When the weather gets chilly, I spend lots of time in the tasting room talking about slow cooker recipes. This is one of my favorites. It fell off the website for some reason. I'll get it back on. But, by popular demand, here is my EZ PZ recipe for lamb shanks in the Slow Cooker.
2 lamb shanks
1 c. bold red wine (like Tango)
1 c. chicken broth
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes with juice
2 3" sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 large onion, peeled and diced (largish chunks)
2 carrots, peeled and diced (largish chunks)
4-6 cloves of garlic peeled and sliced thinly (slicing/slivering is better than chopping for this recipe)
1 t. worchestershire sauce
Juice and zest of 1 medium to small lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Add the wine, broth, tomatoes, onion, carrot and garlic to a large (at least 5 qt) crock pot. Strip the rosemary leaves off one of the sprigs and chop roughly. Add to broth mixture. Add salt and pepper - at least 1/4 t. of each. "Bury" the lamb shanks in the broth/wine mixture - so they are partially covered. I usually end up having to cross the shanks like a skull and cross bones to make them fit. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6+ hours (or until you get home from work). When you get home from work, start the polenta. Once the Polenta is started, add the zest and juice of the lemon, the worchestershire and the roughly minced leaves from the other sprig of rosemary to the slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker to warm (if it has this setting or leave it on low if it doesn't) and let shanks continue to simmer until polenta is done. Taste juice/sauce in crock pot and adjust salt/pepper if needed. Serve the shank to the side of your plate with a big dollop of polenta topped with the sauce/juice from the crock pot on the other side. YYYYUUUUMMMMM.
You can use any polenta - but I really like the baked polenta recipe that is on the website (yes, I double checked it is still there under sauces/sides page 2). It comes out creamy and it doesn't require you to stand there for 15 minutes stirring.
Enjoy!
April 7, 2011
March 8, 2011
Maple Roasted Chicken and Sweet Taters
As many of you know Mr. Vino's brother and sister-in-law visit us from Toronto when the weather is so gray and white they can't stand it anymore. Tia Vino - Janet - loves to cook and we have the most amazing meals with lots of excellent wine and fantastic beer.
This year, Scott and Janet kindly brought us a bottle of maple syrup. The REAL stuff. No, I'm not talking Mrs. Butterworth's. We sampled it and it was absolutely incredible. Just after Scott & Janet left, I found this recipe in our local newspaper and, since I had both chicken thighs and sweet potatoes, I thought I'd give it a try. Scott & Janet, if you are reading this. Bring more syrup next year and I'll make this for you because it is absolutely amazing.
Double Maple roasted Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (I used 3)
2 T olive oil
1/2 cup granulated maple sugar (No, Mrs. Vino does not habitually have this in her pantry so, Canadian friends - feel free to use maple sugar. Everyone else, light brown sugar works great)
2 t. kosher salt
1 t. ground black pepper
2 lbs bone in chicken thighs (skin removed)
1/3 c. real maple syrup (Use the closest thing to real maple syrup you can find - NOT Aunt Jemima Lite)
zest of 1 lemon
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large ovenproof baking dish, combine the sweet potatoes and the olive oil. Toss well to coat. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt and black pepper. sprinkle half of this mixture over the sweet potatoes and toss or stir to coat. Arrange the sweet potatoes in an even layer in the bottom of the baking dish.
Rub the remaining sugar mixture over the chicken thighs with your hands. Arrange the chicken in a single layer over the sweet potatoes. Drizzle the maple syrup over the thighs. Cover the baking dish with foil and roast for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and roast for another 10 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165 degrees at the thickest part of the thighs. Serve the chicken with the sweet potatoes - just before serving, sprinkle the lemon zest over the chicken.
Sweet, tart, salty, spicy, and umami - it hits on all possible flavor palates.
This year, Scott and Janet kindly brought us a bottle of maple syrup. The REAL stuff. No, I'm not talking Mrs. Butterworth's. We sampled it and it was absolutely incredible. Just after Scott & Janet left, I found this recipe in our local newspaper and, since I had both chicken thighs and sweet potatoes, I thought I'd give it a try. Scott & Janet, if you are reading this. Bring more syrup next year and I'll make this for you because it is absolutely amazing.
Double Maple roasted Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (I used 3)
2 T olive oil
1/2 cup granulated maple sugar (No, Mrs. Vino does not habitually have this in her pantry so, Canadian friends - feel free to use maple sugar. Everyone else, light brown sugar works great)
2 t. kosher salt
1 t. ground black pepper
2 lbs bone in chicken thighs (skin removed)
1/3 c. real maple syrup (Use the closest thing to real maple syrup you can find - NOT Aunt Jemima Lite)
zest of 1 lemon
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large ovenproof baking dish, combine the sweet potatoes and the olive oil. Toss well to coat. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt and black pepper. sprinkle half of this mixture over the sweet potatoes and toss or stir to coat. Arrange the sweet potatoes in an even layer in the bottom of the baking dish.
Rub the remaining sugar mixture over the chicken thighs with your hands. Arrange the chicken in a single layer over the sweet potatoes. Drizzle the maple syrup over the thighs. Cover the baking dish with foil and roast for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and roast for another 10 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165 degrees at the thickest part of the thighs. Serve the chicken with the sweet potatoes - just before serving, sprinkle the lemon zest over the chicken.
Sweet, tart, salty, spicy, and umami - it hits on all possible flavor palates.
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