“While armchair travelers dream of going places, traveling armchairs dream of staying home.” — The Accidental Tourist
Dozens of times I’ve wished for more time to relax, to stay at home, to read, sew, clean a closet, lounge around in my pajamas. I’ve been something of a traveling armchair, wanting a little more “free” time, and a little less activity and movement in my daily life. Well guess what, Sweetie…we’re here.
Whether you’re an armchair traveler, or a traveling armchair, the current shelter at home orders have turned us all into overstuffed furniture —literally AND figuratively. (COVID-19 is rapidly standing not only for the virus which is causing our quarantine, but the estimated poundage added during throughout our sequester. I mean….just how many damned loaves of bread can one person bake, anyway?!?)
If I’m honest, over the past few weeks it’s been a little hard to get enthusiastic about cooking “something special” for just the two of us. It’s very easy to resort to pizza, tacos, take-out, popcorn and “I think there are still a few Cheerios at the bottom of the box why don’t you just have that.”
But why NOT cook something nice? Don’t you deserve a nice meal? You said you were bored. You’ve put together the jigsaw puzzle of “Kittens in the Kitchen” three times. Try something different! Set the table. Use napkins instead of paper towels. Find the placemats. And your napkin rings. Heck, go wild and light a candle! Cooking a nice meal can be a gift you give to your family. And they can give you the gift of doing the dishes! If you’re single and weathering this storm solo, I encourage you even more to treat yourself right. You deserve it! You certainly deserve more than eating a frozen enchilada while standing over the kitchen sink. I mean…seriously.
We’re all getting a bit of cabin fever so our theme for Sunday dinner last week was to cook something that represents either one of your favorite vacation spots, or someplace you still want to go to.
Today’s travel restrictions require that we use our imaginations. If we want an exotic adventure, or return to a white sand beach, we have to pull out photo albums and home movies to re-live a magical memory.
How about using some of that valuable Netflix time to seek out a travel documentary and explore someplace you’ve always wanted to go! Research hotels, things to do, local language and currency—plan the destination of a lifetime.Because that big old chair ain’t moving right now….no way, no how.
The meals chosen by our Sunday Diners were exotic and simple. Hawaii, Italy, Mexico and a few others made an appearance. Our Sunday dinner was set in Greece. 10 years ago this week, I married my very best friend. Shawn is a huge fan of a movie about free diving called “The Big Blue.” I’m a certified scuba diver as well so when discussing our ideal honeymoon spot, we watched the movie together which takes place in Amorgos, Greece. As we planned, we researched the locations for the movie. I still remember the description of the charming hotel on the cliff overlooking the ocean which was “quiet and isolated but within walking distance of local restaurants and nightlife.” Perfect.
And then….the Great Recession punched us right in the mouth. So we went to our second choice—Mendocino, California.
It wasn’t exotic, but it was charming, beautiful, relaxing and a re-creation of the weekend we’d gotten engaged. Everything I could have wanted.
We’ve been fortunate enough to travel to some amazing places since then—Hawaii, Grand Cayman, Italy, Bali…Walla Walla, Washington—but Greece still eludes us. Someday, we’ll pull ourselves out of the armchair and go. But for now….we can plan, imagine…and eat.
Kali orexi!
Leg of lamb with Garlic and Rosemary
Equipment
- Roasting Pan
Ingredients
- 1 7 lb. semi-boneless leg of lamb, aitchbone removed, fat trimmed to 1/4 inch thick, and lamb tied Since I was cooking just for me and my husband, I used a short cut of about 2 pounds. I reduced the remaining ingredients by half.
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp fine sea salt
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
- ½ tsp crushed black pepper
- ¼ cup dry red wine or beef broth
Instructions
- Pat lamb dry and score fat by making shallow cuts all over with tip of a sharp small knife.
- Pound garlic to a paste with sea salt using a mortar and pestle (or mince and mash with a heavy knife) and stir together with rosemary and pepper.
- Put lamb in a lightly oiled roasting pan, then rub paste all over lamb. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. (NOTE: non-stick aluminum foil works just great)
- Preheat oven to 350°F. (NOTE: If doing a smaller cut, preheat oven to 400° and follow the heat and timing recommendations below.)
- Roast lamb in middle of oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted 2 inches into thickest part of meat (do not touch bone) registers 130°F, 1 ½ to 1 ¾ hours. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand 15 to 25 minutes (internal temperature will rise to about 140°F for medium-rare). (NOTE: For the smaller cut, I cooked at 400°F for 20 minutes and then 15 minutes per pound at 350°F.)
- Add wine to pan and deglaze by boiling over moderately high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Season pan juices with salt and pepper and serve with lamb.
