If you would like to try real barbacoa en adobo I recommend the recipe by Pati Jinich at Pati’s Mexican Table which was also featured in The Washington Post. For guidance on smoking a leg of lamb on a backyard grill I turned to a recipe by the late Papa D. posted at food.com.

Ingredients

3 dried guajillo chilies

2 dried ancho chilies

Boiling water, about 3 cups (750 ml)

2 Tablespoons (30 ml) apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon (15 ml) lime juice, optional

4 or 5 cloves garlic

1 small white or yellow onion, coarsely chopped

2 Tablespoons (30 ml) dried oregano, preferably Mexican

¼ teaspoon (1 ml) ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon (1 ml) ground allspice

¼ teaspoon (1 ml) ground cloves

½ teaspoon (2 ml) freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt, or to taste

1 Tablespoon (15 ml) sugar

1 leg of lamb, preferably bone-in

Mesquite chips for smoking

Method

In a large, dry, preferably cast iron, skillet over medium heat toast the chilies, being careful not to burn—especially the guajillos which burn easily. Place the chiles into a medium saucepan along with boiling water to just cover them. Simmer for 10 minutes then set aside to cool somewhat. With a pair of tongs, lift each chile from the water, stem end down, remove the stem and seeds, and transfer to a blender. (Note: do not make the mistake I made of thinking that a food processor will work for this otherwise you will have as big a mess as I did.) Strain the cooking liquid into the blender and add rest of the ingredients. Puree until smooth. Wipe out medium saucepan and empty the puree into it. Simmer, uncovered, until it thickens, about 20 to 30 minutes. (Note: traditionally the sauce would be seared in lard or oil before simmering.) Set aside to cool.

Trim the leg of lamb of excess fat and, with a sharp knife, remove the membrane (silver skin) being careful not to let the muscles of the leg separate. Place the meat on a large piece of plastic wrap and season the top side with salt and pepper then rub on a generous amount of the marinade. Turn it over and repeat on the other side. Wrap the leg with the plastic using additional large pieces as needed. Put into a suitable pan and refrigerate overnight.

Take the lamb out of the refrigerator four or five hours before you plan to serve it. Let it warm up at room temperature for about an hour. Put a quantity of mesquite chips in a bowl of water to soak while you prepare the grill for indirect heat. I put burning charcoal with a few pieces of mesquite on either side of an aluminum drip pan on the fire grate. Place the lamb on the grill and smoke it until it reaches about 150°F (65°C)—from two to four hours depending on how hot your fire is. Ideally you should keep the temperature around 200°F (95°C) but I found that impossible to do on my Weber grill so my lamb was done in about two hours. Let the lamb rest, tented loosely with foil, for a half hour before serving. I served the lamb thinly sliced with warmed tortillas, Mexican rice, beans, and the usual taco accompaniments.

There is no magic to brewing a pot of stock. Brown the bones in oven, or not, put them in stockpot with some mirepoix, a few seasonings, and water. Simmer for a good long time—how long depends on the bones—strain, cool, defat, and freeze in suitable containers. Done!

I recently decided to try making stock in my electric pressure cooker. The results were far better than I expected. The tradeoff is speed and ease for quantity. While I can make five or six quarts at a time in my stockpot, the pressure cooker only yields about three and half. But it is done in under two hours—less if I preheat water while preparing the ingredients. Incidentally, do not take the quantities in this recipe too seriously, they are approximate.

Method

Put everything into the pressure cooker. Use just enough water to fill it to the manufacturer’s recommendation. Cook for one hour at high pressure—in my Cuisinart electric that is about 10 psi (69 kPa). Allow the cooker to cool for 10 or 15 minutes then release the pressure per the manufacturer’s instructions. Using tongs, remove the bone then strain the stock into a large bowl or pot. Refrigerate immediately. When cool, skim off the fat. You can discard the fat if you wish but I usually save it to cook with. (Ham fat is particularly good for making bubble and squeak.) Decant the stock into one quart screw top plastic freezer jars.

Serves two to four

Method

Cook the sausage in a large skillet a lid or in the base of a tagine over medium heat until done (70°C or 160°F).

