I am always trying different things when it comes to leg of lamb. Sometimes it can be hard to find just the right taste with such a flavorful cut of meat. Many of the recipes you find for leg of lamb involve some sort of mint spice, but recently I decided to try something a little different.

I have read about people using Juniper berries with lamb but I am one of the few who does not care for that particular berry so I decided to go with cranberries instead. I use a well trimmed leg that has had most of the shank removed but still has the bone in higher up.

1 leg of lamb 4-6 pounds.
1 can of Guinness.
1 can of cranberry sauce (the whole berry version).
3 tablespoons honey.
Canola oil.
4 bay leaves.
2 sprigs of rosemary whole.
1 medium yellow onion, quartered.
5 cloves of garlic minced.
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

Preheat oven to 250.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the beer and honey. It will take a couple minutes if the beer is cold as the honey will temporarily harden. It will be easier if the beer is room temperature. Add 3/4 of the can of cranberries to the mixture. Set aside.

Liberally salt and pepper the leg of lamb. In a medium skillet, add enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Heat to medium high and when the – (More…)

The final piece in our cast iron upgrade was the dutch oven. Since we have thrown out all of our Teflon, we have upgraded much of our cookware to cast iron for many reasons. Although we also use stainless steel and ceramic cookware, cast iron is by far my favorite. The Lodge Logic dutch oven is an absolute pleasure.

I have had the dutch oven for a month or two without a real chance to use it. I ordered it from Amazon (for less than $30) along with some other cookware. As usual, this Lodge Logic cast iron product came pre-seasoned. Not that seasoning cast iron is hard, it is just to be able to use the dutch oven right out of the box.

When I finally got some time, I cooked a couple stews and a pot roast in it. You instantly appreciate the even heating when browning meat. The lid is pretty heavy so it sits on the pot firmly. My wife commented the other night that this dutch oven was the easiest to clean out of all of our cast iron cookware. Before I get any grief from some of you, I clean up much of my own mess when cooking, but what is left after we – (More…)

A few weeks ago I posted an article on how it was time to start your herbs for the season. Normally at the beginning of March this is the case, however if you live in the Northeast, this year seems to be a bit different.

As I look out my window in my New York home, I can’t help but feel a little depressed that it is April 12th and it is snowing outside. With all of this talk about global warming, I find my large picture window in my kitchen packed with pots with all of my started herbs. I swear that my basil plant is about one day from shouting “I want to go outside!”

I have had to attach a light over the large window sill so some of the herbs have enough light so they avoid reaching and stalk out too much. I have all my planters sit at the ready to be filled with dirt and put into the sun.

I can’t imagine what the local garden shops are going through right now. By now I am usually buying bags of potting soil, picking out herbs that I either forgot to start or for some reason just didn’t take. There really is no point yet as I just do not have enough sun inside to host all of them.

Checking some of the weather sites on-line gives no hope either. Most – (More…)

I think just about every cook in America has their very own meatloaf recipe. Meatloaf is the ultimate comfort food. I think it is impossible to spell out just one recipe for meatloaf as I change mine constantly.

There are some constants that I always use such as ground beef, bread, breadcrumbs, and onions. But really, you can add just about anything you want to meatloaf. Here is the version I have been making lately that the family just loves. If there are any leftovers, they do not last very long.

2 pounds ground beef.
1 medium yellow onion, chopped.
3 medium stalks of celery, chopped fine.
1 large carrot minced. I use a small food processor to mince.
3 large cloves of garlic, minced.
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.
1/2 tablespoon Tabasco Garlic Hot Sauce.
1/2 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar.
2 large eggs.
3 slices of bread.
1/2 cup Italian flavored bread crumbs.
Olive oil.
1/3 cup ketchup.
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar.
Salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Add enough olive oil to a medium skillet to coat the bottom, about two tablespoons. Heat to medium and cook the carrot, onion, celery and garlic until the onion starts turning clear. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, add the meat, Worcestershire, Tabasco, and Balsamic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the cooked vegetables, and eggs and mix with your hands until combined.

Quickly soak the three slices of bread in water and then squeeze the – (More…)

In our home, we generally have Easter dinner a week early. This started a few years ago when we always got that free ham from the grocery store, but we would spend our Easter with the relatives. So the weekend before, we would have an Easter dinner with friends and family that would not be at our traditional Easter dinner.

The store usually lets you select from a few different types and I almost always get a smoked pork shoulder with the bone. The smoked flavor really makes it easy to flavor the dish in interesting ways.

Over the years, I have used a few different techniques and recipes, but by far this one works the best.

1 large smoked pork shoulder.
8 cloves of garlic.
2 1/3 large sprigs of fresh rosemary.
4-5 large fresh sage leaves.
2 tablespoons Olive oil.
About 10 slices of Pancetta

In a small food processor, add the garlic, rosemary sprigs (not the stem) and the sage. Add the olive oil and chop/process until it makes a paste. One of those small electric choppers work great for this.

Salt and pepper the ham (go light on the salt). Rub the mixture all over the ham. Place the slices of pancetta all over the entire ham (except the bottom) using toothpicks to hold into place.

