Supper Club IV: Entrée & Sides
While the appetizers were being devoured, I was completing the last few steps necessary to unleash the main course on my unsuspecting guests. All of these items came from the December 2011 of Eating Well magazine, which may be the single best issue of that magazine that I've ever gotten. John, gieves, and butterandjelly helped me get all of the following dishes on to stylish red plastic plates for serving.
Seven-Hour Leg of Lamb
From page 68 of the December 2011 issue of Eating Well.
1 6-pound bone-in leg of lamb, trimmed (ours was 7.5 pounds or so)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 lemons halved
1 bottle dry white white (specifically, a Crane Lake Chardonnay that cost all of $4.99)
2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only sliced (I used three)
1 head garlic, cloves separated and peeled
5 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 sprigs fresh thyme
4 cups chicken broth
1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Rub lamb with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place a large roasting pan over two burners on medium-high heat. Add lamb and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. After about five minutes, add lemons and cook, cut-side down, until well browned. Transfer lemons to plate to stand.
4. When the lamb is browned, squeeze the juice from the lemons over the lamb. Add the juiced lemons to the pan along with wine, leeks, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme.
5. Cover the pan tightly with foil.
6. Roast the lamb for three hours, turning over every hour or so. Make sure foil is on tight after turning.
7. After three hours, turn lamb again. Add broth to pan. Stir to combine broth with vegetables, herbs and liquid.
8. Cover with foil again and roast for four more hours. Turn and baste with broth every hour.
9. After being cooked for 7 hours, transfer lamb to a warmed platter and tent with foil to keep warm. The lamb should be practically falling off the bone.
10. Place the roasting pan over two burners on medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and then simmer for ten minutes over reduced heat.
11. Strain the cooking liquid into a bowl. Discard the solids. Add pepper to liquid and serve with lamb.
As far back as early NovemberI really had no idea what I was going to do for supper club. It was definitely time for me to step up and do it, but a theme eluded me. Then I got the December issue of Eating Well. When I hit page 68, I knew what I was serving. I was nervous though; except for an appetizer at my first Supper Club, I'd never made any kind of lamb, let alone an entire leg.
Fortunately, my sister had seen the same recipe and was equally interested in trying it out. I was visiting tigerlily_blue in Atlanta in late December and we opted to make this for a collection of her friends on the 28th. She had to work during the day, so I set to cooking by myself in her tiny kitchen. The results were judged delicious by all of her guests.
Forearmed with this knowledge, I scheduled Supper Club, and the results actually turned out better than our test run did. I ordered a leg of lamb from Turcyks (formerly Bistrickys) the week prior. We had judged that our six pound lamb in Atlanta generated about 12 servings, so I went up to 7.5 pounds for Supper Club. Cooking proceeded without problems. Around hour six when I grabbed the bone to flip the lamb, it came out. The meat was literally falling off the bone and we had a full hour to go. Fortunately, the foil kept the broth in and the meat was still deliciously moist. Even if it hadn't been, we had a huge amount of liquid to serve with it, most of which went unneeded. In retrospect, I should have kept it for soup. Oops.
John, whose day job involves cutting up living humans and putting them back together, volunteered to carve, but he found that the meat barely needed cutting at all. Instead, he focused mostly on dividing it equally into the fifteen servings needed. We had a very tiny amount left over, some of which went to Tulip as repayment for her patience with all these strange people invading her house.
Creamy White Beans
From page 68 of the December 2011 issue of Eating Well.
1 sixteen ounce bag of dried white beans (I used cannellini)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
10 cloves peeled garlic
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
3 large sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1. The night before, put the beans in a bowl and cover with water.
2. Heat canola oil in a large pot over medium heat.
3. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds.
5. Add broth, water, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Add beans and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Season with pepper.
7. Cover and simmer until very tender, 1 1/4 to 2 1/2 hours. Add more pepper if desired.
The recipe makes about six cups. I made a double-batch and we had quite a bit left, easily enough for another six servings. This is probably because the beans are kind of bland, especially compared to the awesome flavor of the lamb.
In Eating Well this recipe was specifically paired as going well with the lamb. tigerlily_blue and I made it in Atlanta, but I wasn't feeling too great that night and didn't have any. If I had, I may not have made it again. It's filling, and not unpleasant, but nothing special. butterandjelly noted that with all the liquid left in the pot it was almost easier to spoon out with a slotted spoon than a ladle.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
From page 34 of the December 2011 issue of Eating Well.
14 large cloves garlic (2 minced, 12 halved)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 cups Brussels Sprouts trimmed and sliced (I used three full pounds)
3/4 cup white wine
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Mince two garlic cloves and mix in small bowl with olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper.
3. Halve the remaining garlic and toss with Brussels Sprouts and half the oil mixture from [2].
4. Roast, stirring once, for fifteen minutes.
5. Add wine to remaining oil mixture. Drizzle over Brussels Sprouts. Roast another 5 to 10 minutes.
I made a triple batch. By carefully dividing this I got exactly fifteen servings on to the plates. All the sprouts were happily consumed. I was not surprised, because I had made it twice previously.
This recipe was actually paired in the magazine with a roasted salmon. I made the salmon & Brussels Sprouts combination for my parents and sister for Thanksgiving. I made it again for zoethe in January. Both times it was received with acclaim, and I had no fears that it would flop without the salmon.
