This was a really unusual recipe. The chicken (or capon, if you can find one) is essentially steamed over a bed of herbs and wine. So the skin doesn't crisp as all due to the moist environment, but it does come out incredibly tender.

Capons Stwed

Take parcelly, sauge, isoppe, rosemary, and tyme, and breke hit bitwen thi hondes, and stoppe the capon therewith; colour hym with safferon, and couche him in a erthen potte, or of brasse, and ley splentes underneth and al abouʒt the sides, that the capon touche no thinge of the potte. Strawe good herbes in þe potte, and put thereto a pottle of the best wyn that thou may gete, and none other licour; hele the potte with a close led and stoppe hit abouʒte with dogh or bater, that no eier come oute, and set hit on þe faire charcole, and lete it seeth easly and longe till hit be ynowe¹. And if hit be an erthen potte, þen set hit on þe fire whan þou takest hit downe, and lete hit not touche þe grounde for breking. And whan þ3 hete is over past, take out the capon with a prik; then make a sirippe of wyne, reysons of corance, sugar and safferon, and boile hit a litull; medel pouder of ginger with a litul of the same syn and do þereto; then do awey the fatte of the sewe of the capon, and do the siryppe to þe sewe, and powre hit on þe capon, and serve it forth.

Capons Stwed

Slightly adapted from Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks by Constance B. Hieatt, Brenda Hosington, and Sharon Butler

Ingredients

• 1 capon or roasting chicken
• 1 handful flat-leaf parsley
• 3-4 sprigs fresh sage
• 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 3-4 sprigs fresh hyssop
• coarse sea salt²
• 1/2-3/4 tsp. saffron threads, divided
• 2 c. wine (red or white), divided
• 1/4 c. dried currants
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F).
2. Crush the herbs in your hand.
3. Stuff half of the herbs into the chicken and place the rest in the bottom of a tagine or clay pot.
4. Crumble 1/4-1/2 tsp. of the saffron and rub it and the salt into the skin of the chicken.
5. Pour 1 c. of the wine into the bottom of the cooking vessel with the herbs.
6. Place a rack in the pot/tagine and place the chicken on top.
7. Cover very tightly.
8. Place covered pot/tagine in oven and reduce oven temperature to 180°C (350°F).
9. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until done. (20 minutes per pound + 20 minutes usually works well.)
10. Remove chicken from oven.
11. Strain the liquid from the bottom of the pot, chill, and skim the fat.
12. Meanwhile, combine 3/4 c. of the remaining wine, currants, and sugar and bring to a boil.
13. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
14. Stir in the remaining wine, saffron, ginger, and strained juices and cook for another 5 minutes.
15. Serve the chicken with the sauce and sides of your choice.

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¹ I'm generally pretty good at figuring out the various middle and early modern English spellings, but I could not, for the life of me figure out what "ynowe" was supposed to be. Apparently it's an inflection of "ynogh", which is much more easily recognizable as an archaic version of "enough". I just didn't realize that it declined like that! ^Back
2 Neither the original recipe nor the modern interpretation of it called for any salt, but I really felt that it probably wanted some salt. My chicken was ~1.5kg, so I used 1/2 Tbsp. of salt. (I usually find that 1 tsp. of salt per kilo of meat is about right.) ^Back

This was meant to be done with lamb shanks, but I found some bone-in "lamb pieces" and shoulder chops on sale, so I opted to use those instead. The shanks would have been lovely (and probably resulted in everyone getting a bit more meat), but these were tasty too. And a lot cheaper!

Citrus-Braised Lamb Shanks

From Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan (p. 123)

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 lamb shanks, about 1 lb (450 g) each
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 3 small sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 c. dry white wine
• 1 c. chicken broth
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lime
• Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

Directions

1. Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil over medium-high heat (preferably in a Dutch oven).
2. Season the shanks with salt and pepper.
3. Working in batches, sear the shanks, turning as needed, until browned on all sides, 6–8 minutes. Set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 120°C (250°F).
5. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp oil to the pot and place over medium-low heat.
6. Add the carrot, onion, and celery and sauté until softened (~5 minutes).
7. Add the thyme, bay leaf, garlic, and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
8. Add the wine, broth, and lemon and lime zests and juices.
9. Return the shanks to the pot and bring the liquid to a gentle simmer.
10. Cover and cook in the oven, turning the shanks every hour, until the meat is completely tender (2-3 hours).
11. Transfer the shanks to a platter and keep warm in the oven.
12. Pour the juices from the pot into a large, heatproof measuring pitcher and let stand for 1 minute. The fat will rise to the top. Use a bulb baster to transfer the juices underneath the fat to a small saucepan.
13. Simmer to reduce slightly. Stir in the orange zest and juice.
14. Drizzle the reduced juices over the lamb shanks and serve.

