Moroccan Spice Rub brings big flavor to spring leg of lamb—or chicken, or beef, or pork…

A rub of fragrant spices and herbs—including cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon and saffron—creates a crust of exotic Moroccan flavor on a roast leg of American lamb. The versatile Moroccan spice rub can be used with other meats and cooking methods too. Recipe below.

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]L[/su_dropcap]et’s do a little word association. If I say “leg of lamb,” you say… “What, lamb again?” Okay, fair enough—I have been cooking a lot of lamb here lately. But the answer I was looking for was “garlic and rosemary.” When we came into possession of the handsome, hefty [over seven pounds] leg of lamb above, my first thought was the nearly universal default cooking approach: Jam lots of garlic slivers into it, cover it with rosemary and roast it. There’s a good reason that’s a popular go-to recipe—it’s absolutely delicious.

But then I thought it was time to try something different. And for no reason I can explain, a Moroccan spice rub occurred to me.

Traditional Moroccan cuisine is one of the most diverse in the world. Morocco sits on the northern edge of the African continent, a mere eight miles across the Straits of Gibraltar from Europe at its closest point. So its cooking is flavored by Berber, Spanish, Corsican, Portuguese, Moorish, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and African cuisines. Continue reading “Moroccan Spice Rub brings big flavor to spring leg of lamb—or chicken, or beef, or pork…” →

American cider, Italian onions: Cider-Braised Chicken with Cipollinis and Sage

Crisp, dry hard cider combines with fresh sage, garlic and chicken broth to create a deliciously complex sauce without a hint of apple, for Cider-Braised Chicken with Cipollinis and Sage. Recipe below.

When we were recently invited to a dinner pairing food with super-premium American hard ciders, I planned to enjoy the food and be a good sport about the cider. I don’t drink beer and am not a real fan of apple juice either, so I merely hoped I could make it through the evening, politely sipping without openly grimacing in the presence of our hosts, Crispin Cider Company.

I needn’t have worried. The four ciders we sampled were delicious. Unlike many ciders, Crispin hard ciders are not styled as a traditional “sweet beer” beer alternative. They are crisp and clean, not sweet and sticky, and meant to be served over ice. From our first sip of their European-style brut—our favorite of the bunch—we knew we’d found a refreshing, light alternative to our go-to summer drink, pinot grigio. Continue reading “American cider, Italian onions: Cider-Braised Chicken with Cipollinis and Sage” →

Braised Lamb Shanks: Honest meaty goodness

Slow-cooked Braised Lamb Shanks, flavored with generous amounts of onions, shallots, garlic and rosemary—a seriously satisfying main course. Recipe below.

I remember the first time I ordered lamb shank in a restaurant. It came out looking like a giant Flintstones club on the plate, impressively [frighteningly?] large and unmistakably honest about its animal origins. I was immediately hooked.

Seafood has in the past given me pause by looking too much like the original creature—I used to be troubled by my dinner staring back at me, for instance. Now, though, I think that if you’re going to eat animal flesh—and I am—you need to respect the animal and own up to what you’re doing. With its protruding shank bone and knobby joint, lamb shank leaves no doubt. Continue reading “Braised Lamb Shanks: Honest meaty goodness” →

Breakfast? Dessert? Tea? Cozy, versatile Lemon Hazelnut Scones

Light, flaky scones flavored with lemon juice and zest and toasted hazelnuts make a delicious, not-too-sweet treat with tea in the afternoon or your morning coffee. Recipe below.

SCONE. Whether you rhyme it with John or with Joan [both are common], there’s just something about the word. Scone. It sounds at once homey and comforting, a cozy treat to enjoy with tea by a fire, but also somehow more sophisticated, more elegant than, say, a muffin or biscuit. Continue reading “Breakfast? Dessert? Tea? Cozy, versatile Lemon Hazelnut Scones” →

Let us now braise, part 2: Braised Lamb Shoulder Chops and Tomatoes

Inexpensive lamb shoulder chops become the star of a flavorful meal when you add thyme, garlic, tomatoes, wine and oven braising. Recipe below.

There are so many thing I love about this dish. First and foremost is the distinctive, mildly gamy flavor of lamb. As I’ve said in these pages before, that gaminess is the same quality that separates venison from beef and duck from chicken. I also love the straightforward simplicity of this meal—a handful of ingredients, simple preparation and time are all that’s required. And most of the time is the meat cooking unattended in the oven—prep time is minimal. And maybe most of all, I love the way it transforms a humble cut of meat into something delicious and satisfying.

In last week’s post about Oven-braised Asian Short Ribs, I talked about oven braising and how its even heat tenderizes flavorful but chewy inexpensive cuts of meat without drying them out. Lamb shoulder chops are another cut perfect for this treatment. Continue reading “Let us now braise, part 2: Braised Lamb Shoulder Chops and Tomatoes” →

Let us now braise inexpensive cuts: Oven-braised Asian Short Ribs

Slow oven braising and plenty of garlic, scallions, star anise and pan-Asian ingredients turn inexpensive beef short ribs into a tender, exotic main course. Recipe below.

The first time I tasted steak I was in college. Cheap cuts of meat were what we ate in my working class family when I was growing up. Chuck roast, pork steaks [as opposed to the leaner, more costly chops], beef stew, burgers made from fatty ground chuck… We also occasionally had short ribs, but only as an ingredient in a beefy vegetable soup.

I relate this personal history with cheap cuts not as a tale of woe and deprivation. These cuts are often more flavorful than their pricier brethren and probably largely responsible for my love of all things meaty. But they’re usually tougher than the more expensive cuts too. I remember many happy, chewy meals.

