Wednesday Woundup

Susanna Cornett, in her post New Coke vs Classic Coke, points out another heartless media corporation taking a 30-year veteran broadcaster off air to fix what ain't broke. Yeah, you'll be surprised.

Juliette asks the obvious question: Was Richard Clarke playing with a stacked deck? and when will pigs fly?

Another melding of blog voices arrived recently as Deb Yoder's Accidential Jedi and Jay Solo's Verbosity join forces in the all newAccidential Verbosity. If you are ahead of a fool's learning curve then nevermind. As you were.

Yum...lamb. The Delightfully Venemous Kate tempts the palate with two mouth-watering lamb recipes. I plan to make the Picatta tonight! Thanks Kate! I'll send one back at ya in the extended entry, just because I can.

Shanks For The Memory;

Lamb Shanks in Casserole:

This recipe is a perfect dish for a weekend dinner when you are hanging around the house and have time for the pot to simmer in the oven. Do not be put off by the condensed soup, you could use your favorite stratch-made mushroom and cream of tomato soup recipes if you wish, you'll need 2 cups of each...but I promise you'll never be able to tell the difference. Serve with a green salad and crusty bread for sopping up the juices. I usually serve cold stewed fruit with gingersnaps and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Serves 4 generously as the finished dish is very rich.

You will need:

4- lamb shanks approx 1.25 - 1.50 lbs each is the usual size (the bone is large)
1- Can Campbell's condensed Cream of Tomato soup
1- can Campbell's condensed Cream of Mushroom soup
1- Medium yellow onion (omit if onions are not liked or tolerated)
1-teaspoon cooking oil: olive, corn, safflower, canola...doesn't matter
4-6 Fresh medium-sized Button mushrooms, thinly sliced
4- large Russet potatoes
Fresh minced Parsley (Garnish-optional)
Salt & pepper
2-1/2 Qt. Covered baking dish, casserole or Dutch oven.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees; place the rack in the middle position.

Method:

Lightly coat the casserole or baking dish with oil, rub it around evenly with your fingers or a bit of paper towel.

Coarsely chop the onion and evenly place in the casserole. Rinse the lamb shanks with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Lightly salt and pepper the shanks on top of the onions. Scatter the sliced mushrooms over the shanks

Whisk (a fork works fine) together both cans of condensed soup and 2-Cups of tepid water in a bowl. It may look a little lumpy and unappetizing at this point...that's okay. Pour the soup over the shanks, cover and place the casserole in the center of the oven.

Bake for 45 minutes, remove from the oven, the dish should be simmering nicely, gently baste the shanks, scraping the sides of the dish down. Turn the oven down to 325. Cover and return the dish to the oven for an additional 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the peeled, quartered potatoes (you want nice big wedges)...lightly salt, cover and return to the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.

Serve each person a shank with 3-4 wedges of potatoes and lots of sauce in large soup plate or shallow bowl. Garnish with a sprinkling of parsley and a grind of black pepper. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Posted by feste at March 31, 2004 02:59 PM | TrackBack