Now I normally will cook the ham for about 6-8 hours in my Crockpot BBQ Pit on low, but you could cook this – (More…)

Deep frying is not something I do a lot of anymore. Besides the general health questions around deep frying, it requires a bit of time and work. You have to maintain the oil in the fryer, and keep the unit clean. Having that much oil sitting around in an appliance in the kitchen can also be a bit of a hazard. If that oil catches on fire, it will burn for quite a while.

However, there are times you just want to cook up some fish and chips, or some old time fried chicken and that is when you really need one. I have always had one of those round electric fryers in a cupboard for that once or twice a year I fried something. Lately, we have been frying more things so it was time to upgrade.

After reading many reviews I decided to go with the Presto Dual Profry Deep Fryer. Once I received it from Amazon, I set it right up to cook. The heating element sits right in the oil which is a real plus. This makes the heating much more responsive and as you probably know, proper temperature is the key to good frying.

The tub that contains the oil slides right out of the unit and is dishwasher safe. In combination with the removable element, it makes it very easy – (More…)

One of my favorite vegetables is zucchini. I have a lot of different ways to prepare it, but the most flavorful way is by deep frying. They come out golden brown and crispy and the real trick is in the batter.

For anyone with even 10 minutes of deep frying experience knows that the batter is everything. Batter usually consists mostly of flour, spices and a liquid. The strongest “spice” in batter is the flour. It is challenging to add spice to batter because the taste of flour is so strong. This is why you must use more spice than you would think.

1 cup all purpose white flour.
1/2 cup all purpose white flour.
1/4 cup smoked paprika, regular will work too.
1/8 cup garlic salt. (or 1/16 garlic powder and 1/16 kosher salt).
2 tablespoons of black pepper.
Vegetable oil for frying.
Up to 1 can (12 oz) of beer.
Zucchini.

Heat deep fryer to 350 degrees.

Mix together the 1 cup of flour, paprika, garlic salt, and pepper. Whisk in the beer a little at a time until the mixture has the consistency of pancake batter. Drink the remaining beer.

Lay out the 1/2 cup of flour on a separate dish.

Slice the zucchini thin, about 1/4 inch per slice. Dredge the chips in the flour and then add to the batter.

Working in batches, add them to the deep fryer and cook for about 4 minutes, turning half way through. – (More…)

The first thing I should say about this pan is that I have cooked many things in it, but never an omelet. We have cooked eggs in it, and that is one of the few ingredients I would not recommend for this pan. Eggs stick harshly to this model. This is more of a meat and vegetable pan.

The best feature of this item is how even the heating is. Unlike many other pans, the pan heats up quickly and the heat is dispersed the same all over the pan.

The handle always stays cool unless of course you put the pan in the oven. I cook up my Southern Comfort chicken thighs in this all the time. At 10 inches, it is perfect for a family of four or below. 12 inches probably would be better for more than that.

The pan is also dishwasher safe, but I always hit it with the brush before I put it into the washer. This is NOT a non-stick pan, but with all of the horror health stories revolving around Teflon cookware, I will take the stainless steel over it any time!

One of the drawbacks on this model though is that there are three little rivets on the inside of the pan where the handle attaches. – (More…)

For those who really enjoy cooking, there is a trap we can all fall into. It is natural to have pride in your creations but sometimes too much of a good thing is not good. The home cook who tries to make a culinary wonder every day is going to find it becoming tiring work. Many of the greatest dishes require a lot of preparation and contain quite a few steps. Finding an extra hour or two in a single day can be challenging enough, but 7 days a week is extremely demanding.

There is also the question of cost. Many of the great recipes out there call for ingredients that are more expensive than your average meal. It may be enjoyable to prepare prime rib, but is it economically justifiable? There are many times when the cost of one great meal could have paid for three or four standard dishes.

Some get the feeling that if they just slap up a meatloaf, people will question their culinary prowess. Now I am not saying you should serve meatloaf at your friends twenty five year anniversary party, but when your home with the family after a long dreary Wednesday, don’t worry if you only have enough energy to bread up some pork chops, prepare instant potatoes, open a can of corn, and make a dinner in about fifteen minutes.

Remember, although cooking is an art form, – (More…)

This myth angers me more than any other. I talk to some people who have a feeling of hopelessness in the kitchen because they feel they need to spend thousands of dollars at a culinary institute in order to be considered a great cook. Unless you plan on working in a world class kitchen in Paris or New York City, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Much of what they teach you in these schools has nothing to do with cooking, but more about working in a restaurant which is a completely different thing. For those who just want to be a great cook do not need to know all the details about the proper way to maintain stable temperature in commercial refrigerators, or how to organize line cooks.

Now there is nothing wrong with taking courses in cooking and it can be very fulfilling. A four year degree however is not necessary if you want to make great unique dishes for your family, friends, or even your own establishment. There are many famous restaurants in this world that were started by those who only had the love of cooking as their guide.

Instead of worrying about credentials, think about all of your actual cooking experience. Learning new recipes teaches you more than you realize. How many times have you prepared a dish you have never tried before and found similarities with other recipes you – (More…)