Braising takes care of the toughness issue. Slow, moist cooking breaks down connective tissue and melts some of the fat also present in most inexpensive cuts of meat. The result is wonderfully flavorful, juicy meat that is almost falling-apart tender. Continue reading “Let us now braise inexpensive cuts: Oven-braised Asian Short Ribs” →

Worth the wait: Slow-braised pork roast with five-spice rub and apple/onion compote

An inexpensive pork roast, seasoned with fresh garlic and Chinese five-spice powder and braised on a bed of apples, onions and apple cider until falling-apart tender, becomes an impressive, company-worthy dinner. Recipe below.

I love pigs. If you’re going to eat meat—and I am—you should honor the animal by preparing it well and making sure nothing goes to waste. That’s the core philosophy of nose to tail eating. Can you think of a creature more completely, creatively and deliciously suited this approach? Chops, ribs, roasts, ham, bacon, a whole world of sausages and charcuterie come from pigs.

Our current infatuation with all things charcuterie led us to a recent dinner at Rootstock Wine & Beer Bar in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. And that led to this recipe. Rootstock’s liquid-centric wine & beer handle belies an equally thoughtful focus on food. Executive Chef Remy Ayesh supports “local farmers, hormone-free meats and seasonal produce as often as possible” to deliver a small but intensely varied menu of “bar plates, greens, crusts, cheese and charcuterie.” She also offers “more plates,” which include one of the best burgers I’ve tasted in a while and braised pork shoulder on a pickled plum and carrot purée. One bite of the tender, heavenly meat and I knew I would be attempting a pork roast soon.

Oven braising is a great way to turn tough but flavorful, inexpensive cuts of meat into soul-satisfying meals. Think of chunky stews and stick-to-your-ribs pot roasts Continue reading “Worth the wait: Slow-braised pork roast with five-spice rub and apple/onion compote” →

A mild-mannered chicken curry takes the chill out of a rainy autumn night

Ginger, garlic and cilantro team up with a number of spices in this simple, fragrant Chicken Curry. Recipe below.

chicken-curry

One of the perils of living in a city like Chicago, with its rich cultural diversity and well-deserved reputation for authentic food of all ethnic stripes, is that your taste buds get spoiled.

When recent chilly, drizzly weather put me in the mood for attempting a curry dish, my spoiled taste buds were envisioning the robust flavors and aromas of Devon Avenue. The practical side of me, however, was looking for something simple, something doable on a weeknight.

I looked around at numerous recipes. Some sounded deliciously authentic, but more complicated than I felt like tackling at the moment. Others sounded a little too basic, a little to aimed at the American palate. Finally, I settled on one that had “good bone structure”—a satisfying number and variety of fresh ingredients and spices— Continue reading “A mild-mannered chicken curry takes the chill out of a rainy autumn night” →

Accidentally vegan: A quick, satisfying lunch of fresh corn, cannellini with tomatoes, rosemary

Ingredients from the garden, the farmers market and the pantry come together for a lunch of fresh corn and Cannellini with Cherry Tomatoes and Rosemary. Recipes below.

corncanellini

A recent Saturday found us in the kitchen with random produce and the need to be eating lunch right now. Marion had picked up some fresh ears of corn at the farmers market in Daley Plaza downtown, and there was a bowl of freshly picked cherry tomatoes from our yard on the counter. And even though we are decidedly not vegans [as even the most casual Blue Kitchen reader could tell you], a quick vegan lunch seemed just the ticket.

The funny thing is, it wasn’t a conscious decision. Seeing the tomatoes reminded me that I had recently been doing versions of my Tuscan beans, minus the mirepoix, but with tomatoes, either canned or fresh. I knew they’d be delicious with the wonderful yellow and red cherry tomatoes Marion had been getting from our yard this year. For her part, Marion was eager to show off an amazingly simple way to prepare fresh corn, making it so juicy and sweet you didn’t need butter or even salt. The whole lunch came together in under fifteen minutes. And it was only as we sat down to eat it [devour it] that we realized it was totally vegan. Continue reading “Accidentally vegan: A quick, satisfying lunch of fresh corn, cannellini with tomatoes, rosemary” →

Asian improvisations on the grill: “Vietnamese” chops, sesame zucchini

A marinade seasoned with turmeric, ginger, garlic, Chinese five-spice powder and other spices gives Turmeric/Ginger Grilled Pork Chops big flavor with very little heat; Grilled Sesame Zucchini is delicious, smoky and impressive—and it’s easy to make. Recipes below.

asian-chops-sesame-zucchini

At times like this, I wish Blue Kitchen had a scratch and sniff mode. When I’d whisked together the ingredients for the marinade for the chops, it was so wonderfully aromatic that I wanted Marion to get a whiff of it before I added the meat and popped it in the fridge. I carried it to the study at the opposite end of the apartment where Marion was. She told me the big fragrance had preceded me.

The marinade is actually based on one used for a five-spice chicken dish in Mai Pham’s Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table. Pham is chef/owner of Lemon Grass Restaurant in Sacramento, California. Here’s how she describes the dish’s olfactory pleasures: “The best five-spice chicken I have had in Vietnam was made by a street food vendor in the port town of Hoi An in the central region. The vendor used a spice mix of freshly toasted star anise and turmeric. When she grilled the chicken, the whole neighborhood was perfumed with the most enticing fragrance.” Other seasonings adding their big personalities to the marinade include fresh ginger and garlic—plenty of each—and Chinese five-spice powder.

You may have noticed the quotes around Vietnamese in the headline. It’s not that Pham’s marinade isn’t authentically Vietnamese; she was born in Vietnam and left there just days before the fall of Saigon in 1975. And the recipes in the book come from a trip she made home 20 years later to connect with her roots. It’s more the way certain ingredients freely cross borders, especially in Asia. Continue reading “Asian improvisations on the grill: “Vietnamese” chops, sesame zucchini” →