Beets, Glorious Beets!

Love beets? We do!  We love them roasted, pickled and even raw!
This salad of mixed baby greens with frisee, sliced thin raw beets and goat cheese is delicious.
It was dressed with EVOO and a drizzle of Aged Balsamic Vinegar. A pinch of sea salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh lemon zest was all that was needed for seasoning.

Enjoy!
Buon Appetito
xoxoxo
Lorraine

Beet Carpaccia

A friend of mine called me a few days ago. He's in the restaurant business and enjoys seeing what I'm up to on my blog.  He had one criticism,  that I needed to improve my platting skills. I know! I seriously need some instruction in this area.
I explained to Tony that all these dishes that I am sharing with you on my blog are usually photographed using my cell phone, while I am preparing dinner, trying to get it all on the table while it's still hot! My family laughs at me when they see the cell phone come out. I hear, "oh here's another facebook moment" or "she's blogging again".
So today, I decided to make a dish in the middle of the afternoon, just because! And because my family isn't sitting at the table with their forks and knives in their hands waiting for me to put their food on the table I had plenty of time to play. It was fun!
I also wanted to play with my OXO Mandoline slicer.  I still can't get the hang of a waffle cut, but that's another story.
Today I played with beets and kohl rabe.
Here's what I came up with. Beet and Kohl Rabe Carpaccia, with Aioli, Pesto, and Balsamic Drizzle.

Beet and KohlRabe Carpaccia flower with aioli , balsamic vinegar, orange infused olive oil finished with salt and pepper and lemon zest

Beet and KohlRabe flower with Aioli leaves filled with pesto paste, dotted with balsamic vinegar and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and finished with lemon zest

And yet, another presentation!

And then the taste testers in the house were called upon to scoff it all up!

Thanks for checking in with me today!

Buon Appetito
xoxoxo
Lorraine

Asparagus

The other day I saw a post by one of my friends on Facebook and he was making an Asparagus Risotto using fresh asparagus that he had picked at a farm in upstate New York.  How fabulous! I can't imagine anything better than picking your own asparagus and cooking it!
I didn't pick my own asparagus, but when these stalks of spring are in season I make them as often as my family will let me. Tonight I decided to cook these and make them into a salad.
My sister Michele and I always have a small debate on which are better, the thin spears, or the big fat ones! I like the big ones!  Let's Food Crawl with some fresh asparagus!

I cut off about two inches from the bottom of the stalk, and with a vegetable peeler I take off the outer layer of skin on the bottom about 2 - 3 inches up. For tonight's salad I am going to poach the asparagus in water with slivers of fresh garlic.

I bring the water to a boil, and then remove the asparagus from the heat. I rinsed them with cold water to stop the cooking process.
I seasoned the asparagus with extra virgin olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon juice, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Toss the asparagus, I like to use tongs to move them around in the dish to make sure they are all evenly coated with the olive oil and other seasoning.

I then arranged them on a dish. Tonight I was in the mood for hearts of palm and artichoke hearts.
I drizzled some balsamic blaze over the asparagus,  and topped it with sliced hearts of palm.

Enjoy!
Buon Appetito
xoxoxo
Lorraine

Lamb

My family loves lamb. I think it goes way back to when they were babies, and that they inherited Greek Genes from my husband! I used to gag feeding them the Gerber lamb, but it became clear to me that my kids were lamb lovers!  My mother didn't make lamb all that often. She would make an occasional lamb chop but I don't recall ever having a leg of lamb or a rack of lamb.

It wasn't until I got married that I started making lamb because it was something that my husband really loves. The first time I made a leg of lamb I cooked it like it hadn't been dead already...OMG! It was horrible. Now, lamb is served at a temp of medium rare, and there is absolutely no mint jelly on our table!

Pictured above are racks of lamb.  I prepared them by making a herbed breadcrumb and just pressed the breadcrumbs onto the lamb. I then baked them in a hot oven, 450 degrees for 10 minutes then turned the heat down to 375 and finished them off for another 15 minutes. Let them rest for a few minutes before cutting into them  They were the perfect .... Medium Rare!

I served the lamb with some asparagus parmigiano

and a fresh mixed green salad with some delicious ripe strawberries, with a balsamic dressing.

 Breadcrumb Crust
seasoned bread crumbs ( I like 4C)
3 - 4 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsely
a few pinches of rosemary
a bunch of fresh chopped mint
juice from 2 lemons
salt and pepper to taste
a drizzling of olive oil just to make the mixture a little damp
Mix all the ingredients together. Press the mixture onto your meat and cook as desired!
Enjoy! :)

Buon Appetito!
xoxoxo
Lorraine