Red & Green Christmas 2014 Feast

We wanted a second pass at the lamb recipe to finalize before posting. (You know it's a winner, if we've repeated it twice in a 2 month stretch of time!!). In fact, we've enjoyed using the general premise of herb and panko crusted meat to chicken and fish as well. The possibilities are endless!

Pomegranate Feta Salad

Michelle’s long and hard fought battle with the pomegranate seeds proved to be worth the effort upon tasting the final product. Next time around, she plans to assign that job to Dennis or hit up Costco for a large package of pre-seeded arils. The star of this dish today was definitely the sheep’s milk feta from Greece from Global Market. Once again showing how you can’t go wrong with quality ingredients.

Ingredients:

For the Dressing:

·         1/4 cup pomegranate juice

·         3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

·         2 TBSP Dijon mustard

·         freshly cracked pepper

·         salt, to taste

·         dried sage (or really any other

 herb of choice)

·         1 TBSP olive oil

For the Salad:

·         greens (any mixture or spinach, kale, arugula, chard, etc. will do)

·         red onion, thinly sliced (additional green onion is optional, but definitely recommended for green & red Xmas feasts!)

·         pomegranate seeds (you could substitute dried cranberries for a large crowd or just in a time crunch)

·         walnuts, chopped and toasted

·         crumbled feta

·         **consider adding diced green apples

Directions:

1.     Prepare dressing by combining all ingredients besides oil.  Constantly whisk dressing while slowly adding oil to emulsify. Taste and adjust to your preferences. Store in the fridge to marinate for at least 20 minutes (preferably longer) before serving.

2.    Just before serving, combine all salad ingredients and toss together.

3.    Serve with dressing and top with additional fresh ground pepper, if desired.

**think about adding dressing about 20 minutes prior to serving to minimize the pre-dinner rush and to allow greens to soak up the yummy dressing flavors

Roasted Mexican Red Pepper & Tomato Soup

Although we were initially surprised and a bit disappointed by the lack of spiciness in the Mexican peppers themselves, we got the hint of zip we desired using a back door approach with spices (Cayenne, Ancho and regular Chile powder, and Smoked Paprika). These spices played nicely with the sweetness of the peppers themselves. We also feel the hint of tamarind highlighted the sweetness of the peppers and nicely offset the spices added later on.

Ingredients for the Red Pepper Soup:

·         3 red bell peppers

·         3-4 celery stalks with the leaves, chopped finely and minced, respectively

·         3-4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

·         1 average shallot, chopped finely

·         1/4-1/2 red onion, chopped finely

·         salt and pepper

·         white wine (drier is better, but whatever you have on hand should work)

·         chicken broth (or homemade turkey broth if you happen to have any on hand)

·         4 Roma tomatoes, or the equivalent in another varietal

·         tamarind chutney

·         paprika

·         ancho chili powder (or regular chili powder, and then add a pinch more cayenne pepper)

·         chili powder

·         cayenne pepper

·         olive oil

Directions:

1.    Set the oven to broil and place the red bell peppers and tomatoes in the oven for approximately 5-10 minutes.  WATCH THEM CLOSELY!  Take them out right when they get a dark char on the outside (alternatively, this can be done on a gas or charcoal grill…it’s not worth heating up the charcoal for just this step, however).

2.    When cooled, remove the skin from the pepper and tomatoes, set them aside.

3.    Add the celery, celery leaves, garlic, shallot, and red onion to you soup pan with a dollop (the official term) of olive oil and some salt and pepper.  Heat on the stove over medium to medium high

4.    Allow this base to cook for a few minutes until the bits are brown and soft and starting to stick to the bottom of the pan…don’t be afraid to let them stick a little bit!

5.    Deglaze the pan with about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the white wine.  Use a spoon to scrape up the bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Allow to reduce for about a minute until the mixture is “swampy”

6.    Add approximately 2 cups of chicken broth (this amount can vary based on how “broth-y” you want your soup. 

7.    Toss in the tomatoes, give a rough chop to the peppers and toss them in as well.

8.    Season with the paprika (1 tsp.), ancho chili powder (1-1.5 tsp.), chili powder (1 tsp.), cayenne pepper (1/2 tsp.), tamarind chutney (1 tsp.), and salt and pepper to taste.  All spice volumes are dependent upon personal taste preferences.

9.    Allow the mixture to cook/reduce for approximately 10-15 minutes.  Make sure the peppers are fairly mushy.

10. Transfer the mixture to a blender (or mix with a blender wand) and mix until very smooth (make sure to start the blender on slow and ramp up the speed).

