Red Wine Braised Leg of Lamb with Carrot & Sweet Potato Mash

This pretentious sounding supper {ps does anyone hate the word 'supper' as much as me?...} is the epitome of food from my culinary perspective. Start to finish this dinner was little to no more effort or time than some down-home, comfort-food-type casseroles I've produced. Honestly. Only it was far more posh and opulent, not to mention infinitely more toothsome. But seriously, please hear me when I say, this was really relatively easy to make, and actually quite fool proof as well!

I made this for my deserving husband for Father's Day, which was celebrated today. He has been so patient and supportive of all of my kitchen escapades, especially the blog -this very blog of which ensures the majority of his meals are served cold succeeding them being photographed

Anyway, in addition to my 'lil leg of lamb {I was actually after Shanks but didn't get to the butcher in time, so this replicated with shanks would be great too!} I made a Carrot and Sweet Potato Mash since my Honey loves Sweet Potatoes. And since I kinda hate them and never make them, I thought that was a pretty nice gift to incorporate them into the meal. And I was in desperate need of gifts since all I had wrapped up for him for his special day were 'coupons'... again. Imagine, another year has rolled by and he still hasn't redeemed his voucher for golf lessons! This year, to make him happy with yet another year of coupons, I threw some in for more pg-13 favors, {ok R -are there any squeamish readers or any kids? Actually I know my parents read this blog too, and my in-laws... should I erase this??}.

Enough about me...{nervous laughter...} So it is rare that I make mashed potatoes, but when I do, I now always incorporate onion and carrot. And I never boil them anymore. I know, crazy right?, but you have GOT to try roasted mash if you never have. It is incredible the flavor that is retained instead of being boiled and then drained out. The carrots and onions give it a sweetness that is incredible. The added Sweet Potatoes in this version were so good too I almost liked them. Freaky.

Please give it a try, even if you are just going to roast potatoes alone rather than boiling, you will be amazed I double-your-money-back-guarantee it!

Red Wine Braised Leg of Lamb

1 Lamb Leg or equivalent shanks

4-ish carrots

1-2 onions

4 + cloves garlic

olive oil

salt

fresh herbs -assorted* {see below}



Heat Dutch Oven to searing, high heat

Meanwhile, pat leg of lamb dry with paper towels and season all sides with plenty of sea salt {like tons, like maybe 2-3 t.?}

Place Lamb into pre-heated Dutch Oven, like so


And sear on all sides until golden brown


Meanwhile trim ends of carrots and slice onions into rings. Crush and peel garlic, and add all into pot with herbs and red wine.

Cover with lid and roast in in a preheated 150 c /300 f degree oven for several hours {I braised for roughly 6-7 hours}

Run juices through a fat separator {LOVE this gadget and use it constantly. It's a must have!} and then reduce over high heat until thickened and serve over lamb and roast mash.

Roasted Mashed Potatoes with Carrot and Sweet Potatoes



1 onion

2-3 cloves garlic

2-3 carrots

4-ish potatoes

2 small sweet potatoes

1/8 -1/4 c. butter

2-4 T. cream

salt

-If you are short on time, cube the vegetables. However, I was making this and leaving it for several hours, so I left the potatoes whole, halved the carrots, and halved the sweet potatoes lengthwise. The onions were cut into quarters, and the garlic left whole and added in the last 1/2 hour of cooking since I was worried it would burn.

I left this in the oven below the braising lamb for 4 hours, to which upon returning home to my delight and surprise it was not burned, but all vegetables were perfectly tender and ready to be mashed.

To prep, drizzle with olive oil and salt and place in oven for desired amount of time. Once roasted, they make look like this



Once tender, take from the pan and place into a mixer. Whip together with butter and cream until fluffy and delicious -testing and making sure they are seasoned well, adding more salt and pepper if necessary.

**If cubing and cooking at higher heat, you could have them roasted and ready in under an hour. Try cubing, roasting at 375 / 190 for 45 minutes or until tender.

The thing I love most about roasting the Mashed Potatoes, is that they are so flavorful that you will be able to resist dripping these in gravy. Of course there will still be gravy or jus, just a little less of it! Besides that though, they are seriously EASIER to make than boiling them. Just cut them up, throw them in, and forget it. No boiling over mess, no burning yourself draining them, making for one less dish to wash. So great. You will love them, I promise!

And the lamb, what can I say. It is fabulous and you will love it too. Go ahead and serve with mint jelly, it's just not my favorite so I don't. *I did cook it with some mint though! I cooked it with a variety of herbs from my garden. I was talking on the phone at the time and got carried away, I think I added something of everything I had except cilantro. It made for a beautiful flavor. Just pick one you like and go for it if you don't have an herb garden. It gets expensive if you don't though, so just go for it and plant one!

