Lamb Burgers! 

Memorial Day weekend is finally here! Summer is beginning. When I was young this meant we could begin wearing white shoes (although for many in my home town of Louisville, Derby Day was the signal for that).
We had red poppies in church on Sunday, as we remembered the real reason for the holiday: to commemorate those who had given their lives in war to protect our country and what we believe in.
And it was the start of the picnic and cook-out season for my family. Mostly, cookouts for us meant hamburgers or chicken on the grill. Now, however, there isn't much I won't cook on a grill.
Recently I was invited to a friend's house to cook out. After some thought, we decided to do something a little different: lamb-burgers. We thought a Greek twist would be tasty. With the same flavors one might use to marinate lamb kebabs, we made oval patties. The lamb we had was extremely lean, so we brushed them with a little olive oil so they wouldn't stick to the grill. We used pita flatbreads instead of a bun, and offered assorted accompaniments to heap on top. A blob of tzatziki sauce made a great finish.
As a side dish, I cut carrots in half lengthwise and then into good sized chunks on the diagonal. I tossed them with a little olive oil on a baking sheet and dusted them lightly with equal amounts of ground cardamom, ground coriander seed and kosher salt. About 20 minutes in a 350o oven was all it took for a cooked but still firm texture.
Now, I know there are lots of folks who think they don't like lamb. I don't understand it but I know it's true. So if you are one of those folks, do this with lean ground beef and you're still going to love it! Invite your friends for the first cookout of the season, grill some lamb-burgers and enjoy the lovely weather...before it gets too hot!

GREEK LAMB-BURGERS

2 lb lean ground lamb
1 bunch green onion, finely chopped
2 or 3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Olive oil
8 large pita breads

Mix all ingredients except olive oil and pitas together. Form 8 oblong patties. Brush them with olive oil and cook over hot coals until they reach the desired doneness. I like them just barely medium. Put on a platter and tent with foil to keep warm. Brush the pitas lightly with a little more olive oil and warm them on the grill. Wrap the burgers in the pita and add shredded lettuce, diced tomato, slivered onion and the tzatziki sauce. You can also do these in your oven broiler, or on top of the stove on a ridged griddle or in a skillet. Serves 8.

TZATZIKI SAUCE

1 cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
juice of one lemon
1 or two cloves garlic, pressed or VERY finely minced
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and grated
1 tsp salt, or to taste

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour for flavors to mellow. Best used within a few hours. You may substitute fresh or dried dill for the mint if you prefer the flavor, or don't have fresh mint.

Memphis BBQ In Massachusetts. 

Driving down the main drag highway near my son's home in Massachusetts, what did I see but Memphis BBQ. Well, sort of.

I went in and checked it out and decided no way could it be authentic Memphis BBQ. First, it was imaculately clean. 2) It had a full bar with a bartender and all. 3) All the servers were dressed alike and none of them had on jeans. 4) The cola served was Pepsi, not Coca-Cola (I gave them a lesson in saying "co-cola"). And finally, there was (GASP!) no sweet tea!

An easy dessert!

This week a friend called and invited me to an impromptu dinner. Of course I accepted and asked the polite question: "Is there something I could bring?" Do you know what he said? Dessert! He asked ME to bring a dessert. I mean how often do you hear me raving about some great dessert I had? Or made? Nope, I didn't think so. So I went looking around...the kitchen of a non-dessert eater doesn't yield much. I did find a carton of strawberries that had seen better times about two days earlier. In my cabinet was a bag of pfeffernuse (German spice cookies) left over from Christmas. I tossed the washed berries in the food processor with lemon juice, sugar and a touch of Grand Marnier, pured them and poured them into a take-along bowl. I gave the bag of cookies a good whack or two with the flat side of a cutting board, and found a carton of crème fraîche.

At his house, I scrounged up champagne flutes, although wine glasses would have worked as well, and layered the cookie crumbs with the strawberry stuff and stuck it in the fridge. When dessert time rolled around, I added a dollop of the crème fraîche. You know, it was REALLY good.

You probably don't have leftover pfeffernuse but I'm thinking gingersnaps would be as good. Leave them in kinda largish chunks, it was the cookies absorbing the strawberry juice without becoming a paste that made it all okay.

Next year I'm saving some pfeffernuse on purpose.

I am loving this. Where else but Bell Buckle, Tennesse would they have a RC Cola- Moon Pie 10 Mile Run? Note, that's NOT a 10K run, but a good ole American 10 MILE run!

A few weeks ago I wrote about an article in the San Francisco Chronicle that talked about Maldon salt, my favorite sea salt. Here's another, from Slate.com by a fellow, Dan Crane, who did blind tasting of several kinds, including "pseudo-salt" (for those on low sodium diets), plain table salt, the hugely expensive fleur de sel, and, of course, Maldon salt. Interestingly, the Maldon won. See, I was right!

Berringer Blass Vineyards has come out with an interesting new wine, which is, as they say, created by women, for women. It has a kicky website. Lower in alcohol, and thus in calories, than most chardonnays, it will retail for around $10 per bottle. Whaddya think? Can guys drink it too, or will this be the new "real men don't eat quiche" thing?

I have had people fall gasping in the aisles of the shop when they saw the recent pricing of the REALLY good vanilla that we carry. Prices were so high (an 8-counce bottle got up to $22!) that I haven't reordered for a while. It's good to know that prices are getting a little more reasonable! Check this article in the Washington Post for all the reasons for the upsurge in pricing and the return to relatively more affordable pricing!

I saw a can labeled "Cuitlachoche" when I was at the Winchester Road market and didn't know what it was. Now I know. Here's the scoop, and I'm sorry I asked....

