March 15 – The Ides of March. My husband always likes me to
prepare a special menu designed to pay playful homage to the great Julius Caesar. But Paul also should have been wary of the
Ides of March; he has fallen victim to a stomach virus and we have had to
cancel this evening’s meal.
And what a shame that is.
The temperatures here have warmed up enough to thaw out the barbecue –
which in itself is reason to celebrate – and I had planned to grill a couple of
New York strip steaks and serve them with a garlicky and regal Caesar
Salad. And the beverage of the evening
would have of course, been a Bloody Caesar; the quintessential Canadian cocktail!
I suppose I could still cook that all up for myself, but I
don’t think the enjoyment level would be the same. Although nothing says I can’t
have a cocktail later when the sun crosses the yardarm – whatever that might
mean. My mother always said that and with her British accent it always had the
right level of hoity-toity to it that would alleviate any pangs of guilt for
having a drink by oneself in the afternoon.
Alright then, an Ides of March dinner is off the table, so to speak, so now I will look to
March 17th - St. Patrick’s Day; another day in March to celebrate
food and drink.
St. Patrick’s day always
makes me think fondly of my mother-in-law, whose birthday was celebrated on
March 17th. Her birthday was
actually March 18th, but being born into an Irish-Catholic family at
the beginning of the 20th century it appears the family wanted a St.
Paddy’s day baby and for most of her life she believed that was her
birthday. It wasn't until she applied
for her Canada Pension and had to request a copy of her birth certificate that
she found out her true birth date. Evidently she was quite distressed by this
until it was realized that the year of her birth had also been registered
incorrectly and the government owed her a year’s pension. Just goes to show that there is always a
silver lining.
St. Patrick’s Day also reminds me of someone else in my life
that furthered my love of cooking. A
very good friend from my husband’s youth owned a restaurant for a few years
before his sad and much too early passing.
Tony loved to feed people and when you went to his restaurant there was
something wrong with you if you went home hungry!
Conversations between Tony and me always involved food and
its preparation. So many times he would
drag me into the back of the restaurant’s kitchen and into the walk-in freezer
and excitedly (he was Italian) show
me the humongous prawns he had bought that day, or the trays of steaks that
would be next week’s special. On more
than one occasion I would return to our table, much to other diner's curious looks, with a wrapped up frozen leg of lamb or
prime rib of beef to take home with strict instructions from Tony that when I prepared it
he was to be invited for dinner. I
think, no I know, Tony enjoyed having a meal prepared for him as much as he
enjoyed preparing one for others.
So it was one St Patrick’s Day that I cooked a beautiful
roast leg of lamb, with mashed potatoes and minted peas for Tony and six more
of our friends. As usual, he brought the
wine. And what a wonderful memory that is;
the nine of us crammed around our dining room table in our wee little dining
room, everyone talking and laughing. The
men all reminiscing about their days in high school and we women rolling our eyes at the same stories and jokes we have all heard a million times. Have you ever noticed how really good
memories seem to be connected to really good food and friends?
There was another great St. Patrick’s Day dinner party that
I fondly recall – this one was totally unplanned. Well mostly unplanned. We have another very good friend from my
husband’s high school days that I love to cook for. Michael is Irish and one year when his wife
was out of town I insisted he join us for a proper St. Patrick’s Day
dinner. It was a weeknight so it was
just going to be the three of us. Well….
I decided I would cook lamb shanks braised in Guinness. Never mind that I had never cooked or even
eaten a lamb shank before, I was totally confident I knew what I was
doing.
Now Michael is a hearty eater, as are my husband and I so I
bought nine lamb shanks. I did not think
that was too many; they were frozen and looked really small. Did I mention Michael is Irish? So lots of potatoes were peeled and readied
for boiling. By about three o’clock in
the afternoon I started to realize I had way too much food for three people –
hearty eaters or not we were not going to eat this amount of food. In a bit of a panic I called my husband at
work and told him my dilemma. Not to
worry he would find more people to join us for dinner. Somehow he managed to find
three other friends who were available last minute on a weeknight to come into
the city for a feast. In fact now that I
think of it, it was the same three friends from my earlier spaghetti and meatballs post. Sometimes the impromptu parties are the best
parties and this was indeed one of those – I can still hear the laughter and
feel the love around that table.
Ever since then braised lamb shanks (sometimes in Guinness,
sometimes in red wine) has become a fairly regular St. Patrick’s Day meal in
our house. Served with lots of creamy
mashed potatoes and sweet green peas it is the perfect comfort food. Add some good wine and even better friends it
is a dinner party waiting to happen.
Braised Lamb Shanks
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients:
6 – 8 Lamb shanks, fresh or frozen
1 Cup all-purpose flour mixed with sea salt and freshly
ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Onions chopped
4 Cups beef broth
3 Bottles of Stout or 1 Bottle Dry Red Wine
2 Large Bay leaves, 3 or 4 Sprigs of fresh parsley, 2 or
3 Sprigs fresh thyme tied together with kitchen string
Defrost lamb shanks if frozen.
Pat the lamb dry with paper towels and dredge in seasoned
flour. Shake off excess flour and
reserve.
In a large Dutch oven heat the oil and butter over high
heat. Brown the lamb shanks on all sides. You may have to do this one or two at a time,
placing them on a plate to keep warm while you brown all of them. Put your range hood exhaust on as this will
be smoky.
Reduce the heat to medium and add more oil if necessary
and sauté onions until soft.
Add the reserved flour and cook for a few minutes until
blended.
Add the broth and stout or wine and whisk until there are
no flour lumps.
Place the lamb back into the Dutch oven along with any
juices that have accumulated on the plate, add the herbs and bring to just
boiling.
At this point you can do one of three things.
1. Cover,
reduce the heat to low and continue simmering for about 2 hours.
2. Place
the covered pot into a pre-heated 275F oven and cook for 3 hours or more.
3. Place
everything into your slow cooker (if it’s big enough) cover and set to cook on
low for 6 hours or so
I like it when the meat is falling off the bone so I
usually opt for the longer cooking times.
Check on the lamb from time to time and stir gently making sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Regardless of which method you choose, near the end of
cooking time remove the meat to a platter and keep in a warm oven. Remove the herbs and pour the gravy into a bowl and place in the
fridge or freezer for 20-30 minutes until the fat rises to the top and you can
skim most of it off.
Meanwhile start cooking your potatoes.
Pour the gravy back into the pot, put the meat back in
and gently reheat while you finish mashing potatoes and cooking your choice of
vegetable. (I always serve sweet peas with lamb, often cooked with a couple of
sprigs of mint)
Taste for seasoning and add more salt & pepper as needed.
Serve everything “family style” or plate up individual
plates each with a big mound of mashed potatoes, a side of peas and a lamb
shank, all covered with the gravy. YUM!
Goes equally well with a glass of Shiraz, Malbec, or a
bottle of Irish beer! And don’t forget
your friends or family – this is a meal to share!
Cheers
Chelly
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