walton_eats

Pear and Apple Crisp



Filling:
3 Bosc pears, peeled, cored and cut into 3/4" chunks
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 3/4" chunks
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1-2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup hard apple cider
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Pinch salt

Topping:
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
1/3 cup chopped pecans (I used Trader Joe's candied pecans)

Preheat oven to 375F. When cutting the fruit, toss immediately in lemon juice to prevent oxidation. Add the rest of the filling ingredients to the fruit and mix thoroughly. Place filling in buttered 2-quart shallow baking pan.

Combine topping ingredients except for nuts. Sprinkle on top of fruit, then sprinkle that with nuts. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until fruit is tender.

Serve warm or room temperature (or even cold!). Great with vanilla ice cream.

No pictures, sorry. Tonight's dinner was Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb, Grilled Vegetables and, for dessert, Panna Cotta with Strawberries in Grand Marnier.

Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb

1 small butterflied leg of lamb (2-3 lbs)
2 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1-1/2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1/2 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper

Juice of 1 large lemon

Skewer lamb with two bamboo skewers lengthwise and two bamboo skewers crosswise. The idea is to keep the meat together and close to a single thickness. Trim ends of skewers close to meat. Combine herbs, oil, salt and pepper. Using a sharp paring knife, pierce meat with pockets every half inch or so on both sides. Rub with herb mixture, pushing bits of it into the pockets in the meat. Let sit, covered, one hour.

Heat and oil grill. Cook at medium-high about 8 minutes per side. Remove to a plate. Pour half the lemon juice on one side. Turn over and pour other half of lemon juice on other side. Cover with foil. Let rest for 15 minutes.

Pour juices into a gravy boat. Remove skewers and slice to serve with juices on the side.

Grilled Veggies

5 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2" thick
3 medium red potatoes, cut into 1" chunks
1 large sweet onion, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil

Toss veggies together with a couple tablespoons olive oil, a tablespoon or so of kosher salt, and a good grinding of black pepper. Take a large (24 or so inches long) piece of parchment paper and fold in half. Unfold and rub with a bit of olive oil. Spread veggies evenly on one half. Cover with other half and pinch closed. Wrap in a large piece of aluminum foil. Place on gas grill set to medium and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Panna Cotta

1/2 cup milk
1 envelope gelatin, about 2 teaspoons
2-1/2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
1/2 cup sugar

1 cup sliced strawberries
2 Tbsp Grand Marnier
1/4 cup sugar

Mint leaves

Toss strawberries with sugar and Grand Marnier in small bowl. Chill until ready to use.

In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over milk to soften. In a large saucepan, combine cream, sugar and vanilla bean (slice bean in half and scrape seeds into cream mixture, then add scraped bean to mixture). Heat to nearly simmering, whisking occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, remove vanilla bean, add gelatin mixture and whisk until gelatin dissolves. Strain mixture through a double layer of cheesecloth into a large glass measuring cup with a pour spout. Divide mixture into six 8-oz ramekins or custard cups and chill at least four hours.

To unmold, dip ramekins into hot water for 5-10 seconds. Loosen edges with thin, sharp knife. Invert ramekins onto small plates, shaking gently to release custard. Surround with macerated strawberries and juice, and garnish with mint leaves.