That is Lamb not Ham !!

After receiving an email regarding question as to if that was a Leg of Lamb or a Ham in my previous post I thought it would be good to answer, IT IS A LEG OF LAMB.....
Allow me to share with you the technique and why the shank has been tied back into the upper leg roast making it appear much like a Bone in Ham.
There is a joint between the shank and the upper leg which is the knee of the leg, carefully cut into the joint from the rear so it freely moves back, now run your finger or a knife up the bone creating space along the bone of both the shank and the leg roast, this is where I stuff whole sprigs of Rosemary and as many cloves of garlic as I can fit. Pull the shank back into the roast and tie it off so the flesh of the shank meets the roast creating a seal of sorts that just enough smoke and air will allow the garlic and rosemary do there thing of beauty without drying out the meat.
I shall return until then have a GRAND DAY AND THINK GOOD THOUGHTS!!!

Add a Little Smoke to your Grill!!

I really enjoy Lamb, properly prepared there is just something about it accompanied with a good Red that puts a smile on my face. Yesterday I had the opportunity to do what I enjoy the most, cooking for my family. My mom & dad celebrated 55 years of marriage so we had a very small gathering for them and I got the duty of preparing the Leg of Lamb. There is long history as well as tradition when it come to lamb on both sides of my parents family dating back longer than the 55 years they have been together oops 56 year they have been together. I enjoy hearing the tales from years past and of the slow cooking of whole lambs on the spit which was tradition. As with time, tradition often goes to the wayside which really bums me out so I do what I can to see that tradition and heritage is kept alive on some level.
Yesterday was a day that began with a Picon(photo of dad preparing what looks to be the last of)

 or two as I prepped the 6 plus pound leg by stuffing it with many, many garlic cloves and running whole sprigs of rosemary along the bone, two ingredients that are a must when grilling up a leg. There is nothing over the top I wish to share here just a suggestion that can be applied when grilling game, poultry, fish and meats or even veggies.
I use indirect heat in the Weber which means I am adding charcoals every 30-45 mins. As I add the charcoals I mix in fresh rosemary, greens and stems which produce a wonderful smoke that permeate the garlic stuffed leg of lamb in this case. By adding fresh herbs to your fire such as the rosemary it adds and incredible flavor to the smoked kissed meat. As I mentioned this can be done with just about anything one could grill, items that are slow cooked are the best but it also fares well with the quick to cook items.
In close I just want to say CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU to my mom and dad.

Slaw Dressing or Marinade, Your Choice !!

Where does time go, seems like just yesterday I said I'd be back with some new recipes, that was 2 weeks ago. Well I am back to share a very simple Slaw Dressing that is packed with flavor and nutrients. This dressing is not just for Slaw I actually used it last night as a marinade for Game Hens that turned out to be over the top.

2 large carrots
4 baby bell peppers
2 cups kale greens
2 cups spinach greens
6 cloves garlic
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp plain yogurt
S&P to taste

To get all the flavor and nutrients I will first run the carrots, peppers, kale, spinach and garlic through my juicer essentially making a concentrate of pure juice that is all flavor. Now take the juice and mix it with the remainder of ingredients and that is it. Simply dress what ever cabbage you are using or salad mix.
As the marinade I added 1 tbsp of Olive Oil and the zest of 1 orange. Let the hens marinade for a minimum of 1 hour before grilling.
There are many more recipes on there way. Things have been very busy so time is passing as the blink of the eye.........

Recipies To Bring on the Goodness and a bit on Juicing!!

What is this?? you ask. Breakfast!! I reply. Now you might be thinking that this Chef has gone off his rocker or that this is a huge amount to consume for the first meal of the day or that has to be the ugliest salad Chef Bataille has ever put together but the truth is that it is filled with Micro and Macro nutrients that many of us are lacking in our diets and no I do not eat all of this, I do run it all through my juicer and come up with something much more realistic and manageable. After running all this goodness through the juicer it comes out to be between 14-17 liquid ounces of raw nutrients from apple, kale, spinach,peach, blueberry, raspberry, carrots, ginger, fig, celery, broccoli, red pepper and anything else from the garden that I can cut up and run through the juicer. As I was juicing this morning I began thinking of ways to get more nutrients into the menu items for both banquets, daily menus and the meals I eat here at home. Duh!! you might be saying, but hold on, I do not run a Health food or Juice Bar establishment. There are many meats, chickens, fish and wild game that have met my grill as well as acres upon acres of fresh vegetables and fruits from the garden. Lets go back to juice for a moment, when we buy juice from the store unless it is fresh pressed it is filled with sugars and more than 40% of it raw nutrients are no longer a part of what we are consuming, that's right nearly half is gone.
I have always been nutrient conscience as well as nutrient ignorant and lazy, when we pop a vitamin in our mouths it is absorbed through the process it goes  from mouth to ?? you know what I mean, the absorption of the vitamin is approx half, the rest gets expelled through various channels. sure it is way easier to take a pill and call it good rather than spend time juicing or going through trying to consume what our bodies and mind need on a daily basis to be as good as we can be on many many levels.
It is only as of late that I (re) began juicing after watching "FAT, SICK and NEARLY DEAD". I know a lot about nutrition, I know a lot about balance and how to be the best I can on many levels, but I became complacent. Sure I was eating right and exercising but the truth of it I felt off and watching the previously mentioned was a reminder of how good I felt and looked when I juiced daily, so out came the juicer and WOW, WOW, wow wow wow, in just four short days of adding a juice regiment, fresh juice that I fix with raw ingredients I have dumped 15 lbs and feel so much better. (had to add that little testimonial, jajaja!!)
To answer the question of how to add more raw nutrients to menus is simple and will cost more but adding goodness to a recipe and passing it on to a guest or guests is much more rewarding than putting a buck in my pocket.
Now where does this leave us??
It leaves us with coming up and fixing some of the Greatest recipes and addition to recipes, for my life, for your life for all of our life's, OK OK maybe I am a bit ambitious but it only means I care so stay tuned on how to tweak your recipes and fill them with LIFE!!
Until then..................................Oh I almost forgot, all that you see in the picture up top equals;

of GREATNESS!!