10 12 12

by | Oct 13, 2012 | Challenge, Meat

My morning started with no coffee because I was running late, but this gorgeous Spencer apple which I grabbed on the way to the gym for an early workout. To warm up, we did several rounds of medicine ball torture – burps, squats, ball tosses and lateral tosses with a partner, more squats. By the end of the warm-up, I was dying. We then set to work on the strength: back squats. I like back squats! I’m still trying to get used to squatting deeply – my left leg isn’t as strong as my right, but I’m working on it.

Strength:  Back Squat – 6 sets of 2 @ 80% of max., rest 2:00 between sets (I used 80#, and knocked these out no problem.)

Workout of the Day:  “Snatch Balls” (Snicker…)

AMRAP 7 (As many rounds as possible in 7 minutes):

7 Power Snatch 95/65 (I used 45. I could go heavier by weight, but my form…is lacking.)
10 Wall Ball 20/14 (I used a 10 pound ball.)

Now, these two moves happen to be some of my least successful ones, so this workout did not go well. I ended up finishing only two rounds, the 7 lifts, and 5 wall balls. I wish it had gone better, but not every day in the gym is a personal best, so I’ll accept it as valuable practice.

After out workout, several of us hung around to watch Coach Steve perform 20 rounds of “Cindy” (5 Pullups, 10 Pushups, 15 Squats) with a 20 pound weighted vest, to raise money for Barbells for Boobs, an awesome non-profit raising money for breast cancer prevention.

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For lunch, I had the leftover eggplant from my braised lamb shanks two nights ago. Because there wasn’t really much lamb, I topped it with two eggs and called it a meal.

After a busy afternoon, I didn’t manage to get to the butcher (M.F. Dulock) until well past six, and I was worried that they’d be out of everything. I shouldn’t have been worried! Here are some shots of the gorgeous cases this week.

I ended up going home with some ground beef, garlic-thyme sausages, bone in pork chops, lamb neck, baby merguez sausages, and lamb kidney. Unsure of what to do with the kidneys (no soaking in milk!), they lent me a copy of Jennifer McLagan’s Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal to play with. I adore her books – excellent monographs on meat (Fat, and Bones) – truly inspired histories and recipes on the subject.

For dinner, despite having purchased a week’s worth of meat, we ended up going out to Strip-T’s, one of our hands down favorite restaurants. Hidden away in Watertown, the place has been open for three decades, but recently went through a renaissance when the owner’s son came back from New York, working in David Chang’s empire.

I wish I could tell you that it was a welcome relief, but it was kind of a bust. The wait was longer than usual, service was spotty, and the kitchen was having a serious off day.

For an appetizer I had the roasted brussels sprouts and sardines (minus the romesco, which contained bread). This was a good combination. The sardines were fresh, but cured slightly like pickled herring.

For my entree, I opted for my usual flank steak, but had to modify it for my challenge. Unfortunately, this meant that most of the delicious accoutrements were missing, so I got a medium rare flank steak over a big bed of braised greens. This would have been fine, save for the fact that someone may have dumped three tablespoons of salt accidentally into my greens. At this point, almost two hours since we had arrived, I was starving, so I asked for some lemon to see if the acid would cut it enough. It did not.

They were kind enough to make me a fresh batch of greens, but the experience left me feeling like I had done something wrong.

After dinner, because I can’t have my favorite mocha sheet cake of theirs, I had a double espresso. (Which was delicious.)

To say that we were disappointed would be an understatement, but the dozens of stellar meals we’ve had there make up for this fluke.

Braised Lamb Shanks with Tomato, Eggplant, and Anchovies

by | Oct 12, 2012 | Braises, Meat

There are two Nigel Slater recipes for lamb shanks that I use often. The first is his lamb shanks with anchovy (you can watch the video of him making it), and the second, his Moroccan spiced lamb shanks with aubergine from Real Cooking. Left with what is likely my last eggplant of summer (there’s supposed to be a frost tonight!), and an abundance of good anchovies from Eataly, I decided to combine the two. I love throwing anchovies in braises because they lend a salty-umami taste without screaming out “there’s a fish in here!”

To make this dish, you’ll want two lamb shanks. These were actually quite small, but you could easily get larger ones if you are feeding more people.

I drizzled them with a little bit of olive oil, seasoned them in salt and pepper, and seared them off in my deep skillet in a little bit of tallow (rendered beef fat, a gift from the awesome folks at M.F. Dulock). A dutch oven would work well for this, but my dearly beloved Le Creuset 7 1/4 Qt. is currently injured, and I haven’t been able to send it back to get a replacement. While doing this, I turned the oven to 300 F to preheat.

After browning the shanks, I added the chopped onions and a few cloves of garlic to the pan. I sprinkled on some rosemary and added a few Turkish bay leaves my mom smuggled back from a tree in Istanbul.

I then chopped the anchovies, added them to the pot, added tomato paste, an eggplant chopped into large cubes, and some water to come halfway up the shanks. You could easily use some red wine and stock here if you had some. The anchovies are quite salty, but I tasted the broth and gave it a final seasoning.

I brought it all to a simmer, put on the lid, popped it in the oven, let it cook for an hour, turned the shanks, and braised for an hour more. The result:

I served Devon’s off the bone over some pasta with parmigiano, and my bowl with a double portion of eggplant, and a grating of lemon zest and sprinkle of parsley.

Braised Lamb Shanks with Tomato, Eggplant, and Anchovies

2 lamb shanks
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 whole cloves garlic
2 sprigs rosemary (or about 1/2 Tbs. dried)
2 bay leaves
4 anchovy fillets, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 medium eggplant, chopped into large cubes
1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz.)
about a cup of water
lemon zest + parsley to serve

Preheat the oven to 300 F.  Season the shanks with salt an pepper, and brown them in a dutch over or deep skillet in some olive oil or good fat (I used tallow). When the shanks have browned, add the onions and garlic. Nestle in the rosemary and bay leaves. Chop the anchovy fillets and add them to the pan, then add the tomato paste and gentle stir. Add the chopped eggplant, pour over the diced tomatoes and the water to reach about half way up the shanks. Bring to a simmer. Once simmering, put the lid on, and bake in the oven for two hours, turning the shanks half way through.

Serve topped with lemon zest and parsley. Or, remove the meat from the bone, and serve over pasta with a grating of parmigiano. Leftovers taste particularly good on day two with a few poached eggs.