From our house to yours:
We Wish You A Very Merry Holiday Season!
And with that said, here are the recipes for two of the dishes we are having for Christmas Dinner. First is a Wine Marinated Stuffed Leg of Lamb and the second is an awesome Bob’s Peppermint Pie that refers to the brand of peppermint candy, not me! Those two links are for a version of the recipe that we have on our web site. If you want to print them out, that is probably the best way. The photograph was taken this afternoon from 19th Street in Boise, looking 15 miles NNE to the ski area and 3500 feet higher. The snows were just outstanding.
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Wine Marinated Stuffed Leg of Lamb
Author: Bob and Robin Young
Web Page: http://www.rockinrs.com
Degree of Difficulty: Moderately difficult
Oven Temperature: 375°F
Ingredients:
750 ml Dry Red Wine
¾ t Allspice, ground
¾ t Nutmeg, ground
4½ lbs Leg of Lamb, boned
1 Bay Leaf
1/3 c Pine Nuts
½ lbs Mushrooms, rinsed
2 T Butter
½ c Onions, finely chopped
½ c Sweet Red Pepper, finely diced
1/3 c Pitted Dates, finely Chopped
2 T Chives, minced
2 T Parsley, minced
1½ c Beef stock
1 T Sugar
Salt and Fresh Pepper to taste
Directions:
1). In an 11×17″ roasting pan, combine the wine, allspice, nutmeg and bay leaf.
2). Trim excess fat from lamb. Rinse meat and lay flat, boned side up. Make cuts about halfway through all the thickest parts of the meat. Push cuts open to make meat as evenly thick as possible. Lay lamb flat in the pan. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours, turning meat as needed.
3). In a 10 – 12 inch frying pan over med-high heat, stir in pine nuts until golden brown, 3 – 4 minutes. Remove to a bowl.
4). Trim mushrooms and finely chop. Add the mushrooms, butter, onion and red pepper to the frying pan. Stir often over high heat until vegetables are well browned, 8 – 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in pine nuts, dates, chives and parsley.
5). Lift lamb from roasting pan and lay flat; boned side up. Reserve 1½ cups marinade; discard the rest of the marinade and the bay leaf. Spread the mushroom mixture over the lamb to within 1″ of the edges. Starting at the narrow edge, roll the lamb into a tight roll, about 5 x 11″. Tie at 2″ intervals with bakers string. Set in roasting pan.
6). Bake lamb in a 375°F oven until a thermometer inserted in the center of the thickest part reaches 145°F, 1¼ to 1½ hours.
7). Transfer lamb to a rimmed platter and keeping warm, let rest for 10 minutes. Add the reserved marinade, beef stock and sugar to the pan. Stir over high heat, scraping the browned bits (grameels) until reduced to 2 cups, about 10 minutes. Add the accumulated lamb juices and pour into a bowl.
8). Cut lamb crosswise into 1″ thick slices. Serve with the sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Inactive Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 10 hours
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Bob’s Peppermint Pie
Author: Bob and Robin Young
Web Page: http://boisefoodieguild.blogspot.com
Author Notes: This pie has nothing to do with me. It derives its name from the brand of peppermint candy, “Bob’s”.
Degree of Difficulty: Moderately difficult
Servings: 12
Ingredients:
1 env Plain Gelatin
¼ c Cold Water
½ c Whipping cream, plus 1½ cups whipping cream whipped
8 oz Peppermint candy, soft type (Bob’s)
1 Pie Crust, chocolate cookie crust
Directions:
1). Soften gelatin in water and set aside.
2). Place ½ cup whipping cream in a small saucepan with candy and cook over low heat until candy melts.
3). Add gelatin and mix well. Let cool and fold in the whipped cream. Pour into the pie shell and let cool.
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours and 40 minutes
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Find some good wine to go with dinner. We’re having a NV Virginia Thibaut Janisson Sparkling Wine, the White House Wine ($25.00) and a 1969 Clos de Hermitage E. Guigal, a French Rhone wine ($140.00). Then for the dessert wine a 1979 Chateau Suduiraut ($65.00). So there you have the recipes for two of our dishes for Christmas Day. The rest of the menu has been posted earlier on this blog or on the Boise Foodie Blog. Cheers and have a Great Christmas Dinner!
tend to thicken the broth of a Stewed Chicken. There are probably 100 recipes, at least, for Chicken Soup or Stewed Chicken. I am not going to list any here – use your family favorite recipe. The same probably goes for Dumplings too, but these are close to the ones I remember from home. I remember my Mother saying that there was another style – I think from her childhood – called “Slippery Dumplings”. She would not make them because “… your Father does not like them.” (My Dad was German and my Mother was Scot) Instead, she made something very, very similar to these. Drop Dumplings. I guess I tend to agree with my Dad and like the Drop Dumplings best. Anyway, here is but one recipe. My Mother would have never put chives, or anything like that, in hers.
So after we had our Chicken Soup with Dumplings, Robin asks, “Do you have any Snickers?” With a chuckle I said, “No.” So she suggested that I melt some chocolate and dip pretzels in them. Then add coconut and almonds. Her wish is my command!! When you’re retired, you will have the time to do these awesome things in the kitchen. Well, fun at least. Enjoy and Cheers!
Boise Foodie Guild 