Another easy vegetable recipe from Molly Stevens’s All About Braising. Stevens says that this may convert Brussels sprout haters, but I doubt it. It does take the edge off the sprouts, making them less pungent, but they still taste like Brussels sprouts! Luckily, we like that. I adapted the recipe by adding a touch of lemon zest.

Creamy Braised Brussels Sprouts

Adapted from “All About Braising” by Molly Stevens

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts

• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

• coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1/2 lemon

Trim base of each sprout, discard ragged outer leaves, and then slice each one in half, thirds, or quarters (if they are very large). The point here is to have a bunch of pieces that are approximately the same size. Each wedge should be about 1/2 inch across.

Melt butter in a large skillet on medium-high heat. When the foaming stops, add the sprouts, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sprouts begin to brown.

Pour in the cream, add the lemon zest, and stir. Cover pan and reduce heat to low simmer. Braise until sprouts are tender, about 30-35 minutes. The cream will have reduced and will be a light tan color.

Remove the cover, squeeze in lemon juice (squeeze from lemon half), and adjust seasoning. Simmer, uncovered, for a few minutes to thicken cream to a glaze that coats sprouts. Serves 4 to 6.

The IACP cookbook nominees are here, and you can find the Beard nominees here. Guess whose book shows up on both lists? Dorie Greenspan’s!

• Chris of Mele Cotte successfully defended her dissertation, and now has a Ph.D. in Education. Congratulations, Chris!
• Did you know that Coke makes kosher Coca-Cola? It contains sugar, part of the original recipe, instead of corn syrup, which was substituted for sugar in 1985. Via Off the Broiler.
• Everyone’s favorite Cream Puff is baking Orange Oatmeal Applesauce bread at midnight, while Ari is baking Banana Bundt Cake . . . at 5 a.m. I feel like such a slacker!
• Kathy takes us on a tour of Honolulu’s Chinatown market, one of Master Chow’s favorite haunts back home. Like I’ve said before, sometimes I really miss Hawaii, especially when I read one of Kathy’s posts!
• Recipe I’ve added to my “to-make list”: Dorie Greenspan’s Prune and Armagnac ice cream, via Brilynn at Jumbo Empanadas.
• Rowena blogs about Italian hedgehogs. No, she doesn’t eat them, so don’t worry.
• And speaking of critters, for those of you with cats and dogs, there has been a massive dog and cat food recall due to incidents of kidney failure and death caused by aflatoxin in the food. For more information, including a list of affected brands, check here and here. **Update: more on the pet food recall, here.**
• HAPPY SAINT PATRICK’S DAY!

Spring is around the corner!

Seven Hour Leg of Lamb. Unfortunately, I do not have Mae’s photography skills (check out her beautiful lamb shank presentation!).

All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking is a phenomenal book. I have hundreds of cookbooks, but I can honestly say that there are only a few that fall in the “exceptional” category. This is one of them.

Stevens takes you by the hand, and guides you through each recipe. She gives a mouthwatering description of the dish, advises on ingredient selection, and provides detailed preparation instructions. The recipes range from the simple, such as World’s Best Braised Cabbage, to sophisticated dishes like Breast of Veal Stuffed with Sausage and Red Pepper, to classics such as Coq au Vin.

Stevens teaches you how to braise properly, and how to layer and concentrate flavors. The results are shockingly good. I say “shockingly” because the end products taste like so much more than you thought they would.

One thing I have always, always disliked is lamb. The smell of it. The thought of it. But Master Chow loves it, and I am not a veggie-Nazi, even though I don’t eat meat. What people choose to eat is their own business. I cook what he likes, just as I would cook vegetarian if my spouse preferred it. When I do make lamb for him, it is special, and I will pay a premium for organic meat that was raised humanely.

I decided, then, to treat Master Chow to his favorite, leg of lamb. And Molly Stevens provided the inspiration with her intriguing recipe for Seven Hour Leg of Lamb. It was easy to prepare, and the results were extraordinary. “What?” you say. How could someone who hates lamb know this? Precisely because I don’t like it. When it was done, I picked a little charred bit to see if it was any good, and I practically swooned to the kitchen floor. Unbelievable. No, it’s not enough to convert me to carnivorous ways, but what does that matter? Master Chow said it was the some of the best lamb he’d ever had.