Laine's Sweet Shoppe and Soda Fountain Birthday

My daughter's 5th birthday party was in June, and my friend Sals, who is a photographer, took some great shots and just passed them on to me. So I thought I'd share them to get some ideas flowing if anyone is having a birthday party for a little girl anytime in the near future.


I bought this cupcake stand on ebay because I wanted something different, and gender-neutral {thinking I could switch out the color of the ribbon}. I even drove all the way to the city the night before to pick it up. Ohhh, it such a piece. The first thought I had when seeing it was that I could have made that... if I'd wanted something crafty and homemade looking.

It broke within the first hour of us having it when my husband overestimated it's sturdiness and picked it up by the top layer to carry it in, immediately snapping it off.

Besides the cupcake stand, I put the tables together with fruits and goodies in old-timey jars that were then ready to dip in chocolate ganache

Fruits, Biscuit, and Marshmallows with Chocolate Ganache

1 tsp vanilla {optional

1/2 cup cream

2/3 cup chocolate -I used a mix of milk and dark

Melt together over stove on low heat and serve with an assortment of fruits, cookies, biscuits, lollies, etc. If being extra fancy, have toasted coconut or sprinkles to dip in and decorate with.

We also made Italian Sodas to sip on

Italian Sodas

Flavored Syrup -Raspberry, Vanilla, or Ameretto are my favorite*

Half and Half**

Soda Water / Club Soda

To make each Italian Soda, place 1-2 tsp Syrup and then fill the glass half full with soda water / club soda. Top that off with half and half.

*You can find syrups in the grocery store or I purchased mine at a wholesale coffee-house shop

**Half and Half is purchased in the dairy section. If they don't have it, make your own by mixing equal parts of whipping cream and milk

We also decorated cupcakes. I used my Sugar Cookie Cake recipe once more, because it is my favorite. Then I used scrapbook paper to cut out individual cupcake wrappers that were glued on after baking and frosting them.



After blowing out the candles, the girls all decorated their cupcakes with sprinkles and candies, and then we put them into plastic pink Chinese take-out containers lined with glossy tissue paper, pictured above. Then, we tied them each with their own ribbon to tell who's was who's, since the markers were not working to write names!

More pics from the party. It was so fun, but I was not sad to kiss the stress of it goodbye!

Cornflake, Walnut, and Coconut Encrusted French Toast

I was just going to add this on as an update to the last post, but one bite of it yesterday and I realized it deserved it's own post.

I added the coconut, as promised, but added a special, saucy, secret ingredient that probably shouldn't be added for something served before 5 pm, let alone breakfast... RUM!

I had the thought to do this a few times ago, but was a little scared. I knew it would either be a disaster or monumental success, and I wasn't ready to deal with the disappointment if it was the former. But I braved it, and success it was! If you don't have a big old jug of rum like me, go get some of those little rum flavorings on the spice aisle and put a capful in instead.

I actually made one version without rum and it was great, but I vastly preferred the rum version and would make it with or without coconut, every time I make this. I also paired this with bananas, which I have on every other version as I just didn't have any for the picture the other day {or so I though, I did find some special bananas later that day that Gabe had cleverly hidden. I was a little irked I didn't have them for the photo, but relieved I found them before they turned black!} I know from the comments on the last post that many of you felt they were missing!

Anyway, here it is in all it's glory. And I'm even including a pic of the crumbing mixture because it looks good enough to eat on it's own. {It is good enough to eat on it's own}

Recipe is the same as Cornflake and Almond Encrusted French Toast with the exception of adding 2-3 T. rum to egg mixture, switching walnuts for almonds {macadamias would be good but they're not my favorite, sorry! but you do it, DO it!} and adding 1/4 c. + coconut to cornflake blend.

Cornflake and Almond Encrusted French Toast

I have been itching to make this ever since I saw the title 'Cornflake Encrusted French Toast' in the room service menu of that Gaylord Palms Hotel in Orlando when we stayed there in May of this year. I never ordered it, I once again cataloged it as an idea I'd love to reverse manufacture. I think this idea may be more popular than I thought, however, because I just last night saw another version in a food magazine down here.

Anyway, I attempted my version for the first time last week, and it was great, however Ben and I agreed it was lacking a nuttiness we were after. So, thinking that sliced almonds were the most akin to the shape of a cornflake, I crushed those up as well. Though any nut would work, oh wouldn't pecans be just heaven? Even macadamias.

Another thing I'm also going to try next is a coconut version, testing that ditty out first thing tomorrow. I envision the coconut version being the crushed cornflake encrusted brand of french toasts and I'm salivating already.

This is quite easy to make, especially for the great results a little bit more effort achieves! And crunching up cornflakes is both fun and a great stress reliever I've found! Take out all that pent up aggravation on those little bebes!

Cornflake and Almond Encrusted French Toast

1 cup cornflakes

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1-2 T. brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla or used vanilla bean pod

4-6 slices of bread



In a ziploc bag, crunch up the cornflakes. Crush or chop the nuts and add to the cornflakes, along with half of the cinnamon and mix well. Pour into a shallow dish.

