Braised Lamb with Hokkaido Squash and Swiss Cheese Mash

The name of the recipe sounds more intimidating than it really it is. It's actually pretty simple. For Christmas, my husband bought me two cookbooks, one of the two was Gary Rhodes Cookery Year: Fall into Winter. Whenever my husband gifts me with a cookbook, it's sort of a present for himself as well, because he's the first to dive in looking for recipes he'd like for me to try. It's perfectly fine, though! I love to try new things and  the recipes he usually chooses are very different from anything I would think to try myself.


The cut of lamb that I actually braised was the shanks and arm chops. Why? Well, originally I just wanted 4 lamb shanks, but my local butcher, a halal butcher, only had two left. There were also some lamb arm chops available which I read are actually really good to braise so I bought two of those. Lamb shank is cut from the arm of shoulder, contains leg bone and part of round shoulder bone, and is covered by a thin layer of fat and fell (a thin, paperlike covering). This cut of lamb is pretty tough, so one of the best cooking method for it is braising or slow cooking to get that meat nice and fall from the bone tender! It's also a very cheap cut, so this meal looks fancy, but it's pretty cheap! Perfect for an elegant Valentine's dinner on a budget!

The flavor of the lamb was perfection, but not as strong due to long simmering, made fancy with a red wine, and aromatics. The squash with the gruyere cheese was truly a delight. I am not a fan of swiss cheese, but the delighful collaboration on the nutty, slightly sweet squash and the bold, creamy gruyere was absolutely divine. This would make an heavenly side dish with any meal. Originally this recipe called for pumpkin, but from the time I read through the recipe I knew I was going to use hokkaido squash instead! Please give this a try if you want impress your loved ones, lover(s), friends hell anyone. You're welcome ;)



Braised Lamb Shanks With Hokkaido Squash and Swiss Cheese Mash
Slight changes from Gary Rhodes: Cookery Year, pg 59
Printable Recipe
Ingredients
4 lamb shanks
Salt and Pepper
2-3 tablespoons cooking oil
Large knob of butter (heaping tablespoon)
2 onions, each cut into 6 wedges
2 carrots ut into 1/2 inch slices
3 celery sticks, cut into 1/2 inch slices
4 garlic cloves
Large sprig of thyme
2 bay leaves
Juice of 2 oranges and rind of 1
1 bottle full-bodied wine
600ml or 1 pint water
Generous pinch of turbinado sugar
Cornstarch, optional

For Squash
2 1/4lb hokkaido squash, peeled, seeded, and diced about an inch wide
Large knob of butter (heaping tablespoon)
1 heaping tablespoon shallots, chopped finely
Freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoon greek yogurt
2 or 3 oz Gruyere cheese, grated

Directions
Preheat oven to 325F (160 C). Season lamb with salt and pepper. Heat the cooking oil in a large frying pan. roasting pan or dutch oven with cover. When at a medium heat, place the lamb in pan and slowly fry until golden brown all over. This will take up to 15-20 minutes and  a good percentage of the lamb fat will be released. Remove from pan keep warm on plate covered in aluminum foil. Discard any lamb fat and return pan.


Add knob of butter and then add cut vegetables,  garlic cloves, thyme, and bay leaves in the pot. Cook over moderated heat they begin to soften, about 10-15 minutes.


 At this point, add orange juice, orange rind, red wine, 600 ml or 1 pint water and turbinado sugar. Bring to a simmer.

Add lamb to the pot, cover, and put pot into preheated oven.


The secret to really good lamb shanks is to cook them very slowly. This will take about 2-3 hours, be sure to check every 30 minutes, turning and basting the lamb joints, and checking their tenderness. This will quite easily be identified by applying slight pressure by hand or with a spoon- the meat should give, almost wanting to fall from the bone. During the cooking time, should the simmering process be too lively, simply reduce temperature of the oven. After 2 hours have a good check. If still slight firm, leave for another 30 to 60 minutes to achieve perfect carve with spoon texture.