11. At this point you can strain the mixture…I prefer not to do so, but a strained mixture will be slightly smoother.

12. Return the mixture to the heat, taste and add more of any of the spices and allow it to cook for 5-10 more minutes. 

13. SERVE

Ingredients for the Green Topping:

·         FINELY CHOPPED, amounts can be adjusted based on personal inventory

o   green onion, 2-3

o   garlic, 3 cloves

o   arugula, 1/4 cup

o   chive, 1/6 cup

o   curry leaves, 1/4 cup

o   parsley, 1/4 cup

o   basil, 1/4 cup

·         white wine (drier is still better)

·         chicken broth, 1/2 cup

·         sour cream,1-2 tbl

·         salt and pepper

·         olive oil

Directions:

1.    Add green onion and garlic to a sauce pan with a dollop of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.

2.    Allow this base to cook for a few minutes until the bits are brown and soft and starting to stick to the bottom of the pan…don’t be afraid to let them stick a little bit!

3.    Deglaze the pan with about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the white wine.  Use a spoon to scrape up the bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Allow to reduce for about a minute.

4.    Add the chicken broth and all of the chopped leaves, except for the basil

5.    Cook briefly, uncovered, until the leaves have wilted and cooked through.

6.    Transfer mixture to a blender and blend until the mixture reaches the consistency of a non-chunky spinach artichoke dip. 

7.    Add the basil and continue to blend.  Add more olive oil or chicken broth if the mixture becomes too dry.

8.    Return the mixture to a pan and stir in the sour cream and add more salt and pepper, if necessary, to taste. 

9.    Serve over the Red Pepper Soup (NOTE: adding a bit more sour cream and possibly some parmesan could make this a really nice chip dip)

Herb-Crusted Lamb Chops

We love lamb!  This recipe allows for a lovely herbal and mustard flavored chop and is fairly difficult to mess up!  Be creative with the greens and herbs you use, but the combination of rosemary, parsley, and chives have been my favorite.  Other options would include things like spinach, arugula, basil, and thyme. 

Ingredients:

·         1 full rack of lamb

·         2 tsp olive/canola oil

·         salt and pepper

·         1/3-1/2 cup panko break crumbs

·         HERBS (any combination of the following, finely chopped, and in approximately an equal amount to the quantity of bread crumbs used)

o   rosemary

o   parsley

o   chives

o   oregano

o   green onion tops

o   celery leaves

o   etc.

·         2-3 cloves minced garlic

·         2-3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard

Directions:

1.    Cut a decent amount of the fat off the back of the lamb rack.  Do not worry about getting every last bit, but try to take off a couple of good chunks.

2.    Season the rack of lamb lightly with salt and with pepper.

3.    Take some of the removed lamb fat

(about 1 tablespoon) and cut into 3-4 pieces and place in a cast-iron skillet or sauté pan on high heat.

4.    Wait until the lamb fat has rendered and the pan is hot (add extra olive oil or canola oil, if necessary).

5.    Sear all sides of the lamb until golden brown all over.

6.    Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 15-30 minutes.

7.    Pre-heat oven to 450.

8.    In a small bowl combine your herbs, bread crumbs, garlic, pepper, and light salt.

9.    Spread the cooled lamb rack with the Dijon mustard making a light coating all over.

10. Pat the seasoned breadcrumbs over the entire rack.

11. Place on a cooling rack over a baking pan and place in the oven for approximately 20-25 minutes (longer if you like your lamb more than medium).

12. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into individual chops and serving.

Cranberry-Balsamic Swirl Cheesecake

Not the greatest ending to a very successful meal thus far. We didn’t add enough of the swirl to taste it and we over-cooked the innards of our cheesecakes as well. On a more positive note, the Leibniz cookie crust turned out fantastic. Leibniz cookies are a closet addiction of Michelle’s started during her study abroad in Germany. They are great with Nutella, peanut butter, chocolate, on their own, and apparently as a faux Graham Cracker cookie crust as well. Although the cheesecake and sauces are not worth repeating, we will share the crust recipe.

(amounts are for a typical pie pan or springform 9” round cheesecake pan; we quartered them and put them in our mini springforms)

Ingredients:

·         6 oz. Leibniz cookies, pulsed into fine crumbs with a food processor

·         2 TBSP granulated sugar

·         5 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat 350 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and sugar. Stir in the melted butter until the crumbs are evenly moistened.

3. Pour the mixture into a 9-inch springform pan. Press evenly and firmly to the bottom and about halfway up the sides.  

4. Bake until the crust is fragrant and warm to the touch, 5 to 7 min. The crust should just start turning a deeper shade of golden, but be careful not to let it brown too much. Remove from the oven and cool while you prepare the cheesecake filling.