Saturday night: What's for dinner?

[Jenise]

Carrie, that sounds REALLY REALLY interesting, I hope you do post the recipe.

Chef, were you catering? That's an entertaining assortment of foods.

Bob H and James, I'm totally with Robin. One perfect lamb chop is better than a whole rack of supermarket lamb, especially when there's a great pasta or risotto on the plate. Who needs meat?

Barb, what are all the pumpkin recipes for? And didn't you have trouble finding pumpkin this time of year?

All: the charcrute was fantastic. I don't think I'll ever make it again without star anise and chinese sausage. Gorgeous on its own, and an even better wine match for a bottle of nectar, a 96 Loosen Spatlese.

Bob H and James, I'm totally with Robin. One perfect lamb chop is better than a whole rack of supermarket lamb, especially when there's a great pasta or risotto on the plate. Who needs meat?

Jenise, why am I not surprised?

[Jenise]

Jenise, why am I not surprised?

And this means what?

Well, I punked out and had takeout burgers on Saturday night. Isabella was particularly patient with some errands we had to run that afternoon, so she got to pick.

Tonight will be different, though. I picked up some lamb shanks from a guy at the Farmer's Market. These things look more like small legs than they do shanks. They're getting braised with spring onions, green garlic, carrots, and a weird celery, all of which are from the same market. I'll throw some fresh favas in to finish and serve with roasted fingerlings.

Mike

Jenise, it doesn't mean anything mean or snotty, it just means that I am not surprised that you would rather have 2 bites of organic lamb, than a dinner of regular farm raised lamb that ate grass that had been fed with non organic fertilizer. To me the fad of the past 10 - 15 years is nothing more than a way to raise the price of products. That does not mean I appreciate farms especially agri business who have someone with a hypo inject their livestock with growth hormones, I was raised on a farm and I know for a fact that there is no reason to eschew chemical fertilizer in a bag that will allow a farmer to feed an animal of 3 acres instead of 40. I do not mean to rile you but I disagree with the organic premise. whomever espouses it, and hopefully to not flame any fires, it seems that those who do, always seems to insinuate that we who don't, to seem like we are dummies. If I have misconstrued any part of the "organic" credo, than I apologize.

[Jenise]

Bob, I appreciate your point of view, but you erred in your assumption that I was on the organic bandwagon. Not at all, it was strictly about taste. You cannot buy lamb in a supermarket in California or Washington that isn't strong and gamey--it's mutton, not 'lamb' per se. And by comparison, all lamb I've purchased on a local basis has been mild and excellent and since I get so little of it, I couldn't help but put myself in Robin's shoes and know I'd settle for two little chops over none at all.

Bob, I appreciate your point of view, but you erred in your assumption that I was on the organic bandwagon. Not at all, it was strictly about taste. You cannot buy lamb in a supermarket in California or Washington that isn't strong and gamey--it's mutton, not 'lamb' per se. And by comparison, all lamb I've purchased on a local basis has been mild and excellent and since I get so little of it, I couldn't help but put myself in Robin's shoes and know I'd settle for two little chops over none at all.

Then Jenise, I hope you will accept my apology for mis-interrupting your position in this scenario. I see so much about organic this and organic that, that I unfairly attributed that same mindset to you. I apologize. I will say though that if my choice is 2 little bites of lamb, or finding something else for a full ration, then I will find something else.

So long as I am on the theme of organic foods, lets take the subject of beef. A range fed beef, that has not been fattened by feeding grain, will be lean and stringy. Lean and stringy also means lacking flavor and tenderness. I don't like the steroids that animals are fed, but if my choice is grass fed lean and stringy, or grain fed beef that "May" have been fed or injected with what I would rather not have. I guess I come down on the side of grain. I buy lamb chops at "gasp" Sam's Club. this is lamb from NZ and is IMO delicious. They also have leg and shoulder lamb, as well as racks, that is pretty darn good as well. Now, if I want the very best, I will contact a KY farmer and contract for a "Spring lamb". This is of course a baby that is around 6 weeks old and is still a suckling,. the suckling is taken from the ewe, and slaughtered, so that I can have a mild piece of lamb. It's about the only way I know of getting one.

