Savory: Triple pepper stuffed peppers

I have a problem with ordering online. That is to say, I have some sort of deficiency that inevitably causes me to order more than what I need by accidentally entering the wrong quantity. Usually I just make the best of it, like the time I ordered two 5 lb briskets for the holidays and ended up reorganizing my entire freezer to manage them. That year, we had brisket two ways; one stove top, one oven braised, both delicious.

Well, recently I started ordering spices online, which has been going pretty well. I order whole spices whenever I can, as they keep longer and taste better when freshly ground. These you have to buy in bulk, so my poor and addled husband has adjusted to the site of 1 lb bags of peppercorns and cinnamon sticks.

But there are somethings that cannot be purchased like that, things that are only available pre-ground. Like smoked paprika, a household staple. I love it - it adds this mysterious, deep, rich flavor to everything, not to mention a gorgeous crimson hue. I put it in everything; paella, mayonnaise, deviled eggs, you name it. So when I ordered it I thought I would be fine. I chose 1 as the quantity, pressed the button, and waited patiently for it to arrive.

The box seemed a little bigger than I would have expected. Can you guess why? Because I ordered an 8 oz bottle, which is more than 4 times the amount of a normal spice jar. Yes, 4 times the amount - I mean I like smoked paprika and all, but this definitely presents a challenge.

Anyway, I panicked a little and started to fret about what I was going to do with all of it, and so I got to thinking about recipes with smoked paprika. Then I remembered that paprika comes from peppers, and bell peppers are so very in season at the moment, and that I like cracked pepper, and to make a long story short, the triple pepper stuffed pepper was born.

This is a festive looking recipe, and one the feeds a crowd. Use different colored peppers for contrast, and serve hot. Enjoy every bite.

Triple Pepper Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

one large yellow onion, chopped small

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper (cracked)

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp of smoked paprika

2 yukon gold potatoes, chopped small

1 lb of chopped meat (beef or turkey will work)

6 bell peppers, cut in half and seeded

Method

1. Preheat the oven o 400 degrees.
2. Warm oil on medium/high heat. Add onions, salt and pepper, and heat for 5 minutes.
3. Add potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add garlic, paprika, and beef and cook for 5 minutes. Once finished, set the pot aside, away from heat.
5. Place peppers up on a greased pan. Fill each with 3 - 4 tbsp of the meat mixture.
6. Place in oven for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Images of Martha's Vineyard Farms

I ask you, is this not the most resplendent, ugliest tomato you have ever seen? Very tasty too :) I love the farmer's stands here on Martha's Vineyard, and I especially love finding beauty in the beasts.

Most of these were taken at Morning Glory Farm, one of my favorite haunts here on the island. To get there using my GPS, you need to go off road. See?

That was as good as it got all morning - my mud flaps were crud flaps by the time I plowed through. Did I mention it poured the night before? But that is dedication my friends, and all part of the adventure.

Once I arrived, I had to remind myself to take pictures as I was so distracted by the fabulous finds and mouth watering sites. Here are a few lovelies for your viewing pleasure.

Enjoy every bite.

Savory: Grilled Chicken with Cilantro & Lime Marinade

We are on vacation in lovely Martha's Vineyard, home of endless island pleasures. Everywhere you look is picturesque as a postcard. Shallow lagoons house wading young children while the older kids and grown ups sun on the stunning shores of the open ocean. Flowers are everywhere, along with friendlier than usual bees, who remind me of the squirrels back in Hoboken who are simply unafraid, unthreatened by the human company they keep. Backroads lead to quiet ponds all within walking distance to heaven on earth ice cream shops. There is a quiet rhythm to the island, one driven by chirping birds and slamming screen doors and bikes switching gears. I love the way this cadence takes over as soon as we drive off the ferry that brings us from the mainland. I love this island, period.

And of course, it being my vacation after all, I love to cook. We rent a beat up old house with an tiny galley kitchen and ancient supporting utensils. I beat my eggs with one of those hand beaters from the 60's, you know the kind with two beaters and a handle you crank as fast as you can. Best eggs ever. There is a milk glass citrus reamer that squeezes oranges like a lusty sailor. The knives are antiquated, serrated, and dull. I used to pack my own wares, but over the years have come to enjoy being resourceful and managing on my own (although I usually buy one or two things from the home goods store to leave behind - a thank you gift to our hosts).

MV is full of terrific farms and farm stores scattered throughout the island. Everything is fresh picked or slaughtered, and this culture has persisted on the island long before local became fashionable. Corn is piled up everywhere. Fresh peaches and blueberries are swollen with just the right ripeness. Herbs and lettuces make heavenly salads and then some. Each year I bring one or two cookbooks with me, just so I can have something to read and cook from. The following grilled chicken recipe is a long standing family favorite from The Black Dog Cookbook. I gathered all the ingredients today at Morning Glory farm, also a perennial favorite. The marinade is simple - limes, garlic, cilantro, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Serve with corn and/or a big salad for a summer treat. Enjoy every bite.

