Lamb Navarin

I picked this recipe because "Navarin" sounded Indian and I pictured the outcome looking something like a curry but in actuality, Lamb Navarin is a French ragout (stew) of lamb and turnips (turnip = navet in French). I couldn't have been more off target --and I didn't even include turnips sooooo.....I guess this is just Andi's Lamb Stew. Forget the whole navarin business.

The portions I yielded from this are gigante. 5 days of lunch and dinner for 1 person. And a good thing that it tastes wonderful, otherwise it would have been ladled out at the soup kitchen long ago.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. boneless lamb leg, cubed (trim off excess fat)
head of cauliflower, cut in florets
1 bunch of small carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 bunch of kale, torn in bite size pieces
5 red potatoes, quartered
15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. tomato paste
4 shallots, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 cup red wine
cayenne pepper (5 dashes)
cumin (1 1/2 tsp.)
salt & pepper
3 tbsp. of all purpose flour


Prep all of the vegetables first. This always takes me the longest amount of time--wash, dry, clean your workstation, cut, toss, peel, etc. Took about 45 minutes. Then cut up the lamb. In a large pan on medium-high heat brown the lamb and set aside in a big mixing bowl. Don't cook through, just get the outsides browned because the lamb with finish cooking while stewing. You'll probably have to work the lamb in batches because 2 lbs. yields a lot of lamb. In the mixing bowl, toss and coat the lamb with flour. I'm not sure what this does but the recipe I followed instructed me to do so. Maybe it seals in some of the flavor? or helps thicken the stew?


Put all of the lamb back into a big pot on medium-high heat. Add the garlic, shallots, wine, tomato paste, tomatoes with their juices, and spices. Bring to a boil then simmer on a lower heat for 45 min-1 hr. Then add the vegetables and simmer on low for an hour and 1/2, stirring occassionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Surprisingly, my favorite part of this stew is the kale. I've never had kale but it retained most of its strength while softening a bit, giving light crunch, and soaked up a lot of the flavor and juice from the stew. Kale is about 4x tougher than lettuce and 4x darker. It's a great contrast to root vegetables like potato and carrots.

Foie Gras at Capo

I ordered the Foie Gras appetizer special at Capo last Saturday and took one step closer to fully loving this hepatic delicacy. I'm normally accustomed to eating foie gras with sweet flavors (pistachio, fruit) but this time Capo prepped it in a savory style. The foie gras was warm, silky and tender and sat atop a piece of toasted brioche and a few wild forest mushrooms. I thought this was a great idea since the texture of foie gras reminds me a little of a portabella mushroom. There was a little sauce at the bottom of the plate making this even juicier than it would be on its own.

Primitivo

My favorite tapas restaurant west of the eastern seaboard is Primitivo in Venice, CA. The decor is a bit wacky--walls covered in Spanish oil paintings hung haphazardly, too high or too low, of contemporary looking women in front of antiquated Mediterranean backdrops (contextual misfits)--but an overall set design snafu I'm willing to look past considering how well they do on their food. Primitivo's seasonally changing menu breaks down to about 10 cold tapas and 20 hot tapas including shellfish, fish, red meat and white meat. Lots of choices bodes well for large groups and picky eaters. And not only that, their menu changes periodically which indicates creative, forward thinking chefs. They know what ingredients are best when, and make menu changes accordingly. I'd go as far as saying Primitivo outranks all of my favorite tapas haunts in New York City in terms of quality of food. Also important to mention is their stellar atmosphere: always busy, inviting and alive.

With Alex in town I decided this was as good a place as any to dine. We ordered bacon wrapped dates stuffed with chorizo, steamed mussels and chorizo in a white wine garlic sauce with herb seasoned frites, and Moroccan spiced lamb chops atop chickpeas and tzatziki sauce. The lamb chops were my favorite. They were charred on the outside, blushing pink medium rare on the inside, juicy, flavorful and best of all, hot when served. It was like eating ribs in that the last drip and sliver of meat was worth salvaging. The dates were very sweet, a little too sweet for me, and the stuffed chorizo was a substitution I can't say I favor to the almond. The mussels were an outstanding counterpart to the lamb. Medium in size, each shell containing savory broth, a slice of chorizo sausage, and garlic. I had to make a conscious effort to stop dipping so much bread into the leftover broth.

