Lamb - Retro Food For Modern Times

Tag: Lamb

22
Jan
2025

March 2005 – Bread and Cheese

categories: 20 Years Ago Today, Bread, Eggs, Lamb, Pastry Desserts, Salad, Soufflé

Hello time travellers! March 2005 is our destination today with a menu based on two of my favourite things – bread and cheese! What kind of menu might Delicious Magazine be able to provide from these ingredients? Are we up for three courses of cheese on toast? Personally? I’d be quite happy with that but I’m sure Delicious will be able to give us a little more variety! Before we go there, though, let’s look at what was happening in music, books and film back in the day!

What Was Hot – March 2005

Books

Since I started doing these posts, the one constant has been the presence of The Da Vinci Code at the top of the list. March 2005 is no exception!

The Da Vinci Code: By Dan Brown
Prince of Fire: By Daniel Silva
Missing Persons: By Stephen White

I have not heard of the other books but Prince of Fire is one in a series of spy thriller books about an Israeli agent called Gabriel Allon. Spy thrillers are not my thing but I believe this series is very popular. Missing Persons is a psychological thriller about psychologist Allan Gregory. This is also one in a series that interests me. If I didn’t have a “To read” pile taller than me, I would give this series a go!

Movies

Robots
The Pacifier
The Ring 2

I saw The Ring in the cinema. The Ring 2 and both of these other film were not on my radar at all!

Music

All about you / You’ve for a Friend – McFly
Good Luck Charm – Elvis Presley (what??? It’s 2005 not 1965!)
Falling Stars – Sunset Strippers

Dakota by The Stereophonics was just missing out on the podium on the British Charts. This was a big fave of mine at the time!

The Menu

Quick Cuban

This was more of a lunch than a starter. It was most certainly not a traditional Cuban sandwich, but it was delicious nevertheless! And combined both our key ingredients! You may notice that I have not toasted my sandwich – the day I made this, we were in the middle of a mini heatwave, and I really didn’t fancy anything toasted. It would, however, be as good or even better toasted!!! I also thought the tomato salad accompaniment was a bit extra even thought it was tasty!

Quick Cuban Recipe

Pistachio Crusted Goat’s Cheese Soufflé With Pea, Feta and Mint Salad

These were both superb! I loved them individually, and they really worked well together, too. I did not make the red capsicum and mustard seed relish, which was the suggested accompaniment to the soufflé. However, if you would like to give that a try, let me know and I can flick you the recipe I served mine with some chilli jam I had in the fridge. The soufflé was as light as a feather! And I could eat that salad every night of the week. I could not find snow pea shoots for love or money, but the salad was delicious without them.

We have goat’s cheese in the soufflé, parmesan in the crisp and feta in the salad as our key ingredients.

Pistachio Crusted Goat’s Cheese Soufflé Recipe

Pea, Feta and Mint Salad Recipe

Raspberry Tartlets with Raspberry Caramel

Oh. My. God!!!!

These were divine!!!! Truly a piece of heaven!!!! I cheated a bit by buying tart shells because sometimes, life’s too short and the weather is too hot to make pastry! Also, Any leftover raspberry caramel is amazing on ice cream.

Raspberry Tartlets with Raspberry Caramel Recipe

My Nigella Moment – Lamb with Sun-Dried Tomato and Onion Jam

For first-time readers, this refers to the moment at the end of Nigella Lawson’s cooking shows when she sneaks back to the fridge for a delicious late-night bite. In the context of these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that may not fit with the overall menu theme, but I’m sneaking it in because it is too good not to share.

This was amazing! I really loved this, and I am so glad I chose to cook this one as my special dish! That sundried tomato and onion jam was absolutely delicious!

Have a wonderful week!

08
Dec
2024

Fusion Food – December 2004

categories: 20 Years Ago Today, Custard, Delicious, Desserts, France, Lamb, Lobster, Middle Eastern

Hello time travellers, and welcome to December 2004, where we are decking the halls with Fusion food courtesy of Delicious Magazine. For those who are not familiar with the term, the Escoffier School of Culinary Arts says it involves “bringing together ingredients from different cultures and merging recipes. This technique of joining culinary forces offers truly novel flavour combinations and unique menu offerings”.