Grilled Chicken with Cilantro & Lime Marinade

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil

Zest of 1 lime

4 tbsp of fresh lime juice

1 garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper

4 chicken breasts (boneless)

Method

1. Mix the first 6 ingredients todays in a large bowl.
2. Place chicken breasts in marinade and cover. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Grill for 7- 10 minutes on each side. Serve.

Savory: Gazpacho

Days like today, when it is 100 degrees in the shade, make me long for comforts of summer. Watermelon, lemonade, and my favorite...gazpacho. Now bear in mind this recipe is a favorite not only because it is so very tasty. Nor is it because it is healthy and chocked full of vitamins and minerals. Not even because the vegans will eat in my home if I serve it. While all of those things are important, the reason I am able to love gazpacho is simple - I am privileged to own a food processor. Without it, this recipe is torture. Unless you are really angry and feel like wielding a knife for an hour or so, in which case I have no judgement.

Basically, you chop up vegetables and add some seasoning. Chill and serve with some Greek yogurt and french bread, and you have party. Enjoy every bite.

Tavern Gazpacho

Adapted from the Black Dog Cookbook

Ingredients

• 3 lbs ripe tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 4 scallions
• 1 peeled and seeded cucumber (even better, a hot house one if you can find it)
• 1 red pepper
• 2 pieces of celery
• 1 quart tomato juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup rd wine vinegar
• 2 tsp Worcester sauce
• 1 tsp Tabasco sauce
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Chop the vegetables in the food processor - do not liquefy, as you want a little texture. Add to a bowl.
2. Add the remaining ingredients. Chill for 1 hour or more. Serve.

One last word. Last time I posted it was approaching Passover and now we have just passed the Fourth of July. Time flies as a working mom, and I have woefully neglected this blog and my faithful readers. I am sorry for the absence, and promise to be more diligent.

On The List: Saddle Of Lamb

Here at Chez Noonie we are starting to plan for Passover, a favorite holiday in these parts. We have a few standards, including matzoh ball soup and home made gefilte fish. At our table, we also usually serve lamb, once an uneasy point of contention in our family. Nowadays I am more confident, and ready to take on new challenges. This year, we will be trying a new dish, stuffed saddle of lamb.

The saddle is one of those quiet butcher cuts that you don't generally see lurking on the supermarket shelves. It is comprised of the backbone and both loins and by all accounts delicious. Saddle of lamb is also pricey and hard to come by.

Another challenge with saddle of lamb is the actual butchering. You want to be very specific with your meat man here, as different recipes call for different techniques. Most recipes call for a boneless cut, which by most accounts must be rendered by a professional, or risk butchering the job. If you are kosher, you will need a schochet (kosher butcher) to remove the sciatic nerve.

Below is the recipe I am currently eying for the main event -- Stuffed Saddle of Lamb. It comes from one of my favorite authors, Joanne Harris, of Chocolat fame. Her cookbooks are lusciously photographed (Fran Warde) and beautifully narrated, such that anytime I read one I finish feeling like I have just returned from France, visiting warm and wonderful friends. I always have luck with their recipes and this one looks like a fun challenge. I will continue posting here as I prepare for this endeavor - in the meantime, please feel free to comment below on your experiences with this kind of lamb, Passover cooking, or anything else on your mind.

Recipe follows below; enjoy every bite.

Agneau Farci

Stuffed Lamb

Original recipe from The French Market by Joann Harris and Fran Warde

Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients

1 3 1/2 lb boned saddle of lamb

2 red peppers

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for the pan

2 red onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 14 oz can of artichoke bottoms

4 oz ground lamb

3 oz pitted black olives, chopped

2 sprigs rosemary, leaves chopped

1 large egg yolk

Sea salt to taste

Pepper, to taste

Method

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lay the lamb out flat, skin side down, and have some kitchen twine ready for tying.
2. Roast red peppers over a gas flame until charred. Place in bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for 10 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. In a bowl, mix onions and garlic with the artichokes, ground lamb, olives, rosemary, egg yolk, salt, and pepper.
4. Peel the red peppers, and cut away flesh from the ribs, discarding the seeds.
5. Spread the artichoke mixture evenly over the lamb. Place all the red peppers in one strip down the middle. Roll the two sides of the lamb together and tie securely with a string at 1 inch intervals.
6. Lightly oil a roasting pan and add the lamb. Roast for 1 hour and 20 minutes for rare (130 degrees). Remove from oven and let stand in a warm place for 20 minutes. Serve.

Savory: Lamb With Artichoke Hearts

Lamb. My great marital culinary divide.

My husband, half Irish and half Lebanese, grew up eating it several times a week. While wearing wool sweaters.

My mother, who grew up in a kosher home, would sooner prepare pork. She has terrible associations with lamb, including an unfortunate incident when it was ground up for hamburgers. It never graced our table, and subsequently it never occurred to me to add it to my cooking repertoire. That is until I met my husband.

