Roast Lamb

1 Boneless lamb roast, preferably fresh

1 cup breadcrumbs

3 sprigs rosemary

5 sun-dried tomatoes

Italian seasoning

Fresh ground black pepper

1 egg

Wash the lamb roast and place in a bowl with a beaten egg to coat all over. Next, place the breadcrumbs, Rosemary and sun-dried tomatoes into a Cuisinart and blend until nice and choppy looking. Spread the mixture onto a plate. Place the lamb roast on the plate with the crumb mixture and turn to coat. Place the roast onto a rack in a BBQ safe roasting pan and cover loosely with foil.

Fire up the BBQ. Crank the heat all the way to high until the temperature reads 450-500 degrees. Place the pan onto the BBQ, close the lid and turn heat to Low. Check the heat frequently to be sure it registers 300-350 degrees. Roast until done… check your preference with a meat thermometer. On average, expect roasting time to take 1.5-2 hours.

Fresh Roast Lamb off the BBQ

Serve with a fresh chopped Greek salad, tszatiki, rice, mint sauce and warmed pita. Bon Appetite!

Delicious!

Wine recommendation Fontella Chanti

• WINE TYPE: Dry
• GRAPE TYPE: 70% Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo and 15% Malvasia bianca
• COUNTRY: Italy
• REGION: Tuscany
• VINIFICATION: In stainless steel.
• TASTING NOTES: Dry, medium-bodied and fruity
• FOOD MATCH: Pasta, Veal, tomatoes.
• PRICE: $15
• Note: Serve this wine between 14-16 degrees Celsius

Jette’s Favorite Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated, if possible)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot (from 2-3 large carrots), drained

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8×8-inch square baking pan.
In a large bowl, beat together sugar and eggs until smooth. Beat in melted butter, orange juice, orange zest, vanilla, spices and salt. When combined, sift in the flour and baking soda (sifting helps evenly distribute the baking soda) and gently stir it into the batter until no streaks remain. Stir in shredded carrot, then scrape into prepared pan.
Bake for 36-42 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack before frosting.

This recipe is very low in fat, so feel free to indulge with a dollop of cream cheese frosting, a few pecans… or whatever suits your fancy

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe:

• 4 tbsp butter, softened
• 4-oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 1/2 – 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tbsp orange juice
• 2 tsp orange zest
• red, yellow and green food coloring

Beat together butter and cream cheese in a medium bowl. Add in confectioners’ sugar, orange juice and zest and beat until smooth. You could spread this in a single layer on the cake, or make frosting carrots to top the cake.

Fall Spice Cake

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups flour, all-purpose
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/ teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease well and flour a 9inch round pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger.

In a large bowl use electric mixer at high speed to beat butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Occasionally scrape the sides of the bowl with a scraper.

At low speed, beat in flour mixture (in fourths) alternately with buttermilk (in thirds) beginning and ending with the flour.

Beat until smooth about one minute.

Pour batter into prepared pans; bake until surface springs back when gently touched with fingertips.

Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Cool in pan on wire rack.

Frost with vanilla frosting.

Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1 -1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons cream or milk

Combine all ingredients and whip until light and fluffly.

Enjoy!

Recommendation Folonari Pink Pinot Grigio

Folonari Pink Pinot Grigio

• WINE TYPE: Off-dry
• GRAPE TYPE: 100% Pinot Grigio
• COUNTRY: Italy
• REGION: Veneto
• VINIFICATION: In stainless steel.
• TASTING NOTES: Light pink color. Fragrant nose of flowers and fresh fruit. Soft on the palate, with a nice pop of sweetness.
• FOOD MATCH: Sushi, shellfish, salmon, chicken, Asian cuisine
• PRICE: $12
• Note: Serve this wine between 55-60 degrees Farenheit or 12-16 degrees Celsius

Reviewer: David Anderson

“I am a wine traditionalist. I have my prejudices. My opinions are based on my experience. I am biased:

Italian wines are the best in the world.
Blended wines are not as good as those made with a single vine.
Wine bottles should have natural corks.
Antique traditions produce better wine than industrially pumped contemporary methods.
Fresh food cooked at home is better than any food in a restaurant.
I do not like sweet wines.
Wine should not be pink.

