Easter Dinner – Roast Leg of Lamb – Updated Photos!

Tags

Asparagus, Cook, couscous, Easter, Garlic, Lamb, Olive oil, watermelon

I know I told u that my roast leg of lamb was off the chain…at the time I was vegan and only had phone pics to pore my cooking prowess… now a meat eater again, I come with mouth watering pics of my delicious easter meal.

• Roast Leg of Lamb
• Wild Mushroom Herbed Couscous
• Spinach, Strawberry, Fetta salad
• Garlicy Asparagus with Pine Nuts
• Israeli Watermelon Mint Soup
• Roasted Root Vegetables with Thyme
• Homemade Yeast Rolls (from my mama)
• Minted Tzatziki Sauce with Champagne
• Cabernet Sauvignon

Sadly, I went to about 10 grocery stores in my hunt for a bone in leg of lamb (It really does make all the difference) but only could find semi boneless…
For the original blog post and recipe refer to: https://absolutelyravenous.wordpress.com/2012/04/05/roast-leg-of-lamb-our-former-easter-tradition/

 

 

 

Roast Leg of Lamb – Our Former Easter Tradition

Tags

Black pepper, Cook, Easter, holiday, Lamb, Lamb and mutton, marinade, Marination, Olive oil, Parsnip, roast, salad, strawberry, Tablespoon, vegan

::NOTE:: While we now eat mostly vegan ‘cept the occasional shrimp or box of dainty handful of Cheez-It’s, I HAD to post this recipe! Besides the fact that I had already had the post written in November, It is an amazingly delicious dish! I luckily took a few photos from last years meal And while WE will not be enjoying it this year, there’s no reason that you can’t!

Be on the look out for this years Holy Land Inspired Vegan Easter Feast!!

Trying to come up with a menu to prepare for my first Easter dinner in 2008 and decided to make a leg of lamb…how adventurous of me, I know. 🙂 I figured, I love the gyros my mom makes, why not try THIS beast!!

I did a bit of research to see what pairs well with lamb and came up with a few and tried this marinade. I, as well as my guests, were completely BLOWN AWAY! I had outdone myself! It was so warm, pink, and juicy on the inside, while crisp and flavorful on the outside. I have since made it every Easter and always pair it with the same sides that I initially made it with, as they complimented the lamb so well.

I serve this with Asparagus Sautéed in Olive oil and garlic; Spinach and Strawberry Salad with toasted Almonds and Feta; Roast Cubes of Squash, Parsnips, and Carrots; Homemade Yeast Rolls; and a big bodied Shiraz.

Marinade

• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 cup white wine
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 teaspoons of fresh thyme
• 5 Tbsp of fresh chopped rosemary
• 5 leaves of mint
• 1 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Blend in blender of magic bullet

Lamb Roast

• 1 (16-pound) leg of lamb, bone-in
• Marinade
• Salt
• Pepper

1 Place lamb and marinade into a plastic bag. Plane inside  Marinate for several hours, or overnight, in the refrigerator. Remove the lamb, still in its marinade bag, from the refrigerator at least an hour before putting in the oven to help bring the lamb closer to room temperature before roasting.

2 Preheat oven to 425°F.

3  Remove the lamb roast from its marinade bag. Pat the marinade off the lamb with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper remembering at this point there has been no salt added to the marinade! Place in roasting pan fat side up, so while the lamb is cooking the fat will melt into the meat. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the roast, not touching the bone if your roast is bone-in. drippings. I sometimes put a bit of water in (1/2 cup) so the melting fat doesn’t burn.

4 Roast at 425°F for 25 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 300°F and roast an additional hour (for a 6 pound roast), about 10 minutes per pound. If you are cooking a roast bone-in, it will need a longer cooking time than a boneless roast.

Cook to about 130°F for a pretty pink med rare. DONT COOK TIL DONE – YUCKY AND DRY!!! Tent roasting pan with foil and let it sit for at least 20 min so that it can absorb all of the juices.

5 Pour the juice and drippings into a gravy boat or bowl with ladle to serve atop the meat.

Now if I could only figure out a way to veganize THIS!

French “Ooooh Honey Child” Toast

Tags

bread, Breakfast, Bristol, Butter, Casserole, Cook, Easter, eggs, French toast, Honey, Mother's Day

There’s a local resturant here in Louisville, that serves a Sunday brunch, called Bristol. I have been twice, once for Mother’s Day and once on Easter.  While everything at the bar is well and good. Something unsual caught my eye tastebud – French Toast. Well, how is that unusual you say? Well, I really really don’t like French Toast! But this stuff was OFF THE CHAIN!! It had some sort of caramelized syrup on top, not eggy at all, and mmmmm..mmmmm…mmmmmm…GOOD!

On my second visit I sweet talked the waitress and tried to pry some ingredients out of her. She told me that it was baked. I asked her if It had caramel. She said all she knew is it had honey! I also dislike HONEY! 😛

I was determined to make this at home and demolish the entire pan in one sitting suprize the kids with it for breakfast.

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 2/3 cup orange juice
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 6 (1/2 inch – 1 inch) thick slices of French bread ot Italian bread

Heat oven to 375.

Slice bread loaf into 1/2 – 1 inch slices.

Put butter and honey into a 9-by-13-inch nonreactive baking dish. Heat in oven until butter melts and honey is bubbling, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and stir well.

In another baking dish, whisk together juice, eggs, spices, and salt. Dip bread in, turning it once to coat it well, let it soak about 2 minutes per side, then carefully set each piece of bread into the honey-buttered pan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until well-browned. Before serving, flip over each piece so the honey-butter side is up.