Anxious to please/show off, I purchased a Lebanese cookbook and got to work. Spinach pies, hummus, and kibbe soon appeared, all to grateful ooh's and ah's. We moved in together shortly thereafter. I was sure it was the food.

But I stumbled on the lamb, and resisted it for some time. It was as foreign to me as it was familiar to him. One day, my then boyfriend now husband was reminiscing about his childhood, and he kept talking about a stew his grand-mother used to make, Fasulia. It has green beans, and cinnamon, and...lamb. Stew meat. As in should be easy to work with stew meat. I immediately went to work and found a simple recipe. It was a hit with my husband, although I mostly ate the vegetables, being a little shy. My efforts were rewarded and shortly thereafter we were engaged.

Feeling more confident, I decided to move on to more sophisticated parts. Which tend to be costly, and therefore helpfully eliminated my choices to the more economical. I decided to try lamb shoulder chops. They are priced right, cook individually, and are available on the bone. I went searching for a recipe and found one with all my favorite things including artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes, lemon, and olives. Bonus: It comes from Martha Stewart, a woman whose recipes have consistently been fool proof. I doubt I would ever have her over for dinner, but am a more confident host when I have cooked from her experience.

This recipe comes together quickly, simply, and beautifully. It is a one dish meal, preferably accomplished with a large, heavy skillet. I often break out my electric skillet for this, as it is large enough to hold the ingredients perfectly. The lamb is sauteed, and perfumes the entire kitchen with a wonderful rich aroma. Then toss in the vegetables, later the wine, and finish with the lemon zest and olives. I like to serve it with a lemon rice.

I made this dish for my husband one evening and to my surprise, we both relished it. The lamb cooked on the bone makes this meat particularly succulent and delicious. It also cuts into small pieces, making a strongly flavored meat more manageable with each bite. Sweet wine offsets the gaminess. The vegetables perfectly compliment the lamb, elevating it into some sort of Mediterranean celebration.

Two weeks later we were married. I am not sure if my cooking ultimately shepherded my marriage, but am positive that it brought us closer together.

Enjoy every bite.

Lamb With Artichokes

Original recipe:

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/lamb-chops-with-artichoke-hearts

Ingredients

• 4 shoulder lamb chops (1/2 inch thick each)
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 or 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, halved crosswise and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 4 artichoke hearts (water-packed, from one 14-ounce can), rinsed, drained, and each cut into six wedges (Sometimes I use artichoke bottoms, which are a little easier to work with)
• 1/4 cup fruity white wine, such as a New Zealand Marlborough Valley Sauvignon Blanc (this recipe also works well with a nice vermouth)
• 1 cup homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
• 1 tablespoon lemon-zest strips

Method

1. Rinse chops; pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Cook lamb in two batches, turning once, 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to a platter; loosely cover with foil.
2. Add onion and artichoke hearts to same skillet (add 1 tablespoon oil if skillet is dry). Cook over medium heat until softened and golden (do not brown), 3 to 5 minutes. Add wine; cook until almost all liquid is evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add stock and tomatoes; cover, and cook 3 minutes. Uncover; cook until sauce is reduced by half, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in olives and zest. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Spoon vegetables and sauce over lamb, and serve.

Overlooked: Cranberry Tart

Cranberries are overlooked. Don't get me wrong, we use them all right. Cranberry juice is always a hit. Craisins reinvented dried fruit. And cranberry sauce is a staple at many Thanksgiving tables. No the cranberry dilemma is not for lack of products or volume. It is for lack of inclusion.

You see, fresh cranberries rarely make it to the dessert table. Apple crisps, blueberry crumbles, pumpkin pies all reign over the holiday, but cranberries are suspiciously missing in action. I think people are turned off by their tartness, and assume there is not much to be done with them. But I say if you can turn rhubarb into something special, cranberries pose no great challenge.

Here is a terrific, simple recipe that is sure to please. The sweet and sour of the cranberries and orange are complemented by a splash of Cointreau and lots of rich wonderful cream. The tart is deconstructed, which makes preparation easy and the overall effect visually stunning. The result is a fun, elegant dessert that provides a wonderful stage for the mighty cranberry.

Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy every bite.

Cranberry Tart

Ingredients

• 1 large orange, zested and juiced
• 12 - 16 oz cranberries
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 + 3 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp + 1/4 cup + 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp Cointreau

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine the cranberries, orange juice, and 2 tbsp sugar in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Melt butter on low heat. Add orange zest (approx. 1 tbsp). Let sit for 5 minutes.
4. Combine 1 3/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt. Slowly pour the butter into the mixture; stir with a fork until blended.
5. Press the dough into the tart pan. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
6. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
7. Combine the remaining sugar, flour, eggs, Cointreau, and cream.
8. Drain the cranberries and place in the tart pan. Pour the cream mixture over the top. Sprinkle with sugar.
9. Bake for 35 minutes and then cool on a wire rack.