Once cooked, carefully lift the shanks from the pot and keep warm to one side, Strain the liquid through a sieve. If you wish, to serve th vegetables, garlic and herbs, they can be kept with the lamb. The cooking liquid can be served as thin or thick as you want. Be sure to skim impurities from top of liquid during simmering and not to reduce more than half or else wine flavor with be too intense with the lamb. If your looking for a thicker consistency, simply add a tablespoon of cornstarch and whisk briskly until combined, then thickened. Return  shanks and vegetables (if desired) to liquid and warm through for 10-15 minutes.



For Squash

The last 30 minutes the shanks are braising, prepare squash. Add large knob of butter to saucepan, and once bubbling, add shallots. Cook for a few minutes then add squash. Gently cook with out covering, then add 4 tablespoons of water, then cover with lid.

 Cook for 10-15 minutes gently stirring occasionally. Once cooked, drain, then add to serving dish and mash. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg; then add greek yogurt. Spread out nicely, then add grated gruyere cheese. By this time, shanks should be out of oven, so preheat the broiler, then broil squash until cheese turns golden and bubbly.


Serve along with lamb and veggies. Enjoy! preferably with a glass of red!

Peach Barbecue Chicken Personal Topped Pizzas

For a sunny winter's day a sunny dinner is the perfect fit!

I was craving mangoes, but I wanted to make pizza the following night. I looked in my fridge hoping to have some mangoes left over from a previous dinner. None they were eaten. Looked in my freezer for frozen mangoes. None. However while scrummaging, I found some frozen peaches and had an awesome idea. I love pizza with barbecue sauce and it's my son's favorite way since he isn't keen on tomato sauce. So I had the great idea of making a peach barbecue sauce. I've made mango barbecue sauces many times and the whole family thoroughly enjoys it, so I thought peaches would be a great as well. My son doesn't like peaches, or at least he THINKS he doesn't like peaches so I thought this would be a great way to sneak him some.

The peaches were completely thawed, still had specks of ice. My daughter kept sneaking chunks while I was looking the other way!

Sauces are the perfect way to sneak healthy veggies or fruits your children wouldn't at at first site. Check out how I got my son to eat a Hokkaido Squash this past autumn. I am a sneaky Mama. But hey, a mama's gotta do what a mama's gotta do.

This sauce has a great kick and you and your children will love the slight sweetness of the peach paired with the shredded chicken. It's certainly a treat for your taste-buds!! Using whole wheat flour in the makes this pizza less guilty and more healthy.  If you don't like spice, use a dash of red pepper flakes or none at all. My spice hating daughter gobbled these down! Hope you give these a try!

Peach Barbecue Chicken Topped Personal Pizzas

Printable Recipe

For dough

From Cuisine at Home Specials Simple, Healthy & Delicious

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour or whole wheat flour (i used this!)

1t kosher salt

1/2 cup warm water

2 1/4 t or one pack of active dry yeast

2 T honey

1 T olive oil

For Peach Barbecue Sauce

Adapted from Epicurious

1 lb frozen or fresh peaches 

1 medium red onion, chopped about 3/4 cup

1/2 t scotch bonnet pepper finely chopped

1 T canola oil

1/4 cup bourbon

2 1/2 T honey

2t dijon mustard

1 t dark brown sugar

1/4 t chili powder

For Chicken*

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 cups chicken broth (homemade or less sodium) or water

1t whole peppercorns

1 cloves of garlic, smashed

1 dried bay leaf

*Leftover chicken or deli rotisserie chicken may be used here instead

For Pizzas

1 cup white cheddar cheese

1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano

Directions

Proof yeast in water with honey until foamy, 5 minutes; add oil

Combine flours and salt in a large bowl making a deep well in the center

Add yeast

Stir with fork until mixture and flours come together. Once together, knead about 5 minutes until smooth. Oil a bowl and cover for 2 hours in a warm draft-free area. Or do as mama did and allow to rise in the refrigerator overnight. 

