Lamb Filled Cabbage Rolls

Appetizers For Thanksgiving

This year I was informed by my Lady Katrina that I was not going to be allowed to overdo Thanksgiving. I thought this was the perfect time to set out a Feast of Foods, but it turns out that last year we ended up tossing way too many dishes in the garbage bin. So this year will be all the traditional items, but I am being limited to just a couple appetizer dishes for those that show up early. I suppose that will give me less time in the kitchen and more time with the family,  but I enjoy the challenges of the kitchen. Timing every dish to be ready at the appointed hour, making sure the meal is still hot but not dried out. From pulling a perfectly browned and still moist Turkey out of the oven to the ooohs and aaahs when the guests get to take the first bite. My soul is in cooking for enjoyment. And I must feed my soul as well as my body.

So today I prepared an appetizer that will be quickly finished on Thanksgiving morning.

Lamb and Mint Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

The filling:

• 2 lbs ground Lamb
• 1/3 cup fresh Mint leaves - lightly chopped ( approx 20 sprigs of mint - no stems )
• 1 seeded and finely chopped Jalapeno
• 2 pinches of Thyme
• 1/4 tsp ground White Pepper
• 1 tbsp Sea Salt
• 1 finely chopped Bay Leaf
• 1 cup finely chopped Sweet Onion
• 1 cup grated Keflotiry Cheese
• 1 cup cooked rice blend

The rice blend comes from either Trader Joe's Market or Albertson's Market. it consists of wild rice, long grain white rice, brown rice and red rice. It adds a unique flavor and helps the lamb form a nice meatball within the cabbage.

The grated Keflotiry cheese can be found at any local Greek market. If there isn't one of them in your area, you could substitute with a half and half mix of Asiago and Romano cheeses.

Precook rice as directed on package. Set aside uncovered to cool. Turn rice occasionally with a fork to keep from sticking together. When cool, mix the rice, onion, mint, jalapeno, spices and grated cheese together thoroughly in a large bowl. Add the ground lamb and mix well by hand. When the mixture is evenly blended, put it in a large Zip-lock bag and refrigerate while preparing the cabbage leaves.

The Wrap:

• 1 large head of Savoy Cabbage

Remove the stem core from the cabbage and plunge into a large pot of boiling water for 15 minutes. Remove from pot, drain well and carefully remove the leaves one at a time. If the leaves in the center of the cabbage are still not pliable, re - immerse for a few minutes more while the water is still boiling.

With a sharp knife, carefully pare back the thick vein in the center of the leaf. (see photo)

You only want to remove the high ridge of the vein, not completely cut through it.

After preparing all of the leaves, start the filling and wrapping. It's OK to put more lamb filling in some of the larger leaves and less in the smaller ones. This is how it looks when rolling.

Wrap the sides over the meat and then continue the roll.

Continue until all the leaves are used.

To cook rolls, place close together in a large pot, with the seam side down. Layer them if needed. Place a large dish face down on top of the rolls to keep them weighed down and then cover them with a mix of 3 cups water and 3 cans of chicken stock. Slowly bring to a boil and simmer for 40 minutes. Remove rolls from pot and set aside. Don't throw out the stock as you will need it for the sauce.

The Sauce:

You can use many different sauces for these treats, but the one I like best is a tart lemon pepper sauce. To make it you will need:

• 3 eggs - well beaten or whipped
• juice from 3 lemons
• 4 cups chicken stock from pot
  
• 3 tbsp corn starch
• 1/2 cup cold water
• white pepper - to taste

Beat or whip the eggs till frothy. Mix cornstarch with the cold water a little at a time to keep from lumping. Bring the stock to a boil, reduce heat and fold in the cornstarch mixture a little at a time until the stock thickens. Add the lemon juice and mix well. Fold the thickened stock into the beaten eggs a few spoonfuls at a time until all the stock is mixed into the beaten eggs. Put this mixture back on the burner, pepper to taste and reheat on medium for 3 minutes. Stir continuously. Do not allow to boil.  Remove from heat and ladle over the plated Lamb rolls.