In their examples, they list Tex-Mex and French Vietnamese. My personal favourite fusion was an absolutely fabulous Korean Taco place near where I used to work. Their kimchi fries were to die for!!! Kedgeree, which I also love, is a fabulous Anglo-Indian creation. I am also not averse to a tandoori chicken pizza!

On the menu today, we have an American / Middle Eastern mash-up, an Anglo-Indian combo that is not kedgeree and an Irish / French marriage to finish off. Will these be in the realm of kimchi fries? We’ll find out soon enough.

But first, it wouldn’t be a 20 Years Ago Post without a quick look at what was making the charts in December 2004.

Step Back in Time – December 2004

Movies

Today we are looking at the film charts from December 2004 and what a month! In the first week of December, National Treasure was number 1,Bad Santa was #4 and Garden State was #6. Week 2: Team America: World Police was #1. In Week 3, Ocean’s Twelve was number 1. Personally, I hated that one so it just goes to prove you can’t have everything. But in the fourth week, Lemony Snicket was # 1, and to round out the month, Meet The Fockers topped the box office, and Phantom of the Opera, which we spoke about last month, was #6.

Music

There was no change from last month in the top songs. My Boo by Usher and Alicia Keys was number 1 in the first week, and Drop It Like It’s Hot by Snoop Dog was top of the Billboard charts for the rest of the month.

Books

In a weird twist, The Da Vinci Code headed back to the top of the charts in the first week of December. I can’t explain this. The movie didn’t come out til 2006 so it wasn’t tied to that. And surely everyone who wanted to read it, had already read it by then. Maybe it was a surge of people buying Secret Santa gifts for their coworkers. Anyway, its return was short; Night Fall by Nelson DeMille took top place the second week, and Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom was the best-selling book for the remainder of December.

Two things that I would have wanted as Christmas presents that year were the rerelease of Stephanie Alexander’s Classic “The Cook’s Companion“, although with a massive price tag of $125, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t under any tree with my name on it. Also, according to Delicious magazine, this was when Nigella Lawson’s “Feast” was released.

So, now that we have set the scene, let’s set the table for our fusion feast!

Lobster Cocktail with Preserved Lemon

This recipe livens up the traditional prawn (shrimp) cocktail with a bit of luxe from the lobster and some Middle Eastern flavours of preserved lemon and harissa. You will see that the recipe calls for a whole lobster. I used a far more economical lobster tail, and one tail between the two of us was perfect for a starter. This meal looks elegant and ritzy but can be made without a high price tag.

This was delicious, and every ingredient had its place. I had never even thought of using a grain in a seafood cocktail. And, to be honest, I thought about not including the burghul wheat. Please don’t do this, it brought a beautiful nuttiness to the lobster cocktail. I’d never had it before but now, I want to have burghul in every seafood cocktail! It was a game changer ingredient!

A word of advice on the sauce. When I first made the harissa sauce, I thought it was a little bland, so I added more harissa. I then popped it into the fridge whilst I made the rest. The flavours continued to develop, so what I ended up with was somewhat spicier than when it went into the fridge! It still tasted delish, but be careful if you are playing with the ratios, as you don’t want to overpower the flavour of that lovely lobster!

Finally, our lime tree was also bare so I used a lemon as my garnish. We’ll now have to wait til winter for fresh limes but the lemon tree is the gift that keeps on giving!

Lamb Rack with Coconut Gravy and Mango Chutney

This feels to me like a perfect blend of the Fussiest Eater in the World’s tastes and mine. He likes his good old English roast. I like a bit of spice! This recipe was, therefore, a win-win! It felt a bit unusual adding the curry gravy to the meat after it was cooked but this recipe really worked for me!

Baileys Crème Brulée

Speaking of win – win…Baileys is one of my favourite tipples. And crème brulée is one of my favourite desserts. This was DELIGHTFUL! The Baileys was there but more like a whisper than a scream. If I hadn’t known it was was Baileys I would have spent the first few spoonfuls thinking…”I know what that flavour is….but I need just one more spoonful to figure it out”…and after that I would have decided not to worry too much about defining the flavour and just dug in for sheer enjoyment! And of course, if you want a stronger Baileys flavour, a little glass on the side wouldn’t go astray!

And just listen to that crack!

My Nigella Moment – Tomato Tarte Tatin

For first-time readers, this refers to the moment at the end of Nigella Lawson’s cooking shows when she sneaks back to the fridge to have another bite of something delicious. In the context of these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that may not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in because it is too good not to share.

