Ba, Ba, Black Sheep...

Pride goeth before the fall, or so they say. After my experiment with shrimp went so well, I was feeling pretty confident in my cooking skills. Perhaps it was time to conquer another protein that I didn't have much experience with -- lamb. Though people seemed to be polarized by lamb, with some of the mind that it is too strongly flavored, I've always enjoyed the buttery, rich flavor of lamb when I've eaten it in restaurants. Lamb chops are actually one of my favorite dishes, though I very seldom order them because they are so expensive that I can't afford to pay for them myself, and I feel guilty about requesting them when someone else is footing the bill. 

The same problem applies to cooking lamb at home. With the exception of the occasional package of ground lamb that I've managed to find on sale, lamb typically remains firmly outside of our budget. However, when I received the enormous Thanksgiving supplement to this week's grocery store sale bill, I happened to spot a decent price on lamb shoulder chops. As it turned out, I had a recipe for that very same cut of meat saved to my Pinterest board, so now seemed like the perfect time to try my luck.

The recipe also happened to call for most of the same fresh herbs that I had already purchased for my shrimp experiment, which was an added advantage. I would be able to make two dinners from the same herb purchase before stashing the leftovers in the freezer, and any time you can make better use of the ingredients you already have on hand is a good thing, if you ask me.

Chopping all of the herbs for the gremolata, an Italian condiment made of citrus zest and minced herbs, was the most time consuming part of this dish by far, but the wonderful aromas drifting from my cutting board made it seem like short work. Soon, it was time to toss the lamb into the pan, and I followed the directions precisely, even using a meat thermometer to ensure proper cooking. The chops looked beautiful on the plate, if slightly under-browned from cooking so quickly.

However, when we cut into the meat, we were greeted by a disaster of epic proportions. The lamb had failed to cook evenly, resulting in pockets that were a lovely medium-rare, and other parts that were so raw we had to toss them in the microwave just to make them edible. The meat was riddled with gristle, bone fragments, and huge chunks of fat. By the time we cut it all away, there was little actual meat left to eat, and we both ended the meal so hungry that we had to supplement our dinners with leftovers from the fridge. I'm not sure what lamb shoulder chops are usually used for, but this was clearly not it.

I felt like a huge failure, but Justin did his best to make me feel better. He pointed out that I generally have a very high success rate with my forays into the culinary unknown, and that he appreciates my desire to put nice meals on the table for us, and that I'm always willing to try something new, even if it doesn't always work out. Since he's the one who has to eat most of my cooking (besides me), I am thankful that he feels that way. We really are a perfectly matched set, and I am so lucky to have him in my life.

Burger Bash - Day Two

Yesterday, I kicked off my mini-burger bash with a recipe so good, it is destined to become an instant classic in my household. After such a resounding success, it was almost inevitable that today's attempt would at least be somewhat of a disappointment. For a protein, I chose lamb, because I've seen lamb burgers on television for ages now, and I was always curious about them. Since the grocery store put pretty much all ground meats on sale after the major grilling holiday of the Fourth had passed, I was able to score some reasonably-priced ground lamb, since it's primarily its usual expense that has kept me from trying lamb burgers up until now.

I selected a recipe that called for traditional Greek spices, such as oregano, marjoram, cinnamon, and garlic, but despite all the seasonings that went into it, the meat itself emerged strangely bland. Sure, it was juicy, and the lamb-y flavor came through, but the meat was so completely innocuous that the patty mostly served as a vehicle for consuming tzatziki sauce. Perhaps a larger number of condiments might have fixed the situation; after all, I didn't elect for any besides the sauce and some slices of raw onion. Slices of tomato and some crumbled feta may have livened things up some. Still, I wouldn't want to waste my money on another batch of lamb burgers to find out. Clearly, this is a meal that is better left to professional chefs.

On the other hand, at least my tzatziki sauce was a hit. I've been making the same recipe since I was in college, when I saw it on an episode of Good Eats where Alton Brown made gyros from scratch. I wasn't about to attempt that feat then or now, but I did have a pretty tasty Greek chicken recipe that was practically begging for a condiment at the time, and I gave Alton's recipe a try.