Parmigiano Reggiano Creamery

Recently I was talking to a customer about the reasons American artisan cheeses--and there are some truly outstanding ones--are so much pricier than similar European cheeses.

We talked about the many USDA and local rules and regulations, frequent inspections, forms to be filled out about the origin of the milk and other products used, and the myriad other reasons that make it tough for American cheese-makers to compete, even though the import prices have to include any duties and tariffs, and transportation.

I was reminded of the last time I was in Italy and visited a maker of Parmigiano-Reggiano. This creamery made only three 80-pound wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano a day. The milk was delivered by the local dairy farmers. I missed that part, since I had gotten lost (again!!) and was a little late getting there. But the milk was flowing through open troughs to the vats where it was processed. The plant was immaculate, but we saw cheese in open draining racks, open brining vats and open storage areas.

I was particularly amused by this shot of "il patron" stirring the curds wearing his watch and with an ever-present cigar dangling about the cheese vat. Boy, would our Health Department be all over that!!

Do you think maybe we carry this health thing a bit too far in our country?

A Tasty Treat from an Italian Street Market

Porchetta in the Greve-in-Chianti local market


If you have ever been to the open-air market day in most any small town in Italy, particularly in the north, chances are you have seen the porchetta (pronounced "pork-etta") truck. This is a trailer with sides that fold up to form a canopy. When opened they reveal a wide counter upon which rests a whole roast pig.

The night before, the pig had been partially boned. The organs were cleaned, cooked and chopped and stuffed back into the cavity with handfuls of sage, rosemary, garlic, spices and plenty of salt and pepper. Then it was rolled, tied and slow-roasted in a wood-burning oven until the meat was done and the skin was brown and crispy.

The longest line in the market quickly forms, waiting for the porchetta man to slice off chunks of tender, juicy, highly seasoned meat, place it on a hard roll and top it with some of the stuffing and cooking juices and a dollop of salsa verde. He'll ask you how much fat you want; you will want some to moisten the meat a bit, and certainly some of the crackling skin.

Although once strictly street food, now you can find it in some Italian restaurants, served as a main course with salsa verde and mostarda, a spicy sort of pickled fruit relish. Accompanied by roasted potatoes and onions drizzled with the pan juices, this makes a lusty meal to share with friends.

Now I don't know about you, but my oven is a teensy bit small for a whole pig. However a boned Boston butt makes quite an acceptable substitute. If you like the idea of the skin, you can order a skin-on shoulder roast, but I think the flavor of the herbed seasoning penetrates better with a skin-off roast. And heaven knows it's easier to carve! Marinate the roast at least one day, and preferably two days before your dinner.

The seasoning mixture will vary according to the region in Italy. I like a mixture of herbs and spices that are reminiscent of the flavors of the island of Sicily, a crossroad in the Mediterranean with influences from the Middle East as well as from the Italian mainland. For a more Tuscan/Umbrian flavor, omit the cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg and add 1 tablespoon of chopped fennel seed and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of crushed hot red pepper flakes instead.

If you want to serve this as sandwiches, be sure to use good crusty rolls so they don't fall apart when drizzled with the pan juices. If you serve it as a main course, roast chunks of onion and potato drizzled with salt, pepper and olive oil in a separate baking dish for the last hour of cooking. Either way, a green salad with a light vinaigrette rounds out the meal nicely.

The salsa verde can be made earlier in the afternoon. For the mostarda, difficult to find here, Marcella Hazan, in her most recent book "Marcella Says," recommends mixing Hero brand quince, apricot or bitter orange preserves with spicy brown mustard to taste as a substitute. She used Colman's; I used Dijon.

For dessert, an assortment of purchased Italian-style cookies, biscotti, pizzelle, and amaretti, with steaming cups of espresso to dip them in, makes a great ending.

PORCHETTA SICILIANA
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1-1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3 tsp ground coriander seed
6 large cloves garlic, or more to taste
1/2 cup parsley sprigs, packed
1/2 cup fresh sage leaves, packed
1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves
3 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp ground black pepper
8 lb boneless pork shoulder or Boston butt

Mix everything except the pork in a food processor and pulse until a coarse paste is formed. With a small sharp knife, make slits about 2" deep and about 2" apart all over the surface of the meat. Using your fingers, press some of the paste down into each slit. Rub plenty of the seasoning into the space where the bone had been, and then rub the rest into the surface of the roast. Cover well and refrigerate overnight, or up to 48 hours.

About 6 hours before serving preheat the oven to 300 F. Remove the roast from the fridge and place in a roasting pan with a snug cover. Roast 40 minutes per pound, basting and turning occasionally. If your pan lid isn't tight enough, you may need to add a bit of water occasionally to keep the pan bottom from going dry.

Remove from the oven and transfer the meat to a serving platter. Add 1 cup of water to the pan and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get any browned bits. Place in a sauce boat or serving bowl.

Carve into chunks on the platter and serve, passing the pan sauce and salsa verde at the table. This is typically served at warm room temperature rather than hot, but the pan juices should be warmed. Serves 8-10 with (hopefully!) leftovers.

SALSA VERDE
1 slice firm white bread, crusts removed, crumbled
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups parsley, stems removed, loosely packed
2 anchovy filets, chopped
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Put the bread in the food processor and drizzle evenly with the oil and vinegar. Let set for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse just until everything is chopped finely. You don't want a smooth paste. It probably won't need salt, but taste to make sure. This is best made shortly before serving, but you can refrigerate it, covered with a layer of olive oil, for a few days. PS Don't you DARE leave out the anchovies!