Smoked Lamb Shanks and Polenta with Grilled Vegetable Ragout

It’s hard to change gears from cooking for eight to cooking for two.....so with a kitchen full of food on Saturday we found ourselves looking out the window to see if any neighbour’s lights were on so we could invite them to join us!  Fortunately, after a full day of hiking in the hills and forest with Pluto we had worked up an appetite. 

It’s hunting season in Ellicottville, so we had to protect our dog with his orange super-hero cape to make him look less like a deer.

Blue Cheese Crackers with Walnuts

These savoury biscuits are delicious served simply as a nibbly, or arranged on a platter with apple or pear slices, soft cheeses, nuts and fruit chutneys or antipasto.

½ cup unsalted butter

½ cup (8oz) gorgonzola cheese

1 cup flour

½ tsp salt

5 ml black pepper, freshly ground

5 ml dry mustard

¼  tsp cayenne pepper

1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp water for egg wash

¼ cup walnuts, chopped finely

1. Cream the butter and gorgonzola cheese together for 1 minute in a large bowl. Add flour, salt, pepper, dry mustard and cayenne pepper and mix on low until the dough comes together in large pieces.  Add 1 tbsp water and mix until combined.

2. Dump the dough onto a floured board and knead lightly. Divide into 2 balls and roll into logs. Brush logs with egg wash and roll in finely chopped walnuts. Wrap in plastic or waxed paper and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 375⁰F(190⁰C). Meanwhile, carefully slice logs into thin coins and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn and bake for another 8 minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Smoked Lamb Shanks

4 lamb shanks

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

4 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground pepper

Red wine

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Brush the shanks with the mustard, and sprinkle with the seasoning and salt and pepper.

Prepare the smoker as outlined in Techniques.  Fill the drip pan with red wine, water and 2 sprigs of rosemary.

Keeping the temperature at 250°, smoke the lamb for about 5 hours, or until very tender.  Be sure to top up the water pan with hot water when necessary. 

Polenta with Gorgonzola

(click on the link for our recipe from April 18, 2011)

When mixing polenta, you know it is ready to turn out when a wooden spoon stands up straight.

Grilled Vegetable Ragout

2 tablespoons olive oil, or more

1 Vidalia onion, coarsely chopped

1 large clove garlic, minced

6 plum tomatoes, halved

1 each yellow and green zucchini, sliced lengthwise

1 each orange and red pepper, cut in large chunks

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 bunch fresh basil, cut into chiffonade

Preheat barbecue and set to LOW.  Meanwhile, sauté onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saucepan until caramelized, about 30 minutes.  Add the garlic, and stir until fragrant, then remove from heat.

Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place them, cut side down, on the upper rack for 15 minutes, then turn and continue to cook until very tender, about another 15 minutes.  Let cool slightly, then slip off the skins and chop roughly.

Grill the zuchinni and peppers and let cool slightly before chopping roughly.

Add all the grilled vegetables to the sauté pan with the onions and heat through.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, place a handful of basil chiffonade on the plate.  Top with the polenta and then the grilled vegetable ragout. 

First Dinner Party of Spring

What did we say about April showers and May flowers?  Where does this snow fit in?!

Bev and Briar braced against wind and snow.

 

Last week we were on very different paths:  Andrea was in England by her son Charlie’s bedside post-op, and the good news is he came through very well.  Andrea and Charlie got to watch one great movie The Lives of Others,  and a string of really bad ones too.  

  Meanwhile, Kris was busy volunteering at the Child Witness Centre 8th Annual Youth Symposium, where 2,000 grade eight students came together to be inspired by some leaders who have overcome challenges in their lives. 