When Italian Wine Guy wrote about this pink wine I was skeptical. The name and label obviously designed to be trendy. The wine is pink, perhaps to play on the rose’ concept. Rose’ means blended and sweet. Where’s the cork? What is this, soda pop?

John the Baptist of Italian Wine insisted. A bottle of Folonari Pink Pinot Grigio 2005 made it into my cooler and into my glass. This is not a blend! The pink color is residual of the grape skin. Pinot Grigio is not a clear grape instead it is called grey. Often Pinot Grigio is considered Ramato, meaning copper colored. You could say this wine is more sunburned than tanned, fortunately the producer did not use Copertone additives. Folonari Pink Pinot Grigio is not sweet. It does maintain a hint of sweetness in the finish but it is pleasant making this a perfect anytime wine. My final concern is the screw cap. My views on this have changed over the last few years here in the US.

In Italy, rarely would I find a corked bottle of wine. This is when the cork sours and modifies the taste of the wine. In the US I have had an unpleasant experience with the lower cost wines. It could be due to the shipping and warehousing procedures or that the wine may be exposed to extreme temperature changes. Cork is a natural element and as all living things suffers extremes. I began looking for wines with the composite corks on the lower end to reduce the effects of shipping. The screw cap is another way to do the same thing and while the experience of unscrewing the cap is not the same as popping the cork the resulting wine retains its quality.

All said, this wine is a good wine to have in the arsenal of entertaining. It can be consumed with or without food making it a perfect before dinner Aperitif. It has good flavor without any dominating characteristics. This means it will be palatable for most people. Most women will find the label attractive, even enticing. The price/quality ratio is very good making this something worth trying.” -David Anderson

Herb Roast Chicken with Zucchini Corn Fritters

Recommended Wine Pairing: Folonari Pink Pinot Grigio

Dessert Suggestion: Low Fat Orange Carrot Cake

Herb Roast Chicken:

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  Roast Chicken with Herbs
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh soft herbs; rosemary and thyme
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic, plus 1 whole clove, smashed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (3 to 4 pound) chicken
• 1 onion, thickly sliced
• 1 rib celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces on the diagonal
• 1 carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dry white wine

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine the butter, 2 tablespoons of the herbs, minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper, and lemon juice and stir to blend well. Gently loosen the skin covering the breast of the chicken on both sides and, working carefully, divide 4 tablespoons of the butter evenly between the skin and the flesh on the 2 sides of the breast, spreading it evenly over the breast halves. Rub the remaining butter evenly over the outside of the chicken, and season the chicken well inside and out with remaining teaspoon of salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Set aside.

Add the onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf, and whole smashed garlic clove to a shallow roasting pan and place the chicken on top of the vegetable pieces. Add 1 cup of the chicken broth and 1 cup of water to the roasting pan. Place in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and continue to bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the deep portion of the thigh registers 160 degrees F, about 15 minutes longer.

Zucchini-Corn Fritters:

Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini, coarsely shredded
  Pan Fried Corn and Zucchini Fritters
• Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 ears corn, kernels cut off 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• Freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

Lasagne Casserole with Fresh Herb Salad

Recommended Wine Pairing:

Dessert Suggestion:

Lasagne Casserole:

Ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 (5-ounce) package spinach
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 1 ounce thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting water
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 1-2 cups marinara sauce: Homemade tastes better!
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella (about 4 ounces)

Directions

Butter a 9X9 inch glass baking dish. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface, then spread a generous spoonful of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Starting at 1 end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching in the dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture. Spoon 1 cup of marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls. Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the lasagna rolls. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Fresh Herb Salad

Ingredients

• 2 ears sweet corn, husked
• 1/2 head Butter Lettuce
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch of chives, finely chopped
• 1 handful cilantro, loosely chopped
• 1 small bunch basil leaves
• fine-grain sea salt
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 medium avocado

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