Adjust the fat in the pan to about 30 milliliters (2 Tablespoons) by pouring off excess or adding olive oil. Add the onion, tomatoes, and olives then sprinkle on the spices. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onion is softened but not browned.

Beat the eggs lightly to just break the yolks then pour them over the sausage and vegetables. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover, reduce heat to low, and allow the eggs to poach gently until done, about 20 minutes.

First off, despite the art on the walls, the ambiance is that of an Irish-themed sports bar. The signs saying that one section was “reserved for Irish police and fireman” may be in jest but they are hardly welcoming. The high ceiling and hard surfaces make the space a bit uninviting and cold, something that was not helped by people holding open the outside door near the bar. Besides painting the sprinkler lines red the current owners have done little to update the interior from its previous incarnations. Still, the bar was friendly enough and felt a lot like a neighborhood guys’ tavern. Drink prices are on par for the area but the bartender was not aware of the $3 well drinks offered at the restaurant’s Facebook page.

Our food arrived promptly—a surprise in a town not known for its quick service. The burgers were cooked as ordered and were very good. My only complaint is that the bacon was rather limp and seemed to have been cooked in a microwave. Glenda really enjoyed her sweet potato chips and the seasoned fries were just to my liking—thin and very crisp. They could, however, have been improved by having the seasoning tossed with them rather than just sprinkled on top. At $15 the burger was a bit pricy, especially for a mid-week special, but I would recommend it.

All in all, Burger Mondays feels like a work in progress. The food we had was good and the service first rate. But the interior needs work.

Serves two to four.

Note: I use non-fat Greek style yogurt. If you use regular yogurt drain it in cheesecloth before using.

Method

Combine the yogurt, half the garlic paste, half the ginger paste, turmeric powder, and green chilies. Marinate the lamb in this mixture for 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a deep pan and fry the onions with the remaining ginger and garlic pastes the onions are soft but not browned. Add the tomatoes, cumin, coriander, chili powder if using, bay leaves, and garam masala. Continue to fry, stirring often, until the oil separates from the mixture.

Add the lamb and yogurt marinade to the pot. Cook, stirring often, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the lamb stock and continue cooking until the meat is tender and the sauce thickened. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.

Serve hot.

Serves two as a meal.

Method

Boil or steam the potatoes until soft, about 12 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool a bit.

In a large skillet over medium heat, render the bacon until nearly crispy. (If using Irish bacon put in enough butter to allow it to fry nicely, perhaps 15 milliliters (1 Tablespoon)). Add the onion and sauté until softened but not browned. Add the cabbage and toss to coat with the bacon fat or butter. Cover, turn the heat to low, and cook gently for 10 to 15 minutes or until the cabbage is soft.

 When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them into small cubes and place into a large bowl. Mash along with the cream and butter until smooth but still a bit lumpy. Fold in the cabbage, bacon, and onion. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

About this bread. My last two efforts were a light rye and a potato bread. The obvious next step was to combine the two. Potato-rye bread is common in Germany and Eastern Europe where it is sometimes made with a sourdough starter. My version is lighter than a traditional loaf might be because I plan to toast it for breakfast. I debated adding caraway seeds but decided against it. If you intend to use the bread mostly for sandwiches I suggest you add a tablespoon or two of the seeds to the dough when you add the first measure of flour.

Note: the metric and imperial units are internally consistent but not necessarily interchangeable. 

Yield: two medium or three small loaves

Method

In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the paddle beater combine the potatoes and warm water (use the water from boiling the potatoes if you have it). Add the sugar, buttermilk powder, salt, oil or butter, egg, yeast, and 100 grams (1/2 cup) of the bread flour. (If you used hot potato water check that the temperature is not above 45°C (115°F) before adding the yeast.) Beat gently until smooth.

Replace the paddle beater with the dough hook. Add the remaining flour to the bowl. Knead on the recommended speed setting for your mixer. After about five minutes the dough should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If it does not, add more bread flour a bit at a time until it does. Knead for a further few minutes.

At this point I like to weigh the dough to make dividing it later more accurate.

