October 13 Meal: Long Night's Work

The first of the two lamb meals for the month was Braised Lamb Shanks with Lemon Risotto, Lemon Risotto with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, and Maple-Gingerbread Layer Cake with Salted Maple-Caramel Sauce for dessert.  The lamb shanks and risotto are the first two recipes in the October issue in the RSVP section.  These three recipes took a while to make, but the outcome was delish.

Braised Lamb Shanks with Lemon Risotto

Another shank recipe (see veal shanks earlier this month).  These were at least a little cheaper than the veal shanks.  I'm learning that bones in meat, plus long cooking times, equals a very tender piece of meat.  The shanks are first browned and then removed from the pan.  Then, carrots, onions, and celery are sauteed and broth and wine are added.  Another set of ingredients are added to bump up the flavor: chopped tomatoes, honey, garlic, clove, bay leaf, cinnamon, allspice, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and fresh lemon juice.  The shanks are added back to the pot and then everything is put in the oven.  The shanks are braised for two and a half hours.  As the picture shows, the meat just falls off the bone, no need for a knife! The unfortunate part was that I forgot to really pay attention to how much time this dish would take, so we didn't eat the meat until about 8:30 at night.  Fortunately, the risotto was ready first, so we ate that separately.

 

Yumminess: 9 out of 10

Cost: Approx. $19.75 for 4 servings

Time: Bon Appetit said 1 hour for prep and 3:15 hours total. I spent about 45 minutes in prep and a total time of of about 3 hours.

Was it worth it?: Yes, but not very often.  The outcome was tasty, but it was a bit of work.

Lemon Risotto with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

I have never made risotto before and all I knew was that it took a bit of work and could be a challenge.  This was a great recipe for a first-time-risotto-cooker.  The cherry tomatoes are roasted for a few minutes to wrinkle the skins.  Onion is sauteed with butter (never a bad step), then you add rice an garlic.  The first liquid added is wine, which is cooked until absorbed.  Then just continue to add chicken broth by cup fulls until all liquid is absorbed.  The rice ends up very creamy.  Arugula, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, Italian parsley, thyme, rosemary, lemon peel, and the roasted tomatoes are all folded in to complete the the dish.  All the ingredients create a rich but                     fresh-tasting side dish for the lamb shanks.

Yumminess: 8 out of 10

Cost: Approx. $10 for 4 servings

Time: Bon Appetit said 50 minutes for prep and 1 hour total. I spent about 15 minutes in prep and a total time of of about 30 minutes.

Was it worth it?: Yes, it was a good side dish.

Maple-Gingerbread Layer Cake with Salted Maple-Caramel Sauce

This is one of those desserts that looks so good in the magazine picture and I'm never quite able to match it.  There are actually 4 different parts to the recipe.  First, the maple-coated pecans, which were the easiest part.  Just combine maple syrup with the pecans halves and cook in a skillet.  Cool on foil, making sure the pecans don't touch.  They are very sticky!  Next, work on the cake.  The batter is really unique, like a cakey gingerbread.  The stand-out ingredients are Chinese five-spice powder, crystallized ginger, maple sugar, and molasses.  I think I've had the same jar of molasses for the past 2 years and thought I'd never use it all.  Well, this is the recipe to clean out your molasses with a whole 2/3 cup!  Next, the frosting.  The unique aspect of the frosting is creme fresh, which is combined with chipping cream and sugar.  At first it wasn't my favorite, but after a day or so it took on some of the cake flavors and was really good.  Last, the salted maple-caramel sauce.  I think I botched this one by heating it too high, too fast.  It came out a bit too solid to be dripped over the cake.  So, I had to put it in a Ziploc bag and cut a hole in the end to get lines of the caramel on the cake.  The taste was actually good, just not the consistency.  Overall, this was a good cake, but probably one that should be reserved for a night when you have an easier dinner to deal with.

Yumminess: 8 out of 10

Cost: Approx. $20.50 for 10 servings

Time: Bon Appetit said 1:15 hours total for prep and 3:15 hours total. I'd say that was about the right amount of time.

Was it worth it?: Yes, it was a yummy dessert, but I won't make it very often because of the more challenging process and the cost.