It's getting cold ... time to start braising things!

Every year as it starts to transition from fall into the ice-age I find myself drifting a little further down the meat counter, away from the nice lean fillets that go on the grill while sitting outside and towards the heavy shanks and osso bucco cuts.

Lamb shanks are one of my favorites because of a solid meat to fat ratio as well as the subtle flavor that develops during the long cooking process.  For this dish, I used a very simple, one pan, approach to cook these shanks.

Braised Lamb Shanks
2 Lamb Shanks
1/2 box Pomi crushed tomatos
1 14.5oz can Cannelloni beans
4 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 small yellow onion (chopped)

First things first, preheat your oven to 325F, we're cooking low and slow (so make sure you have a few hours to prep this dish).

Start a braising pan (or a dutch oven or other covered pan that is oven proof and large enough to fit all ingredients) over medium high heat with a little bit of olive oil.

Once the pan is hot, sear the lamb shanks for about 1 minute per side and then remove the pan from the heat.  Add the tomatoes, onions, beans and garlic to the pan (try and aim for a somewhat even distribution).

Cover the pan, place it in the oven and then set your timer for about 2.5 hours.  Once the timer is done, remove from the oven and remove the lid.  At this point the meat should have pulled tight and look like it's falling off the bone.

Use tongs to remove the shanks to a cutting board to sit for a minute.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer the beans, onions and garlic to the plates and then top with the lamb.  Finally, pour the tomoato sauce from the pan over the top and serve, enjoy!

Coastal Carolina Sushi

For this dinner I decided to take a play on the Carolina Sushi I made for a menu years ago (Carolina style pulled pork, coleslaw, wrapped in a mustard green leaf) and went with a healthier, coastal, version that was fish driven.

This dinner was pretty simple in the execution:

Ingredients
1 bunch collard greens
1 package Carolina yellow rice
3/4 pound fresh red snapper.

I broiled the snapper and made the rice according to the recipe.  With about five minutes left I chopped the stems off of four large collard green leaves (and shaved down the rib a little bit) and then steamed them in a covered sauté pan.

Once the leaves were steamed through, I laid them flat and then put a quarter of the fish and a large spoonful of the rice (spread flat) on each leaf and then rolled it tightly.  I the sliced them into 1 1/2 inch pieces (slicing with the roll so not to unravel them) and then plated and served with Frank's red hot as a dipping sauce.  It turned out amazing, try it yourself and enjoy!