With recipes for Forever Roasted Lamb with Roasted Winter Vegetables, Risotto al Cabernet, Roasted Beet Onion and Orange Salad, and Peppermint Mock Misu, Michael is going to show you how to throw a dinner party full of elegance.
Gameplan 1 Day Before Party:
Peel, dice and boil sweet potatoes for Roasted Vegetables. Trim, halve and blanch brussel sprouts. Drain, cool and store sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts in refrigerator overnight.
For Roasted Beet Onion and Orange Salad. Wash, trim and roast beets. Trim pearl onions and toss with olive oil.
Toast and grind spices for Fennel Spice Rub. Store overnight.
Add pearl onions to beets in the oven and roast until both beets and onions are tender. Cool and store separately in refrigerator overnight.
Morning of the Party (At least 8 hours before meal is served):
Peel and chop onions and herbs for Forever Roasted Lamb. Sauté onion herb mixture.
Prepare lamb leg by slicing it open and laying it flat. Season the leg with salt and pepper and reserved Fennel Spice Rub. Stuff with half of the onion and herb mixture. Roll up and tie the leg. Season outside and roast with carrots and celery on low temp for 7 hours.
Simmer brandy syrup and chop peppermint for Peppermint Mock-misu. Blend chocolate and ricotta filling. Assemble Mock-misu, cover and store in refrigerator until service.
One Hour before the Party:
Cover lamb with remaining onion herb mixture and cover with foil. Roast lamb for an additional hour.
Sauté onions and rice for Risotto al Cabernet and add the wine and the first ladle of stock. In another pan, sauté reserved brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes. Finish vegetables in oven and season with chopped herbs and garlic.
Finish Risotto al Zinfandel with remaining broth, wine and cheese. Pour the risotto onto a platter and serve hot.
Pull lamb from oven and serve on a platter with roasted vegetables.
Assemble Roasted Beet, Onion and Orange Salad by peeling and dicing beets and plating them with oranges, roasted pearl onions, hazelnuts and vinaigrette.
Serve the Peppermint Mock-misu for dessert.
Eat and Enjoy!
Jeff Corwin takes a wild journey through the culinary wonderland of Morocco. Off the coast of Essouraia, Jeff bobs in tiny boats, line fishing for gigantic conger eel. Then Jeff milks a camel to make an exclusive cheese and a traditional smen, a rancid butter that increases in value with age. Up to his ankles in goat dung, Jeff digs for elusive argon nuts, the main ingredient for the flavorful “liquid gold of Morocco” – argon oil. He hits up Marrakech to create a tagine, an earthen pot dish cooked in the furnace of a bathhouse, and a Bisteeya, the famous pigeon pie. A steep hike up to the High Atlas Mountains and the Berber village of Aguersuoual is the ultimate BBQ for Jeff where he cooks a whole ram in an underground oven.
Michael gathers his best chef friends and gives them a mission - remake pot luck classics with no more than 5 ingredients, no more than 10 steps, it must be finished and ready to eat, and no exotic ingredients. Church suppers will never be the same!
Gameplan Day of Potluck Challenge:
Peel, and cut celery for Rockin’ Celery Boats
Mix, coat, and put pecan nuts in to bake for Celery Boat filling
Prepare Celery Boats for soaking, soak for crunch
Puree nuts with cream cheese, stuff into Celery Boats and top with jalapenos.
Chop, juice and dress the Ambrosia Salad
Blanche and cool green beans for Green Bean Casserole with Fried Onions
Mix, heat and reduce mushroom brandy sauce for Green Bean Casserole, mix in green beans, set aside.
Boil pasta shells, mix cheese sauce for Macaroni and Cheese My Way.
Add spinach, shrimp and bake in the oven.
Fry up onion rings to top Green Bean Casserole with Fried Onions
Wine Recommendation Chiarello Cabernet Sauvignon, Gargiulo Vineyards Pinot Grigio
In a country famous for its refined cuisine, Jeff Corwin travels off the beaten path to discover the gastronomic delights of central Italy. On the scenic, wide-open range of Tuscany, Jeff saddles up with Italy’s cowboys to help with the huge-horned cattle and share a working meal. He heads to the coast to catch cuttlefish for an inky pasta dish and then hunts down elusive black truffles in San Miniato with the help of trained dogs. Off the picturesque coast of Le Marche, Jeff dives for wild mussels with no machinery or oxygen tanks for a traditional fisherman barbecue on the beach. He rounds out his exploration in the hill town of Castel del Monte with a taste of tangy maggot cheese.