The Roscoe clan is hosting the wonderful Mr. Howie Hart and friend Larry for lunch tomorrow. Probably some kind of grilled beef on the grill with asperagus and potato salad. Mmmmmm....... Keep it simple.

And a fine dinner it was. The CDR blend from Crete was very very nice, as was the Cremant des Bourginoune (SP?) Thanks to you and your wife for the lovely hospitality!

[Jenise]

Then Jenise, I hope you will accept my apology for mis-interrupting your position in this scenario. I see so much about organic this and organic that, that I unfairly attributed that same mindset to you.

Apology accepted, but I probably mislead you with my denial because I am a fan or organic this and thats for two reasons. One is taste--the only good tasting lamb I can buy up here is organic from Oregon. And I'm glad it's organic. And the other is clean food--I'd rather buy organic if I can. My husband has fought three different types of cancer in the last five years and I have to err on the side of caution in every way I can. And that's organic. It's no bandwagon here at my house, it's fighting for our very lives.

But it was only taste I was thinking of when I poohpoohed supermarket lamb. It simply does not taste good. The New Zealand alternative would be much much better, but it's not available to me here.

[Robin Garr]

But it was only taste I was thinking of when I poohpoohed supermarket lamb. It simply does not taste good.

Exactly. We've stopped buying supermarket meat - not just lamb - for a combination of various health and philosophical reasons, but taste is primary. To me, eating supermarket meat is like drinking mass-market wine just because it's cheap. I don't want my wine to be nothing but a cheap alcohol-delivery system, and I don't want my meat to be nothing but a cheap calorie-delivery system.

The New Zealand alternative would be much much better, but it's not available to me here.

We can (and occasionally do) buy it from Whole Foods, but I find that I'm increasingly concerned about "food miles," and frankly - no offense, Neil and Sue! - the environmental and fossil-fuel cost of shipping meat from Down Under to a part of the US where local lamb is grown and readily available is making less and less sense to me.

Your suggestions were a big help Saturday night, by the way. I'll post a report in a separate message in the thread.

[Robin Garr]

Love the risotto idea. An asparagus risotto would be terrifico, in fact, with the lamb, but I'd also be tempted to get the extra mileage out of the lamb flavor by pan frying the little guys in a little butter, then making a quick pan sauce with shallots, wine, broth and fresh mint. Set the lamb on the risotto, then drizzle the sauce over all. Garnish with a fresh mint leaf. Mint is a nice accent for asparagus and it would really tie the two parts together.

I didn't follow your advice exactly, but took a lot of inspiration from this excellent suggestion as I made dinner on the fly. The mint (after I prepped Mary for the concept ) was an inspired idea - especially since mint is growing like weeds in Kentucky at Derby time, and we've got a side yard full of the stuff - but rather than using it in the pan sauce, I added a fine chiffonade to the risotto just at the very end of cooking.

Basically, I made a very simple but refined risotto by cutting the fresh asparagus into short lengths, reserving the tips, and briefly blanched the stalks in lightly salted water, lifting them out and reserving them and then using the resulting pale-green asparagus water as my risotto liquid. Started the risotto by toasting carnaroli rice in French butter with a smashed garlic clove and a ginger coin to give it a nice elusive scent, then started the risotto with the asparagus water, stirring in the stems about halfway through and the tips along with the mint chiffonade only at the very end, using a little more butter and Parmigiano Reggiano to finish.

While I was keeping the risotto stirred, I pan-seared the salteded and peppered lamb chops just to medium-rare in a little olive oil, sauteeing a bunch of sliced crimini mushrooms around them as they cooked. I deglazed with a little of the asparagus pan liquid and a little more chiffonaded mint at the end, and, as you suggested, plated the lamb chops (and the mushrooms) on top of the risotto, letting the pan-reduction sauce drizzle down into the rice.