I had intended to make a lamb tagine for dinner tonight. But I didn't end up making it out to get the requisite lamb, so I had to push that and shuffle my meal plan around a bit.

Luckily, we did have all the bits needed for this simple steak dish. Or at least very close to all the bits. As written, the recipe calls for a flank steak. We didn't have any of that, but we did have a nice porterhouse. I know there are probably much better uses for a good porterhouse steak. But we don't tend to cook a lot of steak dishes and I figured it was better to use it for this than to let it keep languishing in the freezer for another year. And everyone did seem to quite enjoy it. So, all-in-all, I feel it was a good use of the ingredients I had on hand.

Steak Pipérade

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 700-800g steak¹
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 3 red or yellow bell peppers, sliced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme
• 1/2 c. dry white wine
• 1 small (~400mL) can diced tomatoes

Directions

1. Season the steak with salt and pepper.
2. Melt 1 Tbsp. of the butter over medium heat with the oil.
3. Add the steak and cook to desired doneness².
4. Transfer steak to plate and let stand while the veggies cook.
5. Melt the remaining 1 Tbsp. of butter in the now-empty pan.
6. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and thyme, season to taste with additional salt and pepper, and cook until just softened (3-5 minutes).
7. Add the wine and cook for another minute or so.
8. Add the tomatoes and simmer for ~5 minutes.
9. Slice the steak into thin strips and serve with the pipérade.

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¹ The original recipe called for 680g of skirt or flank steak. I ended up using a 900g porterhouse steak. Personally, I think you could get away with a lot of different cuts. Just adjust the seasoning and cooking time appropriately for the weight, type, and thickness of the steak. ^Back
2 Cooking time will vary a lot depending on how thick your steak is and how well-done you like it. It could be anywhere from 3 minutes to 12 minutes per side. I ended up cooking my porterhouse for ~10 minutes per side for medium. (After 8 minutes per side, it was nicely rare, but TF and the Kidlet both like their steaks cooked more than that, so I tossed it back in the pan for a few minutes.) ^Back

I wanted a dish with some nutritional value to go with tonight's not-very-virtuous gnocchi. This recipe allowed me to use up some of the pumpkin we had on hand as well as a bunch of the thyme that we got from my mom. And, since it's mostly composed of vegetables and legumes, it's not even ruinously unhealthy!
That said, I'm not sure I'd be willing to make this recipe again. Not because it wasn't good. Unforunately it's just way too aggravating to make.

Normally, when I cook pumpkin, I cut it in half, roast it, and then scoop the cooked flesh out of the skin. This makes it very easy to handle and use. This recipe, however, takes a different approach. I requires peeling and chopping the pumpkin before cooking. Which is just downright annoying and tedious. But, at least it got us some veg and protein.

Pumpkin with Cannellini Beans, Caramelized Onions, and Roasted Garlic

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 heads (bulbs) garlic, halved crosswise
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 2 onions, halved and sliced
• 2 cans (~470g each) cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 Sugar Pie pumpkin (~500g), peeled and cubed
• 1 c. vegetable broth
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/2 c. breadcrumbs (preferably fresh)
• 2-3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
2. Wrap garlic in foil and roast at 190°C (375°F) until soft (50-60 minutes).
3. Squeeze garlic from skin and set aside (discarding skins).
4. Heat 1 1/2 Tbsp. of the oil over medium heat.
5. Add the onion and cook until softened.
6. Reduce heat to medium low and continue cooking until dark and very soft (20-30 minutes).
7. Add beans, pumpkin, broth, thyme, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.
8. Cover and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 1 hour.
9. Meanwhile, toss breadcrumbs with Parmesan and remaining 1/2 Tbsp. of oil.
10. Once pumpkin is tender, remove lid and sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture.
11. Return to oven and bake, uncovered, until lightly browned on top (10-15 minutes).

This salad has a few variants, but we made the raspberries and blue cheese version; the others are documented below. Not a favourite, but I'd eat it again.

