Roger's View of the World, Love and Seafood Gumbo!
Seize the Day! Put no trust in the morrow! — Horace
My daughter Karla knows I am very fond of the milk our dairy folk produce in California and she drew the lovely drawing of me milking a cow the old fashioned way. Part of my fondness is that there really is a difference in taste, even the non-fat milk tastes richer and thicker!
This holiday season, I am looking forward to making my version of George Washington’s Eggnog with real California Heavy Cream!
Boys and Girls, I am now going to tell you a story much like Chef Gordon Ramsay might do… but without the required expletives. Steaks do not come a steak tree, turkeys are not grown without heads and virtually everything that we prefer to eat once roamed, flew or swam somewhere. Oh yes, they may have also slithered or slimed there way along.
The article I wrote for a local on-line news service is on the joy of hunting for a great meal and how it can go from the wild to your dinning table. Although I am a hunter, I never thought I would have the opportunity to go on a Safari for really large game… but thanks to well timed events… here I go!
Kokkari restaurant is a favorite stop of mine in San Francisco. It is a wonderful Greek Estiatorio offering orginal and traditional Greek cuisine. Recently, I picked up their cookbook and read how they prepared my favorite dish… their ‘reddened lamb shank.’ A lamb shank is nice if you aren’t into ‘sharing’, but I wondered if I could make it in a similar fashion using an entire leg of lamb? The answer is yes!
Part of the key to any good meal is in the preparation, but one has to tip ones “Toque” to the key role quality ingredients play. My lamb came from Superior Farms and was exceptional in every way. My herbs and seasoning was fresh … and the Greek wine I consumed in the process made it all very festive. Opa!
We didn’t have lamb growing up ( although I am told we did) as it was expensive compared to a diet of all-you-can-eat carrots. However, it has been one of my favorite foods.
Here is how I prepared (basic recipe) my lego of lamb!
My daughter Karla wanted to take a picture of ‘hungry Dad’ … believe me, little acting was required in this photo!
Nothing was leftover in this meal!
It’s amazing how many recipes there are for the humble Lemon Square. Many of them reflect the rationing of expensive or hard to find ingredients. Some have a pie crust, some have only a hint of lemon and others seem to be little more than a lemony glaze over cookie dough.
Personally, I think that the crust needs to be as good as the custard and I use a quality short bread for the base. I have been experimenting with adding more custard and I think this works out fairly well now. I can’t imagine that anyone could get a tangy lemon taste without ample amounts of lemon zest (I add about 1/3 the amount of lemon zest with orange).
the crust
1 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 cups flour
2 1/4 cubes of butter (.6 lbs)
3/4 tsp salt
combine and cook at 350 degrees F. for around 20 minutes
NOTE: often I only lay the crust on the bottom and not the sides.. but if I put dough on the side, I do not allow the dough to go higher than the filling. Personally, I don’t like overly browned crust.
the filling
1 1/3 cup lemon juice
4 cups confectioner’s sugar
8 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon zest
2/3 tablespoon orange zest
1 teaspoon baking flour
350 degrees F. for 30 minutes
You can modify this recipe for pans with steeper sides if you want to reproportion the ingredients and make a thicker custard…
yum!
In my ever ending search for culinary wonders, I found a delightful Olive Oil wrestled from the semi arid hills of ancient Greece. One can almost sense the presence of ancient Sparta in the exquisite flavor of this fine oil.
If you never have an opportunity to visit ancient Sparta (BTW, you will find few pictures of the area on the internet with the exception of this fine Lykovouno Web Site) you should stop and visit the olive groves nearby. The story is charming , it tells of a San Francisco dematologist returning to his ancestral home to rekindle a business. Fortunately for me, I discovered in reading his web site that he has a number of outlets in Northern California!
‘Lykovouno’ means something like ‘Wolf Mountain’ and one can almost see Spartan King Leonidas as a boy traveling and killing a wolf… maybe on this very mountain as his rite of passage. Spartan Boys were sent out to fend for themselves to test their worthiness, often having to steal, capture or hunt to eat.
So whether you are planning a Greek Feast or for everyday cooking, Lykovouno (pronounced Lee-ko-voo-no) Olive oil is wonderful. HERE is the site!