It was excellent, all the spring flavors beautiful together, and while I can't deny that I would have <i>liked</i> about a half-dozen chops, we were completely satisfied with dinner, and found it completely filling. Really, the risotto would have made a light spring dinner without any meat, so the chops were kind of <i>lagniappe</i>.

The chops themselves, from lamb produced on a local farm and processed at an artisanal regional firm, were beautiful, and it would have been just a bad idea to throw supermarket chops into the same meal just to provide extra meat. We really didn't need it.

My wine choice was fine, too ... an offbeat, Sangiovese-based red from a less-familiar Tuscan region near the seacoast, <b>2001 Baccio</b> from <b>I Campetti</i> in Monteregio di Massa Marittima.

[James Roscoe]

The Roscoe clan is hosting the wonderful Mr. Howie Hart and friend Larry for lunch tomorrow. Probably some kind of grilled beef on the grill with asperagus and potato salad. Mmmmmm....... Keep it simple.

And a fine dinner it was. The CDR blend from Crete was very very nice, as was the Cremant des Bourginoune (SP?) Thanks to you and your wife for the lovely hospitality!

And the supermarket beef was just fine.

[Jenise]

Robin, you're so lucky that you've got that local lamb available. And I think we'll all start paying attention to "food miles" sooner than later; have to admit, on Saturday I picked up three of those hot house cucumbers from California, then realized there were some smaller ones of the same type to the side grown locally in Ferndale. Well, the cost difference was 2.5 times, but I figured hey, they're local, and they're organic, and I'll bet they taste better. They did--I had half a conventional cuke I'd cut into the day before to compare it with, and there was no contest. And this gets back to the conversation with Bob H, and that's that food miles and organic growing aside, if flavor were the only consideration, what's local is nearly always fresher and better tasting. And if it's organic too that's a nice plus for some of us.

Of course it's easier to eat local in some places than others. I was reading an article last night about a new restaurant on the Google campus that serves only local ingredients--they've placed a 150 mile limit. In terms of menu planning and procurement, it's quite a challenge for the chefs. And to stay true to their course, they've started canning for the off season.

Anyway, your dinner sounds wonderful, and I take it Mary didn't run out of the room screaming when she found this new herb in her dish. I really envy you your local meat sources--we have virtually none here.

[Robin Garr]

Robin, you're so lucky that you've got that local lamb available. And I think we'll all start paying attention to "food miles" sooner than later ... organic growing aside, if flavor were the only consideration, what's local is nearly always fresher and better tasting. And if it's organic too that's a nice plus for some of us.

While I'm not troubled by "organic," I'm not wedded to it. More important to me is that food be natural and preferably local. If it's certified organic too, I don't mind that, but I'd rather have produce from a local farmer who doesn't enjoy organic certification but who has been vetted by the produce market or independent local grocer, than buy industrial "organic" shipped in from another part of the country or around the world. I'm not absolutely wedded to "food miles," either. It's one more variable to take into consideration. But I love it when I can do it, and certainly in terms of the extremely fresh, dated free-range Kentucky eggs or the locally produced beef, pork and lamb I can get here, I'm delighted. And that includes grass-fed beef. Maybe I've either been very lucky or just don't have refined taste buds, but I don't find it tough and stringy ... not the rib eyes and strips, anyway.

Anyway, your dinner sounds wonderful, and I take it Mary didn't run out of the room screaming when she found this new herb in her dish.

Oh, I was just teasing ... Mary is very open-minded, except about sweet and fruity savory dishes. The mint just required a little advance selling to make sure she knew it wasn't going to be mint jelly.

I really envy you your local meat sources--we have virtually none here.