The tomato tatin was absolutely delicious. What made it SPECTACULAR was the caramelised garlic. I made the tomato tarte tatin on a night when I was by myself so I made a quarter quantity of the caramelised garlic. Massive mistake. It was absolutely delicious. I had some left over after the tomato tatin and I put it on absolutely everything I ate over the next day or so. Salad? I added it to the dressing? Steak, I added it as a little condiment. Snacking – the carmelised galirc and butter on really fresh bread was divine. Seriously someone needs to bottle that up and sell it. I would buy a lifetime supply!

The ricotta cream was also really nice. I did add a little tip I picked up from Girl Dinner and added a splash of pickle juice into the ricotta mix which I thought set it off really nicely!

What a month! Each of these brought me joy! I’m so glad the December 2004 issue of Delicious delivered fusion, not confusion. Now, I need to dash; I have a great little business idea I want to try out!

Have a great week!

25
Aug
2024

Spice It Up – August 2004

categories: 20 Years Ago Today, Apples, Baking, Blue Cheese, Delicious, Indonesia, Lamb, Leeks, Magazines, Pie, Salad, Savoury Pies and Tarts

Hello friends! Welcome to Twenty Years Ago Today! For a spicy twist this month, I turned to the August 2004 issue of Delicious magazine for recipe ideas. While the month wasn’t perfect, one dish stood out as a clear highlight and is easily one of my top ten of the year. But, before we get there, let’s take a little look at what was making the charts pop culture-wise back in August 2004!

Pop Culture – August 2004

So, for the first week of August 2004 and, also for the first time in what seems like eleventy billion years, The Da Vinci Code was NOT the number one selling book. That honour went to R for Ricochet by Sue Grafton. Now, I have never read any of this series. Is anyone out there a fan? I love a good mystery / thriller. Please let me know if you think this series might be good for me! However, before we get too excited about the demise of The Da Vinci Code, it went back to number one for the rest of August.

Collateral was the best-selling film of August 2004 but Garden State, which was a film we covered in my film club was #10. Leave, (Get Out) by JoJo was the number 1 song. I do not remember this song or the singer at all!!! Does anyone?

In the absence of any memory of JoJo, let’s pop the soundtrack for Garden State onto Spotify and get cooking!

The Spice It Up Menu – August 2004

Gado Gado

Spices used – garlic, ginger etc in the Satay sauce, chilli

I adore Gado Gado. It’s the perfect balance of health and indulgence, combining the virtue of steamed vegetables with the decadence of a spicy satay sauce. Unfortunately, despite searching through multiple supermarkets, I couldn’t find the tofu puffs I typically include. To compensate for the protein, I added some eggs. I ate this as a main dish so wanted to make it a substantial meal.

I also took some liberties with the vegetables, using ingredients I preferred or had readily available instead of strictly adhering to the recipe.”

Gado-Gado Recipe

Lamb Chops with Bay, Paprika and Chickpeas

Spice used: Paprika

The Jamie Oliver recipe was…alright. While it wasn’t a favorite, it was certainly edible. I’m not likely to make it again, but it was passable.

The biggest issue was the excessive amount of chili. As someone who enjoys spicy food, that’s a rare complaint for me. The chili completely overwhelmed the other flavors.

Another minor annoyance was the recipe’s use of the term “chops” while actually calling for “cutlets.” For those unfamiliar with lamb, cutlets are significantly more expensive than traditional chops. I used loin chops for my version because I had some in my freezer.

Lamb Chops with Bay, Paprika and Chickpeas Recipe

Apple and Blackberry Pie

Spices used: Cinnamon and Cloves

This. Was .Divine.

Unfortunately, my photos were not. Please don’t judge this on the photo or my really bad lattice work because the pie really truly was AMAZING!!!! This is a top ten dish if ever there was one! There is a version with Rhubarb mentioned which I will also be trying ASAP!

Apple and Blackberry Pie Recipe

Cinnamon Tea and Recipe

Spice Used: Cinnamon

Delicious Magazine also contained a recipe for Cinnamon Tea. I only ever really drink herbal tea, so this was not for me. Howeever, as the name suggests, it does contain a spice so if you are a tea drinker and maybe wanted something to sip on while eating your pie, here is the recipe.

