Lamb & Pine Nut Bolognese

Shyster Jersey Lawyer Friend's birthday, surely a day of meaning and reflection to her, basically boils down to just one thing to me: I've got to cook the woman some lamb.

This is not a negotiable point. Lamb is my friend's very favorite food. She has told me this on many occasions, most frequently around those times that her birth date draws near.

Demanding as she is, the woman highly values experimentation. And so when the thought occurred to me to meld lamb and pine nuts into a pasta sauce, not once did I concern myself about disappointed her.

Or all of you.

Finely chop three carrots, three celery stalks, one medium red onion, one leek, six garlic cloves and some hot pepper (optional), then saute in olive oil under medium heat until softened.

Add 2 pounds of ground lamb and 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, incorporate and cook until browned.

Add one cup of red wine, increase the heat to high and reduce until the wine has evaporated.

Add one cup of milk. Cook until the milk has evaporated.

Add two 28-ounce cans of tomatoes and 1/2 cup loosely packed chopped fresh mint leaves, turn the heat down to low and allow the sauce to simmer very gently for around two hours. (If the sauce reduces too much or becomes too thick you can always add some more milk or even water.)

When the sauce is done cooking add another handful of chopped fresh mint, stir and simmer for a minute or two.

And then serve with the pasta of your choice.

This sauce, like so many others, tastes even better the next day. And so I made sure to send my friend home not only with a big hunk of birthday cake but also a container of what turned out to be a really nice sauce.

Lamb & chickpea ragu

When a person works very hard, and for many hours, solely to produce a product that will make me happy, well, the least that I can do is cook the poor woman some dinner.

Shyster Jersey Lawyer Friend went above and beyond this past Christmas. Way, way, way above and beyond. She showed up at the house one day with a box big enough to accommodate a goose down parka. Except that it was packed with Sicilian fig cookies!

If you know these cookies (cucidati as they are known in Italy) then you appreciate how much work goes into making them. Most people make sure to have plenty of helping hands around on "cucidati day," but Shy went it alone. Which explains the note that accompanied her extraordinary gift: "I love you Meatball," it said. "But never again!!!"

And so when my friend came over for dinner the other evening I made certain to prepare a meal that incorporated some of her very favorites: lamb, chickpeas, and homemade pasta.

This is around 1.5 pounds of well-trimmed lamb shoulder, which I've cut into cubes and liberally seasoned with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Lightly dredge the seasoned lamb in all-purpose flour.

In a medium size dutch oven sear the lamb in a good amount of olive oil, then remove to a plate and set aside.

Add 1.5 cups of a good quality red wine (I used an inexpensive Nero d'Avola). Turn the heat up to high and reduce until much of the wine has evaporated and what's left of the liquid is somewhat thickened.

Add 3 tablespoons of butter.

Add 2 chopped celery stalks, 4 chopped carrots, 1 chopped large onion, 6 chopped garlic cloves, and a healthy dose of fresh rosemary and thyme.

After the vegetables have softened stir in 2 or 3 tablespoons of tomato paste.

Then add 4 cups of chicken stock.

Return the lamb to the pot, stir it into the liquid, and simmer slowly, not at a rapid boil.

Around 30 minutes after adding the lamb toss in a (drained) 15-ounce can of chickpeas, and continue to simmer slowly for another hour (making the total simmering time around 90 minutes). Season to taste.

Some people may choose to skip the addition of chickpeas. If you are among those, rest assured that the ragu is just fine without them, and with no furher changes to the recipe.

Personally, I really like having the chickpeas in there. Shy seemed to enjoy them as well. Which, on this particular evening, was all that really mattered to me.

Wonder if it'll help score me some more fig cookies next Christmas.

A stuffed lamb leg for Shy

I cooked dinner for a very demanding woman the other evening. Her name is... Doesn't matter. You may know her as Shyster Jersey Lawyer Friend.

Shy likes her meat red. And so for her birthday dinner what was I gonna feed her, sanddabs?

This is a woman who you want on your side, at all times, if you catch my drift. One evening a while back I put a grilled chicken breast in front of my friend Shy and... Let's just say that the next day I found myself alone and dealing with an especially ugly negotiation, as the lady somehow failed to recall that her shysterly presence had been very much required.

Red meat was the only plausible option for this birthday celebration, don't you agree?

Rolled Lamb with Pecorino, Mint and Artichoke Stuffing is a recipe that comes from a restaurant in Rome called Sora Lella. I found it in a cookbook that I like a lot, Cook Italy, by Katie Caldesi.

So, you've got your boneless and butterflied leg of lamb, about a five pounder, all stretched out and seasoned with salt and pepper.

First you set down a layer of sliced Pecorino Romano.

Then 30 whole mint leaves.

And, lastly, two chopped garlic cloves and a 10-ounce jar of marinated (quartered here) artichoke hearts.

Roll it up and tie it real nice.

Sear all sides in a hot pan with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Remove the lamb to an ovenproof casserole and deglaze the pan using two cups of dry white wine.

Then pour what's in the pan into the casserole with the lamb and add 1 1/4 cups of water. Cover and place in the oven preheated to 475 F for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 325 F and cook for another 30 minutes. Remove the lid and cook another 30 minutes, or until cooked through.

Shy seemed to like it, and that's all that mattered to me.

I'm gonna need her to show up at a thing with me pretty soon, y'know?