The meat was so tender, you could cut it with a spoon, just as Molly Stevens promised. The depth of flavor was tremendous, with no gaminess. The vegetables were tender and flavorful. Serve this to guests and they will believe you studied at the Cordon Bleu.

Try this recipe. You will not be disappointed.

Seven Hour Leg of Lamb

From “All About Braising,” by Molly Stevens

Recipe abbreviated to save on typing

• One 6 to 8 pound bone-in leg of lamb (mine was about 5 pounds, so I braised it for 5.5 hours total instead of 7 to 8 hours)

• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 cup dry white wine or dry white vermouth (I used wine)

• 2 cups stock (I used beef)

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, or 2 teaspoons dried

• 15 garlic cloves (yes, 15), peeled and smashed

• 1 cup chopped canned peeled tomatoes, juices reserved

• 8 golf-ball sized yellow onions, or onions making up a total of 2 pounds

• 6 carrots, cut crosswise in half, and then halved lengthwise into fat sticks

• 6 medium turnips, peeled and halved (smaller turnips are better than huge ones)

Heat broiler on high.

Trim lamb of excess fat, and if there is a dry, whitish parchment layer, remove that. Be gentle about the fat – don’t dig into the meat. You want to leave a thin layer of fat. Season lamb with salt and pepper and place in roasting pan.

Slide the lamb under the broiler until the fat begins to sizzle and the surface of the meat takes on a brown speckled appearance, about 5-10 minutes. Turn the meat by grabbing the bone with a dish towel, and broil the other side for 5-10 minutes. Transfer lamb to a baking sheet.

Turn down oven to 275 F, and place rack in lower third of the oven.

Pour excess fat out of the roasting pan, being careful not to discard the brown bits and juices. Set pan over one or two burners set on high, add the wine, and bring to a boil. Boil until the wine is reduced by about half, about 5 minutes. Add stock, bay leaves, thyme, garlic, and tomatoes with their juice, and bring to a boil.

Return lamb to roasting pan, lower heat to medium high, and bring liquid back up to a simmer. Scatter the onions, carrots, and turnips around the meat. Cover pan with heavy duty foil, and place lamb in oven. Braise for 5 to 7 hours (it will depend on how much meat there is), gently turning every two hours using two large slotted spoons. The meat will be falling off the bone.

If you are worried your oven might run hot, or that the meat might cook too fast, turn the oven temperature down to 265 F the first two hours (this is what I did).

Carefully transfer lamb to a serving dish. Don’t worry if everything falls apart at this point! Skim juices of fat (or use a gravy separator), discard it, and bring juices up to a simmer. Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed. Spoon sauce over meat and vegetables. You will not have to carve the meat – it will be that tender. Simply provide a serving spoon!

Another biscotti recipe from the delightful little tome, Biscotti. I really could not taste the saffron (the author advises not to use more than 8 filaments, or the cookies can develop a medicinal taste). The recipe called for a 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, which I left out, substituting a teaspoon of orange zest. The cookies were still tasty, and absolutely beautiful to look at. They look like they are studded with jewels! What did I like best about them? The apricots – they pack a huge flavor wallop. I enjoyed them so much, I’m probably going to add more to the next batch, as well as additional orange zest!

Moorish Apricot Delight Biscotti

• 8 saffron filaments

• 2 Tablespoons orange juice

• 1/2 cup butter, unsalted

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 2 eggs

• 2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon orange zest

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup apricot halves, finely chopped (spray your knife with cooking spray to make this easier)

• 2/3 cup pistachio nuts

Preheat oven to 325 F and set rack in the middle.

Sprinkle saffron onto orange juice in a small oven proof bowl. Heat in preheated 325 F oven for 5 minutes to infuse flavor.

In a separate mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, orange juice with saffron, and zest. In another bowl, combine flour, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients until well mixed. Fold in apricots and nuts.

Divide dough in half. On a greased and floured baking sheet (or a Silpat) roll dough into two separate logs about 12 inches long, 1 1/2 – 2 inches wide, and about 1 – 1 1/2 inches tall.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned (I had to bake them for 35 minutes, but your oven may be different). Remove from oven, transfer logs carefully to cooling rack, and cool for about 5-10 minutes. Place logs on cutting board and slice cookies about 1/2 inch thick, using a serrated knife positioned at a 45 degree angle. Lay slices flat on baking sheet and return to oven to dry out, about 10-12 minutes total. After about 5 minutes, turn the cookies over. Let cool on rack.

