What the Capricorns Want, the Capricorns Get

February 20, 2019February 21, 2019 The Culinary ChroniclesLeave a comment

At dinner in December, our January Babies (Seestrah T and Nini) were lamenting about how they felt like they get shortchanged for their bday Fam Din. Since their month comes right after the holidays where we are constantly feasting and living on the gluttonous side, they were under the belief that they “took one for the team” and only requested dishes that weren’t too laborious nor decadent when it came their turn.

We did have to quickly remind them that their previous dinners included dishes like Sous Vide Pork Belly Baos, Braised Short Ribs over Fresh Ricotta Gnocchi, Toasted Coconut Cake, French Onion Soup, Matcha Mille Crêpes Cake, Fresh Oysters and Dungeness Crab.

That doesn’t sound at all shabby! Am I right?

But if the Capricorns wanted to go B-I-G for their 2019 dinner, it was our duty to acquiesce to their requests and get to work. And boy did they know exactly what they wanted!

So much so that little Luna rolled up her sleeves and got down to work.

Big cousin Maya was so proud of her that she gave her a break to give her a quick back rub.

Um Maya….next month – you’re rubbing all of our feet!

THANKS!

January Fam Din happened to fall on the same day of the NFC and AFC Championship games. Needless to say, we were never far away from a tv.

After a quick update on the score and a selfie with Pops, I got to cooking Appetizer #1 requested by both Nini and T….

Duck Dumplings!

I assumed that I would be tasked with this dish but I wanted to ask if either of them had even tried duck dumplings before – because I sure as heck hadn’t!

Nope. They hadn’t either.

But the Capricorns felt that duck would be delicious inside a little dumpling so off to recipe testing I went. Lucky for me, we just had an epic Foodventure with Peking Duck – so I was feeling rather confident….sorta.

This was something that was going to take A LOT of time so I knew that I would have to prep everything before dinner and then cook the dumplings off that night.

After mulling it over for awhile, I decided that I wanted to sous vide duck thighs so that the meat would be nice and tender.

I first marinated the duck thighs overnight in lots of garlic, ginger, five spice, soy, Shaoxing wine and pepper. Then, I sous vide them for 12 hours – yes, 12 HOURS! Thigh meat can be tough so it takes some time.

Oh the things we do for family….

Okay…back to the dumplings.

After the duck was done, I shredded the meat and sauteed it with shiitake mushrooms, cabbage, shallots, scallions, garlic, ginger and a whole bunch of spices and aromatics.

Then it was time to assemble the bunch!

I chose to fold them in these pretty little crescent shapes with a twisted braid. I have to admit, they were fun to make.

And since I knew that Appetizer #2 would be steamed (SPOILER ALERT – there were 2 different dumplings!), I opted to pan fry these for a different texture with Nini’s assistance.

Pan Fried Duck Dumplings that we dunked in hot mustard, chili oil and black vinegar.

Yeah….I’ll be making these again.

This is what happens when I ask the girls to get ME a glass of Rosé.

Remember these little buggers I had suggested that y’all make for Lunar New Year?

Yup – they were developed for this Family Dinner.

Super decadent Steamed Crab Dumplings.

They went SUPER FAST that it made me feel like one of those dim sum cart ladies.

And then V and L were up to prep one of two main dishes.

Quick funny story.

A couple of days before dinner, V and L texted the group and asked for ideas of which dish should they make. It went something like this….

Us: Umm….V, you volunteered to make a crown roast of lamb.

V: Oh I did? Ok, cool.

Moral of the Story:

If you want one of your Sibbies to make a laborious dish for you, get them to agree to it after you’ve given them copious amounts of wine!

Lamb chops or even a single rack of lamb isn’t too complicated. But a crown is an entirely different ball game! It’s quite an undertaking.

Especially if you’re V who got crazily fixated on getting the bones as clean as possible. They had watched several tutorials that advised on doing so to achieve the most optimal appearance after roasting. Brother took it to heart and spent over an hour with several different knives cleaning them. Something that I would’ve been waaaayyy too lazy to do.

Suffice it to say that when he was done cleaning the lamb he promptly told Seester T that she owed him TWO dinners in return.

While V cleaned the racks, L took charge of grinding the dried porcini and spices that they used to rub on the lamb. She also made a bright and vibrant chimichurri to go along with it. My fav!

Once the lamb was rubbed down and seared, they used twine to tie the racks into the crown shape and threw them into the oven to roast.

TA DA!!!

Isn’t it spectacular??? They did such an awesome job!

Good thing they didn’t task me with cleaning those bones….

Crown Roast of Porcini-Crusted Lamb with Chimichurri Sauce.

And while the lamb rested, Seestrah T got working on her dish – Garlic Crab Noodles with Lump Crab

This picture does not do justice to how much crab went into this dish. You’ll just have to trust me…or watch the video and see!

We actually conspired to make this dish a few weeks back while we were enjoying a big ol’ plate of garlic noodles at EMC Restaurant. Yes….we think about food while consuming food. It’s called R&D.

