Braised Lamb Shanks

Thank you Whole Foods for probably the most wonderful recipe I've ever made! I even impressed myself--which doesn't happen too often! This entire meal cost me about $25 to make for the both of us and would have cost at least $35+ per person at a very nice restaurant (in KC... even more in a bigger city). This recipe would be amazing with risotto but I decided to treat P & I to Truffled Mashed Potatoes--not too healthy but a new love of ours that we occassionally treat ourselves to! I cheated this time and bought the potatoes already made from Whole Foods... less mess, wonderful taste and even better price! So enough of the build-up, here's the recipe!

Braised lamb shank with truffled mashed potatoes and sauted red chard

1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
6 lamb shanks
5 T. olive oil, divided
1 leek, chopped, white part only
4 carrotes, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 whole garlic head, chopped (about 12 cloves)
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 c. beef or chicken stock
4 sprigs thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 3 T. of olive oil over medium heat in a braiser or casserole dish. Coat lamb shanks with flour and place in pan. Salt and pepper as desired. Cook shanks in olive oil until evenly browned on all sides. Once browned, remove shanks from pan and wipe clean.

Add 2 T. olive oil to pan and heat over medium heat. Saute leek, carrots and garlic until golden. Add diced tomatoes, chicken/beef stock and thyme to pan and stir. Add shanks and cover with veggies. Place in oven and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, turning once or twice throughout.

When lamb is tender (about to fall of the bone), remove shanks from pan and return the pan to the stove. Heat veggies on medium high until sauce has thickened. If you want to make it thicker, whisk 1-2 T. cornstarch into sauce. Serve shanks with sauce on top!

P.S. I'd provide the link to the WF recipe but unfortunately their site is down right now... I will add it later! Hope ya'll enjoy this dish as much as we did!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Lately Patrick and I have turned into Food Network junkies--it's pretty much on 24/7 in our house. Our favorite show, though, is Worst Cooks in America. I've always considered myself a pretty decent cook but I think it's possible that even I could fail some of their challenges!

Anyway, two weeks ago they did a challenge where each contestant had to make something they hated and one of the recipes given out was for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon. Now, I'd never had Brussels sprouts prior to watching this show, but I probably would have told you I didn't like them (pretty much because most people don't like them so naturally I assumed they were awful). But after watching Carlos make these Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon I decided I should give them a try--after all, he had hated them before he made this recipe and when he tried them he decided they weren't too bad afterall. Then this weekend I decided to try my hand at the recipe by Anne Burrell. It was AWESOME!

So... for all you Brussels sprouts haters and nay-sayers out there, this recipe is for you! Hope you try it (and enjoy it as much as we did)!

Ingredients
12 Brussels sprouts
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 c. pine nuts
2 slices slab bacon, cut into lardons
1 block Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the Brussels sprouts in half lengthwise, from top to bottom.

Toss the sprouts with olive oil, salt and crushed red pepper. Toss in the oven until tender, about 20 minutes.

Place the pine nuts on a sheet tray in the oven for the last 5 minutes of roasting the sprouts.

While the sprouts are roasting, put the bacon in a small saute pan with a splash of olive oil and bring the pan to a medium heat. Cook the bacon until it is crispy, 7-8 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan.

Toss the roasted Brussels sprouts with the crispy bacon and toasted pine nuts. Using a peeler, shave a few slices of Parmigiano on top.

Chicken Andouille Sausage Gumbo

This recipe takes a while to make but it's definitely worth it! Make yourself a drink, turn on some good music and enjoy being in the kitchen.

Just before serving the gumbo over brown rice.

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs chicken thighs/legs
8 cups chicken broth
1 lb frozen okra (cut), optional
½ cup plus 2 T. cooking oil (I used Canola Oil)
½ cup all purpose flour
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped green pepper
½ cup chopped celery
1 16 ounce can chopped tomatoes
¾ lb Andouille sausage or Smoked Sausage, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. basil
½ tsp. sage (I didn't have this so I skipped it)
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. salt

Remove the skin from the chicken. Cover chicken with water and simmer for about one hour until chicken is tender and easily removed from the bones. Allow chicken to cool, remove from bones and set aside.

