Sunday Traditions and Lamb Filets

Whew! What a week! It was packed full and included some new experiences. Monday was completely busy. I got to pick up the car I bought (exciting!!!!) Also, that evening was my first orchestra practice. It was a lot fun, but I am completely rusty. I can't wait to get back into it regularly and improve but it really reconfirmed to me how much I had really missed playing music. Tuesday through Friday were some stressful workdays for both my husband and me. Finally, last night we attended a dinner party that was thrown by a wonderful couple we know.

After all this, today we do what we normally do on Sundays and that is relax! We usually have lazy Sundays to get prepared for the upcoming week and just spend some quality time with each other. Sunday is usually the day that I can spend the day cooking and baking some yummy things. I enjoy trying to stay with some sort of tradition. My husband grew up having beautiful roasts on Sunday and I also grew up with gorgeous slow cooked meals; so, I guess Sundays spent the way my husband and I spend them are, in a way, continuing tradition from the way we both grew up.

Today, I marinated some lamb filets. They marinated for about 4 hours and the results were perfect! I served them with a side of mashed potatoes with caramelized onions. My husband said that this was some of the best mashed potatoes I've ever made and when and Irishman tells you that, you don't argue :)

Marinated Lamb Filets
Serves 4

For the marinade:
4 lamb filets
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

The lamb I found was in the meat section pre-packaged. These filets looked really nice, so we picked these to cook. Open the filets and place them into a glass dish that will fit the filets and marinade comfortably.

Put all of the marinade ingredients in a small bowl and mix thoroughly.

Pour the marinade over the lamb.

Make sure the filets are completely covered in the marinade. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

After the marinade time, remove the lamb from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes.You want the meat to come to room temperature before cooking so that the meat does not stay cold in the middle while cooking.

Heat a non-stick grill pan on medium-high heat.

Once the pan is hot, place the filets into the pan. Cook for 5 minutes on each side, or until the meat is brown on the the outside, but still pink on the inside.

Remove the filets from the pan and let them rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Once the meat has rested, slice and serve.

I made these filets along with some mashed potatoes with caramelized onions. The recipe follows.

Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions
Serves 4 as a side

2 small yellow onions, sliced thin
1 small red onion, sliced thin
2 tablespoons butter, divided
fat pinch of sugar
1lb mashing potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
1/4 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Slice the onions and heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Add one tablespoon of butter.

Once the butter is melted, add the onions and the sugar. Stir everything until the onions are coated with butter. Turn the heat down to low. Cook the onions on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The onions will be completely soft and turned golden brown.

While the onions are cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the potatoes and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.

Put the cooked onions into a bowl, and once the potatoes are cooked, add the potatoes to the bowl and the rest of the ingredients.

Mash the potatoes and combine everything together. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

What a perfect way to spend a Sunday! The lamb was tender and juicy and the flavors of the marinade really helped to enhance the flavor of the lamb. The potatoes were perfect and the caramelized onions were sweet and savory at the same time. It was a gorgeous meal and this is the kind of meal that makes me happy to stick with tradition :)

Happy Eating!

Read more...

The Importance of Fat & Some Wonderful Mash

Mmmmm... doesn't that look good? This is before the oven, by the way. Well, looks can be deceiving. Not to say that this meatloaf tasted bad. It was just the opposite. It tasted really good. The flavors came together nicely, but unfortunately, I made a mistake.

Let me back up. I think meatloaf is one of those things that is best done by a mother. My mother makes the best meatloaf, and I guarantee that any of you would say the same thing about your mother's (or grandmother's or stepmother's or even father's) meatloaf. My mother's is always (I'll say it again: always) perfect. It's rich, tender, cheesy, it's got the perfect flavor and big chunks of bread, and all sorts of deliciousness. My meatloaf, first, is not anything like my mother's but then again, I didn't attempt for mine to be like hers. I know it could never be and even if I ask for the recipe, she always says, 'There isn't a recipe, I just know how to make it. Why don't you just watch.' Really helpful, Mom. Anyway, I love her meatloaf and the best part is that every time I go home she makes it for me. My mom is the best! (Love you, Mom!)

Here is where I made my mistake with my meatloaf last night. First, take a look at it after it came out of the oven:

Um, yeah. That's not meatloaf... it's more like hash. It wasn't dry, but here was my mistake. I used pure beef mince... there wasn't enough fat to keep it together. I really thought I had a mixed mince of beef and pork (what I usually use) but I was sorely mistaken. I was really disappointed with the look of the meatloaf, but the flavor was really good! Now, next time I will definitely be sure to read the label properly and when it turns out  the way I want, I'll post the recipe.

Now, onto the shining star of this meal... the mashed potatoes! I made some roasted garlic mashed potatoes and these turned out perfectly (if I do say so myself). They were creamy, rustic, and the flavor of the roasted garlic was fantastic. I love roasted garlic. It's magical, sweet, but not too strong. With these potatoes the garlic gave everything a nice background flavor and it wasn't too overpowering. Just lovely.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Serves 4 generous side portions

1 small bulb garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
1lb floury potatoes, scrubbed clean (you can peel them if you like, but I like to keep the skins on for a more rustic look and flavor)
2 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup milk
plenty of salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 400F (or 200C). Get a large pot of water boiling.

Slice the top of of the garlic bulb off, making sure to slice through all of the cloves. Pour the oil into a baking dish and place the garlic in the oil, cut-side down. Place the dish into the oven and roast for 30-40 minutes.

Slice the potatoes into 1" thick slices and place them into the boiling water. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until they can easily be pierced by a fork.

When the garlic is finished, pull the dish out of oven. The cloves should be slightly browned and completely soft.

When the garlic is cool enough to touch, use a knife and pop each of the cloves out of the bulb. This is very easy and they will come out without very much coaxing.

Yum! They smell so good!

Throw the cloves of garlic and butter into a bowl. Yes, all of the cloves. Garlic looses a lot of its potency when roasted, so don't worry, the flavor will not be too strong. I use my stand mixer with the paddle attachment to mash the potatoes, so that's the bowl I'm using.

After the potatoes are finished boiling, strain them and place a clean tea towel over the strainer for 5 minutes to absorb the excess steam. After the 5 minutes, transfer the potatoes to the bowl with the garlic and butter and start mashing the potatoes. Add the milk slowly and continue mashing until it is the consistency you desire. Season with plenty of salt and pepper.

I like to keep my potatoes rather chunky and for them to have texture, but you can make them as creamy as you like. These potatoes are so good and so easy to make. With the way these taste, no one would guess they are this simple!

You must try this out, and I hope the main course you have with these turns out a lot better than mine did.

Happy Eating!

Read more...

Lazy Day Off and Skillet Brunch

Ahhh, a lazy day. We are taking it easy today because we have a lot planned for this weekend (I can't wait to post about it) and we have a busy 2 or so months ahead. My husband will be doing a lot of travelling for business and I'm venturing into some new activities I'm really excited about.

Not that we need a reason or excuse to have a lazy day, but it makes me feel better to justify lying on the couch and taking midday naps :)

Today, we were in the mood for something brunch-y. Since trying to get groceries on a public holiday (or, for that matter, a Sunday) is impossible, I had to just use what we already had. We really enjoyed our skillet brunch and what is even better is that there are hundreds of different ways to do this. You can be as creative as you want.

Read more...