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 RECIPE
from The Silver Palate Cookbook
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.
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