As the chicken is cooking, chop the onion, pepper and celery. Set aside. Slice the sausage into 1/2 inch rounds and set aside.

Thaw the okra and saute in 2 T. of oil. You want to cook the okra until most of the ropiness is gone, and has caramelized a little on the bottom of the pot. Once the okra is cooked, stir in the tomatoes. This will deglaze all of the caramelized okra, and incorporate it into your gumbo. Sit until all of the caramelized okra is released.

Making the roux: You'll need about 45 minutes of uninterrupted time. Heat 1/2 c. oil over medium heat in a heavy bottomed pot. You want to use a metal or wooden spatula to stir the roux. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, stir in 1/2 c. flour a little at a time until it is all incorporated. Start stirring. You may want to have a drink handy and make sure to sip slowly because this can be a long process!

Stir constantly so the mixture doesn't stick to your pan or clump up. Keep stirring until it is a "chocolate" color. You may wonder if it will ever get to this point but I promise it will--it will just take about 45 minutes. You know you're making progress when it's a peanut butter color and from there it will take about 20 more minutes.

As soon as the roux is finished, add the onion, celery and pepper. Saute in the roux until the veggies are soft. It's okay if they stick a little to the pan--it will give it more flavor. When the veggies are done, add the sausage and okra/tomato mixture to the roux. Cook for approximately 10 minutes. Add the spices, broth and chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 1 1/2 hour with the lid off. Taste and adjust spices.

My gumbo simmering!

Just before serving, sprinkle about 1 tsp. of gumbo file into the roux. (Note: Do not do this if you plan to reheat the soup. If you are going to have leftovers just add a dash of it to your individual bowl.) Serve over rice.

Buttermilk Whole Wheat Biscuits

Patrick and I LOVE our biscuits... for him it's a southern thing (I think) and for me it's a love of bread. When we started eating organic and whole grains I thought that biscuits would become our long lost love--the only whole grain biscuits I could imagine were dry, crumbly things that weren't hardly fit to eat! And then I found this recipe and knew we'd never go without our beloved biscuits again!!

Fluffy Buttermilk Whole Wheat Biscuits

2 c. whole wheat flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 T. stevia
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. butter
1 c. buttermilk

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, stevia and salt; mix well. Cut in butter until mixture reseambes course crumbs. Stir in milk until moistened. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; knead gently 8 to 10 times. Roll to 3/4 inch thickness; cut with a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until browned. Serve warm.

The biscuits before going into the oven.

Biscuits after they've come out of the oven and have been brushed with butter.

Best Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

This past weekend I decided to forego the store-bought spaghetti sauce make my own. I found a recipe for a basic tomato sauce courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis and doctored it up a bit. Hope ya'll enjoy it as much as we did!

1/2 c. EVOO
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-oz) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
4 T. unsalted butter, optional
1 lb. hamburger
1/2 lb. hot italian sausage
1/4 c. panchetta, chopped
1+ T. red pepper flakes (as much as you desire)
1 lb. mushrooms

In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.

In the meantime, brown 1 lb. hamburger, italian sausage and pancetta in a separate pan. Lightly season with salt, pepper and add red pepper flakes. Crumble beef and sausage as it cooks. Once the meat is done cooking, drain fat and set to the side.

Once sauce has thickened and after you've added butter, add the meat and mushrooms to the sauce. Cook until mushrooms are softened. Serve over pasta.

If you want to make a thinner (not so chuncky) sauce: After you've added the butter to the sauce, add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce. Return to pan and add meat and mushrooms.

You can also make up a bunch of this sauce and store it in the freezer for up to 6 months. Once you've added the butter to the sauce, let it cook and then pour into freezer bags or containers.

Yield: 6 cups of sauce