What I Made For Dinner

Dear (three) readers: I apologize for the hiatus. Winter brought a period of hibernation, but more importantly, take-out nation. A couple minor health things, a heavy schedule and What I Made for Dinner was looking like this:
Monday: Vietnamese take out
Tuesday: pizza
Wednesday: leftover vietnamese take out
Thursday: Leftover pizza
Friday: booze and snacks

No more of that. Spring is here, and it's a great time to get back in the kitchen . In honor of the season last night we killed the fatted calf (well, someone did: I just bought the chops) and had grilled shoulder lamb chops. These are pretty cheap for lamb, and while they're a little more work (more bones, a little gristle), they taste really meaty and delicious. We grilled them quickly (3-4 min. per side), and when they came off the grill topped with a mixture of olive oil, lemon , thyme, oregano, and S&P. On the side was cooked orzo with shredded zucchini. Cook your orzo, and while that's boiling, shred a zucchini and saute with olive oil, salt and pepper, and chopped garlic. Add sun-dried tomatoes if you have them. When the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the skillet. Top with oregano and feta cheese. Feel like you're straight out of Athens for under $5!

My plan to take Saturday's meal and stretch it out to a week of posts proved to be fortuitous. Last night's dinner consisted of cheddar and sour cream Ruffles in the ER due to the appearance of a kidney stone in my husband, so I guess I don't need to tell you much more about that. (Except that those chips are damn good.)

Continuing from Saturday's dinner, the main course was lamb shanks over polenta. Shanks are one of those things that seem to have been "Starbucks-ized": something that used to be cheap and plentiful (coffee, 50 cents a cup) that has now been deemed fancy (grande latte, $4.50). Shanks are all over restaurant menus, so they are harder to find, and sometimes kind of expensive. They are such a tasty treat, though, if you see some, buy them immediatly. Mine came in at $5.99 a pound, which is not bad for lamb (especially from Whole Foods). I cooked them slow in the oven with this recipe, then made some polenta with the directions right off the bag. The lamb falls right off the bone, you don't have to watch it, you can't overcook it, and it's amazing. Remember what my ol' granpappy used to say: "If a shank crosses your path, don't let it run away".


He never really said that.


But you knew that.

Travel has made cooking a little rare at the ol' household lately, but I did cook a hell of a meal for friends on Saturday. I've decided to spread out the love and give you the courses over the course of the week, since this is shaping up to be a lentil skillet kind of week, and I'm sure all my thousands of readers don't need to hear about that again. So today I bring you:

THE APPETIZER

I'm pretty pleased with myself on this one. Two little apps, both fried, and perfect for cocktails. I know, I know what you're thinking: "Emily, if I'm having people over for dinner and already in my dressy apron (you do have a dressy apron, don't you?), then why would I take the time to fry?" Answer: It's delicious, it's a special treat, and it's actually not that messy.
The two things I made were blue cheese olives and prociutto wrapped turnips. Stay with me- you're going to like where this is going. The olives are large olives jammed with your favorite blue cheese. If you're a martini drinker, you may already have this motion down. Take each olive and dip, in order, in flour, beaten egg, and bread crumbs.
The turnips you cut into sticks, and parboil them. (Bring a small pot of water to boil, and cook the turnips about 10min. or until they're slightly soft. You can do this ahead of time). After they're cool, take a little piece of prociutto and wrap it around the turnip. Dip each piece into the egg from the olive recipe, then roll in sesame seeds (if you don't have them, you can use poppy seeds. If you don't have that, just use the egg wash).

Take a small saucepan and fill it with about an inch of vegetable oil. You'll know it's hot enough when you throw a tiny pinch of flour in and it sizzles, but don't let it get so hot it smokes. Fry the turnips first, a couple at a time, until they look crispy and brown, probably about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. The olives will go in next, and they only take 30 seconds or so to come out crispy and delicious.

This was a really fun way to start a party because you can either assemble them ahead of time and have your cocktails in the kitchen while you fry, or make your guests do some of the stuffing and wrapping for an interactive experience. It's just enough fry to feel like a treat, but not so much that you're stuffed for the main course and it's delicious with martinis or champagne.