Lamb with chocolate-peppercorn sauce in reduced circumstances
A friend passed along the SF Chronicle Magazine’s “Hot New Chefs 2005” issue. I leafed through it this afternoon, reading about the rising stars of the food world who all happen to be my age. It made me feel increasingly like dog poop, so I set it aside and went to the movies.
As I sat snuffling throughout The Sea Inside, I couldn’t get the recipe submitted by Ron Boyd (of Domaine Chandon in Yountville) out of my head. It was Venison with Chocolate-Peppercorn Sauce, and it sounded precisely like the kind of thing I would order in a restaurant but never bother to make at home. Especially in my current living situation, a furnished studio that lacks an oven and just about every other major and minor kitchen tool and appliance except, for some bizarre reason, a gigantic fish poacher. That I have.
I decided to take the plunge, and began to rush around picking up ingredients. The venison had to be scratched off the list early, because nobody carries it and I don’t really like venison that much anyway. I substituted three garnet-colored lamb medallions, labeled “Chateaubriand”, which I found slightly confusing. I guess they were just little tenderloins. I was also unable to find unsalted beef broth, so I just used the regular kind, and I was couldn’t cook the meat in an oven, so I just continued to pan-fry them until they seemed done. One more switch: I didn’t wrap the lamb in bacon. I cooked the bacon and removed it, and fried the meat in the bacon fat. Then I stood at the stove, eating the bacon by itself. One should never let bacon go to waste.
The results were nice. The sauce turned out velvety and rich, but not as peppery as I expected. I might increase the amount of peppercorns if I make it again. If you want to give it a shot, go here.
I served it with some quinoa that I simmered in beef broth and water. I added a bit of the bacon fat from the frying pan, and scattered some parmesan over the top. The result, pictured below, looks a bit like monkey brains, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Bon appetit!
As I sat snuffling throughout The Sea Inside, I couldn’t get the recipe submitted by Ron Boyd (of Domaine Chandon in Yountville) out of my head. It was Venison with Chocolate-Peppercorn Sauce, and it sounded precisely like the kind of thing I would order in a restaurant but never bother to make at home. Especially in my current living situation, a furnished studio that lacks an oven and just about every other major and minor kitchen tool and appliance except, for some bizarre reason, a gigantic fish poacher. That I have.
I decided to take the plunge, and began to rush around picking up ingredients. The venison had to be scratched off the list early, because nobody carries it and I don’t really like venison that much anyway. I substituted three garnet-colored lamb medallions, labeled “Chateaubriand”, which I found slightly confusing. I guess they were just little tenderloins. I was also unable to find unsalted beef broth, so I just used the regular kind, and I was couldn’t cook the meat in an oven, so I just continued to pan-fry them until they seemed done. One more switch: I didn’t wrap the lamb in bacon. I cooked the bacon and removed it, and fried the meat in the bacon fat. Then I stood at the stove, eating the bacon by itself. One should never let bacon go to waste.
The results were nice. The sauce turned out velvety and rich, but not as peppery as I expected. I might increase the amount of peppercorns if I make it again. If you want to give it a shot, go here.
I served it with some quinoa that I simmered in beef broth and water. I added a bit of the bacon fat from the frying pan, and scattered some parmesan over the top. The result, pictured below, looks a bit like monkey brains, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Bon appetit!
posted by cindym at 8:20 PM
1 Comments:
Hmmm... I guess this would be a really good recipe to use with some of my chocolate... I might use the orange-cinnamon one, and use orange & cinnamon in the quinoa (or maybe a risotto??)
Thanks for the inspiration (oh, and how freaking impressed am I that you pulled this off in your studio??
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