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Here are the tastingspoons players. I’m in the middle (Carolyn). Daughter Sara on the right, and daughter-in-law Karen on the left. I started the blog in 2007, as a way to share recipes with my family. I’m still doing 99% of the blogging and holding out hope that these two lovely and excellent cooks will participate. They both lead very busy lives, so we’ll see.

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BOOK READING (from Carolyn):

Music of Bees, Eileen Garvin. Absolutely charming book about a woman in midlife, lonely, who raises bees, also makes unlikely friends. Heart-warming and very interesting about beekeeping.

A Postcard from Paris, Alex Brown. Really cute story. Dual time line, 1940s and present day about renovating an old apartment in Paris, things discovered.

Time of the Child, Niall Williams. Oh such a good book. Very small village in Ireland, 1960s. A baby is left on the doorstep. The town all whispers and helps. I listened to an interview of the author, which made me like him and his books even more.

Sipsworth, Simon Van Booy. If you like animals you’ll swoon. An old woman who really wants to die finds a tiny mouse in her house and befriends it and finds a reason to live. Utterly charming book.

The Forger’s Spell, Edward Dolnick. True story. For seven years a no-account painter named Han van Meegeren managed to pass off his paintings as those of Johannes Vermeer.

If You Lived Here, You’d be Home by Now, Christopher Ingraham. Could hardly put it down – about a journalist who takes on a challenge to move to small town in Minnesota and write about it. He expects to hate it and the people and place, but he doesn’t. Absolutely wonderful true story.

The River We Remember, William Kent Kreuger. 1950s, Minnesota. A murder and the aftermath. Could hardly put it down. Kreuger has such a vivid imagination and writing style.

How the Lights Gets In, Joyce Maynard. An older woman returns to New Hampshire to help care for her brain-injured son. Siblings and family, lots of angst and resentments.

The Filling Station, Vanessa Miller. Every American should read this book. A novelized retelling of the Tulsa massacre in 1921. Absolutely riveting.

The Story She Left Behind, Patti Callahan Henry. Love this author. Based on a true story. A famous author simply vanishes, leaving her husband and daughter behind. She had invented a mystical language no one could translate. Present day, someone thinks he’s solved the riddle, contacts the family. Really interesting read.

The Girl from Berlin, Ronald Balson. Love anything about Tuscany. An elderly woman is being evicted from a villa there, with odd deed provenance. Two young folks go there to help unravel the mystery. Loved it.

The Island of the Colorblind, Oliver Sacks, M.D. Nonfiction. The dr is intrigued by a remote Pacific island where most of the inhabitants are colorblind. He also unravels a mystery on Guam of people born with a strange neurological problem. Medical mysteries unveiled. Very interesting.

The Bookbinder, Pip Williams. Post 1914 London. Two sisters work at a bookbindery. They’re told to not read the books. One does and one doesn’t. One has visions beyond her narrow world; the other does not. Eventually the one gets into Oxford. Lovely story.

The Paris Express, Emma Donoghue. 1895 on a train to Paris, a disaster happens. You’ll delve into the lives of many people who survived and died in the crash.

A Race to the Bottom of Crazy, Richard Grant. This is about Arizona. Author, wife and child move back to Arizona where they once lived. Part memoir, research, and reporting in a quest to understand what makes Arizona such a confounding and irresistible place.

The Scarlet Thread, Francine Rivers. A woman’s life turned upside down when she discovers the handcrafted quilt and journal of her ancestor Mary Kathryn McMurray, a young woman who was uprooted from her home only to endure harsh frontier conditions on the Oregon Trail.

A Place to Hide, Ronald Balson. 1939 Amsterdam, an ambassador has the ability to save the lives of many Jewish children. Heartwarming.

Homeseeking, Karissa Chen. Two young Chinese teens are deeply in love, but in China. Then their families are separated. Jump to current day and the two meet again in Los Angeles.

North River, Pete Hammill. He always writes such a good story. A doctor works diligently healing people from all walks of life. His wife and daughter left him years before. One day his 3-yr old grandson arrives on his doorstep.

A Very Typical Family, Sierra Godfrey. A very messed-up family. Three adult children are given a home in Santa Cruz, Calif, but only if the siblings meet up and live in the house together. A very untypical scenario but makes for lots of messes.

Three Days in June, Anne Tyler. The usual Anne Tyler grit. Family angst. This wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was entertaining and very short.

Saved, Benjamin Hall. Author is a veteran war reporter. Ukraine, 2022, he nearly loses his life to a Russian strike. Riveting story – he survives, barely.

Grey Wolf, Louise Penny. Another Inspector Gamache mystery in Quebec. She is such an incredible mystery writer.

All the Colors of the Dark, Chris Whitaker. A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each. Could hardly put it down.

Orbital, Samantha Harvey. Winner of 2024 Booker Prize. I don’t usually like those, but I heard the author interviewed and she hooked me. This is not a normal book with a beginning, a story and an end. It’s several chapters of the day in the life of various astronauts at the ISS (Int’l Space Station). All fictional. She’s been praised by several real astronauts for “getting it” about space station everyday life.