Marinated Beet Salad

Cook's Country October/November 2016, by Katie Leaird (p.17)

Ingredients

• 1½ lb whole beets, trimmed
• ½ C water
• ¼ C sherry vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or ½ tsp dried)
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 2 oranges
• 1L arugula, kale, or other greens
• ¼ C shaved romano cheese
• ½ C walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Wrap beets and water in tin foil. Roast at 400°F for 1 hour or until fork-tender.
2. Whisk together vinegar, oil, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
3. Once beets are cool, rub gently to remove skins, then cut into 1cm wedges.
4. Add beets to bowl with dressing, toss to cover, and let stand for at least 30 minutes.
5. Divide oranges into individual wedges.
6. Add oranges, greens, cheese, and walnuts to bowl with beets and dressing, and toss to combine.

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Variations

Marinated Beet Salad with Pear and Feta

Ingredients

• 1½ lb whole beets, trimmed
• ½ C water
• ¼ C sherry vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or ½ tsp dried)
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 pear, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 L arugula, kale, or other greens
• ¾ C crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tbsp pistachios, toasted

Marinated Beet Salad with Raspberries and Blue Cheese

Ingredients

• 1½ lb whole beets, trimmed
• ½ C water
• ¼ C sherry vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or ½ tsp dried)
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• ⅔ C raspberries
• 1 L arugula, kale, or other greens
• ¾ C crumbled blue cheese
• ½ C hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

I ended up taking a few liberties with this recipe. The original was written for a 650g boneless leg of lamb roast and was meant to be cooked entirely under the broiler. I ended up adapting it for a 2kg bone-in leg of lamb cooked on the "convection roast" setting in my oven. I feel it worked quite well overall and I would absolutely do it this way again.

I'm usually not a huge fan of fennel¹, but between the seasonings, the roasting, and the pan sauce/gravy... this fennel was actually pretty good!

Since I didn't figure the lamb and roasted fennel and onions would be sufficient to be a dinner on their own, I opted to serve them alongside some polenta with sautéed mushrooms and greens. I feel like this rounded out the meal nicely. (Although I think an additional vegetable side wouldn't have gone amiss either.) It made for a nice meal and TF and I both really liked the combination.

Leg of Lamb with Roasted Fennel & Onions

Adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. orange zest
• 1/4 c. minced fresh thyme (or 2 Tbsp. dried thyme)
• 1/4 c. minced shallot
• 4 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed
• 3 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground, divided
• 2 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground, divided
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 bone-in leg of lamb (~2kg)
• 1 large fennel bulb, cut into thin wedges
• 2 red onions, cut into thin wedges
• 1/3 c. dry vermouth
• 1/3 c. chicken stock
• 1-2 tsp. flour

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Use "convection roast" setting if available.
2. Combine orange zest, thyme, shallot, and fennel seeds and mix well. Separate ~1/4 of the shallot mixture and set aside.
3. To the remaining (larger portion) of shallot mixture, add 1 Tbsp. of the salt, 2 tsp. of the pepper, and 2 Tbsp. of the olive oil and mix well.
4. Coat the lamb with the oily shallot mixture.
5. Roast at 220°C (425°F) for 20 minutes.
6. Reduce temperature to 180°C (350°F) and continue roasting for another 70-90 minutes (or until desired doneness is reached).
7. Meanwhile, toss the fennel and onion with the remaining 1 Tbsp. of olive oil.
8. Separate 1 Tbsp. of shallot mixture from the reserved portion and set aside.
9. Add the remaining shallot mixutre to the fennel and onions along with the remaining 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper and mix well.
10. Spread the veggies out on a parchment- or silicone-lined baking sheet.
11. When the lamb has ~20 minutes left, place the baking sheet with the veggies in the oven and roast until tender and beginning to brown. If the veggies are not quite browned enough by the time the lamb is ready to come out, move them to the uppermost position and turn on the broiler for 2-3 minutes.
12. Once the lamb is done, transfer it to a serving platter.
13. Pour any juices from the roasting dish into a small pot and skim off as much fat as possible.
14. Pour the vermouth into the empty roasting dish and scrape the bottom to deglaze. Add this mixture to the pot.
15. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until reduced slightly.
16. Add the reserved 1 Tbsp. of shallot mixture and stir to combine.
17. Whisk the flour into the chicken stock, pour into the pot, and continue cooking until slightly thickened.
18. Pass the pan sauce at the table to be drizzled over both the lamb and the roasted veggies.
19. Serve with roasted potatoes and/or polenta and additional vegetable sides if desired.

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¹ As a vegetable, I mean. I like fennel seeds as a seasoning. I'm just not crazy about fennel bulbs most of the time. ^Back