My last post was over a month ago. Where have I been? I’ve been working, entertaining and traveling. All three activities were centered around food, of course. My first activity was a cocktail party for 100 people. The purpose of the cocktail party was a post wedding reception: The wedding took place a few weeks before in NYC and the parents of the groom wanted to give them a party in Florida. It was a wonderful party. The only problem was the flight that the bride and groom were to take was cancelled at the very last minute. The party went on without them but they were very much missed by all.
The food for the party needed to be different since I have cooked for most of the guests in the past and I did not want to repeat any previous menus. That was a huge challenge. Besides not doing any repeats I also wanted the menu to be spectacular and memorable as always. It had to be casual and delicious, interesting and easy to eat (there were no forks or knives).
I believe I accomplished the mission I set out to do since the response from the guests was overwhelmingly wonderful. Here is the menu.
Passed Hors d’oeuvres
Key West Conch Fritters with Key Lime Chili Sauce
Chilled Jumbo Cocktail Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce and Curry Sauce
Jerk Chicken Skewers with Apricot-Horseradish Dipping Sauce
Southwest Blue Corn Cakes Topped with Duck Confit, Tomatillo-Corn Chutney and Smoked Gouda
Vegetarian Pot Stickers with Ancho Chili-Fig Preserve Dipping Sauce
Carving Station
Roasted Fresh Ham Served with Tortillas, Black Bean Salsa, Green Chili-Tomato Marmalade, Queso Fresco Blanco (Soft Taco Style)
Roasted Leg of Lamb Served with Pita Bread, Tzatziki and Cucumber-Tomato Relish (Gyros Style)
Roasted Breast of Turkey Served with Cranberry-Kumquat Compote, Mustard Sauce and Small Rolls for Sandwiches
Dessert
Traditional Chocolate Chip Cookies
Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberry and White Chocolate
Triple Chocolate Brownies
Lemon Bars
People were asking for the recipes for many of the items but the one that got the most requests was the Leg of Lamb. I will be happy to share the recipe.
Roasted Leg of Lamb
Roasted Leg of Lamb
Roasted Leg of Lamb
I am a proponent of marinating meat without acids such as wine, vinegar, soy or lemon juice. Using an acidy liquid to marinate will eventually begin to “cook” the meat making it tough and leathery. By using olive oil, herbs and black pepper you give the meat great flavor and the oil helps break down the tough muscle making it more appealing in texture and flavor. Don’t use salt in marinating because this will draw out the juices of the meat causing it to be dry and tasteless.
Ask your butcher to remove the aitchbone and gland and to leave the end of the bone intact. Removing the aitchbone and leaving the end bone intact makes it much easier to carve: The end bone acts as a handle when carving. Discard the gland (the butcher will do this for you).
1 7 to 8 Pound Semi-Boneless Leg of Lamb, Aitchbone Removed, Fat Trimmed to ¼ Inch and Leg Tied (Ask your butcher to make it “Oven Ready”)
¾ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (XVOO)
12 Roasted Garlic Cloves, Smashed
1 Bunch Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley, Rinsed
1 Bunch Fresh Oregano, Rinsed
4 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary, Rinsed
2 Teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Coarse Sea Salt
Place the Leg of Lamb in a non-reactive dish or pan. Score the Lamb by making shallow cuts all over the fat and rub ½ cup of the olive oil and roasted garlic cloves all over the lamb and sprinkle with the pepper. Lie the parsley, oregano and the springs of rosemary on top of the lamb and pour the rest of the olive oil over the herbs. Do this the night before you are going to cook the Lamb. Loosely cover the Lamb with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 425 Degrees F (400 if using a convection oven) with the oven rack placed on the lowest third of the oven.
Take Lamb out of refrigerator one hour before roasting and place on a rack in a roasting pan large enough to hold it. Use a shallow sided pan. This will allow the heat to circulate around and under the Leg of Lamb. Bringing it to room temperature will allow for more even cooking. Remove the herbs from the Leg of Lamb and place them on the bottom of the pan.
Sprinkle the Leg of Lamb with the Coarse Sea Salt.
Roast the Leg of Lamb with the high heat for 20 minutes. Turn the temperature of the oven down to 375 Degrees F (350 if using a convection oven) and cook the Leg of Lamb for approximately 1¾ to 2 hours or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the Leg registers 140 Degrees F. Be sure to not hit the bone.
Remove from the oven and let stand for at least 30 minutes loosely covered with foil (loosely means just laying over the meat). The Leg will continue to cook and reach 145 Degrees F for medium.
Thinly slice the Leg of Lamb and serve either as a dinner entrée or on Greek pita (not the pocket stuff) as a Gyro with Tzatziki and Cucumber-Tomato Relish.
If you would like any of the recipes from this menu please let me know either through making a comment on the blog or by emailing me at
camille@camillecooksforyou.com
My traveling event was a 9 day stay in New York City. More on that later as I have so much to say about all of the wonderful food we ate. And, OMG, did we eat!!! I have to find photos of the food since we lost our camera in a taxi ride from Stage Deli to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We had taken a ton of pictures of everything we ate. We lost the camera at the very end of the trip. So Sad!!!.