At the end of the week we gathered around the barbecue for some creative development and the earliest dinner party ever (all the guests were gone by 9:45!!  ....yawn!)  On the menu was:

Bev's Arugula Salad with Pecans, Smoked Gouda and Asparagus

Polenta with Gorgonzola and Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette*

Grilled Vegetable Succotash*

Potato Gratin with Caramelized Onions and Emmenthal Cheese

Smoked Beef and Pork Ribs with Spicy Indiana Barbecue Sauce

Ginger Carrot Cake with White Chocolate Frosting

One of our guests, Linda Jarrett, was preparing for the annual MS Walk which was happening the next morning.  She is the top fundraiser for our local chapter with over $18,000 in pledges!  Congratulations, Linda.

Grilled Polenta with Gorgonzola and Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette

Polenta is very versatile and is a great make ahead dish.  The polenta should be prepared in the morning, then let to sit in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat.   We adapted this recipe for grilling by putting the cheese on top instead of inside the polenta.  It is quickly grilled and then ready to garnish and served as an appetizer, side dish or even main course.  Another time, try serving it with a marinara sauce, or for a Mexican twist, with salsa and black beans ( and lots of cilantro!)

Polenta

2 cups cornmeal

6 cups water or chicken stock

1 teaspoon salt

2 tsp Mediterranean rub (stay tuned for more information about our product line; meanwhile, substitute Italian Seasoning)

3 tbsps  butter

Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette

2 tbsp sundried tomatoes, packed in oil, finely chopped

4 tbsp fresh herbs, chopped – we recommend basil and fennel

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp sherry vinegar

½ tsp grainy mustard

½ tsp honey

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

3 ounces gorgonzola cheese, sliced

Prepare polenta by combining cornmeal, water, salt, and herbs in a large saucepan, whisking until blended. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly. As you notice the cornmeal thickening, keep stirring, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir every 3 – 4 minutes to prevent scorching. When polenta is thick and creamy, it will start to pull away from the sides of the pot. Add butter. Transfer to a small baking sheet which has been lined with plastic wrap. Flatten and smooth the surface with your hand, or a flat spatula dipped in water. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours .

Prepare vinaigrette by chopping herbs, sundried tomato, garlic and salt together. Scrape off cutting board and add to glass jar. Add sherry vinegar, grainy mustard, honey and extra virgin olive oil. Shake vigourously and set aside.

Preheat grill on MEDIUM-HIGH. Cut polenta into triangles, brush with oil and grill 4 minutes. Turn and top with gorgonzola cheese and cook another 4 minutes. When ready to serve, drizzle vinaigrette over top. If serving as an appetizer or main course, plate on top of a bed of arugula.

Grilled Succotash

Succotash is typically a combination of late summer corn and beans, but we took our cues from what looked best at the Farmer's Market on Saturday.   Only the tomatoes were grown locally, but there was a big stack of corn from Florida that looked juicy and moist and that inspired the rest of the dish.  The green beans (which would have been our preference) looked sad, so we used sugar snap peas and asparagus instead.

4 cobs corn, husks left on
1 bunch scallions
2 ripe tomatoes, cored and halved
1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed
1/2 pound asparagus, ends snapped
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of one lime
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat barbecue on MEDIUM-HIGH for 10 minutes, reduce heat to MEDIUM-LOW and brush the grids with oil to prevent sticking.  Place the corn on the grill, and turn every 5 minutes until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.  Set aside until cool enough to handle.  Meanwhile, brush the remaining vegetables with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place the tomatoes cut side down on the grill, lay the scallions on the grill on a diagonal, and place the asparagus and sugar snaps (or green beans if using) horizontally on the cooking grids.  Another option is to use a wok topper to minimize vegetables slipping through the grids.  Continue turning and cooking the vegetables until they are softened and have light grill marks.  Cool slightly.

Into a medium bowl, cut the corn nibletts off the cob.  Slip the skins off the tomatoes, then chop them coarsely and add them to the bowl with the corn.  Chop the green vegetables into bite-sized pieces and add them to the bowl.  Sprinkle with lime juice, chopped herbs, and salt and pepper to taste.  Toss to combine well.  Cover and let sit at room temperature for up to 2 hours.