Category Archives: Cooking At Home

Primal Cut

Lamb Shank Braised in Red Wine. Sure, it’s hot outside. But, I love me some braised lamb. It’s an inexpensive cut that is not that hard to prepare (as long as you have a little time).

Select a deep pan that can comfortably hold your shank (the lamb, not the weapon you made while incarcerated). Salt, pepper and lightly flour the lamb then, brown on all sides in hot oil. Pull the lamb and throw diced onion, carrot and garlic into the pan. Saute over medium heat (two logs if camping) until they go limp. Pour in a few cups of red wine and put the lamb back into the pan. The liquid level should be half way up the shank, if it’s not, add some water. Water is the coolest cooking ingredient of them all. Neutral in flavor, it contains no salt and it’s practically free.

Building A Pizza Oven: It’s On!

Something occurred to me while I was looking at technical drawings for brick oven construction: I’m not a mason. I know, I was stunned too. I submitted my membership application to the Freemasons months ago. Nothing! Not even a Tweet. With this heartbreaking news in hand, I decided to limit my exposure to failure and order an oven kit from Forno Bravo. Fourteen hundred pounds of pizza love.

Egg Fairy

The world is a strange and beautiful place. Sometimes, eggs magically appear at my door. I love it. Some of these were a dark hue that I haven’t seen before. I wonder if a chicken’s mood effects their egg color? What color would the eggs be if all they listened to is Depeche Mode? Goth eggs? If they listed to Kenny G would they be clear?