Warm a large, heavy earthenware or glass bowl with hot water then dry and pour in enough oil to just cover the bottom. Form the dough into a large ball, place it in the bowl, and roll it around so that it is evenly coated with the oil. Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside to proof until doubled in size, about 1 to 1½ hours depending on the temperature. At the end of proofing, punch down the dough and divide it into whatever size loaves you prefer. Form the loaves and place them into lightly-oiled pans. Cover with a towel and allow to rise again until the dough is just above the sides of the pan.

Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F). (I use the convect pastry setting on my convection oven.) Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. The best way to determine doneness is with a thermometer; the center of the loaf should be between 93°C and 99°C (200°F and 210°F).

Note: the metric and imperial units are internally consistent but not necessarily interchangeable. 

Yield: two medium loaves

Method

Cook the bacon until crisp then drain reserving the fat. Chop finely and set aside.

In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the paddle beater combine the potatoes and warm water (use the water from boiling the potatoes if you have it). Add the sugar, sour cream, yeast, salt, the bacon, reserved bacon fat, and one quarter of the flour. (If you used hot potato water check that the temperature is not above 45°C (115°F) before adding the yeast.) Beat gently until smooth.

Replace the paddle beater with the dough hook. Add the remaining flour to the bowl. Knead on the recommended speed setting for your mixer. After about five minutes the dough should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If it does not, add more flour a bit at a time until it does. Knead for a further five minutes.

At this point I like to weigh the dough to make dividing it later more accurate.

Warm a large, heavy earthenware or glass bowl with hot water then dry and pour in enough oil to just cover the bottom. Form the dough into a large ball, place it in the bowl, and roll it around so that it is evenly coated with the oil. Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside to proof until doubled in size, about one to one and a half hours depending on the temperature. At the end of proofing, punch down the dough and divide it into whatever size loaves you prefer. Form the loaves and place them into lightly-oiled pans. Cover with a towel and allow to rise again until the dough is just above the sides of the pan.

Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F). (I use the convect pastry setting on my convection oven.) Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. The best way to determine doneness is with a thermometer; the center of the loaf should be between 93°C and 99°C (200°F and 210°F).

Note: the metric and imperial units are internally consistent but not necessarily interchangeable. 

Yield: two medium loaves

Method

Weigh the flours into a bowl. In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer combine the yogurt and warm water using the paddle beater. Add the sugar, yeast, salt, onion, dill, and about a quarter of the flour. Beat gently until smooth.

Replace the paddle beater with the dough hook. Add the remaining flour to the bowl. Knead on the recommended speed setting for your mixer. After about five minutes the dough should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If it does not, add more flour a bit at a time until it does or, if the dough does not come together, add a bit of water. Knead for a further five minutes.

At this point I like to weigh the dough to make dividing it later more accurate.

Warm a large, heavy earthenware or glass bowl with hot water then dry and pour in enough oil to just cover the bottom. Form the dough into a large ball, place it in the bowl, and roll it around so that it is evenly coated with the oil. Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside to proof until doubled in size, about one to one and a half hours depending on the temperature. At the end of proofing, punch down the dough and divide it into whatever size loaves you prefer. Form the loaves and place them into lightly-oiled pans. Cover with a towel and allow to rise again until the dough is just above the sides of the pan.

Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C) for small loaves or 375°F (190°C) for large ones (I use the convect pastry setting on my convection oven at 375°). Bake for 35 minutes for small loaves to 50 minutes for large ones. The best way to determine doneness is with a thermometer; the center of the loaf should be between 200°F and 210°F (93°C and 99°C).

Accompanied by a green salad this recipe serves two generously.

Method

Bring the stock to a simmer and keep warm.

Film the bottom of a saucepan with olive oil and sauté the mushrooms over medium heat until they become fragrant and release their liquid. Set aside. If needed, add a bit more oil to the pan and sauté the shrimp until just done, about 2 minutes. Set aside with mushrooms. Do the same with the fish.

In the same pan cook the bacon, stirring often, until it is almost crispy. Add the onion and sauté until translucent but not browned. Add the rice and fry, stirring constantly until chalky, about 2 or 3 minutes. Stir in the wine or vermouth and allow to mostly evaporate.

Begin adding the stock 60 milliliters (2 ounces) at a time stirring after each addition until it is nearly absorbed. Continue until the rice is creamy and just al dente. Stir in the cream then fold in the mushrooms and seafood. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.