Mmmm. Those crispy potatoes you see in the picture above never made it to a plate, much less a serving dish. Boy, were they good.

What inspired me to try this was an episode of America’s Test Kitchen on public television. I’ve butterflied and roasted a chicken before, but what intrigued me about this recipe was the placing of potatoes under the chicken while it roasted. The test kitchen crew raved about the results, claiming that the potatoes were so popular that the chicken almost became the side dish.

Well, I had to try this. I had about two-and-a-half pounds of red skinned potatoes that I wanted to use up. And I had just purchased an organic chicken (on sale!) at Whole Foods. Chicken is Master Chow’s soul food, so I’m always keeping my eyes peeled for good deals.

So, I brined the chicken (using 1 cup of kosher salt to 8 cups of water) first. This helps retain moisture and adds flavor. Do not brine a chicken for more than two to three hours; if you do so, it can lead to chalky meat. Not always, but better safe than sorry. I butterflied it by removing the backbone, then I pushed down on the chicken until it was flat. I prepared an herb butter to put under the skin, lined the bottom of the grill pan with heavy duty foil, and layered in the potatoes with salt, pepper, and left over herbs. Into a 500 F oven, and an hour later . . . voila!

Those potatoes were good. Egads. They were crispy and golden on the outside, but the insides were moist and creamy. As I said, they never made it off the cutting board. I ate about half the potatoes before I begged Master Chow to get in the kitchen and finish them off. I felt like an anaconda that had just eaten its winter food supply. I had to go lie on the couch, belly distended, to recover. And I kept thinking about those potatoes . . . .

Roasted Chicken with Crispy Potatoes

Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

• 1 3.5 pound to 4 pound chicken, preferably organic

• 3 Tablespoons softened butter

• 1 Tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

• 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme

• 1 garlic clove, crushed

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice

• 2 quarts (8 cups) water

• 1 cup kosher salt

• salt and pepper to taste

• 2 – 2 1/2 pounds of potatoes

Line the bottom of a grill pan with heavy duty foil. Place oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 500 F. Please make sure your oven is immaculately clean before you cook at this high a heat, or you will fill your kitchen with smoke!

The Brine

Dissolve 1 cup kosher salt in 2 quarts water. Soak chicken (unless it’s a kosher bird, then it already has been brined) for 2-3 hours. Remove chicken, rinse off salt, and thoroughly pat dry. Wet skin will not brown well in the oven. In fact, the Test Kitchen crew advises leaving the bird uncovered in the refrigerator for a few hours after brining to assure that the skin is thoroughly dried out.

Preparing the chicken

In a small bowl, smash together the butter, parsely, thyme, garlic, mustard, and lemon juice. Set aside. Remove the backbone from the chicken. Press down on it to flatten it as much as possible. Salt and pepper the bird. Place the chicken on the top part of the grill pan. Gently work the butter mixture under the breast and leg skin.

Prepping the potatoes

Scrub the potatoes clean and pat dry (I used red skinned and one russet). Using the #1 slicing disk (the thinnest one) on a Cuisinart, slice the potatoes. Spread them out in the lined grill pan, add salt and pepper, and any left over herbs.

Roasting

Place the slotted grill pan with the chicken on top of the potatoes. Place in oven and cook for 45-60 minutes until done (it will depend on your chicken size and your oven). Remove from oven and let chicken rest for about 10 minutes, while you devour the potatoes and burn your fingers. Alternatively, turn the potatoes out onto a plate and peel back the foil to expose the crispy undersides.

Oh, I will have to make these again!

• Elise has an informative post on gnocchi. She discloses that the secret to a light gnocchi is to use older potatoes (because they are drier), and bake them to keep them as dry as possible. My paternal grandmothers (Italian and Spanish) told my mom the same thing!
• Food blog discoveries: Rice and Noodles, Jumbo Empanadas.
• Homesick Texan has posted a recipe on a delicious-looking Czech pastry that I’ll have to try, kolaches.
• Kathy continues to eat at an extraordinary rate. She will soon be winging home to Hawai’i where I’m sure she will regale us with further gastronomic adventures. I can hardly wait!
• I just received my Cupcake Courier in the mail. Of course, you know what this means . . . I will have to bake some cupcakes. That’s just the way it is. Ah, decisions, decisions . . . .