The Blue Hour, Paula Hawkins. An island off Scotland. Inaccessible except when the tide is out. Weird goings on. An artist. A present day mystery too.

Iron Lake, William Kent Krueger. A judge is murdered and a boy is missing. Riveting mystery.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home, Carol Ricks Brunt. 1980s. A 14-yr old girl loses her beloved uncle. Yet a new friendship arises, someone she never knew about.

Four Treasures of the Sky, Jenny Zhang. 1880s, a young girl is kidnapped in China and brought to the United States. She survives with many hurdles in the path.

The Boy Who Fell out of the Sky, Ken Dornstein. Memoir, 1988. The author’s brother died in the PanAm flight that went down in Lockerbie, Scotland. A decade later he tries to solve “the riddle of his older brother’s life.”

Worse Care Scenario, T.J. Newman. Oh my. Interesting analysis of what could/might happen if a jet crashed into a nuclear plant. Un-put-downable.

Song of the Lark, Willa Cather. Complicated weave of a story about a young woman in about 1900, who has a gifted voice (singing) and about her journey to success, not without its ups and downs.

Crow Talk, Eileen Garvin. Charming story which takes place at a remote lake in Washington State, about a few people who inhabit it, the friendships made, but also revolving around the rescue of a baby crow.

The Story Collector, Evie Woods. Sweet story about some dark secrets from an area in Ireland, a bit magical, faerie life, but solving a mystery too.

A Sea of Unspoken Things, Adrienne Young. A woman investigates her twin brother’s mysterious death. She goes to a small town in California to figure it out, to figure HIM out.

The King’s Messenger, Susanna Kearsley. 1600s England, King James. About one of his trusted “messengers,” and his relationship with a young woman also of “the court.” Lots of intrigue.

In the Shadow of the Greenbrier, Emily Matchar. Interesting mystery in/around the area of the famous resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Isola, Allegra Goodman. Hard to describe, survival story on an island in the 1600s.

Save the Date, Allison Raskin. Rom-com, witty, LOL funny. Clever.

The Sirens, Emilia Hart. Numerous time-lines, Australia. Mysteries abound, nightmares, abandoned baby, weird allergies.

Red Clay, Charles Fancher. LOVED this book. Mostly post-Civil War story about the lives of slaves in Alabama during Reconstruction.

Stars in an Italian Sky, Jill Santopolo. Dual time line, 1946 and recent time. Love stories and a mystery.

Battle Mountain, C.J. Box. Another one of Box’s riveting mysteries. Love his descriptions of the land.

Something Beautiful Happened, Yvette Corporon. A memoir of sorts in Greece, tiny island of Erikousa, where the locals hid Jews during WWII. All elusive stories told by the author’s grandmother.

The Jackal’s Mistress, Chris Bohjalian. 1860s Virginia, about a woman who saves the life of a Union soldier. Really good story.

Song of the Magpie, Louise Mayberry. Really interesting story about Australia back in the days when it was mostly a penal colony. Gritty strength of a woman trying to thrive with her farm.

The Boomerang, Robert Bailey. A thriller that will have you gripping the book. About a lot of secrets surrounding the president (fictional novel, remember) and his chief of staff and about cancer. A cure. Such a good story.

Care and Feeding, Laurie Woolever. Really interesting memoir of a woman driven to succeed in the restaurant business. She worked for Mario Batali and then Anthony Bourdain. Gritty stories.

Everything is Tuberculosis, John Green. Maybe not a book for everyone. A real deep dive into the deadly tuberculosis infection, its history. I heard the author interviewed and found the book very interesting.

The Book Lovers Library, Madeline Martin. Fascinating read about Boots’ drug stores’ lending library. And the people who worked in them.

The Arrivals, Meg Mitchell Moore. LOL funny, about a middle-aged couple whose children (and their various family members) return to the family home and the chaos that ensues.

My Life as a Silent Movie, Jesse Lee Kercheval. About grief. A big move to Paris, finding herself a new life with a new set of real blood family.

Escape, Carolyn Jessop. Another memoir about a woman really in bondage in Utah, Mormon plural marriage.

 

Tasting Spoons

My blog's namesake - small, old and some very dented engraved silver plated tea spoons that belonged to my mother-in-law, and I use them to taste my food as I'm cooking.

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Posted in Lamb, on March 28th, 2018.

rolled_leg_lamb_herb_garlic_sauce

Uhmmm, mouth watering going on here as I look at this photo. This would make a great Easter dinner entrée if you are inclined to have lamb.

A few weeks ago I was at a cooking class with Tarla Fallgatter. I’ll be posting most, if not all, of her recipes from the class. Can’t wait to make some of the dishes myself. Including this one. I love lamb. I just don’t love the calorie count when I do have it. Obviously the wool-covered critters store up lots of fat amidst their meat, hence lamb, although it doesn’t look like it’s full of fat, it is! Darn.

Anyway, this recipe uses a boneless leg of lamb, butterflied. That means rolling it out and cutting butterfly slices all over the meat to make it a bit more flat. There’s a big hunk of the lamb leg that always sticks up high – – it needs to be butterflied and pounded some. If you’ve never done this before, you’ll see what I mean when you unroll that nice big boneless leg (Costco’s are a great price). Make some butterfly slices, then pound it some.

