2011 Year in Music

I always enjoy the year in music mix creation. It's a good time to scour through my music tastes of the year. I usually start when traveling for Christmas and take at least a month to finish - this year was no exception.

2011 was the year of the singer-songwriter for me apparently. There are so many pretty vocals!  It was hard to do my standard mix tempo with that many of them, but there is the usual mix of rock and electronic - with just a dash of hip-hop. I hope there is a little something for everyone in here.

Without further ado, track list below followed by links to download my mix. If you hear something you like, please support the artist by buying their music through your favorite music dealer.

1  Revival - Deerhunter (Halcyon Digest)
2  Under Mountain, Under Ground - The Lighthouse and The Whaler (The Lighthouse and The Whaler)
3   Let England Shake - PJ Harvey (Let England Shake)
4   Stinging Nettle, Honeysuckle - Blessed Feathers (From the Mouths of the Middle Class)
5   Cannons - Youth Lagoon (The Year of Hibernation)
6   Two Steps, Twice - Foals (Antidotes)
7   Blink and You'll Miss a Revolution - Cut Copy (Zonoscope)
8   That's Your Call - Gauntlet Hair (Gauntlet Hair)
9   Put the Days Away - Sun Airway (Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier)
10 Abducted - Cults (Cults)
11 Oh Yeah - Wild Flag (Wild Flag)
12 Run for Love - Joan As Police Woman (The Deep Field)
13 Flagstaff  - Atlas Sound (Parallax)
14 Tusk - Arms And Sleepers (The Organ Hearts)
15 Whispers of the Waves (With Gord Downie) - Buck 65 (20 Odd Years)
16 Holocene -Bon Iver (Bon Iver)
17 Helplessness Blues - Fleet Foxes (Helplessness Blues)
18 Futile Devices - Sufjan Stevens (The Age of Adz)
19 I Don't Want Love - The Antlers (Burst Apart )
20 A Phantasy - The Octopus Project (Hexadecagon)
21 Rano Pano - Mogwai (Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will.)

Go here to DL a zip file with the songs and a playlist file. 

If you want a simplier browsing method, go here to sample the songs on iTunes, and buy if you hear what you like.

Year of the Dinner Party #11: Fire and snow

How do you fit in dinner parties into December? There are office parties, and Christmas parties and travel - there is always travel. 

December was busy and plenty full of Places To Go With Decadent Food. That said, there was no way that we were ending the Year of the Dinner Party without having a December dinner party.  

So just 2 days after Christmas, the last dinner party of 2011 happened in the Smoky Mountains with Phyllis and Don at their log cabin. While we enjoyed the candlelight and fire, just a dusting of snow landed on the porch!

My photography set up was primitive - my iPhone. Christmas suitcases do not have room for camera equipment.  I did, however, find room for a small stash of pine nuts, dried cranberries and walnuts.

MENU

Appetizers

• Good ol' shrimp cocktail

Salad

• Mixed greens with walnuts and dried cranberries tossed with balsamic vinaigrette dressing 

Main

• Filet Mignon steaks (grilled in the snow by Kent)
• My Mom's decadent mac & cheese 
• Green beans w/ red pepper & pine nuts (recipe also from my Mom) 

Dessert

• Apple & pear cobbler from the Food Network with vanilla ice cream

Wines

• 2, possibly 3, delicious bottles that I did not take pictures of.

THE PREP

I intentionally picked an easy to prepare menu. After all, we went to the cabin to relax and hours and hours of cooking would have interfered with all the reading and napping on the couch.

In the morning, I made the mac &  cheese and cobbler, and trimmed the green beans. I started the rest of the dinner around 6 pm. We were digging in by 7:30 pm.

THE VERDICT

Delicious, with a side of over-stuffed. 

The cobbler was the only new recipe (wow, I finally had a tried and trued menu!) and OMG was it is winner.  The dessert for 8 was demolished before bed.  It has been moved into my permanent recipe collection. 

Kent did a great job with the steaks, and my mom's mac & cheese recipe got high praises all around. 

THE EYE CANDY


You can see all the (iPhone) pictures on Flickr.  I have a long way to go before I am internet celebrity for my ability to take amazing pictures with just my iPhone.

THE RECIPE


The apple and pear cobbler! The recipe be found on Food Network website. 

