Flashback Friday - Lamb Stew

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on March 17, 2011.

So it's St. Patrick's Day and most of you are probably planning to whip up some corned beef and cabbage with a side of potatoes, or something else traditionally consumed on this day. Green beer, perhaps. Or a Shamrock shake. Personally, I'm in the mood for some stew.

"Irish" stew typically contains lamb or mutton, onions, carrots, and of course, potatoes. While it's very tasty, I'm feeling a little more exotic this week. My stew still contains lamb, onion, and carrots, but the overall flavor profile leans more toward the Chinese, with the potatoes replaced by steamed rice.

Pretty, no? Tasty, yes!

Lamb Stew a la Chinoise

1 tablespoon canola oil
3 lbs cubed lamb
1 cup sliced onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
2 cloves chopped garlic
6 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon crushed Sichuan peppercorns
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons black bean and garlic sauce
2 tablespoons soy
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon Sriracha
1 star anise, broken
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 cup mixed vegetables (I used frozen peas and edamame)

In a dutch oven, heat the oil and brown the lamb in batches. When uniformly brown on all sides, remove lamb to a bowl and set aside. Into the hot fat left in the pan, add the peppercorns and toast for about a minute, then add the onions, celery, carrot, and ginger and saute until vegetables soften, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute another minute or two. Add the meat back to the pot along with the remaining ingredients and bring mixture to a boil. After reaching a boil, turn the heat down to low and allow the stew to simmer for 3 hours, or until meat is very tender.

Place cornstarch in a small bowl and whisk in enough of the stew liquid to make a thin paste (about half a cup). Whisk cornstarch slurry into stew, and stir until thickened.

Stir in additional and cook until tender, about 10 minutes more.

Serve with sauteed cabbage.

Sautéed Cabbage

1/2 cabbage cut into shreds as for coleslaw
1 teaspoon veg oil
2 tablespoons chopped scallions
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon honey
salt and pepper to taste

Heat vegetable oil in a sauté pan. Add cabbage and toss to coat with oil. Stir fry for about 3 minutes, until cabbage begins to soften. Add remaining ingredients and toss to coat. Cook until warmed through, an additional 2 minutes. Serve atop lamb stew, or as a side dish to something else.

Frederick Restaurant Week

To kick off Frederick Restaurant Week, which runs March 2nd through the 8th, a special media event was held to preview some of the dishes diners can expect from participating restaurants. The festivities began at the Frederick Visitor Center where we were introduced to a sampling of hard ciders produced by Distillery Cider Works. First we tried the sparkling Celebration Cider, a blend of modern and vintage apple varieties which produces a mildly sweet hard cider akin in flavor to champagne. Woodberry is made specially for Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore using a blend of heritage apples and aronia berry juice. The combination of tart and sweet complements many savory dishes served at the restaurant. Finally, we tried the Winterfest which is produced in a similar style to ice wine to create a more full-bodied hard cider.

After the libations, we were ready for our walking (and eating) tour of Frederick. To stay on schedule, we were divided into groups of three. The Minx and I split off into separate groups so we could cover as many restaurants as possible. With so many restaurants and so many dishes on the tour, I'll limit my comments to a few favorites, but there is a slideshow below to give you a visual tour of the items we tried.

The cream of crab soup at the Cellar Door was a welcome surprise. Most cream of crab soups taste like wallpaper paste with some crab thrown in, but Chef Richard Belles's soup is a true crab soup slightly thickened with cream. Pleasantly spicy with ample pieces of crab throughout, I would like all cream of crab soups to taste like this. The Cellar Door also offered the lone dessert I had on the tour: a strawberry banana cheesecake fritter. Not too sweet, the flavors were nicely balanced and, of course, anything tastes better when it's fried.

Over at Firestone's Culinary Tavern, the Nordic Cod was a nice balance of flavors and textures. The mild fish sat atop slices of fried fingerling potatoes and a light soup of mint oil, ginger root, and nasturtium leaves. The combination was light and savory all at once. The entire menu at Firestone's will be available for Restaurant Week, so you can build a three-course meal to your liking. Up-charges may apply for some of the more expensive dishes.

The Minx sampled the Irish Nachos at Bushwaller's, an Irish pub. Sidewinder potatoes replaced the traditional tortilla chips, which were covered with jalapenos, red onion, cheddar cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, and Irish bacon. Bushwaller's is also offering the entire menu for Restaurant Week.

Brewer's Alley served crispy Brussels sprouts that were roasted with kielbasa, dried cranberries, and spiced pecans and covered with a roasted poblano-honey vinaigrette. The grilled vegetable stack featured eggplant, zucchini, and yellow squash layered atop a crispy goat cheese fritter and balsamic onions, with red pepper coulis and basil pesto. The whole creation was served with an arugula salad. The Minx was torn as to which of these was her favorite dish of the day but is leaning toward the vegetable stack.