I think you're going to really like the intricate flavors of this dish. The mint and lamb really go well together and the sauce just makes it pop! Katrina convinced me to do a sampling of this appetizer today, and gave it a two thumbs up with a twist and snap. Whatever that means.

This dish went very well with a bottle of Zinfandel.

I hope your Thanksgiving turns out as wonderful as mine will !

Wp

Las Vegas Weekend

I just so happened to be able to spend a fun 3 days away in Las Vegas this past weekend ! Believe it or not, I spent a whole 10 minutes gambling in a three day time frame. Not that I was broke, but because we were all having such a great time doing other things. We ate, we drank, we danced ! Our fun loving group of 7 got to see two shows that we had not been to before. Saturday night it was Rita Rudner, and on Sunday we were treated to Bette.

Rita is by far one of the most subtle comedians still performing. She leads you through her show one liner at a time and constantly makes you LOL. And then there's the Divine Ms M. What a fabulous production. Nothing but gorgeous ladies, feather fans and lots of Diva on this stage ! Saturdays dinner was at a little known but very impressive restaurant by the name of The Range at Harrah's. They had a Jazz combo up front at the bar and the music resonated throughout the dining areas. Sundays meal was at  Nero's  along Cleopatra's Way in Caesars Palace. The food was delicious and the service was expertly delivered. Our wait staff really knew how to make our time there memorable.

As for gambling, well, the comedian George Wallace has it just right. Craps is just as easy as BlackJack. You put your money on the table and they take it. I believe the same could be said for the C-note I put on the Roulette table.

But the best part of my time spent there was the group of friends I was with. They love life and living it the best way they know how.

After coming back from all that rich food and drink, I was pleasantly surprised to learn fom the Wii that I had only gained just over a pound. Must have been the dancing. Lot's of that. So after all those great meals, I just had to make something to compare. I started a pot of Great White Northern beans Tuesday morning in the crock pot.

Great White Northern Beans Recipe

• 3 small bags dried beans - rinsed and sorted
  
• 1 Sweet Onion - diced
  
• 1 clove Elephant Garlic- minced
• 4 Jalapenos - sliced
• 8 oz sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms
• 1/2 pound Pork shoulder - whole
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin seed
  
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves- no stems - lightly chopped
• 2 tbls Cayenne Pepper
• 1 tbsp clarified butter or olive oil
  

Combine rinsed beans and 12 cups of water in crock pot. I like to preheat the water in the microwave before putting it in the crock. It always takes so long to heat the crock, and I don't enjoy wasting time and electricity waiting for things to get to the right temperature for cooking.

Dice the onion, mince the garlic, slice the mushrooms and combine in a large skillet. Heat on high with the butter or olive oil until the mushrooms begin to get limp and the onions are translucent. Blend mixture into the beans with the rest of the ingredient list. Try to insert the pork cut towards the bottom of the pot. It cooks better down there and adds more of it's flavor to the top half of the pot that way. Stir occasionally.

 The Veggies and Seafood

While the beans are cooking, prepare 1 & 1/2 dozen Baby Brussels Sprouts. Pare off the cut stem ends and any discolored leaves. Baby Brussels are sweeter than the larger ones, and they finish up more tender inside. In a medium bowl, combine:

• pinch of cumin
• pinch of ginger
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp Paprika
• 1/4 tsp ground Cardamon
• 1/3 cup Virgin Olive oil

Toss the sprouts in the spiced oil mixture until well coated. Remove from mixing bowl and set aside.

Toss 1/2 dozen Baby Bella mushrooms, 1 small Zucchini - quartered-  in the spiced oil bowl, (add more oil if needed) until lightly coated. Set on a piece of foil.

Peel 2 defrosted Jumbo Shrimp and marinate in Crystal Pepper Sauce. (Referenced post)

Preheat your grill to 400 degrees, place Brussels Sprouts on foil on an upper rack in the grill. (see photo)

Grill for 22 minutes, turning 4 times. They may char on the outside, but you can remove those outside leaves if you want. Grill the mushrooms and Zuc's for 12 minutes. Turn once. I also like to add a rinsed and lightly oiled Jalapeno to the grill to cook alongside. Next I added a 1/2 pound fillet of Salmon to the grill. Grill the seasoned fillet  for approximately 15 minutes, skin side down, depending on thickness. The shrimp will grill very quickly so they should be tossed directly onto the grill during the last five minutes of the process and only turned once.

