Monday, February 04, 2008

2 Years

This blog is two years old as of yesterday, so I thought I'd make something humble yet refined to exemplify my approach to home cooking where improvisation and aspirational experimentation dominate. So tonight, a lamb shoulder, braised for 7 hours in mirepoix (I fear we're almost out) plus mustard, cumin, caraway and fennel seeds, juniper berries, pink peppercorns, preserved lemon, garlic, olives, herbes de Provence, a splash of wine, a shot of espresso, and water to come about halfway up.

Once ready, I removed the meat, strained the liquid, and reduced it some. While it was reducing, I made polenta. Thus lamb atop polenta, served with some of the liquid, and topped with a nice dollop of cranberry tapenade (cranberries, olives, jalapeƱo, ketchup, maple syrup) and a glass of 1998 Castello Banfi Brunello. The tapenade really meshed with the meat, on many levels, and the wine, though awkward, provided a nice counterpoint. It will be interesting to see how it tastes tomorrow and beyond, since 99s are drinking so well right now.

4 comments:

cookiecrumb said...

Happy Blogday.
That's a beautiful dish.

peter said...

Thanks. It tasted good, too; the tapenade was unbelievable with the lamb.

Zoomie said...

Sorry I missed your birthday - busy at work. Sheesh, you'd think they'd realize that blogging is more important but, oddly, they don't pay me to play with my blog pals. Dish looks amazing - I want one of those!

peter said...

I'll send one right over. (It might need rewarming on your end.)