We all met back at JoJo's Restaurant and Tap House where we were treated to a Session IPA. a deconstructed yellowfin tuna taco, and a chicken and spinach burger. The taco was adorned with "Dorito dust," tomato tempura, avocado, and cilantro lime sour cream. The spinach added color to the ground chicken burger, which was served on a slider bun with crispy fries.

We had a pleasant afternoon taking in the welcoming hometown vibe of Frederick and sampling food from some of its finest restaurants. For those who are not familiar with Frederick or who do not go there frequently, Frederick Restaurant Week is the perfect opportunity to take a drive and check out the growing culinary scene there without hurting your pocketbook.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Slainte on Wheels

Everybody's favorite Irish pub, Slainte, now has a food truck. Makes sense, as sister restaurant Kooper's has had one (Chowhound Burger Wagon) for years now, and as far as I can tell, it's very popular. Slainte on Wheels offers a completely different selection of foodstuffs from the burger wagon.

There's Slainte's famous gumbo, for one thing. Yes, gumbo on an Irish food truck is weird, but I promise you that it's very very good. It's the same gumbo served at Slainte and all three Kooper's Tavern locations, a spicy, hearty, and very warming combination of seafood and vegetables. I think it's the best gumbo in town.

There's also the Irish bibimbap, which wowed Guy Fieri on an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives (Clearly the country has run out of all three, so Guy is going to non-diners, non-drive-ins, and non-dives now.) Rice, stir fried veg, cubes of corned beef, pickled cabbage, and a fried egg drizzled in sriracha make up a decidedly non-Korean version of this tasty Korean rice dish. A sweet element and a bit of sesame oil might take Slainte's version closer to Asia, but it's tasty nonetheless, with a generous amount of protein.

There's more of that good corned beef in a spicy version of a classic Reuben sandwich. And what Irish restaurant worth its salt doesn't feature potatoes? Wedge-shaped "chips" play a role in two dishes billed as "munchies," one topped with curry sauce and another with cottage pie filling and cheddar cheese. They also come as a side to Natty Boh-battered cod, and to Irish bangers (sausages) with onion gravy. An arugula salad and black bean falafel wrap round out the menu so the vegetarians have some choices, too.

It's always good to have another food truck on the street, and one that serves a couple of more unusual items. Like that mighty fine gumbo. Makes me wish it were Friday (the day Slainte on Wheels is in my 'hood) so I can have some of that for lunch today....



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Celebrating St Patrick's Day

I'm not Irish, not a fan of green beer, not a big drinker in general. So the way I like to celebrate St Patrick's Day is...to eat.

How about some nice multi-ethnic goodness involving corned beef, or in the case of the last pic, an Irish-themed restaurant?

A corned-beef sandwich on home-made bread...

...Korean-style Reubenadas...

...Poached eggs with cauliflower purée and frizzled corned beef...

...or an order of Calamari from Slainte (or anything else, for that matter) would really float my boat tomorrow.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Sláinte Revisited

A couple weeks ago, I raved over the food at Sláinte, in Fells Point. It was a media dinner, and the food was free, but I did like it enough to go back and pay for my food.

It was just as good on my dime.

The first return trip of what is sure to be many was to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday. On that occasion, we tried the Scotch egg (Gunpowder Farms bison sausage over a perfectly-cooked hard-boiled egg, with grits and mustard sauce)...

...the poutine (potato wedges with a truffled chicken reduction and fresh mozzarella curds). While it sounds really exotic (it's Canadian, after all), think of it as fries with cheese and gravy, albeit a rather schmancy truffle-scented gravy. Sláinte's portion is huge, so prepare to share.

...the corned beef and cabbage, in the hands of Chef Bill Crouse, was pretty subtle: a huge slab of tender beef, accompanied by a wedge of lightly-cooked cabbage and a pile of buttered new potatoes. Very simple, very plain, very good.

...the bangers and mash included two very flavorful sausages - nice, meaty, American-style sausages, never fear - with an ample mound of champ (mashed potato with scallion), mushrooms, and tomato gravy.

...and the crab cake, which was filled with a nice mix of lump and other crab meat, was very moist. (I'd have like it broiled a while longer, though.) The vegetables, a mix of broccoli, red bell pepper, and artichokes, were crisp and very garlicky; while I liked the rice well enough, Sláinte slaw might be a better accompaniment.

For dessert, we tried the Guinness bread pudding, which is a different preparation from what we were served at the media dinner. This was crusty and piping hot, served in a ramekin and an ample portion for two. I would have liked a little pitcher of custard, cream, or a scoop of ice- or whipped cream because it was a little dry.

I'm already looking forward to my next trip, which will hopefully be a rescheduled girl's-night-out dinner with an old pal from high school. She's already been perusing the menu and trying to decide what to try first.