I guess I'm lucky to live in a crunchy-granola, tree-hugging section of a blue city, even if we are swimming in a sea of red. But that said, if you consider all the publicity about natural farming, sustainable ag, food miles and all the rest that's been growing for a generation, it seems to me that more and more Americans should have growing access to this kind of thing, subject to the caveat that you may have to <i>look</i> for it and you may have to <i>pay</i> for it. I'm not surprised that you don't have much access around Bellingham, but is that true of Seattle or Vancouver? (I know you can't pop over there before dinner, but I'm thinking in terms of stocking up.) In similar fashion, I can't pop into Kroger's or even Costco and get locally grown meats, but I can certainly get them reliably at seasonal farmer's markets and at any of a dozen or more specialty grocers that I know of. I assume the same is true in most good-size metros nowadays, although maybe I'm naive about this.

Does it cost more? Usually yes. Am I willing to pay it? Absolutely yes.

The 100 mile rule meant something different to me, but here's a somewhat cynical view of the food version:

http://www.reason.com/news/show/119909.html

[Robin Garr]

somewhat cynical view

I'm not whelmed by <I>Reason</I>, which generally strikes me as conservatism masquerading as libertarianism, written by youngsters who hide in the bathroom with Ayn Rand for stimulation. Some time I'll tell you how I really feel.

In this instance, though, I think they're taking the 100-mile rule a little too seriously. I think there's a lot to be said for buying locally, judiciously, when it's practical to do so; and when those happy circumstances come together, it makes a lot more environmental sense to do that than to fly in lamb from New Zealand or asparagus from Peru.

But it seems to me that <I>Reason</i> is unreasonably engaging in rhetoric here, setting up a straw man and then taking great glee in knocking it down.

[Jenise]

I can't pop into Kroger's or even Costco and get locally grown meats, but I can certainly get them reliably at seasonal farmer's markets and at any of a dozen or more specialty grocers that I know of. I assume the same is true in most good-size metros nowadays, although maybe I'm naive about this.

Nope, almost nothing of the sort here even at our farmers market. Things seem to be better further south: I bought the best pork roast of my life at Bucko's farmers market in Olympia where several sell local meats. There might be outlets in the Seattle area but I'm unsure where they are. Vancouver's only an option for pork because of border restrictions against literally everything else, and a good one because their pork is local and younger than ours as a rule. [/quote]

[Robin Garr]

Nope, almost nothing of the sort here even at our farmers market. Things seem to be better further south: I bought the best pork roast of my life at Bucko's farmers market in Olympia where several sell local meats. There might be outlets in the Seattle area but I'm unsure where they are. Vancouver's only an option for pork because of border restrictions against literally everything else, and a good one because their pork is local and younger than ours as a rule.

D'oh! I didn't even think about the border issue. I guess that's twice as worse after 9/11, too.

setting up a straw man

The book's authors did a fine job of that!

BTW, post anything complimentary about Rand in their comments section and you'll see how much those "youngsters" are Randians. The heroes there are Friedman, Hayek, and Borlaug.

[Robin Garr]

post anything complimentary about Rand in their comments section and you'll see how much those "youngsters" are Randians. The heroes there are Friedman, Hayek, and Borlaug.

Can I volunteer for a root canal without anesthetic instead? Thanks for the correction, though.

Don't worry, you'll enjoy the experience, it feels so good when I stop.


edit: Is it safe yet?

[Jenise]

And the supermarket beef was just fine.

And it can be, as it is where I live. But pork and lamb, un-huh. It all depends on where you live.

[James Roscoe]

And the supermarket beef was just fine.

And it can be, as it is where I live. But pork and lamb, un-huh. It all depends on where you live.

Just seeing how long I can keep the chain jerking going on. I wouldn't know any better and can't afford any better. I suppose I belong to the ignorant masses. Please lets keep it that way. I was a happy, beer swilling guy ten years ago until someone pointed out to me that there was more to wine than Hearty B. and White Zin. I don't need someone to do that to my meat selection too. I can't afford it!

I did learn that places such as Niman even use corn to finish their beef--for precisely the reasons you state--if they don't, it's too lean, too tough...but, of course, they use hormone free corn feed....

I can appreciate that in a steak.

b