You make a lovely, big batch of herbs (Italian parsley, fresh mint leaves and fresh cilantro) and mix it with garlic, smoked paprika, salt and cayenne. Some oil is added to this mixture, then you pour off 1/4 cup of it to which you add sherry vinegar and more olive oil. That part is slathered all over the outside of the rolled and tied roast – but later. Meanwhile, you use the bulk of the herb stuff to rub all over the interior part of the roast, the part that will get rolled inwards. The roast is tied well with kitchen twine, then you slather on that saved bit of herb stuff.

rolled_leg_lamb_wholeTHEN, you put it in a plastic bag and chill it for at least 8 hours, or preferably 24 hours, so those herbs just permeate everywhere. Let it sit out for an hour before roasting, though. Into a 375°F oven it goes (in a roasting pan) and bake/roast for about 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until the interior temp reaches 125°F (rare to med-rare) or up to 135°F for medium to med-well. Personally I want it pink in the middle everywhere, so I’d be removing it at 125°F. So do start checking the temp after an hour to make sure you don’t cook it beyond your desired point. Remove from the oven and it gets tented for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, you put the roasting pan (roast has gone onto a cutting board and tented) and add wine and chicken broth to boil down a little bit. That little bit of stuff, with the pan juices gets added to the sauce that’s been kept aside. The lamb is carved into 1/2” thick slices (and then you’ll see all those beautiful swirly herbs rolled up inside). See photo. And then serve some of the herb sauce on the side, or spoon it right on top of the slice.

What’s GOOD: everything about this is good. Delicious. Fantastic in my view, but then I love lamb. I love cilantro and mint too. An altogether beautiful dish, excellent for a lovely spring dinner for guests (Easter). I’d serve it with some spring vegetables (asparagus?) and a casserole full of mashed potatoes, or au gratin potatoes, or sweet potatoes. But I prefer white potatoes with this.

What’s NOT: only that you need to plan ahead with this one – the roast needs to marinate for about 24 hours.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook 15/16 file (click link to open recipe)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Rolled Leg of Lamb with Herb Garlic Sauce

Recipe By: From a cooking class with Tarla Fallgatter, 2018
Serving Size: 12

4 pounds boneless leg of lamb — butterflied
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
HERB GARLIC SAUCE:
1 tablespoon cumin seed — roasted and ground (or use ground cumin)
1 1/2 cups Italian parsley
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 large garlic cloves — peeled
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1. SAUCE: This must be made ahead as it is inserted into the raw roast and rolled, then refrigerated for 8-24 hours. Place all the sauce ingredients into a food processor (EXCEPT oil) and process until a coarse paste forms. With the machine running, add 4 T of the oil. Transfer 1/4 cup of the sauce to a bowl, add vinegar and remaining 2 T oil. Set that aside.
2. 1-2 DAYS AHEAD: Lay meat flat and pat dry with paper towels. Trim any excess fat. If there are portions that are much thicker than others, butterfly even those small sections so the whole piece if more evenly flat.
3. Lightly pound the lamb with a meat mallet (flat side), if necessary so the meat is more evenly thick. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the lamb with 3/4 of the sauce (the larger portion). Starting at the short end, roll lamb up tightly. Tie the roast well, then rub on the remaining sauce set aside earlier. Wrap roast well in plastic wrap and chill at least 8 and up to 24 hours. Let stand at room temperature for one hour before roasting.
4. Preheat oven to 375°F. Unwrap lamb and transfer to a roasting pan. Roast the lamb until an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat reads 125° to 135°F depending on your choice of medium-rare to medium. This will take approximately 1 1/4 hours, but begin checking the temp earlier than that. Transfer meat to cutting board and tent with foil for about 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, add wine and chicken broth to the roasting pan and simmer until slightly reduced. Add the sauce that was set aside and mix. Slice lamb into 1/2″ thick slices, snipping away the twine as you go and transfer the meat to a heated platter. Add any juice from the cutting board to sauce. Serve lamb with the sauce.
Per Serving: 300 Calories; 19g Fat (59.4% calories from fat); 27g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 73mg Cholesterol; 889mg Sodium.

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  1. hddonna

    said on April 2nd, 2018:

    I’ll bookmark this one–looks delicious! I love lamb, too, and all the seasonings called for here. Would have liked to do lamb for Easter, but we our group was too big for that this year–40 people. My new granddaughter (2 weeks old) was baptized at our Easter service, and we had the whole family on both sides for dinner in the church basement. But there’s a leg of lamb lurking in my freezer–I know what to do with it now. Hope you had a happy Easter.

    40 people? Oh my goodness, Donna! How nice that you can have a dinner in your church basement. Lots of work, though. Hope you had help? I had a very quiet Easter; brunch with friends then worked on various projects here at home for some of the afternoon. Yes, the leg of lamb is a good one. A friend emailed me last night, having made this on Sunday and she thought there was too much cumin in it. I didn’t notice it (but then, I really like cumin) but you might reduce it a little if there is any question your family would not like so much). . . carolyn t

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