Often we’ll have these buttery, umami-filled garlic noodles with jumbo shrimp or whole Dungeness Crabs. But we figured, why not with lump crab? Cuts out all of the messy work.

I think these two approved.

And of course we needed a pic of the Capricorns with the Crowns before V carved them into chops.

If you’ve never tried lamb before or are worried about gaminess, try chops that have been marinated in lots of herbs (I love the classic rosemary/garlic/lemon combo) or rubbed in dried porcini like this. Both methods reduce the gamey notes without losing the wonderful flavor that lamb has. The addition of bright sauces (like chimichurri) also assist with this.

How many photobombers can you count here?

With everything ready, it was time to gather at the table.

As always, someone doesn’t need to be told twice that it’s dinner time.

That face though… ❤

At this point, some of you may have started wondering —

“Wait! Rare lamb chops? What did they make for their munchkins to eat?”

Worry not, Friends….as you can see, they were just fine.

They INHALED the chops!

Straight up, CAVE-MUNCHKIN STATUS!

No princess bites here – and we love it. ❤

After we finished dinner we cleared the tables and cleaned up a bit. Considering all of the dumplings, lamb, noodles and crab, we definitely needed to chill out a bit before dessert was served.

There was some giant-jenga-madness.

And puppy TLC.

We also went outside to try and catch the Super Blood Moon/Total Lunar Eclipse but just as it was supposed to occur, a huge bank of clouds rolled in and covered the sky. But it didn’t stop us from belting out “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in our tone-deaf voices. Cooking is in our blood….well tuned singing is not.

So we went back inside and couch potato’ed it for a bit and did a little Instagramming.

And then miraculously, our dessert stomachs were telling us IT WAS TIME!

Big Seestrah N took the helm with both desserts that night.

N made T a Chocolate Decadence Cake that weighed nearly the weight of Leo and Luna…combined.

T really enjoys a traditional chocolate cake that is moist and chocolatey –check and check!

Nini surprisingly requested a Key Lime Pie — it’s one of my faves so no complaints here.

Her rationale was that she was so full the last time we made it during our fam din at the beach house, that she didn’t get to have any. So her Mama Bear lovingly made up for it.

And that was it!

Ok…so it was A LOT.

But we can undoubtedly say that the Capricorns were happy and full.

And next time they say anything about not getting their way for their fam din, I will quickly show them to this video.

I repeat – the things we do for family ❤

_______________________________________________________________________

This Month’s Family Dinner Menu

Cocktails: Various Wines
Appetizers: Steamed Crab Dumplings, Pan Fried Duck Dumplings
Entree: Garlic Noodles with Lump Crab, Crown Roast of Porcini-Crusted Lamb with Chimichurri Sauce
Dessert: Key Lime Pie, Chocolate Decadence Cake

Rosemary-Garlic Lamb Rib Chops

February 21, 2013January 27, 2015 The Culinary Chronicles5 Comments

I’ve been rather bad about reporting on our Family Dinners over the past few months. And not because our menus weren’t delish but somehow amongst the endless events, time slipped by.

December’s dinner menu featured Mexican-inspired fare. We had a variety of fresh salsas, chicharrón, ceviche, salmon-dill tacos, rice, and beans. I whipped up some mango margaritas and my beer braised carnitas. And although it may not have been Latin, our sis, P, made a ridiculously amazing chocolate bread pudding. The icing on the cake? It was our adorable nephew, Leonidas’ 1st birthday!

For January, we let my seester, T, and our niece pick the theme as they’re Jan-Babies. So we were off to the islands for mouthwatering, ono grindz! Our spread included mai tais and my take on hamachi-ponzu shooters. Our eldest seester created a wonderfully light yet fulfilling banana leaf-wrapped monk fish with a curry sauce. And for dessert? Big seester made molten lava chocolate cakes and paired them with my toasted coconut ice cream and guava ice cream.

With island music playing throughout dinner, it was almost—almost like we were in Hawai’i. <le sigh….>

For this month, we revisited Italia. Big seester got me a ravioli mold for Christmas and we were eager to give them a try. For our entrées, we had raviolis three ways: butternut squash with brown butter sage sauce, spicy sausage with a marinara sauce, and lump crab with a pesto sauce. They were quite the success considering it was our first time making raviolis. And because I learned from October’s Family Dinner, I invested in a hand crank pasta machine. Best…idea…ever.

Since I knew it was going to take us some time to get the raviolis to the dinner table, I wanted to make a heartier-than-usual appetizer. We’re a big fan of lamb chops so I turned to my trusted recipe using a ton of rosemary and garlic. By slicing the racks into rib chops while giving them ample time to marinate, the lamb is able to seep in a ton of great flavor. And because my fam loves condiments, I made a quick and herbaceous gremolata to pair with the lamb to help brighten the gamey flavor.

We also found that a light sprinkle of sea salt over the rib chops not only added the perfect seasoning but it also added some great texture. My fam gobbled these appetizers up in no time flat but they can also be served as a mouthwatering entrée.

