It comes a bit late
This comes a bit late, I suppose. I woke up this morning, full of some sort of identifiable anxiety, and after 10 minutes of quiet, attempted meditation, made the leap and bought the domain name to this blog, at a rate of $12/year. I take this rate as a good sign. Multiples of 4 have always seemed pleasing to me, most likely a result of some remnant desire for symmetry or completion or something or other. Then again, I don't really believe in signs. Perhaps buying this domain name was just the result of waking up, full of worry and feeling the need to take ownership of something, to commit to something. Whatever the reason, I did it. Purchased. Done and done.
Who knew that starting a blog in 2008 would lead to me spending more money? I thought that purchasing this domain name would make me a bit happier, but in doing so, I seem to have created some more internal anxiety. I think the cause is...well...how to word this...while I'm glad that I have this blog as a constant in my life, it will now cost me something very tangible, in a way that it has never costed me before. Cost, price, toll. These are the things that already permeate my life. Is buying a domain name making this blog an obligation now?
Or perhaps, this is probably late in coming and I should just stop overthinking. For God's sake, I've had this blog since 2008. Might as well make a change.
Before I drudge back into deep melancholy, here's a recipe. As with many realizations in my life, it comes a bit late, but fortunately, in time for all you out there still pondering what meat to put on the table for the upcoming holidays. I roasted some leg of lamb over the Thanksgiving break at my sister's apartment, adapted from a recipe from America's Test Kitchen. My sister has a large, gas stove/oven that makes me cry a little bit over my own tiny electric one, which is so small it can barely house a human head. A great deal of my holiday was spent time marveling over her nice things, her flat baking pans and wooden cutting boards, unchipped pots and pans, her sharp, pristine knives and vast counter space. All beautiful, really.
Who knew that starting a blog in 2008 would lead to me spending more money? I thought that purchasing this domain name would make me a bit happier, but in doing so, I seem to have created some more internal anxiety. I think the cause is...well...how to word this...while I'm glad that I have this blog as a constant in my life, it will now cost me something very tangible, in a way that it has never costed me before. Cost, price, toll. These are the things that already permeate my life. Is buying a domain name making this blog an obligation now?
Or perhaps, this is probably late in coming and I should just stop overthinking. For God's sake, I've had this blog since 2008. Might as well make a change.
Before I drudge back into deep melancholy, here's a recipe. As with many realizations in my life, it comes a bit late, but fortunately, in time for all you out there still pondering what meat to put on the table for the upcoming holidays. I roasted some leg of lamb over the Thanksgiving break at my sister's apartment, adapted from a recipe from America's Test Kitchen. My sister has a large, gas stove/oven that makes me cry a little bit over my own tiny electric one, which is so small it can barely house a human head. A great deal of my holiday was spent time marveling over her nice things, her flat baking pans and wooden cutting boards, unchipped pots and pans, her sharp, pristine knives and vast counter space. All beautiful, really.
This leg of lamb came on the bone, so some prep work is needed. It pays off though. This one's a show stopper and looks beautiful on the cutting board. Also, if you look in the oven you'll see the bone tucked behind the roast, ready for some stock making later on (bonus points). In greater detail for the prep, you'll need to butterfly the meat off the bone carefully, slice off excess fat on the bottom-side, then cross-hatched the fat cap and pound the slab until it is closer to 1-inch in width. This will tenderize the lamb, but also make it easier to get that beautiful medium-rare we all crave in our lamb. I left the meat thicker than 1-inch, because I'm lazy and I can only pound meat with my fists for so long. I guess the moral of this story is invest in a wooden rolling pin. Another important caveat is that the meat then needs to rest, salted, until it is 100% at room temperature. Otherwise, you'll find yourself like me, impatiently stabbing the meat with a thermometer and wondering why it's cooking so slowly.
Some final words. Other than the cooking technique, I've pretty much altered a great deal of the ingredients (what happens when you don't have fresh herbs on hand). If you're trying this, if possible, get some fresh rosemary and nestle it in with the onions and garlic below the lamb, rather than rubbing dried rosemary on the lamb as I did. Otherwise, good luck with the holiday preparations and I'll talk to you soon.
serves 4
1 5-6 lb lamb shoulder, fat cap still attached
2 TB salt
2 TB freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary* (optional)
1 head of garlic, peeled and minced
1 large onion, sliced into strips
1 TB ground coriander
2 bay leaves
2 bay leaves
3 TB olive oil
*Note: you can use dried rosemary, but I'd advise putting it into the onion mixture and not atop the lamb (as I did). The flavor didn't really come out when the dried herb was rubbed on the lamb.
First, you'll need to prepare the lamb. Remove from refrigeration and with a sharp knife, carefully remove any silver membrane you see. Then, carefully cut the meat away from the bone, without interfering with the fat cap, and so that the final product is a long slab of meat. Lay out on a large cutting board with the underside facing up (meaning the fat-cap is down) and cut away any excess fat .(reserve the fat, in case you need it later for the top-side, read further for explanation). Once the excess fat is cut away, using your fist or a rolling pin or a meat mallet, pound the meat until it is closer to 1-inch in thickness. I pounded the meat but left it uneven, in order to have some variation in rareness in the final product, meaning some areas of my slab were 1-inch thick while others were slightly thicker. Once the meat has been pounded, flip the slap over and cut a cross-hatch pattern over the fat-cap, slicing through the fat-cap but not into the meat. The lines for the cross-hatch pattern should be spaced about 1/2-inch to 1-inch apart. Season both the bottom and top of the meat with the 2 TB fine sea salt and let sit for 1 hour at room temperature. I stress, the meat must be room temperature before you put it into the oven.
