Monday, April 16, 2012

N is for Navarin of Lamb, Tornadoes, Pricey Oil, Fondue, Different Dramas

Those poor people in the States, Tornado Alley, I would hate to Tornado2experience a tornado and Saturday night/Sunday morning they had 120 of them. 5 people killed I Oklahoma, at the time of writing, I am surprised it is so few with that many storms. Some of the TV pictures have been positively harrowing to watch. Let along to live the experiences. I feel for everyone and hope the rest of the forecast tornadoes doesn’t happen.

This next article, which I am posting, comes under the heading “Believe it or Not”:

This Olive Oil Costs More Than a Honda Civic

Ever wanted to dress a salad in $100 bills? Now you can.

Would you pay 15,000 for a bottle of olive oil from Greece? Wendy Bounds and Charles Passy discuss what makes this olive oil cost a pretty penny; it's all in the packaging.Olive Oil

An olive oil that costs more than a first-class ticket to Greece, the land of all things olive? That's what the company behind Lambda, billed as "the world's first personalized olive oil," is offering -- for $15,000 ($147 per teaspoon). And this is no simple bottle of salad dressing, says maker Speiron, which calls it "a luxurious way to enjoy life." Speiron sources the oil right down to the particular trees the olives are harvested from, and presses and bottles it to preserve "maximum freshness and fruitiness," says a company spokesperson. (The brand also classifies the oil as ultra-premium, a category that goes beyond extra virgin.) But what really distinguishes Lambda, the brand notes, is the packaging: The nearly 17-ounce bottle is embossed with the recipient's signature and comes in a lacquered case with a gold nameplate."This is for very special people," says a spokesperson.

I couldn’t even eat a salad dressed with that stuff although its really the packaging which is so expensive, not the oil itself.

For a change on Saturday we decided to do a Fondue Bourguignon as posted onFondu 001 the 6th. We haven’t had fondue in such a long time and as I have mentioned before, I am a tad tired of just plain ol’ steak. Yeah I know I have high falutin’ tastes. Anyway, we had a steak in the freezer. We picked up some fuel for the pot on Friday and hey presto we were set. I also made a Cole Slaw to go with it and peeled a bunch of shrimp and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. For sauces I did a curry and mayonnaise and a ketchup, mayonnaise and paprika as well as having a commercial shrimp sauce which we had bought in NC. Although I had actually eaten plenty, I really wanted more.

Afterwards, their being absolutely nothing on TV, I watched an iTunes movie, The Barefoot C DressBarefoot Contessa, with Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner. I saw the movie many, many years ago and had completely forgotten it. One of my heartthrobs, Rossano Brazzi was in it as well. The movie wasn’t a bit like I thought I remembered, quite a different story and somewhat sad. What fascinated me though, was the wedding dress Ava wore when she married Rossano. I thought it was one of the nicest I had ever seen, but despite hunting I could only find one picture of her wearing it and that is a sideways view. Such a pity as it is/was a gorgeous dress; although you can’t really tell in this picture, it was white.

This was posted on Facebook on Friday. I thought it was great.

I know I posted a mutton recipe on Saturday, but this recipe was the best fit for N other than Neapolitan Ice Cream or Pizza and anyway, I love lamb and mutton. My mother made this recipe frequently, but for some reason I never have cooked it. Don’t know why, its delicious. Of course today its more difficult to get the right cuts of lamb. On the few occasions we go to the local market, there is a butcher who sells fresh lamb, only trouble is, I could buy a house for the cost of the lamb. I do buy some scraggy chops for a hot pot but in fact I think it would be cheaper to use the lamb chops I buy at Costco which are from New Zealand and perfectly delicious. My original recipe comes from Mrs. Beeton, my mother’s 1935 cookbook, as so many of my recipes do.

Navarin of Lamb

Source: Cookit Simply

Navarin, likely to have been named after the navet (turnip), originally the main accompanying vegetable. Some chefs therefore use the name navarin, quite justifiably, for other types of ragout (of shellfish, poultry, monkfish, etc.) garnished with turnips.

ingredientsNavarin of Lamb

serves 5 - 6

1 kg (2 1/4 lb) best end of neck or shoulder of lamb
2 tbsp (30 ml) oil
1 tsp (5 ml) sugar
1 tbsp (15 g) flour
4 cups (32 fl oz) 900 ml stock or water
30 ml (2 tbsps) tomato paste
salt and pepper
bouquet garni
4 onions, skinned and quartered
4 carrots, pared and sliced
1-2 turnips, pared and quartered
8 small, even sized potatoes, peeled
chopped parsley

method

1. Trim the meat and cut into 2.5 cm (1 inch) cubes. Fry it lightly on all sides in the oil. If there is too much fat at this stage, pour off a little to leave 15-30 ml (1-2 tbsps).
2. Stir in the sugar and heat until it browns slightly, then add the flour, stirring until this also cooks and browns.
3. Remove from the heat, stir in the stock gradually, then bring to the boil and add the tomato paste seasoning and bouquet garni. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 hour.
4. Remove the bouquet garni, add the onions, carrots and turnip and continue cooking for another 1/2 hour.
5. Finally, add the potatoes and continue cooking for about 20 minutes, until tender.
6. Serve the meat on a heated serving dish, surrounded by the vegetables and garnished with the parsley

Have a great day

Jo

4 comments:

  1. 15,000 for a bottle of olive oil?! Wouldn't pay that much even if I saw it drop down from Heaven! Mad world..

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  2. Incredible isn't it. I wonder if it will become a collectors item like some of those incredibly expensive bottles of wine that no-one ever drinks.

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  3. I love a good olive oil, and there's a whole olive oil shop recently opened in my town. I can't wait to pay it a visit.

    Cruising through on the A to Z tour -- I decided to drop down to the bottom of the list and work for a while. Nice to meet you (and your yummy looking recipes).

    Patricia

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for dropping in Patricia. That's one of of the problems of being at the bottom of the list.

      We have a store near us, deli, which carries lots of good oils, but not at such exhorbitant prices.

      Delete