When you are all done with the grilling, you should have a dish that looks something like this:

It is just enough to fill two people up without getting stuffed. There is also the added benefit of all that healthy food that really does taste great.  And if you're still hungry afterwards, well then there's lot's of beans left !

Katrina paired this with a bottle of Justin Cabernet. For me -- Tequila with Lime & seltzer.

Work Gets in the Way

I can't believe it's been so long between this post and my last one! Mostly due I believe to the extra time I've been at my regular job and how worn out it makes me. The good news is that more savings get put away for retirement, the bad news is that I have less time right now to do that which is enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, I still get out and about on some weekends. Katrina makes sure of that. But during the week it becomes a drudge just to go through email, much less write about life and food. 

So I took the plunge and bought the new Blackberry Storm II. Now I can get my email anywhere I go, from all of my services. This should hopefully give me more time to write. One of the email groups I am a part of can sometimes get more than a hundred posts during a single day! This will allow me to sort and delete on a better time-line during the day, and not be stuck going through so much at once when I get home. Plus I now have Wi-Fi and can go to the Web whenever I need to without incurring the wrath of the IT snoops at my workplace. 

On to important news! 

I have promised that I would share some bean recipes, and so I shall. The following ingredients are what I add to every pot of beans that I make. The only variable about these items are the quantities.

• Jalapenos ( red and green )
  
• Onion
• Garlic
• Cayenne or Paprika
• Cumin

There are several ways to prepare the beans themselves. You could use a crock and slow cook them from scratch, or use a pot on the stove top the same way,  or do it the easy way and buy canned beans and just cook long enough to blend the flavors together. Your choice. Depending on the time I have, my favorite is the crock pot, but most of the time it's can city baby! The beans I use most are:

• Pinto beans ( whole- not refried )
• Red Kidney beans
• Navy beans 
• Great White Northern beans
• Black beans
• Red Chile beans in a can
• Garbonzo beans in a can
• Lentils

I also use in varying quantities:

• Precooked Rice- brown is best
• Canned Corn
• Mushrooms
• Beef or Pork

The best way to find out what suits your tastes is to experiment with all of the ingredients and find the flavor you like the most.

A recent example of what I prepared is:

• 1 whole Sweet Onion-diced
• 1 large clove of Elephant Garlic-chopped fine
  
• 4 green Jalapenos - sliced
  
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1/4 tsp Cumin
• 1 package Baby Bella Mushrooms- sliced 

 Cut and put in a large pot on medium heat. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and cook till onions are translucent.  Then add:

• 1 cup Precooked Rice
• 3 cans Whole Pinto beans
• 2 cans Whole Red Kidney beans
• 1 can Garbonzo beans
• 1 can corn

Bring to a slow boil and simmer on low for one hour. Stir every 10 minutes to keep the bottom from burning.

This will give you a dish with plenty of flavor, spice, lot's of protein and the added value of little or no fat. 

You can add meat too. But just get something like a pork loin which has less fat, or a beef cut that has the fat trimmed off.  Add the meat in large pieces to the onion and garlic mixture right at the start, simmering  for 90 minutes after the beans are added. That gives the meat a chance to get tender and shred easily.

Well folks, I hope this helps those who want to lose some weight without starving. I know it has helped me. This mornings weigh in on the Wii was 217. Down 4 pounds from my last post. I still am somewhat hungry most of the day, but at least my navel isn't rubbing my backbone. And eat some veggie or fruit snacks every few hours,  it will help stave off the hunger to some degree. Plus it will help make your poop float! It's alway's healthy to keep the colon running smooth and easy. Most importantly, eat a decent breakfast. It will set the tone for your diet all day long. I have had great luck eating Kashi mixed with blueberry's, blackberry's raspberry's and banana's. Pour a bit of 2% milk over it and I am ready for the world!

Oh yea, be ready for the gas, it's gonna happen!
WP