While you are waiting for the meat to come to room temperature, as well as let out excess water, move the rack to the lower part of the oven and preheat to 250 degrees. Mix together the olive oil, garlic, onion slices, coriander, and bay leaves. If you have fresh rosemary, add it to the onion mixture. Spread onto a large sheet and bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or while your meat is resting, until onions are softened and the oil is fragrant. Remove from oven and discard bay leaves. Let cool.
Turn back to the lamb. Pat off excess liquid that has seeped out during the "at rest" period until the meat is fairly dry. If there are spots on top of the lamb that do not have fat, place pieces of the reserved fat. Then season the whole thing with freshly ground black pepper. If you did not have fresh rosemary, rub the dried rosemary on the lamb at this time as well, although I'd advise not doing this. In fact, I'd just add the dried roesmary to the onion mixture and keep the rosemary off the lamb. But your preference.
Transfer the lamb roast, fat cap side up, to the pan and lay it atop the softened onions. Use a spatula to tuck all of the onion mixture under the lamb, so that it will not burn in the oven. Bake in the oven at 250 degrees, 30-40 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the lamb registers 120 degrees per the meat thermometer. Remove the sheet from the oven so you can adjust settings in the oven.
With the lamb out of the oven, move the rack to the top half, so that the rack is below the broiler element. Then turn on the broiler and let the broiler element heat up, ~5 minutes. Once the broiler has heated up the oven, place the lamb back into the oven and broil the roast for 5-8 minutes (for medium rare) or until the top of the lamb is crispy. Then remove from the oven and rest, tented in aluminum foil. for 20 minutes. It is now ready for slicing.
Serve with fresh horseradish and onions (collected from the bottom of the pan) .
*Note: you can use dried rosemary, but I'd advise putting it into the onion mixture and not atop the lamb (as I did). The flavor didn't really come out when the dried herb was rubbed on the lamb.
First, you'll need to prepare the lamb. Remove from refrigeration and with a sharp knife, carefully remove any silver membrane you see. Then, carefully cut the meat away from the bone, without interfering with the fat cap, and so that the final product is a long slab of meat. Lay out on a large cutting board with the underside facing up (meaning the fat-cap is down) and cut away any excess fat .(reserve the fat, in case you need it later for the top-side, read further for explanation). Once the excess fat is cut away, using your fist or a rolling pin or a meat mallet, pound the meat until it is closer to 1-inch in thickness. I pounded the meat but left it uneven, in order to have some variation in rareness in the final product, meaning some areas of my slab were 1-inch thick while others were slightly thicker. Once the meat has been pounded, flip the slap over and cut a cross-hatch pattern over the fat-cap, slicing through the fat-cap but not into the meat. The lines for the cross-hatch pattern should be spaced about 1/2-inch to 1-inch apart. Season both the bottom and top of the meat with the 2 TB fine sea salt and let sit for 1 hour at room temperature. I stress, the meat must be room temperature before you put it into the oven.
While you are waiting for the meat to come to room temperature, as well as let out excess water, move the rack to the lower part of the oven and preheat to 250 degrees. Mix together the olive oil, garlic, onion slices, coriander, and bay leaves. If you have fresh rosemary, add it to the onion mixture. Spread onto a large sheet and bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or while your meat is resting, until onions are softened and the oil is fragrant. Remove from oven and discard bay leaves. Let cool.
Turn back to the lamb. Pat off excess liquid that has seeped out during the "at rest" period until the meat is fairly dry. If there are spots on top of the lamb that do not have fat, place pieces of the reserved fat. Then season the whole thing with freshly ground black pepper. If you did not have fresh rosemary, rub the dried rosemary on the lamb at this time as well, although I'd advise not doing this. In fact, I'd just add the dried roesmary to the onion mixture and keep the rosemary off the lamb. But your preference.
Transfer the lamb roast, fat cap side up, to the pan and lay it atop the softened onions. Use a spatula to tuck all of the onion mixture under the lamb, so that it will not burn in the oven. Bake in the oven at 250 degrees, 30-40 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the lamb registers 120 degrees per the meat thermometer. Remove the sheet from the oven so you can adjust settings in the oven.
With the lamb out of the oven, move the rack to the top half, so that the rack is below the broiler element. Then turn on the broiler and let the broiler element heat up, ~5 minutes. Once the broiler has heated up the oven, place the lamb back into the oven and broil the roast for 5-8 minutes (for medium rare) or until the top of the lamb is crispy. Then remove from the oven and rest, tented in aluminum foil. for 20 minutes. It is now ready for slicing.
Serve with fresh horseradish and onions (collected from the bottom of the pan) .
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