Sláinte

For the past six years, Fells Point's Sláinte has been serving up Irish-inflected pub grub and earning accolades such as the City Paper's "Best Sports Bar" of 2008 and Baltimore Magazine's "Best Place for Breakfast" in 2009. While this was all well and good, owners Patrick and Katie Russell (who also own Kooper's next door) decided that what the Baltimore area really needed was a gastropub, the kind of place where the food is at least as important as--if not more than--the libations. After trips to New York to scope out famous gastropubs like The Spotted Pig and The Breslin and hiring a new chef in the form of Bill Crouse (formerly of Sotto Sopra), the Russells have upgraded their fare while still keeping the folks who just want a burger or some corned beef and cabbage happy.

While the menu looks like a pretty straightforward selection of British pub favorites, if you look closely you'll notice items like mushroom gnudi (a gnocchi-like dumpling, popularized in recent years by The Spotted Pig), poutine (the Québécois staple of gravy- and cheese curd-smothered French fries), and a Duroc pork loin with crispy spaetzle and a pink peppercorn and goat cheese sauce.

Lured by the mention of exotic game birds on Sláinte's Restaurant Week menu, Mr Minx and I had planned on trying the restaurant in late January, but with the intermittent freezing rain and otherwise generally crappy weather, we chose to stay home and avoid the ice. However, on a recent evening when the weather was cold and windy but otherwise precipitation-free, we partook of a media dinner to sample some of the items on Slainté's updated menu.

Ploughman's Platter

We were welcomed with glasses of Rutherford Ranch Chardonnay and a sampling of appetizers, including the "Ploughman's Platter" featuring smoked trout, grilled artichoke, soppressata, Roaring 40s blue cheese, tomato aspic, Merlot jelly, and apple, served with slices of toasted bread. It was a far cry from the Ploughman's lunch I had in a London pub many years ago, consisting of huge slabs of cheddar, dry bread, and a dollop of Branston pickle (a vinegary, chutney-like condiment that is an acquired taste for those not born in Blighty).  Sláinte's version would make a good lunch or light supper on its own, and would otherwise be a nice shared appetizer.

Mushroom gnudi

We were also brought platters of the addictive mushroom gnudi, fried to a crispy brown and served with brown butter, sage, and lashings of cheese. Owner Patrick Russell is a self-proclaimed "mushroom-hater" and even he had to admit that these tidbits were nothing short of delicious.

Cornflour Calamari with smoked pepper aioli and beet chips

Also sampled were PEI mussels steamed in white wine with tomato, basil, and garlic, and the spiced cornflour calamari which came with a smoked pepper aioli that had quite a nice kick to it.

Fish and Chips

After those goodies, we were brought three entrées to sample: fish and chips with a side of cole slaw; the Guinness Sunday roast; and the grilled Duroc pork loin. Chef Crouse's fish and chips were an outstanding version of the classic dish, the fish sporting a batter--made with Baltimore's own Heavy Seas lager-- so flavorful that it didn't need the usual dousing with malt vinegar or tartar sauce. The slaw, based on Chef Crouse's grandmother's recipe, was a nice light rendition, without the mayonnaise-y gloppiness that can mar this salad, and a subtle dilly tang. The pork loin's crisp spaetzel bed was a nice counterpoint to the creamy sauce and the subtly-cumin-scented pork itself. Accompanying the entrées was an unusually dry and licorice-y, but very drinkable, Cono Sur Merlot.

Duroc Pork with spaetzle

For dessert, we were brought a Jameson whiskey bread pudding and platters of piping hot zeppole, or Italian fried dough. While the bread pudding was moist and rich, the zeppole stole the show, particularly when dipped in the accompanying bowl of rich chocolate ganache.

Zeppole

Overall, the food was of high quality and we were quite pleased with everything - "well chuffed" as they might say in the UK. The favorites at our table were the gnudi, the fish and chips, the spaetzle, and the zeppole; the tender calamari was a personal favorite, particularly the smoky spicy sauce (which would be great on a burger). It was a meal I'd have been happy to have paid for, and we plan to return again very soon.

Chef Crouse says he hopes to add more gastropub-inspired dishes to the menu, and to watch for upcoming seasonal changes. After this meal, and a few years of dining on his fare at Sotto Sopra, I dare say the man can make even corned beef and cabbage taste good.

Sláinte 

1700 Thames Street
Baltimore, MD 21231
410-563-6600

Recipe Roundup 3.17.10

Despite the last name, neither Mr Minx nor I are Irish in any way, and do not subject ourselves to the smell of corned beef and cabbage on the 17th of March (nor any other day, for that matter). But...I know some of you do. How about some other Irish recipes for this St Patty's day?

Lamb Stew I
Lamb Stew II
Colcannon
Boxty
Bacon and Cabbage (you do know corned beef and cabbage is an American invention, right?)
Dublin Coddle
Soda Bread
Guinness Cake
Donegal Oatmeal Cream
Chocolate Irish Soda Bread Pudding with Guinness Stout Ice Cream