Year of the Dinner Party: The Melting Pot

The first rule of dinner parties is never, ever use an entirely new menu for a dinner party.  I break this rule most of the time. For November,  however, I actually made a main course I've made frequently. So I decided  to channel all risk into the guest list and dessert. 

Our small group had never met until the Melting Pot Dinner Party. Great conversationalists + fancy cocktails ensured that everyone enjoyed themselves through dessert. OMG! Dessert!

MENU

Cocktails

• Rosemary Fizz from Dave's Dinners 

Appetizers

• Crudites with green goddess dressing from Martha Stewart 
• Dates wrapped in bacon from Dave's Dinners 

Salad

• Fennel, walnut & apple salad from Dave's Dinners

Main 

• Lasagna
• Handmade foccacia from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Dessert 

• Peanut butter banana pie from Epicurious

Wines

• 2007 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Bosche
• 2010 Brachetto di'Acqui
• 2001 Rosso Ca' del Merlo

THE PREP

Prep for this meal spread over 2 days. Friday night I prepped lasagna,  rosemary syrup, salad dressing and Green Goddess dip.

Saturday I started EARLIER THAN PLANNED and for once, ran ahead of the below schedule. 

10:30 - Make pie crust

11:00 - Start bread

11:30 - Cut veggies

12:00 - Pre-heat oven

12:00 - Make pudding

12:30 - Put bread in oven

 1:00 -  Take bread out of oven

 2:00 -  Make peanut butter filling/finish pie

 3:00 -  Prep dates & grate cheese

 6:15  - Bake dates

 6:30  - Prep salad ingredients

 7:00 -  Lasagna goes in oven

THE VERDICT

The dessert was, as predicted, the best item on the menu. The lasagna was perhaps the best I've made yet. I dialed back the cheese not to be named in front of Kent  ricotta, and used a fairly shallow tray. Two layer, not three layer lasagna is my new go-to. The dates packed more flavor pleasure than I expected. I could have made twice as many and we would still have finished them all. 

My bread was the biggest disappointment, but since it was my first and remotely edible, I considered it a win. It was not nearly as light and fluffy as I hoped. Turns out, whole wheat flour is not for beginners.

THE EYE CANDY
More on Flickr!

THE RECIPE

Epicurious already did all the work for me. Go check it out there!

Year of the Dinner Party #9: Invasion of the Parents

After following my dinner parties from afar, my parents demanded suggested a Dinner Party for their October visit. Happy to oblige, I centered a menu around the King of the Roasted Meats - a standing rib roast. The menu was nothing but decadent.

My mom saved dinner - twice!

MENU

Snacking Treats

• Mixed olives
• Mixed nuts
• Cheese, salami & crackers

Appetizer

• Spicy Shrimp from Silver Palate (and featured recipe from July Dinner Party) 

Main

• Mustard Seed-Crusted Prime Rib and Roasted Balsamic Onions from Bon Appetit December 2010 issue
• Potato & Leek Gratin from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone 
• Braised Carrots from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Dessert

• Apple crisp and vanilla ice cream from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Wine

• 1998 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Bosche
• 2009 Unti Segromigno
• 2009 Copain Syrah  

THE PREP

8- 11 am Grocery store, make crisp, cut carrots  Laying in bed cursing myself and moaning after late night out with fellow mofos.

2- 5 pm My mom saved dinner the first time. If I didn't have help in the kitchen, we would have eaten at 10 pm. There was quite the amount of peeling and slicing to do. With 2 people we made quick work of my long list of preparations since I didn't spend my morning as planned. 

THE VERDICT

Delicious. All of it. It was well balanced fall menu. The meat was the clear winner, but the gratin came in a close second. Cooking potatoes in milk = heaven.

My mom suggested I check the roast long before I expected to be done after an accidental oven turn off. I found a perfect medium rare roast.  Once again, mom saved dinner. 

My only criticism was of the horseradish creme fraiche sauce accompaniment for the roast. It made about 12x the amount we needed. I had over 1 cup, and we used a tablespoon each. It was a nice accent, but the meat was so good on it's own with the au jus, the creme fraiche was just interference.

THE EYE CANDY

Complete set on Flickr.