Meanwhile, make BBQ sauce. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

 Add onions and peppers, cook,  stirring occasionally for 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
 Place in blender and blend until liquefied or use an immersion blender. Place in bowl or jar and set aside. This can be made up to 3 days in advance!

Now on to chicken. In a small saucepan, add chicken, garlic, pepper, and bay leaf.  Cover with water or broth. Bring to a boil then, turn down to low cooking for 10 minutes. Then remove from heat and allow and sit in water for 10 minutes. Once slightly cooled, shred with fingers or fork.

Preheat oven to 475F. If you have a pizza stone, warm that as well on lower rack.

Once dough is doubled in sized, punch down dough (if you did it over night, allow to come to room temp for about 15 minutes first), shape into two balls. Cover balls with plastic wrap and place in a warm draft free area for 30 minutes to rise.

Once risen, shape dough into 8 inch circle with hands or rolling pin. 

Scatter cornmeal on cast iron skillet or baking pan. add dough.

Add BBQ sauce

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Cheddar Cheese

Chicken. 

If desired add a few pieces of chicken to BBQ sauce and place on top. Then top with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano and olive oil.

Cook for 10 minutes or desired crispness. Allow to cool slightly and remove from pan. Then ENJOY!!

This will also taste amazing with some green veggies such as broccoli florets and some crispy shallots! Hope you enjoy this as much as my family did!!!

HAPPY PIZZA MAKING!

Homemade Glazed Donuts and Apple-Pecan Muffins

One tradition I read about whilst making my New Year's Day dinner menu was that round or ring shaped desserts are considered lucky foods. So round cakes and pastries are generally ate on the first day of the New Year. So what round dessert did I go with?? DONUTS!!! Yeah, I want to eat healthier, but how can you NOT want want to make your own donuts? I love challenges and I took this one on.


I immediately googled 'Homemade Doughnut Recipes" and saw that Ree Drummond of the amazing blog The Pioneer Woman had a recipe. I read on and I didn't just want, but NEEDED to try this recipe.



They turned out even more amazing than I thought they would be! They're so light and airy and not overly sweet  and dense like a lot of donut places. I HIGHLY recommend you make these whether you're on a diet or not. Make them for a pot-luck, birthday, Martin Luther King Day, a good hair day, because it's Tuesday just do this!!!! I posted the photos of these lovely rings of awesome on my personal Facebook, flickr, and twitter pages and got so much positive feedback so I had to share with my blog friends and readers!!! Check out the full recipe with amazing photo tutorial HERE.


Please check out Ree's post so you can share her delicious donuts with your friends and family....hell don't share them. You have my permission!


On to a less guilty recipe. And it's from you guessed it....Ellie Krieger! This woman is phenomenal and she really gets me into the idea that eating healthy should be normal not something you do occasionally. Every recipe I've tried by her has been amazing, and I've developed my own delicious healthy recipes because of her.

Since school is starting back soon, I thought a healthy energizing muffin would be excellent. Great for breakfast, after school snack, with coffee; anytime you need a picker upper! They're sweetened mostly with no sugar added apple sauce,  tender apple chunks and the deep molasses flavor of brown sugar. Topped with my favorite pecans and brown sugar, you will for sure have a big hit with your friends and family!! My whole family loved these gorgeous apple-filled treats. Give these babies a shot!!!



Apple-Pecan Muffins
Ellie Krieger
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (i used regular whole wheat flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup natural applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
• 1 Golden Delicious apple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-capacity muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar, the pecans and cinnamon.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flour, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, stir with a wooden spoon the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and oil until combined.

 Add the eggs, 1 at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in the applesauce and vanilla.

Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Stir just until combined.

 Gently stir in the apple chunks.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with the pecan mixture. 

Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold. Cool completely on the rack.

Crab Stock and He Said Yes!