My Nigella Moment – Leek and Gorgonzola Tarts

For first-time readers, this refers to the moment at the end of Nigella Lawson’s cooking shows when she sneaks back to the fridge to have another bite of something delicious. In these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that does not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in because it is too good not to share.

I love leek and gorgonzola anything as it reminds me of a pizzeria I used to go to with my work mates a few years ago that did an amazing leek and gorgonzola pizza! I didn’t think these were as good as the pizza but that could also be nostalgia talking. They were quite nice in their own right!

Leek and Gorgonzola Tarts Recipe

I hope you have enjoyed this trip back to August 2004. Have a great week!

12
Nov
2023

The Moving Finger – Irish Stew

categories: Dining With The Dame, Lamb, Marple

Hello crime readers and food lovers! This month our menu is a tribute to The Moving Finger, a 1942 novel by Agatha Christie featuring many people’s favourite amateur crime solver, Miss Jane Marple. In contrast to the last few novels in which we have dined with the Dame, The Moving Finger is loaded with mentions of food including an Irish Stew. My own opinions of stew match those of Megan Hunter (below) so when I made it, I thought that I would just have a taste and then the Fussiest Eater in the world could eat the rest. This is exactly the type of food he loves. My spoonful ended up being a whole bowl and I would have had another for lunch the following day if the leftovers hadn’t been commandeered by someone else! So success all round. I’ll definitely be making Irish Stew again.

The Moving Finger – The Plot

Jane Marple. Look at her well. I tell you, that woman knows more about the different kinds of human wickedness than anyone I’ve ever known.

Agatha Christie – The Moving Finger

Jerry Burton and his sister Joanna move to the “quiet” village of Lymstock so he can recover from injuries after a flying accident. Shortly thereafter, they receive an anonymous letter accusing them of being lovers. They burn the letter but soon learn that they are not the only people who are being targeted by the poison pen writer.

Although offensive, the letters consist of wild speculation and don’t seem to target actual wrongdoing. Then, one of the people from the village is found dead with a letter accusing her of adultery beside her.

We have:

The Police unable to solve the crimes
Another grisly murder where a housemaid is skewered to death. Did she see something she shouldn’t have
A book found with pages ripped out – the source of the letters
Local citizens suspecting each other

Good thing one of the villagers has the sense to call on her friend Jane Marple to set things right!

There are lots of things to love in The Moving Finger. The details of village life and the characters who live in it are well-written. My personal favourite is Mrs Dane Calthrop the Reverend’s wife. She is an original thinker and the person to contact Miss Marple. I love this response from her when asked if she has had a poison pen letter:

Oh yes, two, – no three. I forget what they said. Something very silly about Caleb and the schoolmistress, I think. Quite absurd, because Caleb has absolutely no taste for fornication. He never has had. So lucky being a clergyman

What we might call today “too much information”.

I also very much liked Partridge, Jerry and Joanna’s cook who seems to be in a constant bad temper.

There are also some things not to like. There is a more than likely gay man in the village and a few homophobic comments made about him. And there’s a weird romance going on between Jerry Burton and Megan Hunter.

Also, for a Marple novel, Miss Marple only enters on, in my edition, page 121 of a 160-page novel!

Apart from these few niggles, I very much enjoyed this novel.

The Moving Finger – The Covers

I was delighted to find so many non-English covers for The Moving Finger – we have French, Spanish, German, Czech, Swedish and others I cannot identify. My favourites are the German Die Scattenhand third row second left and the Swedish MordPer Korrespondens on the same row far right. The English cover, bottom row, far left is terrifying!

The Recipe – Irish Stew

“Murder is a nasty business on an empty stomach.”

Agatha Christie – The Moving Finger

For my Irish Stew I used the recipe on BBC Good Food by Bruno Desmazery.

As mentioned, this was delicious and, despite my initial reluctance was something I would definitely make and eat again! And, contrary to the quote from Megan Hunter below is not mostly potato and flavour. Although, maybe in 1942 with wartime rationing it may well have been.