THE RECIPE

The Prime Rib (of course)

2/3C + 1 t Dijon mustard divided

4 medium onions, cut into 3/4 inch wedges with some core attached

5 very large shallots, quartered through root end

3T balsamic vinegar

2T olive oil

1.5t coarse kosher salt + additional for sprinkling

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 9.5 bone-in standing prime rib, trimmed That serves 8. I used a 5.5 lb (2 rib) roast, which was plenty for 5 with leftovers

2T yellow mustard seeds

1/4C brandy

2C low-salt beef broth

** This recipe included a creme fraiche dip that I am not including here. ** 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Toss onions, shallots, vinegar, oil, and 1.5 teaspoons coarse salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle roast lightly with coarse salt and generously with pepper. Stir 2/3 cup mustard and garlic in a small bowl. Rub over roast. Place roast, bone side down in roasting pan. Sprinkle mustard seeds over, pressing to adhere. Roast 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees.

Arrange onion mixture around roast. Return to oven. Roast until thermometer inserted into center of meat reads 120 degrees, stirring onion mixture occasionally - about 2.25 hours for medium rare. My roast took about 1.5 hours. The math said it would take 2 hours. 

Transfer roast to work surface. Tent with foil, let rest for 30 minutes. If necessary increase oven temperature to 450 degrees and return onions to roasting pan and roast until deep brown and very tender. I didn't need to do this. Using a slotted soon, transfer onion mixture to serving bowl.

Place roasting pan on 2 burners on medium-high heat. Add brandy, stir 30 seconds. Whisk in broth and remaining 1t of mustard. Boil until reduced to 1 1/4 cups of au jus, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 

Slice & serve roast. 

Year of the Dinner Party #8: Night of Meat

September Dinner Party aka "The Night of Meat" was a big format departure from previous dinners. I made the meats and dessert and asked guests to bring a side. We also invited more folks than fit around the dinner table so it was decidedly less formal. And also one of the most enjoyable dinners I've hosted. 

Everyone brought amazing sides and we drank wine until well past midnight.  With 10 people, it was a lot of wine!

MENU

Meats

• Pork & Chive Dumplings & Lantern Sauce from Epicurious
• Beer-braised pork belly from Cook, a oui chef journal
• Coffee-braised short ribs from Paula Dean son's recipe

Sides

• Gazpacho (Lulu)
• Gratin Dauphinois (Caryl)
• Roasted Artichokes Brussel Sprouts (Monica)
• Asparagus, Onion, Red Pepper Salad (Kara)

Dessert

• Chocolate Cake with Ganache Icing from Dave's Dinners

Wines (and a beer)

• 2002 Trentadue Port (with dessert)
• 2006 Unti Benchland Syrah
• 2008 Sempre Vive Malbec
• 2008 Clos Du Bois Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2010 Toulouse Anderson Valley Pinot Gris
• 2010 luli Pinot Noir
• Pliny the Elder beer

THE PREP

This was the easiest meal I've made yet. All that food that appeared with guests was obviously a huge help. 

The weekend before the dinner party, I spent an afternoon in the kitchen making a metric ton of dumplings and then froze them. Yes, I actually made something 7 days in advance and did a trial tasting(I regularly break the "don't make something for the first time for a dinner party" rule).

I started the pork belly dry brining Thursday morning before going to work (who am I?!?!).

Saturday morning, I picked up the last ingredients, made cake and dumpling sauce and started my braises in the afternoon - not quite as early as I should have, as it turns out. 

THE VERDICT

The dumplings were the hands down winners of the meat dishes. I can't believe it's even possible for dumplings to be that good (apparently the fatty ground pork is the secret). After starting the braises a bit too late (note to self: earlier is always better!), the short ribs turned out quite tender. I will definitely make them again though I think I will experiment with different braising sauces. The sauce for this one didn't blow me away. 

The pork belly was my least favorite of the meat dishes. It was properly tender (omg, was it so tender), but the flavor didn't have quite the gravitas I was hoping for - the sauce never thickened so that is where I suspect I lost it.

The chocolate cake was obscenely decadent. Not sure I would do it again, unless for a die-hard chocolate lover. Sure did pair well with the lovely port Caryl brought though.

THE EYE CANDY

The full Flickr set is here.

THE RECIPE 

from Epicurious 

I 4x'ed the recipe and used 2 pounds of pork.

• 1/2 pound fatty ground pork
• 1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
• 1/4 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Vietnamese chile-garlic sauce (preferably Huy Fong brand)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated peeled ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar (not seasoned)
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Pinch of white pepper
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro stems
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped flowering chives, flat Chinese chives (garlic chives), or scallions
• 24 to 30 round dumpling wrappers (preferably with egg)
• 
  

Combine all ingredients (except cilantro stems, chives, and wrappers) in a large bowl, then stir in cilantro stems and chives. Set bowl in a larger bowl of ice to keep chilled while forming dumplings.

