but this dish does not fit into that bill. because the shanks need to be browned and the onions and garlic need to be sauteed, it took me nearly 40 minutes to get everything in the pot. so it was much better suited for the sunday dinner meal category. by the time the 8 hours of cooking time was up, the meat had completely fallen off the bone and the beans were super tender. it really did turn out great andi told seth it was the definition of succulent.
but i promise you, if i make this dish again in march i will hate it. because that is the curse of the slow cooker. no matter what you cook or what you cook it with, by the end of the season, everything comes out tasting exactly the same. maybe it's just that by march i'm craving fresh, barley cooked veggies and light summer fare. my taste buds have just had enough of hardy, meaty, rich foods. but right now in november, it is exactly what i am craving and this dish really hit the proverbial spot.