I went round to apprise Partridge of the fact that there would be three to lunch. I fancy that Partridge sniffed. She certainly managed to convey without saying a word of any kind that she didn’t think much of that Miss Megan. I went back to the verandah. Ïs it quite alright?”asked Megan anxiously. “Quite alright ” I said.” Ïrish Stew.” “Oh well, that’s rather like dog’s dinner anyway isn’t it? I mean it’s mostly just potato and flavour””

Agatha Christie – The Moving Finger

Links To The Christieverse

None that I could find

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in The Moving Finger

Raspberry canes
Cocktails (multiple times)
Duck Eggs
Currant Loaf
Chops, Loin Chops
Breakfast
Tea (hot) (multiple times)
Cup Custards
Coffee (multiple times)
Rhubarb
French Beans, Runner Beans
Sherry (mutiple times)
Cakes
Whisky Soda (twice)
Milk and Bread
Milk (multiple times)
Christmas Pudding
Brandy
Eggs
Bacon
Cabbage
Caulilfower
Lobster
Chocolate
Clear gums
Throat Pastilles

December’s Read is Sparkling Cyanide.

17
May
2021

Lamb Rissoles with Mint Jelly

categories: Daily News, Lamb, Starters

Do you ever look at a recipe and think “That’s absolutely bonkers! Why on earth would you do that?” It happened to me with a recipe from the Daily News Cook Book for Jellied Lamb Rissoles. The idea behind the original was to crumb and fry some spicy lamb meatballs, then dip said fried meatballs in mint jelly and allow the jelly to set around the meatball. I think we can all agree that the recipe is very set in its time – ie when coating all sorts of things in aspic or jelly was the height of fashion.

HowEVER….the recipe asks you to go to the bother of crumbing and frying meatballs, which is one of my least favourite kitchen tasks. Admittedly, it is worth all the pfaffing about if you get a lovely crispy crumb coating on your meatballs. But then you have to dip that delightful crumb crust into a liquid jelly and let it sit in said liquid jelly until the jelly sets. Now, I could be totally wrong but to my mind, that would make the crumb crust into a soggy mess.

No thank you Daily News.

However once the idea of lamb rissoles with mint jelly takes hold, it is very hard to dislodge the idea. Plus the idea of rissoles reminded me of one of my favourite scenes from The Castle:

If you have not seen this film, you really need to. It is such a delight. Make these rissoles, grab a cold beer and watch The Castle immediately!

So, for anyone who wants to try out the original recipe here it is. Please let me know how it does turn out. I am very happy to be proved wrong if anyone is willing to take the risk of a soggy crust on my behalf!

The Revamped Lamb Rissole with Mint Jelly

A little note here. You can go a little wild with the chilli in these as the mint jelly will provide some cooling relief…see, I am willing to take a few risks after all!! If you cannot get hold of lamb, beef or pork would work here although lamb and mint is a delightful classic combo!

Lamb Rissoles with Mint Jelly

Print Recipe

A SriLankan-inspired appetiser adapted from the classic “Daily News Cookery Book”. The kick of heat in the rissoles will be offset by the calming cool of the mint jelly so feel free to increase the amount of chilli you would normally use.

Author: Taryn Nicole
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 25 1x

Ingredients

Scale

For the Rissoles:

500g minced lamb

I onion finely chopped

1–2 green chilli, finely chopped (depending on the heat of the chillies and your tolerance)

1 tsp mixed spice

2 slices white bread, crusts removed

1 beaten egg

Juice of 1 lime

Salt and pepper

For the Crumb:

Breadcrumbs – around 1 cup

1 beaten egg

Oil for frying – traditionally this would have been fried in dripping but I prefer to use canola oil.

To Serve

Mint Jelly

Coriander leaves (optional)

Chilli slices (optional

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs together and shape into 25 meatballs.

Place the beaten egg into a bowl and the breadcrumbs on a plate.

Dip the meatballs in the egg then roll in the crumbs.

Place in the fridge to set for around 30 minutes.

Heat the oil. I used a wok but any deep sided pan or a deep fryer would work. Fry the meatballs in batches until golden brown (around 5-7 minutes).

Check a meatball to ensure it is cooked through. If not, you can pop them into the oven for around 5-10 minutes at 180C until they are.

Serve while still hot with a scattering of coriander and chill if liked and some mint jelly as a colling dip on the side.

Enjoy!

On a personal note, I have not posted for a while – I went on a little holiday, then had a sick dog, then I got sick so it’s been a busy few weeks! Hopefully I am back on track now though and looking forward to getting back into the groove of blogging.
OH, and I just realised today this blog turns 8 years old!

Well, I am off to celebrate, have a wonderful week!