Oscar Worthy

Original Post date 2/25/15 on Sunday Supper Chronicles Blog

GS: One birthday during my teens, I decided to be adventurous and order a waiter's recommendation of the evening's special - rack of lamb. I remember feeling so extravagant to be ordering the special and being so proud of myself for trying something new. I also remember hating it. Per the recommendation of the waiter I was to eat it with the side of mint jelly. The combination was disgusting and from that point on, I decided I hated lamb. It must be really foul if it needs to be paired with a spread that tasted like chewing gum. After that incident I also became a tremendous creature of habit, fearful of ordering something new and being disappointed.

Fast forward to now and learning that with age comes some wisdom. Still very much a creature of habit on certain things, I have managed to broaden my horizons and I do actually like lamb, so why not try to cook it?

When Sunday rolled around and it happened to be the night of the Oscars, it seemed like a nice tie-in and a good excuse to up the ante and challenge myself with dishes that I found intimidating. So I decided to make a Classic Rack of Lamb. Since that one bad lamb experience, I actually never encountered another piece of lamb that was served with mint so I was hardly going to serve mine with one either.

Amazingly enough, cooking lamb wasn't much of a challenge after all because you can buy the rack of lamb pre "Frenched," meaning it's already been cleaned to expose the bone. The hardest part was making sure I took the already marinating lamb out of the refrigerator at least two hours before I had planned to cook it so it could come to room temperature. I forgot to do that so we actually didn't end up eating two hours later than I had anticipated. The second hardest part was making sure I didn't overcook the lamb, which was also not difficult with a meat thermometer. Fortunately because the lamb took so long, it gave me time to cook my sides.

I've always wanted to make risotto, so I challenged myself with a Mushroom Risotto. Turns out making risotto was a lot harder than cooking the lamb. I don't eat enough of it to know how what the texture is and I know people have very strong beliefs about whether it should be runny, or hold its own. All I know is that mine required much more attention than I was willing to spare and even after 7 cups of chicken broth, it probably could have used more broth. In the future, I think I much rather buy the pre-made frozen version from Trader Joe's. I also decided to use the bounty of fresh chard from my garden and make Sauteed Swiss Chard with Parmesan Cheese. Even this large bunch of chard wilted down to what was barely enough for a decent photo, fortunately it tasted a lot better than it looked. PC who doesn't like chard, actually liked this recipe. Was this meal Oscar worthy? I'd actually say so.

PC: Dessert! Not my forte, but then again I have no true forte. Not wanting to repeat anything I had done prior but knew it had to be Academy Award worthy.. something rich and decadent. So in scavenging through the monthly cookbook, aka Food & Wine & Bon Appetit Magazines, I came across BILLIONAIRE SHORTBREAD. If that doesn't say rich I don't know what does. A three-tier bar that screams cavities and more layers to your waist, or if you are diabetic this dessert may kill you. This is broken down to three preparations: shortbread, caramel, & chocolate ganache.

Upon seeing the finished product, I had to admit it was pretty damn close to the picture.. minus the salt flakes which I substituted with cracked sea salt. The salt added a nice contrast to the sweet richness of the chocolate. The chocolate would work its way on to the palette and suddenly you would be hit with what I called the warmth of the salt. Pat on the back and a fist in the air.. SUCCESS! Where is my damn Oscar?!

My recommendations: MORE CARAMEL...LESS CHOCOLATE! A food processor would probably help keep the shortbread dough more even. I like cutting the bars into long pieces like scones for those who just want to pick it up with their grubby fingers!