Lamb Braised in Milk

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            FOOD FUNNY
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Thanks to Karen O'Quin for this one:

A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband.
Suddenly her husband burst into the kitchen. "Careful. CAREFUL!
Put in some more butter! Oh my goodness! You're cooking too
many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We
need more butter. Oh my! WHERE are we going to get MORE
BUTTER? They're going to STICK! Careful ... CAREFUL! I said
be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking!
Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST
your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget
to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!"

The wife stared at him. "What's wrong with you? You think I
don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?"

The husband calmly replied, "I wanted to show you what it feels
like when I'm driving."

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            TODAY'S RECIPE
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All recipes this week are adapted from "The Best America Recipes,
2005-2006," available from Amazon.com at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0618574786/worldwiderecipes

Here's an unusual recipe from Mario Batali, one of my favorite
TV chefs:

Lamb Braised in Milk

1/4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
4 lbs (1.8 Kg) boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed of
excess fat and cut into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup (25 ml) chopped parsley
2 tsp (10 ml) fennel seeds
4 cups (1 L) milk
1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over high heat. Season the lamb
with salt and pepper and fry in the oil, working in batches, to
brown on all sides. Place all of the lamb in the pot and add the
garlic, parsley, and fennel seeds, stirring to combine. Add the milk,
cream, and rosemary and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the
brown bits in the bottom of the pot. Reduce the heat to low and
simmer covered until the lamb is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Using
a slotted spoon, transfer the lamb to a bowl. Boil the milk mixture
over high heat until it has reduced to about 4 cups. Puree the milk
mixture carefully in batches in an electric blender or with an
immersion blender. Return the milk mixture and the lamb to the
pot to reheat before serving. Serves 6 to 8.
Received on Thu Mar 23 04:54:51 2006