I made a catch-all gumbo over the weekend, using chorizo in place of andouille, dried okra from the spice store in the place of fresh, and the stock I'd made for lasagne in brodo the other night. All the substitutions worked out fine. The big lesson was to warm the stock before adding to the roux-vegetable mix. It resulted in a silkier, thicker gumbo, with less skimming (and thus more fat) and actually a good thickness to it. Cold stock apparently shocks the roux into separating. I'll check my McGee book tonight for the science on this.

Ochazuke

Had dinner at Sake Bar Hagi near Times Square last night. It was good food, a little greasy, but satisfying and a good base for the bottle of Towari buckwheat shochu we shared. It wasn't exactly a standout, but the ochazuke (tea-rice) we had was about as close as I've gotten so far to what I had in Tokyo.

I've learned from Maki of justhungry.com that the little round crispy things on top of the ochazuke I had in Tokyo were arare, tiny rice crackers. She has a good overall description of the dish in that post. As far as the cultural place of ochazuke, a couple of Japanese people have likened it to mac-n-cheese. It's warm, comforting, unpretentious. I suppose what I had in Tokyo was the equivalent of a truffled mac-n-cheese. Same unpretentious dish made fancy for a high-paying clientèle. Coming soon, a home attempt of this lovely little dish, just as soon as I get to a Japanese market.

ps. I chickened out on the chorizo-flavored Lahey bread mentioned in my last post. Rather, I'm currently doing the rise on a second attempt of the plain bread. It's just too risky to leave meat out overnight, however cured and spiced it is. Maybe I can figure out a way to stuff the Lahey bread with minced chorizo, though, for the last rise.

How to score a fiancee with a nice rack

I think it's telling that the only tears of joy that were shed on the night we got engaged (New Year's Eve) were by M, and they were not over the beauty of the vintage ring I'd bought her, but over the rack of lamb I made her, long before the ring made an appearance. This bodes well for our future. I intend to make her many, many more meals... I can't necessarily say the same about buying her diamonds. (Sorry, love.)

This was my second try at duplicating the smoked paprika rack of lamb we had at Daniel on M's thirtieth birthday, and I think I did it. I wanted to bread the lamb, but I didn't want to give up a seared flavor, so here's what I did:

Smoked Paprika Rack of Lamb

Rack of lamb, two bones per person, trimmed of excess fat.
Bread crumbs from one fete biscottate per person (or substitute 2 tbsp plain bread crumbs)
1/4 tsp smoked paprika per person
1 tsp butter per person, melted

flour seasoned with salt
1 egg, beaten.
Salt and pepper

1.) Heat a cast iron griddle or skillet on the stove. Cut the rack of lamb (fresh from the fridge) into portions of two bones each, and season generously with salt and pepper.
2.) When the pan is very hot, sear each side of the lamb shank just until brown (no more than 30 seconds), then remove to a plate to cool. Doing this with the lamb straight from the fridge will make sure they just sear, rather than cooking.
3.) Combine crumbs, paprika, and butter, in that order, and toss until well-combined.
4.) Holding by the bones, dredge the lamb in flour, then egg, then the paprika bread crumbs. Set on a roasting pan, bones arced down and leave out to come up to room temperature.
5.) Preheat oven to 375. Serve appetizers. (We had Prince Edward Island mussels with garlic, white wine, and olive oil.)
6.) Place lamb in oven, roast at 375 until internal temp reads 135 F, about 12-15 minutes.
7.) Before serving, slice in half between the two bones, arranging on the plate so that one crusted and one carved side is up.

I served it with simple steamed asparagus and butter, with a nice Rioja on the side. M cried. A better compliment I couldn't imagine. Well, agreeing to marry me later that night was probably a little better.