Place a slightly rounded teaspoon of filling in center of a wrapper and moisten area around filling with water. Fold in half to form a crescent and press to seal. Moisten one corner and bring corners together, pressing them, to form a tortellini-shaped dumpling. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.

Cook dumplings in a large pot of gently simmering water until pork is just cooked, about 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a platter.

Cooks’ note: Dumplings can be formed (but not cooked) 2 hours ahead and chilled; or 1 month ahead and frozen on a tray, then transferred to a freezer bag. Cook frozen dumplings in 3 or 4 batches, 7 to 8 minutes per batch.

Dumpling Sauce Recipe

Dinner Party #7: Someone else's kitchen

Kent and I were lucky enough to spend the first weekend of August at Lake Tahoe with our friends Mike and Alana. The promise of warm summer evenings and a view of the lake called for the Year of the Dinner Party to relocate.

So Kent and I packed the Saabaru with a metric ton of food and headed out of town. We learned an important Bay area lesson: if you leave for Tahoe at the wrong time of day it can take 7 hours to get there. Good thing we overbought ice.

THE MENU

Appetizers

• Cheese and crackers, including the addictive Angus Barn blue cheese spread

Salad

• Spring greens with warm goat cheese croutons and shallot vinaigrette dressing from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Main

• Grilled steaks (from CSA) prepared by Kent
• Spicy shrimp from the Silver Palate (intended for an appetizer, but too messy for a finger food)
• Potato and Tomato Gratin from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
• Corn on cob with herbed butter from Dinner Party #6

Dessert

• Blueberry crumb bars with vanilla ice cream from Smitten Kitchen

Wines

• Several bottles of them - both red and white. Man, i really need to find a way to remember to get the names of the wine we drink.

THE PREP

Thursday night I went to grocery store and got everything I needed except what had to be bought day of (bread & shrimp).

Friday morning, I made the blueberry crumb cake and the potato & tomato gratin.  Saturday prep was the easiest yet. On our way back from lunch, we stopped at the store for last items. Around 4 pm I headed into the kitchen to prep the shrimp, corn and salad dressing. The gratin cooked for a couple of hours. When cheese and crackers went out, the grill went on and the croutons went in the oven. With all this, I still had plenty of time to read a Thomas the Train book with Owen, play with Callie and drink wine with the non-toddler crowd.

THE VERDICT

This meal with the perfect balance of simple summer with enough complexity to be interesting, which I strived for and failed at in the July dinner party.

The stand out recipe was the shrimp appetizer (see recipe below). The steaks and blueberry crumb bars were excellent (and easy to make), and I would definitely do the salad again. The gratin was a huge disappointment. Even though I doubled the cooking time, the middle layer of potatoes were undercooked. It was missing something flavor-wise. Perhaps the cheese & cream that every gratin except this one usually has. 

I really liked cooking away from home. I didn't care whether the house was spotless (which I am pretty sure is impossible with toddlers), and it forced me to prep enough in advance that Saturday was super relaxing. 

THE EYE CANDY

THE RECIPE

from The Silver Palate Cookbook

1 3/4 pounds large raw shrimp 

2T sweet butter

1T olive oil

1T finely minced garlic

2T finely minced shallots

salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste

2T lemon juice, or more to taste (I used a bit more)

2T finely chopped fresh dill

1. Peel & devein shrimp.

2. In large skillet over low heat, melt butter with olive oil. Add garlic and shallots and saute for 2 minutes without browning.

3. Add shrimp, increase heat slightly, and cook shrimp for 3 minutes, or until just done to taste. Add salt & pepper to taste and toss well. Remove to bowl, scraping in all the sauce.

4. Add lemon juice and dill; toss together well. Cover and refrigerate 3-4 hours before serving. Adjust seasonings to taste.

5. Serve as first course or on the ends of long bamboo skewers as an appetizer. (Or in a bowl for people to scoop onto their plate next to their other food.)