For wine, we tried a glass of Chianti Classico, a glass of Rioja Reserva and a glass of a Merlot/Cabernet blend from Oregon. The Oregon blend was the fruitiest/youngest and the Chianti the driest. I like the Rioja the best. Met somewhere in the middle. The wine list at Primitivo spans Italy, Spain, France and California. I'd like to know who, if many at all, order any French wine. Doesn't seem like an obvious pair for a Spanish tapas place.

Beet, Goat Cheese and Pine Nut Salad

Andi here.

I've slacked on the blog lately but now that I'm home alone I have no excuse not to make updates on my cooking and dining forays.

We had a dinner party the other night and I decided to throw something different into the usual menu of roasted vegetables and steak. I made a hearty, winter salad (even though it feels like summer in Santa Monica) that was delectable in my humble opinion. A salad like this provides a lot of contrast in texture between the roasted beets, crunchy pine nuts, silky goat cheese, and crispy arugula. The tangy balsamic and lemon used in the vinaigrette also provides good taste contrast to the sweet goat cheese. And visually, a very pretty salad of pinks, purples, golden, and green. Not just your monochromatic spread of steak and potatoes.

Recipe as follows:
4-6 purple and golden beets
goat cheese
1 cup of pine nuts, toasted in a pan
baby arugula
balsamic, dijon mustard, olive oil, lemon, salt & pepper (for the vinagrette)

Peel, quarter, toss in olive oil and roast beets for 25-35 minutes at 400 degrees
To make the vinaigrette, combine everything except olive oil in a mixing bowl, then slowly whisk the olive oil in. This allows the mustard to emulsify the oil and vinegar. Toss the arugula in the dressing to coat evenly, then plate the arugula first. On top of the greens, plate beets, then goat cheese and pine nuts sprinkled around.

Cypress On The Hill

Tax refund money is great, and I decided to use some of mine to take my sister out to a nice dinner.  It took me a while to figure out where we were going.  I ended up deciding where by coming to the realization that there was one restaurant that people often talk about when listing the best restaurants in the Chapel Hill-Durham area that I have never been to, and that is Cypress on the Hill.  Jordan and I hit up Cypress on Tuesday for dinner and we were not disappointed. 

For my appetizer I had the pan seared Sonoma Foie Gras.  It was served with bruleed Ruby Red Grapefruit, a micro greens and pickled shallot salad and poultry port jus.  As foie gras always is, it was unbelievable.  Foie gras is one of my favorite foods, and this was one of the best foie gras dishes I have ever had.  The bruleed grapefruit and the pickled micro green and shallot salad played perfectly with the richness and bold flavor of the foie gras.  My sister had the Cypress “Eggs Benedict”.  Cross’ Farm sunny side egg, Stephen’s brioche toast, house-made pancetta, spinach and a béarnaise aioli.  I’m a huge fan of eggs benedict and this was a great interpretation of the dish.  Jordan is not the biggest eggs benedict fan, but she loves  bacon and all things similar, and the house-made pancetta caught her eye, despite eggs  benedict not being her fav, this won her over. 

For our entrées we had a seared tuna with Asian slaw and the grilled lamb loin.  Jordan chose the tuna, and it was perfectly seared with Szechuan pepper, while the Asian slaw was something neither of us had tasted before.  It was crisp and fresh with the familiar Asian flavors, but it was also rich and creamy like a southern cole slaw.  This fusion style slaw was the best of both worlds, and a nice accompaniment to the Tuna.  My lamb loin was cooked to a perfect medium rare, with a basmati rice pilaf, pine nuts, overnight tomatoes and an olive and red pepper tapenade, all served over a lamb jus.  This dish was so simple, but so well done.  I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a perfectly cooked piece of meat with well chosen accoutrements.  However, if you are looking for something to blow your mind, then maybe it is not for you.

