On the Lamb + Boeuf

My apologies. I dropped that teaser blog on you last Monday telling how excited I was about CA102 and then nothing. It's been a pretty busy and exhausting week. But you're not hear to listen to me whine. You're here to read about the tasty delights I prepared this week. Are you ready for a barrage of meat? You are? Well then, as the Russians say, "Let's do this."

Day 2:
Roast Top Round of Beef au Jus













This ain't yo momma's pot roast. We seared a beautiful top round roast until GBD, pulled it out, put it on a rack and threw it in the oven until it reached an internal temperature of 120º - tasty medium rare (as you can see). Then we built a lovely au jus sauce in the pan with that tasty suc (fond, brown bits). It was served with Jardiniére of Fresh Vegetables - haricot vert, turnips, carrots, peas; all obstructed by the boeuf - and Pommes Dauphine - pâte á choux and potato fried GBD - basically the airiest, most delicious tater tots you've ever had. 18

Boneless Leg of Lamb Roast













I had no idea how much I loved lamb until this week. Little Bo Peep shoulda tossed the curds and whey and thrown her sheep in the oven. As far as preparation, this was basically the same as the beef. Sear it; into the oven; int temp of 120º; sauce made in the pan. These were served with Pommes Boulangiére - caramelize some onions; add sliced potatoes; simmer in lamb stock until fork tender. Yummzzz. 18

Day 3:
Roast Rack of Lamb Persillé













Vegetarians have it all wrong. If God didn't want us to eat meat, he wouldn't have given it a handle. These meat lollipops were absolutely fantastic. We seared them, smeared them in dijon, dipped them in buttered panko and put it in the oven until the inside was 120º (see a theme here?). The sauce was built in the pan with red wine and lamb stock; reduced like crazy and mounted with copious amounts of butter; Chef Clif said that our sauce was "sexy sexy". Nice. We served it also with White Bean and Arugula Ragout. 18

Seared Beef Tenderloin with Foie Gras and Sauce Perigourdine













Yea. I almost don't need to write anything right? The filet was seared in a hot pan with oil and basted until it was perfect medium rare. Chef John said it was "like butter" and "perfect". It was topped with a seared piece of Hudson Valley foie gras - we didn't nail the sear on that as you can see, but it was delish. The sauce had shallots, madeira wine, veal stock, truffles and butter. We served it with Haricot Vert au Beurre and Pommes Noisette - melon ball-scooped potatoes gently fried in clarified butter. 18

Day 4:
Grilled NY Strip with Béarnaise Sauce













I almost lost it when we were told that we were grilling NY strips. SOOOOO pumped!! Then I totally blew it. I cooked the steak MEDIUM!! Go ahead. Scream into a pillow. I'll wait........ Got it? Cool. Yea, I was heart broken when he cut into it. However, I did get perfect quadrillage on there, so that was nice. Our béarnaise was a little thick but considering I had broken it and brought it back to life, I wasn't too disappointed. We served this one with Yellow Squash with Shallots, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Basil, and Pommes Pont Neuf - thick fries with a little watercress salad in the middle. 18

Brochette d'Agneau á la Marocaine avec courgettes et poivrons
(Lamb Shish Kebab with Squash and Peppers)
[photo unavailable]
I just didn't take a picture of this dish. It was super good and we nailed it, I just forgot to get a pic. I'm sorry. Get off my back already! We marinated chunks of lamb sirloin in a lemon vinaigrette with garlic, oregano, and cumin; skewered it with red bell peppers and squash, grilled it, and served it over white rice. 19.5

Day 5:
Bulgogoi with Steamed Rice













Korean beef stir-fry. This was just delicious and I will most certainly be recreating this at home. We marinated beef in GGS (ginger, garlic, scallions), soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil for about an hour. We pulled one of the grates off the stove top and got the woks down about 2" above the burner to get it rocket hot. The beef seared in about 3 seconds. We pulled it out and threw in the marinade until it reached a nice glaze consistency. The beef went back in to coat and then we served it over sticky white rice and garnished with scallions and sesame seeds. Very good. 18

Gigot d'Agneau Braisée à l'Orange et à la Menthe, accompangé de betteraves
(Braised Lamb Shank with Orange & Mint and Swiss Chard)













Baaaaah. Okay, I realize that you can see the broken sauce below the orange, but let's focus on the postives: absolutely perfect orange suprémes (thanks Uchi) and a shank that was literally spoon tender - yea, SPOON tender. We seared that bad boy GBD and tossed it in the oven to soak in lamb stock, white wine, fresh squeezed orange juice, and mirepoix for two hours. It was crazy good. I wasn't a huge fan of the Chard - leafy greens tend to leave my teeth feeling like there's no enamel left. 18

What a great week! I ate like a king for 4 days. We ate beef and lamb like it was goin' out of style and we have one more day of it. Monday we make Beef Bourguignon with Fresh Fettuccini and Moroccan Tagine of Lamb with CousCous. I. Can't. Wait. Then we break down a leg of veal on Tuesday.

Today, Cameron and I busted out a ridiculous Persian Feast for Shane's birthday. It was killer. I'll post about it tomorrow though. Today was a lot of reading. You're tired. Sleep tight - unless you're reading this tomorrow morning, in which case, have a great day!