Can’t wait until next month’s Fam-Din!

______________________________________

Rosemary-Garlic Lamb Rib Chops
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Lamb
½ cup chopped rosemary
2 heaping tablespoons minced garlic
zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
16 lamb rib chops, Frenched and trimmed (approximately 2 Frenched racks)
kosher salt and black pepper

Gremolata
1 cup chopped Italian parsley
¼ cup fresh basil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper

Optional
sea salt

In a small bowl, mix together the rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, red chili flakes and olive oil. Place the lamb rib chops in a large shallow dish or gallon sized resealable bags. Season the lamb well with kosher salt and black pepper. Pour the herb mixture over the lamb and turn the chops around to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for 6-8 hours (I like mine to marinate overnight).

Prepare gremolata by adding parsley, basil, garlic, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes into a food processor. Pulse to combine. On low, stream in the olive oil until you reach a smooth consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove the lamb 15 minutes before cooking. Preheat grill to medium high. Grill the chops on each side for 2-3 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 130 degrees F for rare or 135-140 degrees F for medium. Allow the lamb to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Serve the lamb rib chops with a sprinkle of sea salt over the top (optional) and gremolata.

Lamb

Balsamic Glazed Lamb Chops

November 3, 2010January 27, 2015 The Culinary Chronicles4 Comments

Quite often, we would head to the Hedley Club Lounge in the Hotel De Anza to check out their live jazz. A cozy venue with a Mediterranean decor, the Hedley Club Lounge offers a great wine list with delicious small plates to choose from. And of their tasty tidbits to nosh on, we always ordered their Lamb Chops with crispy Polenta Cakes. The lamb is prepared with a sweet yet savory balsamic reduction and is absolutely delicious.

So in my attempt to pay an homage to the Hedley Club Lounge and the happy times we had there, I offer my interpretation of their Balsamic Glazed Lamb Chops. True, the dish isn’t exact but it does play with the lovely flavor balance of acidity and sweetness.

And you know what they always say……….Imitation is the highest form of flattery 🙂

___________________________________________________

Balsamic Glazed Lamb Chops
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 Pound Lamb Chops, cleaned and dried
½ Cup Balsamic Vinegar
½ Cup Orange Juice
1½ Tablespoon Fresh Rosemary, finely diced
1 Tablespoon Fresh Garlic, finely diced
1 Tablespoon Shallots, finely diced
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 Tablespoon Agave Nectar (or honey)
2-3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Generously season lamb with salt and pepper. In a bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, orange juice, rosemary, garlic, shallots, mustard, and agave nectar. Pour marinade into a resealable bag and add lamb. Seal bag and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.

Remove lamb from the refrigerator at least 15 minutes before cooking to take the chill off. Take lamb from marinade and strain the liquid into a small sauce pan. Bring the liquid to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Continue reducing until thickened—about 10-15 minutes.

Dry off the lamb to eliminate any excess moisture. Heat ovenproof skillet (or grill pan) to medium high and add olive oil. Sear lamb on each side for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Brush glaze on the chops and place in oven at 400 degrees. Roast until the internal temperature reaches 145-150°F (for medium). Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Plate lamb with an additional drizzle of the glaze. Serve with your choice of sides.

Lamb

This Little Lamb….

November 17, 2009January 27, 2015 The Culinary Chronicles13 Comments

For some time now, Rack of Lamb has been the bf’s and my “go-to” entrée when company come over for dinner. Perhaps because it’s SUPER easy to make or because it sounds “fancy” when you announce to your guests that you’ve prepared lamb, we absolutely love whipping them up. ☺

In the past we’ve prepared them in the traditional style of crushed garlic and rosemary. However, after catching one of Tyler Florence’s episodes on the Food Network, we were inspired how he used porcini mushrooms to create a crust for his Roasted Leg of Lamb. So, we decided to take a spin off of it and apply the same philosophy to a rack of lamb.

End result? DELICIOUS! The earthy tones of the porcini mushrooms pairs so well with the lamb. Instant hit! Pair it with your choice of sides (we love serving it with mushroom risotto or couscous would be tasty too!) and a deep, bold red wine and this will be your Go-To Entrée all year long!

______________________________________________

Porcini Crusted Rack of Lamb
Serves approximately 2-3

Ingredients:

½ Ounce Dried Porcini Mushrooms
½ Tablespoon Kosher Salt
1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 Frenched Rack of Lamb (Averages 8 ribs per rack)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Take lamb and trim off any excess fat. Rinse under cool water and pat dry with paper towels.

In a spice grinder or small food processor, grind the porcini mushrooms into a powder consistency. Rub 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the lamb and liberally season with salt and pepper. Roll lamb in the porcini powder, gently pressing to adhere.

Heat remaining oil in a large heavy grill pan over moderately high heat. Sear the rack on each side until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer rack to the oven and roast until the internal temperature reaches 145-150°F (for medium), approximately 5-7 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice chops between bones and drizzle with remaining pan juices. Enjoy with side dish of choice.