The cocktail selection was not necessarily to my liking, but they make a great Hendricks martini and have an overwhelming wine selection.  The Cab Sav that I had with my lamb was superb.  I don’t exactly remember what we had for dessert.  It was something similar to fudge, with caramel toffee and a white chocolate crème anglaise.  My inability to remember what it was called does not take away how much we liked it.  I definitely enjoyed Cypress on the Hill, and sitting next to the kitchen allowed us to be jealous of the dishes that we didn’t choose, like the whole Red Snapper.  Despite this I do understand how when a good portion of the population goes out to an expensive dinner, they are expecting something out of this world, and at Cypress every dish may not provide this, but if you just want a great meal and aren’t looking for someone to reinvent the wheel, add this place to your list. 

The Bean and Barrel

While I have loved my move to Durham, I still definitely miss living in Chapel Hill.  Being closer to work, going out more often on Franklin St, proximity to my sister, and my old apartment.  It was up Mt. Carmel Church Rd. across the street from The Governor’s Club.  Seeing deer in the trees as I drove to work in the morning, watching the sun rise or set over Jordan Lake, leaving the door unlocked, being able to walk to the grocery store; all of the those things were great.  Another great thing about that area was The Bean and Barrel.  It is a coffee and wine shop that was a block from my apartment complex.  I often walked over there to grab a coffee on a Saturday morning, or to use their free wireless when I was too cheap to get the internet after the guy in the apartment next to me moved and I had no one to pirate it from. 

Right before I left, they got their liquor license.  Now they have a full bar, and the well drinks are mid-shelf, it is awesome.  It was bittersweet to learn that right after I moved they put up the only thing missing in my neighborhood, a bar I could walk to, with top shelf liquor.  They also serve pretty good food at the B and B, it is just a nice place to grab a drink, beer, glass of wine or a sandwich.  Last weekend my sister and I needed to burn some time while my car was getting an oil change, so we decided to go back to a place where we have had many a lunch after a day at the pool.  I got a turkey Reuben and the sweet corn and crab chowder.  It was a nice Reuben with plenty of sauerkraut and a rich, creamy, spicy chowder with an overriding, deep flavor of crab.  All in all, a great lunch for a cold day.  Jordan got a turkey sandwich and a mocha frap, The B and B has her favorite mocha fraps, and I think she has tried them at everywhere in a 30 mile radius. 

It was a nostalgic trip to a place that is a nice piece of the community in the Chatham County part of Chapel Hill, at a spot that is getting better and better all the time. 

Watts Grocery

Since I moved to Durham a few months ago, it is sometimes a hassle explaining to people exactly where I live.  What basically ends up happening, is that after some back and forth I realize the easiest thing to say is that I live a couple of blocks from Watts Grocery.  It is a quaint little restaurant that espouses North Carolina cuisine done in a unique, simple and delicious way.  All of these things have made it a staple in the Durham community.    

It was pouring rain, so we were hoping that we did not require a reservation to eat out on a Friday night.  That turned out not to be the case, but even with a 30 minute wait, the meal was worth it.  I started off the night with a Bourbon Sazerac, which has Woodford Reserve Bourbon (my favorite), Peychaud’s Bitters, a sugar cube, Pernod and a lemon twist.  A great cocktail, and luckily I overheard the bartender apologizing for making someone’s drink too strong, and I was able to let her know that there would be no such need for mine.  J My roommate had the Blood Orange Margarita, with Herradura Gold, Cointreau and blood orange puree.  I love blood oranges, and if you do as well, then this is a great drink choice. 

On this night I had the North Carolina Red Drum, served with roasted brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes and red peppers.  The drum was cooked perfectly, and while the brussels sprouts were not as good as the ones that I make it home, they were good, and along with the sweet potatoes and red peppers they all worked harmoniously with the fish. 

My roommate had the pan-seared duck breast with a sorghum, sultana raisin, and apple reduction over roasted brussels sprouts and an Anson Mills antebellum grits custard.  While he went against all culinary ideals and ordered the duck medium-well, it was still unbelievably, moist, savory and it tasted like DUCK.  Now that might seem obvious, but many times I have ordered duck at restaurants and been disappointed that I paid 10 more dollars than I would have for the chicken, to have something that tasted quite a bit like chicken.  The rich and slightly gamey taste of a great duck breast is always even better than you remember. 

Overall it was an affordable, filling and tasty meal, and as soon as the high gets above -140 degrees, it will be a great place to walk to from my house, for brunch, dinner or just a few drinks.