Happy 2011!!! Hope everyone rang/is ringing the New Year in with a bang! Here in Germany you don't have much choice. The fireworks starts going off at least a week prior. It's nice, but I have 3 sleeping babies! Or babies who SHOULD be asleep.

Me? Found out my kitchen sink has a leak. So besides that, I am happy to see another year and to have a lovely healthy family.


So you're wondering who said yes? What are you talking about NOW Mama?


I proposed to my husband (well I did last month)! We've only been married for 3 years and together for 4 years, but our union was not romantic one bit. We were just trying to get the paperwork done and be together which all should matter in the end. I literally went to the Justice of Peace, said my vows, ate a Doner Kebap then went back to work not the sexy work, but work work. Not so romantic, so I want a nice party. Not a big party, but a little party with us and a couple friends. I want to make the cake and the food and even have my hand at the designs with the help my good friend Becca.

 I am SOOOO nervous, but I am going to do it.....by November. Now that I've posted this on my blog, it better happen! Shit! What inspired this was the amazing wedding/post wedding blogs I follow. Their wedding days looks so amazing and I felt guilty that I don't celebrate love. We don't even have a photo from the day we got married. We're too laid back and I want to change that. Not in an extreme way, but instead of babysitting friends children on my anniversary, I will have others babysit my little ones so I can spend quality time with my amazing  husband.

Our SECOND date. That was a shirt I swear, mom.

So to do that I have to tap deeper into my creative side. I've been inspired by the craft blogs I read, I started with my New Year's Day table. Probably not AMAZING. But  it was cheap. Most of the decor came from the 1 Euro store!!! The wreath in the middle was 1 euro cent!



I am starting small. I am not a resolution kind of girl.  Last year my New Year's resolution was "not to get pregnant". My husband had a vasectomy a few months prior so...yeah I better not have gotten pregnant for many reasons!


Another way I am challenging myself this year is of course in the kitchen. Looking to blow your minds with delicious recipes that's range from easy to "DAMN I'm good" challenging. So be ready :)


If you ever make a seafood stew or creamy sauce using homemade stock will make it amazing. I've made chicken and turkey stock, but not seafood. And it's difficult to find here in Germany (even at the commissary). Besides, homemade stock is far more amazing than store-bought anyway!


 For my New Year's Day Menu, I am making a dish featuring crab meat and I be damned if I use the canned crab. So instead I used frozen crab legs which I boiled, cooled, removed meat and saved the shells. Instead of throwing away those shells, I had just enough to make stock!


Awesome foodie Salty Seattle suggested over twitter that I add mirin or fish sauce to flavor the broth. I used fish sauce. This broth is rich, flavor, delectably fragrant and I am excited to put use to this amazing stock!
HI!
Crab Stock
Adapted from epicurious.com
2 pounds picked-over crab shells (cracked or chopped) and /or crab bodies (cut into 1-inch pieces, carapace discarded; see Cook’s Notes), crab tomalley, and, if necessary, shrimp shells or lobster carcasses  2 quarts water
1 medium to large onion, coarsely chopped
1 to 2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes (tomato "guts" or canned or fresh)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 dried bay leaves
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Splash of mirin or fish sauce
Kosher or sea salt

Directions

1. Place the crab bodies, shells, and tomalley (and optional shrimp shells or lobster carcasses) in a 6- to 8-quart stockpot and cover with the water. Bring to a boil, skimming the white foam from the surface of the stock. (Using a ladle and a circular motion, push the foam from the center to the outside of the pot, where it is easy to remove.) Reduce the heat so the stock cooks at a fast, steady simmer.

2. Add the onion, celery, tomatoes, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, and thyme, and let the stock simmer and cook down for about 1 hour. The liquid should just cover the crab shells as the stock cooks; if it doesn’t, just add a little water.

3. Season the stock lightly with salt, mirin/fish stock. Taste for a rich flavor; if it seems light, simmer for about 20 minutes longer.

4. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer. If you are not going to be using it within the hour, chill it as quickly as possible. Cover the broth after it has completely cooled and keep refrigerated for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.