back to roots

cooking roots that is.
I have4 that i can get to easily - Greek, Texan, Italian and country French.
to break out of my funk -
i went Greek First - roasting some lamb shanks i had bought for such an occasion -
My "trinity" of spices cooking Greek - is Garlic, lemon and mint - accompaniments are oregano and olives, wine, olive oil and feta cheese.
The shanks are marinated in the first 3 plus oregano. olive oil and wine.
While the shanks are roasting, the marinade is reduced.
The olives (Kalamata) are chopped and mixed with olive oil, oregano and feta cheese for a Tapenade type appetizer.
The starch?  My mom would have called it rose marina - most people know it as a pasta - orzo and the juices from the lamb are used to cook it.
A salad (from my garden!) with roasted fennel (also fro the garden) finished the sides.
After the shanks are cooked - i brought them in to slice the meat off.
The marinade had some canned cream of celery soup added to thicken it a bit and that was poured over the lamb slices.
All good for Saturday evening.
Sunday - i went for Texas memories.
My dad and i would often hunt for dove during the season and would be successful (lots of wild, Mexican Dove in Texas).
There is not much meat on a dove, so after plucking and cleaning (or visa versa), he would stuff them with sausage and roast them on a grill.
No dove to be had up here - so i used Cornish hens.
I had picked up some ground veal for such an occasion a while back and some mild Italian sausage.
These were mixed with Bell's poultry seasoning, dried blueberries, salt and the cooked "innards" of the hens and stuffed back in to the bird.
A small amount of sweet BBQ sauce was put on top of the bird and they were roasted inside (because Thunderstorms kept rolling through on Sunday).
Served with rice and mixed veggies.
Another home run.
Roots are wonderful things!