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After buying a cute little mill house in Five Points, renovating it and thinking we would never live anywhere else we decided to move. To a rancher. A pink rancher. So not us. But, it will be, with time, elbow grease and good contractors! From the first time we walked in the front door we knew we were home. The new house is right around the corner from my parent's house where I grew up. We are so excited for Matthew and Charlotte to grow up here, riding bikes, going to the pool, playing in the woods... my childhood was filled with freedom and wonder allowed by a safe neighborhood that I could explore and make my place in the world. I am thrilled we can give that to our children.
These days our blog is filled with the adventures of Mateo and Charlotte...mixed in with a few home projects and recipes. But mostly the kids take front and center. Join us on the adventure!
27.12.10
Roast Leg of Lamb test kitchen
I have been dying to prepare a leg of lamb ever since I returned from Spain, but somehow have never gotten around to it. We used to do this in Spain all of the time (with suckling lamb...sorry) and whenever I tried it at home, it just never came out the same as in the restaurants of Segovia. This is quite frustrating, as usually I can prepare the same meal I had in a restaurant with pretty good success, if not even better :-)
So, finally, I am getting around to it this Christmas. First I tested it out on Paul's brothers family with some success. It was good, but not fall off the bone good like in Segovia. So, in Hilton Head, Dean and I plotted on how to get the same results as in the wood burning ovens of Segovia.
We purchased two lamb shanks from Fresh Market and brined them the night before. The brine included salt and sugar that had been dissolved (a key step I have not done before) and the juice of one orange and some fresh chopped rosemary.
Around 3pm we arranged a bed of onions, potatoes and carrots and placed the lamb shakes on top to slowly roast at 200 degress F until we were more or less satisfied it would fall off the bone. This turned out to be about 5 hours. I wish I knew the weight we were cooking, but we just didn't pay attention.
So, finally, I am getting around to it this Christmas. First I tested it out on Paul's brothers family with some success. It was good, but not fall off the bone good like in Segovia. So, in Hilton Head, Dean and I plotted on how to get the same results as in the wood burning ovens of Segovia.
We purchased two lamb shanks from Fresh Market and brined them the night before. The brine included salt and sugar that had been dissolved (a key step I have not done before) and the juice of one orange and some fresh chopped rosemary.
Around 3pm we arranged a bed of onions, potatoes and carrots and placed the lamb shakes on top to slowly roast at 200 degress F until we were more or less satisfied it would fall off the bone. This turned out to be about 5 hours. I wish I knew the weight we were cooking, but we just didn't pay attention.
 |
| Ready to go in the oven! |
 |
| Slow Roasting.... |
The potatoes and carrots were not as juicy as I'd have liked them to be, so we took them out and added them to a the cast iron skillet with a little bit of butter and white wine to let them saute on a higher heat and get some color! They turned out delish!
Unfortunately, we were too excited to photograph the end result, but I will say this...I cried, it was so good. Thank you Dean for helping me recreate this treasured dish from Spain!
12.12.10
Happiness Cake
This Christmas Eve we are preparing traditional Polish fare for Grammy, Paul's grandmother. I have two of her cookbooks from Massachusetts and discovered the most amazing recipe: Happiness Cake!
1 cup of good thoughts
2 cups sacrifice
3 cups forgiveness for others
1 cup kind deeds
1 cup consideration
2 cups of own thoughts (well beaten)
Mix thoroughly, add tears of joy, sorrow and sympathy. Flavor with love and kind service. Blend 4 cups of prayers, faith and enthusiasm. Blend well with human kindness. Spread all into your daily life. Serve with a smile all the time and it will satisfy the hunger of many people less fortunate than ourselves.
----
During this Christmas Season, may
"The LORD bless you
and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”
- Numbers 6: 24-26
1 cup of good thoughts
2 cups sacrifice
3 cups forgiveness for others
1 cup kind deeds
1 cup consideration
2 cups of own thoughts (well beaten)
Mix thoroughly, add tears of joy, sorrow and sympathy. Flavor with love and kind service. Blend 4 cups of prayers, faith and enthusiasm. Blend well with human kindness. Spread all into your daily life. Serve with a smile all the time and it will satisfy the hunger of many people less fortunate than ourselves.
----
During this Christmas Season, may
"The LORD bless you
and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”
- Numbers 6: 24-26
Fall 2010
I have been remiss in posting...a lot has happened this fall with family and friends :-)
We had a great visit from Whit, Erin and Miss Abby! Pops (my dad, her grandfather) finally got to meet the cutest girl in the world and we had everyone over for a shrimp boil on a beautiful fall afternoon!
We had a great visit from Whit, Erin and Miss Abby! Pops (my dad, her grandfather) finally got to meet the cutest girl in the world and we had everyone over for a shrimp boil on a beautiful fall afternoon!
 |
| Dad meeting Miss Abby |
Shrimp Boil at 1514
1.12.10
Cast Iron Skillet Deep Dish Pizza
As for the recipe, there isn't one. It was a complete mishap. Here's what happened...
I had purchased pre-made fresh pizza dough from Earth Fare and Paul and I had split it in two: I like lots of veggies on my pizza and he prefers protein only. Unfortunately, the dough didn't quite rise the way it was supposed to and when Paul went to roll it out it fell apart on him. Determined, he continued building his pizza...adding a ton of tomato sauce, ham and cheese...when he went to transfer the pizza from the peel to the pizza stone in the oven, all hell broke loose. Completely unsalvageable...holes everywhere, sauce everywhere...and it wouldn't budge. nothing.
I knew it needed to go into some sort of deep container to bake when I spied my smallest cast iron skillet and thought hmmmm....this could work...what did we have to lose at this point? Soooo, I took the dough (in pieces at this point) and scooped up the sauce and snuggled it into the bottom of the pan and then we proceeded to add cheese, meat, more cheese, more sauce and parmesan to top it all off...we then baked it in the oven @ 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, until the dough was golden and easily came out of the pan...and amazingly it resembled the chicago style deep dish pizza that my brother treated us to this summer...yum!
This happened last night and I wish we had taken pics of our results :-) We decided that next time I buy pizza dough, we'll use the bigger cast iron skillet and give it another try!
stay tuned....
I had purchased pre-made fresh pizza dough from Earth Fare and Paul and I had split it in two: I like lots of veggies on my pizza and he prefers protein only. Unfortunately, the dough didn't quite rise the way it was supposed to and when Paul went to roll it out it fell apart on him. Determined, he continued building his pizza...adding a ton of tomato sauce, ham and cheese...when he went to transfer the pizza from the peel to the pizza stone in the oven, all hell broke loose. Completely unsalvageable...holes everywhere, sauce everywhere...and it wouldn't budge. nothing.
I knew it needed to go into some sort of deep container to bake when I spied my smallest cast iron skillet and thought hmmmm....this could work...what did we have to lose at this point? Soooo, I took the dough (in pieces at this point) and scooped up the sauce and snuggled it into the bottom of the pan and then we proceeded to add cheese, meat, more cheese, more sauce and parmesan to top it all off...we then baked it in the oven @ 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, until the dough was golden and easily came out of the pan...and amazingly it resembled the chicago style deep dish pizza that my brother treated us to this summer...yum!
This happened last night and I wish we had taken pics of our results :-) We decided that next time I buy pizza dough, we'll use the bigger cast iron skillet and give it another try!
stay tuned....
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