Dinner Party #6: Summer Dinner in the Fog

Summer in San Francisco is not like summer in most American cities. It is not hot and is only sometimes warm.  Daytime can bring blue skies and sunshine, but evening brings cold wind and fog so thick you can see literally see it moving over buildings.  July evenings in San Francisco call for soups and stews, but the plentiful produce calls for summer dishes meant to be eaten on patios in shorts.

For the July dinner party, I summoned American summer to our apartment. The menu was quintessential  summertime  and I kept the house warm enough so we were comfortable in t-shirts.

THE MENU

Appetizers

Lamb meatballs & mint-yogurt dip (with lamb from ours CSA) from Epicurious 

Fig & blue cheese grilled bruschetta from Williams-Sonoma Entertaining: Dinner Party

Salad

Arugula & spinach with radishes, bacon, goat cheese & lemon vinaigrette

Main

Grilled halibut w/ herbed butter from Williams-Sonoma Entertaining: Dinner Party

Orzo salad with tomatoes, olives and basil from Williams-Sonoma Entertaining: Dinner Party

Dessert

Lemon Semifreddo with Summer Berries from Epicurious 

Wines

2007 Ladera High Plateau Cabernet Sauvignon

2008 Gevrey Chambertin Burgundy

2010 Chaudoux Verdigny Sancerre

THE PREP

I went to the super hippie, bulk-bin galore SF grocery store Friday night to stock up on produce, dairy, and spoonfuls of items like currants. Early Saturday morning I picked up fish and flowers. 

My phone has been ringing non-stop. Paris Hilton wants me to introduce her to all the hot SF spots.

Prep for this menu was actually pretty easy. Everything could be made ahead of time (except the fish) so there was not a lot of timing to manage. All in all, I probably spend 4 hours in the kitchen - often intercepted by email.  (Side note -we shipped!) My poor time management made me more hectic than I needed to be so I forgot to take pictures of a number of finished items:(

THE VERDICT

This meal was a bit disappointing actually. None of the dishes  were stand out stellar in my opinion. While the grilled halibut was good it lacked the gravitas of a platter of roasted meat. The lamb meatballs were over-cooked & over-seasamed (oops - timer was set for 8 hours, not 8 minutes). I liked the lemon semifreddo - it was fun to make &  looked great abut wasn't as plate-licking good as other lemon desserts I've had. 

I will continue to experiment with dinner party menus that are not roasted meats, though I think they will need to have a layer of complexity to their preparation for me to be satisfied. 

THE EYE CANDY

See complete (meager) collection on Flickr.

 

Dinners, but no party

Unfortunately, a June dinner party didn't come to fruition, but it was a month full of home-cooked dinners. This was our first month as a member of the Marin Sun Farms CSA. Every month for the next six months, we get a box of meat straight from a local farm. They give us a combo of beef, pork and lamb ground beef, braising cuts and steaks. It will be a little different every time.

For June we got a pork tenderloin, butterflied pork chops, spareribs, lamb stew meat, ground beef and ground lamb.

The freezer full of meat is intended to encourage more at home cooking, and in June it worked! Not only did we plow through the Box of Meats, I also tried my hand at pizza from scratch.

Some highlights from our June Dinners

• Slow Braised Pork Sparerib Ragu Sauce from Cook's Illustrated
• Lamb Shepard's Pie from Fannie Farmer
• Homemade Pizza from Deborah Madison (sauce and dough) and my head (not that mind-blowing toppings)
• Molasses Glazed Grilled Tenderloin (over grits) from Epicurious
• Lamb Burgers - One with a beet salsa. One with lots of chili powder. Do not recommend the salsa.

Eye Candy

It's easy to forget about taking pictures when cooking. Here are just a couple. 

Someone else's cooking

For Memorial Day Weekend, Kent and I did an overnight trip to Napa. Mostly because San Francisco is too cold to wear this cute summer dress I have, and because we wanted to have brunch on the patio of Auberge du Soleil.  We've been lucky enough to enjoy it a couple of times with Kent's father.  Their view and food are spectacular.

Our solo visit was no different. Beautiful day, beautiful view and amazing food. 


In addition to Auberge, we did a tasting at Freemark Abbey and tasting and tour at Ladera.  Post trip, we  have a strict one in, one out wine bottle policy in our obviously too small wine rack. 


