Mary Had A Little Goat

One of the things I like best about cooking (and eating) is trying new foods.  I might have to draw the line at Sweetbreads--to my credit I tried it and did not like it--but you never know what something is going to taste like until you try it. 

5 Hour Goat from the NY TimesI first tried goat a couple of years ago.  I but most of my meat at our local farmer's market and Forest, the meat guy, had a leg of goat.  I prepared it the way I usually prepare a leg of lamb--covered with Julia Child's mustard, garlic and herb coating and roasting in a 325 degree oven.  The flavor was delicious.  It's similar to lamb, but actually more mild and sweet.  The only problem is that goat meat is leaner than lamb and much more tough.

I was really excited a few months ago when the NY Times Food Section featured goat including a recipe for 5 hour roast leg of goat.  I just happened to have a leg of goat in my freezer, so I decided to try the recipe yesterday.  It is amazing!  It is basically Osso Bucco--a braise with onions, garlic, wine and spices--but with a goat shank and lots (10 cloves) of garlic.  The meat fell off the bones and was juicy and flavorful.  If you can't get goat, try this recipe with a leg of lamb.  This is a great recipe for dinner parties because you can prep it before hand and it cooks with minimal monitoring while you hang out with your guests.

Easy Entertaining

Fish with tomatoes and mushroomsI had an ultimate kitchen klutz moment this week.  One of my best friends was visiting from New Mexico.  I was really excited to see her, but I had a long day at work and I was kind of flustered.  I pulled together a last minute meal--cheese (my new favorite, pierre robert) to start, followed by a trio of fish roasted with tomatoes, mushrooms and parano cheese.  I decided to make rice to accompany the fish.  I just poured a delicious glass of Starry Night Zinfandel (another favorite) and indulged in a single sip.  I'm not certain about the exact sequence of events but somehow the rice jumped out of the cabinet, crashed into the cutting board on the counter, which flew into my glass of wine sending the glass and its precious contents onto the floor.  I was covered in wine and glass shards and ran upstairs to let my guest clean up the mess I made.  Martha Stewart beware; I truly am the most gracious host ever.

Men Praise This Fruit Pie

Cherry PieMaybe it's the warm comfort of summer, or the fact that the fruit in the farm market looks so good so that I buy too much and then have to cook it before it rots, or simply that I love pie, but I've been baking a lot lately and I'm not a baker.  I recently made my favorite pie, cherry.  I know from experience that men (and women) do praise this fruit pie, but I have to share a few more baking tips from my 1965 edition of the Farm Journal's pie cookbook:

• Take a thimble from your sewing basket.  Wash and use it for a pattern to cut steam vents."
• Today's farm homemakers usually bake at least a couple of extra pies while they have the rolling pin out and the ingredients handy.
• Every neighborhood has a few women experienced in cooking who are locally famous for their crusts and pies.  Some beginners (often brides) believe these homemakers are born with special talents.  They don't realize how many of them learned by the discouraging "trial and error" method no longer necessary with up-to-date recipes and directions.

Apricot, Peach, Maple MuffinsBesides pie, muffins are great for summer.  They are easy to make, and tasty.  I hate really heavy muffins.  I prefer the breading to be a conduit for the fruit.  It's July and local peaches and apricots are already plentiful, so I created a delicious recipe based off a King Arthur Flour Muffin Recipe, using maple syrup and lots of spices.

I'll conclude with some more entertaining advice from the Farm Journal.  "Remember that Pies please men.  Since men are the great pie eaters and promoters, let's give a rancher friend the last word--his definition of his favorite dessert: "A triangle of pie is the best way ever discovered to round out a square meal."  Now to find my sewing basket...

Italian Influences

Grilled Veal Chops with Caprese SaladWhen I was growing up, I didn't really like Italian food.  This was probably because I never had "real" Italian food; the heavy, gloppy, flavorless masses called "Italian Food" in the US are a poor substitute.  Italian food is remarkably light, simple, and very flavorful.  Ingredients, however, are key. 

Sadly, we got back from Bermuda yesterday.  After six days of eating fish, I craved red meat.  I seasoned a couple of veal chops with olive oil, fresh garlic, salt and pepper and grilled them over charcoal.  Veal is very tender and the meat didn't not require a true marinade with vinegar.  However (and this is a trick I learned in Italy) I drizzled the chops in a little more olive oil and high quality Balsamic Vinegar before I served them.  The tangy sweetness of the vinegar enhanced the meat.  I served the chops with a tomato and mozzarella salad.  It was a delicious meal!

Ode to Rum

Forget the Bermuda Triangle. The most dangerous thing about this Island is all of the delicious cocktails made with the local liquor, rum. Rum and tropical climates work so well because the sugar cane based rum mixes seamlessly with the naturally sweet fruit juices. The island is famous for a few cocktails. The mighty tasty Rum Swizzle, which was invented on the island, is a combination of lemon, orange, and pineapple juices and rum. It is sweet because of all of the juices, but its perfect for a hot and lazy afternoon on the beach.

Bermuda is also famous for its Dark and Stormies, and no, I’m not talking about rough seas. Dark and Stormies are a simple combination of dark rum and ginger beer. When mixed properly, the dark rum clouds with clear ginger beer, and leaves a sea froth like foam on top. Don’t confuse ginger beer with ginger ale. They are not the same. Ginger beer is by far spicier (unlike American ginger ale you can actually taste the ginger) and less sweet. I hope I can find genuine ginger beer in the US!

Another delicious cocktail is the yellowbird, a combination of orange juice, pineapple juice, banana liquor, vanilla liquor, and, of course, Rum.