Yes, we turned our Culinary Sundays into a Culinary Saturday because of the Easter holiday... just pretend. :-) We were looking for a meal that was light and refreshing and used the flavors commonly found in Easter and Passover holiday cooking. So we decided on lamb and then gave it a Greek twist...
Cocktail - Limoncello Martini
You will notice over the next couple weeks, we are re-using some ingredients from previous recipes. The reason is we simply need to clean out the pantry and the fridge to make space for new ingredients and new menus. That being said... this was a mix of regular vodka, limoncello, and a splash of fresh lemon juice.
We also wanted to do a lemon flavored cocktail because lemon juice was a big part of the marinade in the meal and other components. So we finished off the bottle of limoncello in the fridge and made do. However, I do think a splash of lemon seltzer would be a nice topper on this drink to help mellow out the fact that its pretty much all alcohol.
Appetizer - A Potato Soup with Flaky Knish
Surprisingly tasty! We followed the recipe exactly, with the exception of straining the soup (wasn't necessary once blended) and we forgot the creme fraiche. (Which means there's an unopened container of that in the fridge and therefore expect something next week with creme fraiche in it.) The knish was rather easy to make and we're glad we didn't cheat and pick up store bought ones. However - this needs seasoning. Everything was rather bland - the soup and the potato filling - and we ended up having to add a bit more salt and pepper. (While eating leftovers today for lunch, I added some seasoned salt and it was perfection.) The recipe tells you to serve the soup ladled over the knish and at first we were cautious about doing that. Do it! Don't serve the knish on the side. The soup is so thick that its more like a sauce and when you ladle it around the knish, it starts soaking into the puff pastry and you break it apart and sop up the soup with it. (Think soup in a bread bowl - just inside out.) It was delicious!
Appetizer Wine - 2009 Josephine Dubois Grand Vin De Bourgogne Chablis
Wine Rating - Can't Locate
Okay, so while we are cleaning out the cupboards and fridge, we also decided to start trying out John and Jennifer's wine stockpile. We pulled out bottles, researched them, and catalogued them for future use. (Don't worry, Harry's! We'll be back next week!) So after doing some research, we decided on this French Chablis to go with our soup. The wine had strong scents of green apple and melon on the nose, and the initial sip exploded with the crisp fruit and then mellowed out to a stone and mineral finish with a good acidity. It was a very well-bodied white and not overly sweet. Great wine!
Entree - Lamb Souvlaki with Tzatziki
This was a fantastic souvlaki. We got lamb stew meat, marinated it for about 6 hours and grilled it 4 minutes per side. (Perfection!) We then sliced up some red onions and cut up some plum tomatoes and cucumber. For the tzatziki - we used seedless cucumber and Greek yogurt. By doing that, we did not need to drain either... we just combined in a bowl with all the other ingredients and let it sit in the fridge until it was ready to use. Everyone got to build their own souvlaki-stuffed mini pita and it was awesome. Fresh, light, crunch, cold - the textures and flavors just stood out. After all the recent heavy meals we've been cooking (and warning... there are some heavy ones coming up over the next few weeks)... it was nice to have something simple and classic.
Entree Wine - 2007 Ross Estate Shiraz Lights Out Barossa Valley
Wine Advocate - 90/100
This California red was a total surprise. It had a slight dark berry on the nose, but mostly spice, earth, and leather. Flavors on the tongue were mostly spice and tobacco with a slight sweetness to counter the earthiness. It made us think of cowboys. (Okay, it made me think of cowboys, but whatever.) It was extremely full-bodied and full-flavored and completely overdelivered on our expectations. Spectacular! (And a cool label!)
Dessert - Simple Baklava
These mini-baklava were heavenly! They were bite sized and so easy to make! The filling was decadent and when served slightly warmed - they were just incredible. The only change we made was to use dried cherries instead of apricots because that was what we had. I'd say use whatever you have lying around - I don't think the actual choice of fruit will make too much of a difference. Also, we found it to be hard to "twist" the tops into a "sachet" and instead ended up having them mostly open and looking more like mini-cups. Super dessert!
Next Week - Filet Mignon
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