is it Yuletide yet?
Fic is posted, though I'm still fiddling with it a bit.
Today is the Sunday-equivalent of my work week, so I'm doing laundry and cooking. I wanted to use up some lamb shoulder that's been in my freezer for a couple of months, so I'm braising the lamb with preserved lemon and olives, spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric. The recipe is one I've made before with chicken and loved, and I thought lamb might be even better with those strong flavors.
Later today I'm going to bake a pumpkin loaf with cream cheese frosting. I'm merging two different recipes, because I want a flavor profile that's close to the pumpkin cream cheese muffins they sell at Starbucks, but in convenient loaf form.
I seem to have bought a ham for Christmas. I've been craving ham for a long time, but to get decent quality ham you have to buy at least a half ham, and that's a lot. But hams were on sale, and a quantity of ham (nine and a half pounds, or almost four kilos) that is ridiculous at any other time seems less so at Christmas. It's not as though I'll have any difficulty thinking of ways to use the leftovers.
I have Christmas Eve off (OMG YAY! I was not expecting that) and that's probably when I'll cook, because I've become attached to the idea of going to see The Imitation Game when it opens on Christmas Day. Though, could there be a more depressing movie to watch on Christmas? And I still can't get definite info on whether it'll actually be playing in my city on Christmas.
What are all of you up to? Cooking anything tasty? Reading/watching anything good?
ETA: The lamb was delicious. The slightly-tart savoriness of the broth beautifully balances out the richness and gaminess of the meat. I've added a recipe of sorts below the cut.
Lamb with preserved lemon and olives
Olive oil
3 pounds bone-in lamb shoulder chops, fat trimmed off, meat removed from bones as best you can and cut into chunks, bones reserved
2 medium red onions, cut in half and thinly sliced
1/3 cup or so coarsely grated ginger (use the large holes on a box grater)
8-10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground chile of your choice (OPTIONAL; I used deggi mirch, a mildish Indian chile)
1 large cinnamon stick
1 quart chicken stock (commercial is fine, but use the low salt kind)
2 cups or so mixed olives, pitted if desired (I used half oil-cured olves--the black wrinkly ones--and half a "Greek mix" of black and green olives)
2 preserved lemons, each cut into 8 wedges
1 fresh lemon, quartered
3 tablespoons or so honey
A handful of cilantro or Italian parsley leaves
In a Dutch oven or other large, moderately deep pot, brown the lamb bones and meat in olive oil and set aside. Add a generous glug more oil to the pan and add the onion, cooking over medium heat until it has softened and is beginning to brown. Add the ginger, garlic, ground cinnamon, cinnamon stick, turmeric, and chile and cook for another minute or two. Deglaze the pan with some of the chicken stock, add the browned lamb and bones, and add the rest of the stock. The ingredients should be almost but not completely covered; add a little water if needed. Bring up to a simmer and cook on a very slow simmer for an hour or so. Add the preserved lemon, fresh lemon, olives, and honey and keep cooking until the meat is as tender as you want. Add the cilantro or parsley and serve over regular couscous, Israeli couscous, or rice. You can (and should!) eat the preserved lemon pieces, but the fresh lemon should probably just be set aside.
Note: Originally this was a chicken dish, so you can substitute about 3-4 pounds chicken thighs for the lamb. Brown the chicken well, especially the skin side, and drain the excess fat. You may not need as much stock. Add the lemon and olives right away and simmer for about an hour.
Crossposted at Dreamwidth (
comments); you can comment here or there.
Today is the Sunday-equivalent of my work week, so I'm doing laundry and cooking. I wanted to use up some lamb shoulder that's been in my freezer for a couple of months, so I'm braising the lamb with preserved lemon and olives, spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric. The recipe is one I've made before with chicken and loved, and I thought lamb might be even better with those strong flavors.
Later today I'm going to bake a pumpkin loaf with cream cheese frosting. I'm merging two different recipes, because I want a flavor profile that's close to the pumpkin cream cheese muffins they sell at Starbucks, but in convenient loaf form.
I seem to have bought a ham for Christmas. I've been craving ham for a long time, but to get decent quality ham you have to buy at least a half ham, and that's a lot. But hams were on sale, and a quantity of ham (nine and a half pounds, or almost four kilos) that is ridiculous at any other time seems less so at Christmas. It's not as though I'll have any difficulty thinking of ways to use the leftovers.
I have Christmas Eve off (OMG YAY! I was not expecting that) and that's probably when I'll cook, because I've become attached to the idea of going to see The Imitation Game when it opens on Christmas Day. Though, could there be a more depressing movie to watch on Christmas? And I still can't get definite info on whether it'll actually be playing in my city on Christmas.
What are all of you up to? Cooking anything tasty? Reading/watching anything good?
ETA: The lamb was delicious. The slightly-tart savoriness of the broth beautifully balances out the richness and gaminess of the meat. I've added a recipe of sorts below the cut.
Lamb with preserved lemon and olives
Olive oil
3 pounds bone-in lamb shoulder chops, fat trimmed off, meat removed from bones as best you can and cut into chunks, bones reserved
2 medium red onions, cut in half and thinly sliced
1/3 cup or so coarsely grated ginger (use the large holes on a box grater)
8-10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground chile of your choice (OPTIONAL; I used deggi mirch, a mildish Indian chile)
1 large cinnamon stick
1 quart chicken stock (commercial is fine, but use the low salt kind)
2 cups or so mixed olives, pitted if desired (I used half oil-cured olves--the black wrinkly ones--and half a "Greek mix" of black and green olives)
2 preserved lemons, each cut into 8 wedges
1 fresh lemon, quartered
3 tablespoons or so honey
A handful of cilantro or Italian parsley leaves
In a Dutch oven or other large, moderately deep pot, brown the lamb bones and meat in olive oil and set aside. Add a generous glug more oil to the pan and add the onion, cooking over medium heat until it has softened and is beginning to brown. Add the ginger, garlic, ground cinnamon, cinnamon stick, turmeric, and chile and cook for another minute or two. Deglaze the pan with some of the chicken stock, add the browned lamb and bones, and add the rest of the stock. The ingredients should be almost but not completely covered; add a little water if needed. Bring up to a simmer and cook on a very slow simmer for an hour or so. Add the preserved lemon, fresh lemon, olives, and honey and keep cooking until the meat is as tender as you want. Add the cilantro or parsley and serve over regular couscous, Israeli couscous, or rice. You can (and should!) eat the preserved lemon pieces, but the fresh lemon should probably just be set aside.
Note: Originally this was a chicken dish, so you can substitute about 3-4 pounds chicken thighs for the lamb. Brown the chicken well, especially the skin side, and drain the excess fat. You may not need as much stock. Add the lemon and olives right away and simmer for about an hour.
Crossposted at Dreamwidth (
comments); you can comment here or there.