Cereal Recipes: Lucky Charmed Utah Lamb
Jan. 11, 2006 — -- "The Breakfast Cereal Gourmet," written by David Hoffman, who also wrote "The Easy-Bake Oven Gourmet," is taking cereal recipes far beyond Rice Krispie Treats and Chex Mix. He creates meals like Frosted Banana Pancakes with Frosted Flakes and Tomato Gratin with Grape Nut topping. It makes sense. Americans consume huge amounts of cereal. The average person eats about 10 pounds or 160 bowls of it a year, and breakfast cereal ranks third in the list of grocery-store items bought by Americans -- after soda and milk. In fact, most of the vitamins and minerals children get are from cereal.
Lucky Charmed Utah Lamb
In April 2004, David Jones and other top local culinary stars were challenged by Salt Lake magazine to create a dish using lamb, leeks and Lucky Charms. Jones is the executive chef and owner of Log Haven Restaurant. Combining nouvelle flair and mind-boggling creativity, Jones concocted a recipe for an incredible Morgan Valley Lamb tenderloin (with mushroom duxelles), which he roasted inside a leek, then served with a Malbec wine demiglace and a Lucky Charms Marbits-infused balsamic syrup -- and a salad of baby spinach garnished with toasted Lucky Charms oats on the side. The results were so interesting and luscious that it had critics wishing it would make its way onto the restaurant's menu so everyone could try it.
Again, this dish takes some work -- not to mention patience, concentration, know-how, and a deft hand in the kitchen. To help, Jones has broken it down into six major steps and even offers these shortcuts to ease the load: (1) You can make the duxelles, the Malbec wine sauce, and the balsamic syrup a day or two in advance and refrigerate until needed. (2) If you want to utilize the Lucky Charms cooking concept but bypass the lamb-leek-mushrooms combo altogether, fix the sauce and the syrup, and then use them with any primal cut of steak, lamb, chops or poultry.
Either way, you'll agree: It's "magically delicious."
Mushroom Duxelles
8 shallots, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ pounds mushrooms, pureed
3 tablespoons reduced chicken stock
3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme
1 cup dry white wine
Salt and black pepper to taste
Sweat the shallots in the olive oil until translucent, then add the mushroom puree and sauté on medium-high approximately 10 minutes, constantly stirring. Add the chicken stock, parsley, thyme and wine; reduce heat; and continue to sauté until the liquid cooks out (approximately 20 to 25 minutes). Refrigerate until needed.
Lamb Tenderloins in Leek Tubes
2 to 2 ½ pounds lamb
Salt and black pepper
Olive oil
6 leeks
Cut off the tapered ends of the lamb so it will be more uniform in shape, then cut into 6 pieces, 5 to 6 ounces each. Season with the salt and pepper. Using a little olive oil, sear the loins in a hot sauté pan. Reserve and refrigerate until needed for assembly. Cut the white portion of the leek down to approximately 3½ to 4 inches. Blanch them in salted water for 30 to 40 seconds, then remove and immediately plunge them into an ice bath. Remove most of the inner core, creating a tube. Set aside.
Malbec Wine Reduction
¼ cup diced shallots
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ tip peppercorn, crushed
1 tablespoon mustard seeds, toasted
5 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
½ bunch parsley stems
2 whole bay leaves
2 cups demiglace (reduced veal stock)
1 cup Malbec (Gascon 2002 or a California Syrah)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Salt and black pepper to taste
Tie the shallots, cloves, peppercorn, mustard seeds, thyme, rosemary, parsley stems, and bay leaves in cheesecloth to make a sachet. Place the sachet, demiglace, and Malbec in a saucepan at a low simmer and reduce by two-thirds (or until you can run your finger through the sauce on the back of a spoon and the line you just created remains intact; this should take about 20 minutes). Remove the sachet and finish the sauce with butter. Season with the salt and pepper, if needed. Set aside in a warm place or store refrigerated for up to 2 days. Will make about 1 ½ cups.
Balsamic Syrup
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup Lucky Charms (marshmallow pieces)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Dash of soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan over a low simmer, and reduce until the liquid reaches a syrup consistency (approximately 10 to 15 minutes). Will make about ½ cup. Set aside until needed.
Spinach Salad
¼ cup Lucky Charms oats
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 small shallot, diced
Pinch of sugar
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 ½ to 2 cups baby spinach leaves
3 strips thinly cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toss the Lucky Charms oats in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, then place in a baking pan in the oven for approximately 3 to 4 minutes, or until slightly toasted. In a small bowl, mix together the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, shallot, sugar, salt, and pepper. Toss with the spinach and bacon, and garnish with the toasted Lucky Charms. Set aside.
To Finish
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Evenly spread about 3 ounces of the mushroom duxelles over a piece of buttered 4½-by-5½-inch plastic wrap. Place a lamb tenderloin in the center, on top of the mushrooms, then roll the wrap into a cylinder small enough to fit into the leek tube. Leave the plastic wrap open at both ends. When you have the lamb tenderloin/duxelle inside the leek, simply pull the plastic from either end so it wiggles out, but the lamb and duxelles stay put. Season the leek with a splash of olive oil, salt, and pepper, then repeat the process for each of the remaining 5 leeks. Place the 6 lamb-stuffed leeks in a baking dish and roast approximately 7 to 10 minutes. Once done, allow the leeks to rest for 10 minutes.
To Assemble
Place the lamb-leek diagonally across the center of the plate. On the lower side of it, spoon a one-fourth cup (4 tablespoons) pool of sauce. Around the high end of the leek (and running to the center of the top of the plate), distribute 4 teaspoons of syrup, in a dot or squiggle pattern, if desired. Fill the empty area with a small serving of spinach salad.
Makes 6 servings