In another shallow dish, crack the eggs and whisk. Add the salt, remainder of cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla or vanilla pod and whisk again. Add the milk and give it one final whisk.

Meanwhile Pre-heat a skillet or griddle, and then grease with a little butter.

Dip bread into egg mixture, then into the cornflake mixture and coat evenly.

Grill on the griddle over medium low heat {the cornflakes and nuts will burn on high heat before the middle / eggs is cooked through} until toast is golden brown and cooked through.

Serve with syrup and whipped cream if desired, and bananas are a nice touch as well -I didn't have any for the picture but they are tasty with it trust me!

Tips!

The salt and sugar in the egg mixture are imperative! I think adding the sweetness and salty flavor in this part of the recipe mean you won't have as much need for heaps of syrup on top once they're made.

Not to be a snob, truly, but using good bread is pretty important when bread is the star of the recipe. I use wholewheat / wholemeal bread to make myself feel like I'm making the healthy choice and I look at this recipes as 'dressing up wholewheat bread so it tastes good'.

Mascarpone & Citrus Berry Tarte

ohhh, wouldn't this be just lovely come christmas time...?

Ok, alert! World's EASIEST homemade chic dessert coming atcha! {Too much? Don't be afraid to tell me}

This is homemade chic to a T and tasted as pretty as it looked.

Seriously Forks, {threw that in in my husband's honor. He thinks it's funny, even if no one else does...} this is so, so simple to make and was literally put together, start to finish in about 20 minutes.

I got the idea from a picture I saw from afar, it was in a Donna Hay book my friend had recieved for her birthday and someone at the birthday brunch pointed it out, remarking that it looked tasty and beautiful. I agreed. I didn't glance at the recipe, I didn't want to. I just wanted to take the basic idea communicated to me in photo form, and create it with the flavors I had in mind and make it my own.

Later my friend later told me she had since made it and started to tell me the recipe and how you do it. I resisted the urge to plug my ears and sing obnoxiously, and instead I listened politely but was really doing a classic Homer Simpson fantasy {not of him! just one reminsent of the ones he does in his head when he's not paying attention} in my head because I did not want to know! I didn't want anything to taint the recipe I'd already created in my head the minute I saw the photo.

I don't know what it was even called originally, and mine resembles the creation but I did a several things differently, in style, and beyond that I don't know since I don't know what hers was made of. I've actually got some additional ideas stirring around to create some different versions to add to my repertoire of tartes of this brand -which is good since this was so good and easy that I'm planning on making slightly different versions of it any time I'm in a pinch for something easy but classy. Which, yes, I know, by even insinuating something is classy you simultaneously cancel out anything classy about it, but this time I beg your pardon, it is classy.

Anyway, as a teaser of things to come, I'll start the repertoire building as soon as tomorrow when I make it again but in individual serving style. I'm also envisioning a more custard-like cream version as well. And you could always mix it up with different kinds of berries or even other fruits. Ohhhh, and a large circle one put onto a pretty pretty cake plate would be tempting and oh so brunchable...

Mascarpone & Citrus Berry Tarte

1-2 sheets frozen puff pastry

1 cup fresh, frozen, or freeze dried raspberries

1/4 cup sugar {I used vanilla sugar, but eh, whatevs} {ps -I'm out of touch, are people still saying whatevs?}

Mascarpone Citrus Cream:

3/4 cup cream

1/3 cup mascarpone cheese

1 vanilla bean {or 1 tsp vanilla extract, but I highly recommend the beans!}

fresh grated zest from one orange

fresh grated zest from one lemon

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1-2 T. milk, if needed

Whilst layers of light and flaky pastry baked up on a sheet pan until golden brown for about 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees...

I rehydrated my raspberries in some grape juice and added the sugar. A sauce formed because I dug down to the powdery, broken up bits at the bottom of the can. It was perfect. Can be easily replicated with fresh or frozen berries and the sugar.

Meanwhile, I made the Citrus Cream by whipping the cream until nearly soft peaks were formed, then added the mascarpone, vanilla bean, and citrus zests. I continued whipping, adding any milk to thin it out if it got too thick, and then added the sugar, giving it one final whip to incorporate.

I allowed my pastry to cool, then topped with berries

Followed by the cream and some garnishes -frozen raspberries and some leaves from my front yard. So, so easy.

Keep this one in your back pocket ladies and gents. Seriously, back pocket-it now.

And PS Freeze dried raspberries keep well and puff pastry stores in the freezer and who doesn't have some cream and citrus on hand? You could easily do lime zest if you only had limes or use cream cheese instead of mascarpone... so much you can do with this. Endless possibilities, I can't help but get a little bit giddy about it!

UPDATE! Here are those individual tartes I promised! I used some cookie cutters and then hand-cut the squares. They are all various sizes but equally chic, and still easy. I love me a little dessert amouse bouche!