My meal

• Brunch Cocktail: Bellini
• Starter: Onion Tartelette with smoked salmon, crème fraîche and watercress
• Main: Wild hopper shrimp risotto with asparagus, Meyer lemon and yuzu emulsion
• Dessert: Crisp filo wrapped chocolate dumplings with tarragon ice cream, and Arbequina Olive Oil

Kent's meal

• Brunch Cocktail: Mimosa
• Starter: Poached hopper shrimp with butter lettuce, avocado and navel orange
• Main: Sauteed chicken with roasted potatoes and a medley of wax beans
• Dessert: Toasted Angel food cake with roasted strawberries and strawberry gelato

Wine

• 2008(?) Cakebread Savignon Blanc

The Eye Candy

See complete Flickr set.

Dinner Party #5: Tasty tasty lamb

Our May dinner party was a spring menu with a side of entertaining guests. Lamb, strawberries and asparagus all made an appearance. The lamb was so tasty, it's inspired a new section to these posts - the stand-out recipe from the meal!  Run, do not walk to your nearest butcher and get a leg of lamb and marinate it as below. 

THE MENU

Appetizers

• Leek & Blue Cheese Toasts from Smitten Kitchen (coincidentally a fellow Rutgers Prep graduate)
• Cheese toasts courtesy of Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Soup

• Carrot & Orange Soup from the  The Silver Palate cookbook

Main

• Leg of Lamb from The Silver Palate (see recipe below)
• Mashed Potatoes from Deborah Madison
• Roasted Asparagus with Blood Orange Dipping Sauce from Williams-Sonoma Dinner Party

Dessert

• Strawberry & Rhubarb Galette Williams-Sonoma Dinner Party

Wine

• Barnett Vineyards 2005 Spring Mountain Merlot
• Charlie Clay 2008 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
• Pride Mountain Vineyard 2007 Merlot

THE PREP

Saturday started early and went all. day. long. 

      9:00  Shopping

     10:00 Marinate meat

     10:30 Galette

     11:00 Blood Orange Sauce & Leeks

     12:00 Soup & Peel potatoes

THE VERDICT

I took the lamb out a little too early, so dinner started way later than I hoped as I had to throw it back in the oven. Having a-much-better-than-me cook around was super helpful for sorting out The Lamb Situation. (Thanks Lulu!)

That said, OMG the lamb was really, really good.  It was definitely the stand out recipe. The toast appetizers were both tasty. The flavor of the leek & blue cheese toasts was great.

The creation of the first galette had a comedic error that required help from Kent to rectify. Apparently I can still learn a baking lesson at every step. They tasted fine, though they certainly didn't look like they came out of an adult's oven.

The blood orange sauce was a disaster and didn't make it to the table. Proportions were all wrong and instead of blood orange dipping sauce I got mayonnaise flavored orange juice. Bleh! I seasoned the asparagus with salt, pepper, butter and lemon instead - always a win.

I learned another important lesson -  a never-been used before cookbook is a gamble, and perhaps 2 recipes + a dinner party may not be the way to break it in.  The Williams-Sonoma cookbook was way off on the galette cooking time and the dipping sauce proportions. Love the suggestions and pictures it has, but the next recipe I try, I'll plan to be suspicious.

THE EYE CANDY
See the complete Flickr set

THE RECIPE


from The Silver Palate Cookbook

3T crushed dried peppercorns, an equal mix of white, black, green (I used whatever I had.  It probably wasn't an equal mix)

1T fresh rosemary or 1.5t dried

1/2C fresh mint leaves

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2C raspberry vinegar

1/4C soy sauce

1/2C dry red wine

1 boned but untied leg of lamb, about 5 pounds (weighed after boning)

2T prepared Dijon-style mustard

1. Combine 1T of the crushed peppercorns (or all of them accidentally), the rosemary, mint, garlic, vinegar, soy sauce & red wine in a shallow bowl. Marinate the lamb in the mixture for 8 hours, turning occasionally.

2. Remove the roast from the marinade and drain; reserve marinade. Roll the roast, tying it with kitchen twine.

3. Preheat oven to 350.

4. Spread mustard over meat and pat 2T of crushed peppercorns into the mustard (or skip this step because of the step 1 mishap). Set roast in  shallow roasting pan just large enough to hold it comfortably. Pour reserved marinade around, but not over the roast.

5. Bake for 1.5 hours or 18 minutes per pound, basting occasionally until internal temperature is 140.  Roast will be medium rare. Bake for another 10-15 minutes for well done meat. Let roast stand for 20 minutes before carving. Serve pan juices in gravy boat along with lamb.