These were the days before Greek yogurt became a ubiquitous grocery store staple, and I remember straining regular plain yogurt through a cheese cloth to make this recipe happen. It was worth the effort then, and I still make it today (albeit with a lot less time and energy expenditure), whenever I make a dish with Mediterranean overtones. It's even good by itself on pitas as a snack, for those days when I want to relive my 2007 trip to Greece, where I had tzatziki as an appetizer at practically every meal. Seriously, give it a try!

Tzatziki Sauce
adapted from Alton Brown

8 oz. Greek yogurt (I recommend Fage for this particular application)
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled and finely grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
pinch of salt

Holding over the sink, squeeze the grated cucumber to remove as much excess liquid as possible. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the Greem yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, and vinegar. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

Turn The Page...

Every month, a stack of cooking magazines arrives in my mailbox. Ever since we moved and I had to get rid of years of backlogged magazines, I've tried to be better about going through them, looking up the interesting recipes online, pinning them to Pinterest for safekeeping, and tossing out the hard copies.Even so, there seem to be recipes that linger in my queue longer than others, and they mainly seem to originate from Saveur.

I'll admit, I was just as crushed as the rest of the foodie universe when I found out Gourmet was shutting down back in 2009, but it seems that Saveur has taken its place in the prestige food journalism world. Both magazines are notable for the artistry of their food photography, and the quality of their writing is top-notch. Saveur, however, has more of a travel-bent, and focuses on recipes derived from global cuisines. It's gorgeous to flip through and dream about vacations to exotic lands, but the recipes they include are often impractical for the home chef.

The average Saveur recipe demands a trip to the gourmet shop, at the very least, and possibly a trip to one or more ethnic grocery stores. I managed to circumvent this conundrum with last week's bucatini all'amatriciana by substituting bacon for pancetta, but even for someone who typically dedicates one day a week to an elaborate cooking project, it's just too much effort to source the ingredients to cook from Saveur on a regular basis.

I did, however, manage to spot another more reasonable recipe from Saveur, for Turkish tomato and lamb flat breads known as lahmacun, billed as being the Turkish answer to pizza. Since I had recently located reasonably-priced ground lamb at the unusual combination Latino/Eastern European grocery store not far from my house, I decided to give Saveur its due and give the recipe a try.

I've gotten to the point where I really enjoy experimenting with yeast doughs; not only do they impart a very comforting smell of baking bread to your house, it's almost magical to watch the dough rise and grow, almost like a living creature. Hence, this was a perfect Saturday afternoon project for me. I could see taking a shortcut and using pre-baked pita or naan as a base for the richly-spiced sauce of tomato, onion and lamb, if I wanted to have this meal on a weeknight, but I enjoyed putting in the effort.

Thanks to Saveur, I was able to recreate a little bit of Turkey in my kitchen practically on the other side of the world, in addition to producing a unique and tasty dinner for Justin and myself. They say the world is getting smaller all the time, and I'm lucky to live in a big city with access to ingredients from other cultures. Isn't the modern world amazing sometimes?

Lahmacun

adapted from Saveur

1 teaspoon sugar 

1 package active dry yeast

2 c. flour, plus more for dusting

1 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling

1⁄4 c. extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1⁄4 teaspoon ground cumin

1⁄4 teaspoon paprika

1⁄8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 oz. ground lamb

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 plum tomato, grated

1 small onion, grated

1⁄2 serrano chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced

1.Combine sugar, yeast, and 3⁄4 cup water heated to 115˚ in a small bowl; let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Combine flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the center. Add yeast mixture and stir to form a dough. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth, about 6 minutes. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch down dough, divide into 4 portions, and roll each portion into a ball. Transfer dough balls to a floured baking sheet. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rest for 45 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make the topping: In a large bowl, combine oil, tomato paste, parsley, cayenne, cumin, paprika, and cinnamon and stir vigorously with a fork. Stir in lamb, garlic, tomatoes, onions, and chiles and season with salt; set topping aside. 

3. Put a pizza stone in bottom third of oven and heat oven to 475°. Working with one dough ball at a time, use a rolling pin to roll dough into a 10" disk. Brush off excess flour and transfer dough to a piece of parchment paper. Spoon 3–4 tbsp. topping onto dough and using your fingers, spread topping evenly to edges. Season with salt. Holding parchment paper by its edges, transfer to baking stone. Bake until dough is golden brown and topping is cooked, 6–8 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough and topping; serve warm or at room temperature.