Once all three dishes were on the plates, gieves, butterandjelly and I carried them to my waiting guests. As delicious as the entrée and sides were, I knew that the prospect of dessert was already crossing the minds of my guests...
Seven-Hour Leg of Lamb
From page 68 of the December 2011 issue of Eating Well.
1 6-pound bone-in leg of lamb, trimmed (ours was 7.5 pounds or so)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 lemons halved
1 bottle dry white white (specifically, a Crane Lake Chardonnay that cost all of $4.99)
2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only sliced (I used three)
1 head garlic, cloves separated and peeled
5 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 sprigs fresh thyme
4 cups chicken broth
1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Rub lamb with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place a large roasting pan over two burners on medium-high heat. Add lamb and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. After about five minutes, add lemons and cook, cut-side down, until well browned. Transfer lemons to plate to stand.
4. When the lamb is browned, squeeze the juice from the lemons over the lamb. Add the juiced lemons to the pan along with wine, leeks, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme.
5. Cover the pan tightly with foil.
6. Roast the lamb for three hours, turning over every hour or so. Make sure foil is on tight after turning.
7. After three hours, turn lamb again. Add broth to pan. Stir to combine broth with vegetables, herbs and liquid.
8. Cover with foil again and roast for four more hours. Turn and baste with broth every hour.
9. After being cooked for 7 hours, transfer lamb to a warmed platter and tent with foil to keep warm. The lamb should be practically falling off the bone.
10. Place the roasting pan over two burners on medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and then simmer for ten minutes over reduced heat.
11. Strain the cooking liquid into a bowl. Discard the solids. Add pepper to liquid and serve with lamb.
As far back as early NovemberI really had no idea what I was going to do for supper club. It was definitely time for me to step up and do it, but a theme eluded me. Then I got the December issue of Eating Well. When I hit page 68, I knew what I was serving. I was nervous though; except for an appetizer at my first Supper Club, I'd never made any kind of lamb, let alone an entire leg.
Fortunately, my sister had seen the same recipe and was equally interested in trying it out. I was visiting tigerlily_blue in Atlanta in late December and we opted to make this for a collection of her friends on the 28th. She had to work during the day, so I set to cooking by myself in her tiny kitchen. The results were judged delicious by all of her guests.
Forearmed with this knowledge, I scheduled Supper Club, and the results actually turned out better than our test run did. I ordered a leg of lamb from Turcyks (formerly Bistrickys) the week prior. We had judged that our six pound lamb in Atlanta generated about 12 servings, so I went up to 7.5 pounds for Supper Club. Cooking proceeded without problems. Around hour six when I grabbed the bone to flip the lamb, it came out. The meat was literally falling off the bone and we had a full hour to go. Fortunately, the foil kept the broth in and the meat was still deliciously moist. Even if it hadn't been, we had a huge amount of liquid to serve with it, most of which went unneeded. In retrospect, I should have kept it for soup. Oops.
John, whose day job involves cutting up living humans and putting them back together, volunteered to carve, but he found that the meat barely needed cutting at all. Instead, he focused mostly on dividing it equally into the fifteen servings needed. We had a very tiny amount left over, some of which went to Tulip as repayment for her patience with all these strange people invading her house.
Creamy White Beans
From page 68 of the December 2011 issue of Eating Well.
1 sixteen ounce bag of dried white beans (I used cannellini)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
10 cloves peeled garlic
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
3 large sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1. The night before, put the beans in a bowl and cover with water.
2. Heat canola oil in a large pot over medium heat.
3. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds.
5. Add broth, water, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Add beans and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Season with pepper.
7. Cover and simmer until very tender, 1 1/4 to 2 1/2 hours. Add more pepper if desired.
The recipe makes about six cups. I made a double-batch and we had quite a bit left, easily enough for another six servings. This is probably because the beans are kind of bland, especially compared to the awesome flavor of the lamb.
In Eating Well this recipe was specifically paired as going well with the lamb. tigerlily_blue and I made it in Atlanta, but I wasn't feeling too great that night and didn't have any. If I had, I may not have made it again. It's filling, and not unpleasant, but nothing special. butterandjelly noted that with all the liquid left in the pot it was almost easier to spoon out with a slotted spoon than a ladle.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
From page 34 of the December 2011 issue of Eating Well.
14 large cloves garlic (2 minced, 12 halved)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 cups Brussels Sprouts trimmed and sliced (I used three full pounds)
3/4 cup white wine
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Mince two garlic cloves and mix in small bowl with olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper.
3. Halve the remaining garlic and toss with Brussels Sprouts and half the oil mixture from [2].
4. Roast, stirring once, for fifteen minutes.
5. Add wine to remaining oil mixture. Drizzle over Brussels Sprouts. Roast another 5 to 10 minutes.
I made a triple batch. By carefully dividing this I got exactly fifteen servings on to the plates. All the sprouts were happily consumed. I was not surprised, because I had made it twice previously.
This recipe was actually paired in the magazine with a roasted salmon. I made the salmon & Brussels Sprouts combination for my parents and sister for Thanksgiving. I made it again for zoethe in January. Both times it was received with acclaim, and I had no fears that it would flop without the salmon.
Once all three dishes were on the plates, gieves, butterandjelly and I carried them to my waiting guests. As delicious as the entrée and sides were, I knew that the prospect of dessert was already crossing the minds of my guests...