Of Roasts and Super Bowls

Last weekend Wife and I had a cooking weekend. On Saturday Wife prepared a dish from Giada De Laurentiis That was couscous in a tomato broth with scampi. It turned out excellent. The couscous was really tasty with the tomato and complemented the shrimp really well. I better get to work or Wife is going to be a better cook than me.

On Sunday I tackled a boneless leg of lamb roast. My aunt gave me a meat cookbook for Christmas and it was a good thing she did. I was planning on roasting the lamb low and slow like you would beef, but according to the book the meat is already so tender that cooking it for a long time will completely break it down. Therefore I seared in a pan to give it a nice crust and then baked in 375 oven until it hit 130 degrees internally. The lamb turned out really well. Juicy, tender, and very flavorful.

Since I had excellent pan drippings I went ahead and made some gravy. It tasted okay, but I didn't let it reduce enough to really make it good. Then I reduced it some more and it ended up a bit too salty. Oh well, cook and learn.

To go with the roast we had a trio of roasted vegetables: carrots, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts. Wife and I both agreed that our poor kids are going to be laughed at for their irregular eating habits if they take after us. Please God have them take after us! I don't know how I could cope with a child that won't eat anything but peanut butter and jelly.

Yesterday was a bit disappointing because it was Super Bowl Sunday and I didn't throw a party. I've thrown a party for the last few years, but there's just not much call for it when the game doesn't start until about midnight here. To at least keep one tradition alive Wife made guacamole and I made chili, though not the uber-chili I usually make. That's a bit much for just the two of us. Besides, I didn't want to put that much effort in because I've got a horrible cold at the moment. (That's why I'm writing my blog during the work day because I'm home sick).

Cheers,
Frog