When in doubt, stuff it
When I ordered a leg of lamb from Eric and Carrie Johnson they asked me if I wanted it boneless and I said no; I always prefer my meat roasted with its bone in as it increases the flavor of the final product. But that’s just my stock answer, actually I had no idea how to cook a leg of lamb and even on Sunday as the lamb sat on my counter I still wasn’t totally sure what to do with it.
I have a Cook’s Illustrated book about roasting meat checked out from the library, so I consulted it. Very rarely does CI steer me wrong, and yet when they do (much like google maps) it can be a confusing and tense situation. Unfortunately for me this proved to be one of those instances of “what the hell were they thinking”. They began by advising me to place the leg, meaty side down! What do they mean, meaty side down, it’s all meaty? Then they instructed me to remove a gray lymph node from the leg, cautioning me not to pierce the node with my knife. So I fondled the meat, trimmed the excess fat, and hesitantly poked about for this “lymph node”. At that point I’m doubting the whole idea of leg of lamb, and that’s when I decided that those well defined lobes of meat were coming off the bone.
This brings me to a truth I’ve encountered on more than one occasion, but which I always forget; the best way to get to know a new cut of meat is to debone it. Working my blade through the tender meat allowed me to see clearly that there was no lymph node hiding anywhere. Not there, thank god! I butterflied all the large pieces of meat and the odd scraps and bits were chopped fine and cooked up for Lovejoy.
I have a standby, foolproof, stuffing for meat that is so simple and flavorful it never misses. I take 4 slices of whole wheat sandwich bread and toast them. One they are cool I grind them up in the food processor along with 2 cloves of garlic, a 2 inch chunk of Parmesan, half of a frozen cigar of basil, salt and pepper. Add just enough olive oil to make it come together and it’s done.
Season the lamb on both sides with salt and pepper, spoon the stuffing onto the meat and pat it evenly across. Add strips of a fire-roasted bell pepper. Roll it up, secure it with string and bake it on a roasting rack in a 350F oven until the thermometer reads 135F. Remove it, let it rest for 10 minutes, cut the strings off, slice and serve.
The results were, much to my relief, extraordinary. The lamb was flavorful, tender, and almost sweet. The stuffing was indeed the perfect foil, and it was cooked perfectly for our tastes. Everyone liked it and I’ll certainly make it again.
Lessons learned: Cook’s Illustrated is sometimes scary wrong, using your knife to get to know a new cut of meat isn’t a bad thing, and when in doubt, stuff it.
Madeleine…deceptive and addictive
I passed 46 years on this earth before I ate a madeleine. Oh, such a sorrowful waste of time. Since I purchased Dorie Greenspan’s Baking book this summer I make them often and I always double the recipe…they are that popular around here. The deceptive aspect of a madeleine is that it looks so chic, so sophisticated…so it must be difficult to make, right? Not so, mon frere!
They begin as a simple batter that improves with an overnight stay in the refrigerator. Then after brushing the madeleine tin with butter, and a dusting of flour, you plop the thick batter into the molds without worry about evenly spreading the batter or anything… they smooth out, puff up, and fill the scalloped shells so well that it’s magical. When they’re done (10-12 minutes) you bang the pan on the counter and they tumble out…golden brown, fragrant with butter and vanilla.
They’re addictive because of that slight, crisp crunch they have on their edges. Then the outer firm texture gives way to a tender, dry (but not too dry) cake interior with a superb crumb and texture. For me, madeleines represent the best aspects of cake…without any of the drawbacks like sticky frosting, under-baked centers, and over-baked edges.
Alas, there will be no recipe for these lovelies…I actually follow Dorie’s recipe to the letter. If you have the book…make them, if not then buy it or check it out from your local library.
Chocolate armagnac cake
If food had ratings, like the MPAA ratings on movies, this cake would be rated R…not for nudity, language, drug use, or violence…but for the sheer adult pleasure that this cake provides. The complex flavors, the textures, so many, so much…it is almost overwhelming. Plus it was fun to make and included the opportunity to flambe…yes, I’m talking about playing with fire and you know how much fun that is.
The complex flavors can be traced back to the key ingredients of this cake: armagnac, prunes, and bittersweet chocolate…just telling the kids what was in the cake was enough information for them to shun it…which meant more for GH and I! Armagnac is like cognac except that it is made in the region known as Armagnac…thus its name. According to the salesman at Steve’s Liquor, it has a smokier flavor than cognac and those smoky flavors compliment the prunes and chocolate so well that it was a revelation. I could see using it as the liquor component in chocolate truffles, date nut pudding, christmas pudding…and I’m sure there is more. I don’t have much experience cooking with booze…usually if a recipe calls for it I either omit it or find a different recipe…but now I think I’ve been wrong, the dimensions of flavor that the armagnac brings to this cake are irreplaceable…without the armagnac it would just be a chocolate cake with prunes.
Ah yes, the prune part. Prunes don’t bother me…but I guess they have a reputation…well you know. It’s a shame really because I’ve had some fantastic food that contained prunes. In this cake the prunes are not even noticeable as prunes but they do bring a smooth sweetness and a fruity tang. It is a flavor that plays so well with the armagnac and chocolate. Plus I’m sure they contribute to the moistness and stickiness of the cake, two more of its admirable attributes.
There is always much talk on the internets about using high quality chocolate and while I would love to have an infinite food budget, the reality is that I don’t. As a result I rarely use the really good stuff for baking, instead I use either Baker’s brand or Trader Joe’s brand. In this case I used TJ’s bittersweet chocoalte and I think it performed very well. The chocolate flavor is intense and because of the power of the armagnac and the prunes I think using a more expensive chocolate would have been wasted.
This recipe came from Dorie Greenspan’s book, Baking From My Home To Yours and believe it or not I followed it exactly…well almost. The recipe calls for a 8″ spring form pan and I have no such thing so I used my 9″ round cake pan and it worked just fine. Also Dorie styles the cake as a a flat, slick, chic, cake and I decided to style mine more on a rustic note. She calls for the flat bottom of the cake to be the top and she doesn’t garnish it with pecans, but since their are pecans in the batter I decided it would be perfect and it was.
Chocolate Armagnac Cake
Adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours
by Dorie Greenspan
2/3 cup pecan pieces
¼ cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
12 plump, moist pitted prunes
¼ cup armagnac
7 oz. bittersweet chocolate
4 oz. unsalted butter
3 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a round cake pan and dust it with flour. Fit the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper.
Chop the prunes into little pieces. Put the prunes in a small saucepan and add ¼ cup of water. Cook over medium heat until the water almost evaporates. Turn off the heat and remove the pan. Add the armagnac and light it on fire. The flames will die down after a few minutes.
Process the pecans, flour, and salt in the food processor until the pecans are finely ground.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave and add the butter. Stir well to combine and emulsify.
In a large bowl beat the egg yolks and sugar together until thick and pale. Stir the chocolate mixture into the eggs, then add the nut/four mixture, and then the prunes. Stir after each addition to combine.
Beat the egg whites into firm peaks and gently fold them into the batter. Fill the pan with the batter and bake for 20 minutes in a convection oven at 350°F or 30 minutes in a normal oven at 375°F. The cake is done when its top is firm and the edges begin to pull away from the sides. A knife inserted in the middle should be streaky.
Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes then invert on a rack and remove the paper. Continue to cool fully.
Make an icing with 3 oz bittersweet chocolate melted. Add to that 3 tablespoons room temp butter. Stir to combine. Add 3 oz sifted powdered sugar and stir until smooth. Chill until thick. Stir out any lumps and then ice the cake. Top with chopped pecans.
