This week end when I was out grocery shopping there were numerous sales throughout the store. Many not listed in the flyer sent out, so when browsing the meat department I came across several cuts of domestic Lamb on sale as well. I cook Lamb more than most people do at home, who I find, save it for that special treat when they head out to dinner. What I enjoy is the aroma as it cooks throughout my home. There are several cuts of Lamb to choose from to create a great meal, what I decided to buy was a leg of lamb. I picked about a 6 lb piece of meat, thought for a moment about what I would serve with it and how I wanted to cook it. Then I asked the store butcher if he would remove the bone, trim it and send me some butchers twine so I could tie it up at home.

I put together a simple mint pesto for the inside of the lamb:

In a food processor add the following & blend to combine

• 2 cup mint leaves
• 6 whole cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 2 T. red wine vinegar

Season the lamb with salt and pepper then gently spread the mixture to cover the inside portion of the Lamb leg, don’t over fill it, you can use any remaining mixture to coat the Lamb as it roast the last 15 mins of cooking. Roll the leg into a cylinder and use your string to tie the Lamb leg up, which will hold it together as it roasts. (I needed about 7 knots to keep mine wrapped tightly). Place the Lamb on a rack fitted in a roasting pan and season the outside with a drizzle of oil & salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees place the roast in the oven and cook for 30 mins, reduce the temperature to 325 and I continued to roast my 5 lb piece of boneless Lamb leg for another 1 and a 1/2 hours. Then I put the remaining pesto on top, covered it with foil and let it cook for another 1/2 hour. My thermometer read 145 degrees which is great for medium rare. Also take into consideration as with any meat when you remove it from the oven, it will continue to cook internally and the temperature will raise another 5-10 degrees as it rest. Internal temperature of 160 is medium and 170 are well done. You can roast the bone along with the Lamb and halfway through as it gets golden, remove it and make a Lamb stock, which is what I do.

My menu consisted of a fresh field green salad, steamed asparagus with lemon zested on it with a drizzle of olive oil before they was served and 2 types of potatoes; sweet & creamy white mashed together after cooked until tender, with just enough milk, butter, plain yogurt and seasoning to cream them together.

Lamb is a versatile piece of meat with several cuts to choose from, some may need to be special ordered for a particular recipe, but you don’t have to wait for a special occasion to enjoy its beautiful taste!

So, by now most people have either seen the show “Hoarders” or have read about it. I will admit that I love the show.  There is nothing I like more than hearing how these people explain why they need to save old Chicken Noodle Soup cans.  Their logic is almost really convincing.  I mean, there really could be a time when Campbell’s runs out of cans and this Hoarder can save them for not being able to can soup anymore by selling them the 5,327,453 cans they have piled up in the living room.  But I digress.  The only part that bores me is when they get too deep into the therapeutic side.  The way they baby them about tossing away 20 year old stale milk isn’t as fun to listen to when a Dr. is explaining it.  Let a comedian run the show and then we will next level Hoarders.  Can you imagine the show with Chris Rock as the host?
I find it very entertaining…but something is missing.  They call it a disease that has to be treated or some other blah blah blah like that.  I put some thought into a new Hoarders type show I want to produce and want to share it with you and see what you think before I contact Hollywood.  I want to call it “Hoard-Nappers”.
Here it is in a nutshell.  People submit stuff on their friends and family who are hoarders.  We then select our little hoarder and unexpectedly show up at their house, cameras already rolling.  We ring the door bell, and as soon as they open the door…we toss a pillow case over their head, tie them up, toss them into the waiting A-Team style van outside and bring them to a holding room complete with all the furnishings and comforts of a clean home minus a phone (as we would hate for them to call the cops so early into this).
We then just bring in the garbage people and toss all their junk.  Of course, we keep and organize the good stuff for them, but we just do it in a much faster fashion without the need of a Psychologist taking it paper by paper with the hoarder in question.  I also think that every so often you send a little video back to the hoarder (who remember, is tied up in seclusion with no clue as to what is going on) to show them what we are doing.  Think of it like when on Extreme Home Makeover they show the family down in Disney World the live video of the work crew demolishing their house.  It gives the family instant closure and shows them the light at the end of the tunnel is right before them.  In our case, we could show them clips of us tossing away their collection of coupons from the 70’s, empty frozen dinner boxes and a few dead things we are sure to find.  Of course, for the 20-30 living cats still there, we would call the animal shelter to come get them and find them new homes.
Hopefully, without the hoarder around to slow down production, we can shoot an episode in 1 day.  At the end of the day, we put the hoarder back in the van and drive them home.  When we drop them off, we tell them to count to 100 before they remove the pillowcase (as we want to make a clean break).  Of course we would already have installed hidden cameras in the house so we can see their reaction to the “reveal” (as they call it on Extreme Home Makeover).  Imagine their surprise as they take off the pillowcase and see their home clean and organized!  It would be the same reaction us non-hoarders would be if we walked into our house to find it looking like a dump.
The only downfall I can see in this idea is the potential to be charged with kidnapping, breaking and entering and possibly theft but I have to think if the person called the Police, what would they really say?  Someone kidnapped me for the day, brought me to a fully furnished room and cleaned my house?  They threw away all of my dead animals and old 2 liter soda bottles?  I have to think the Police would think it was a joke and hang up on them.
So there you have it.  THAT is my great idea.  If you want to be a part of “Hoard-Nappers”, let me know.  Production starts as soon as my boss gives me the green light.

Here is the video I talked about while interviewing Michael Lohan.  If you missed the interview, click here to listen to it.

Bon Jovi will perform at the Grammys and you will have a say in what song they’ll be singing.  Producers have set up a poll and they’ll be accepting votes from now right up until the show on January 31st. 

The six choices are:  “Livin on a Prayer”, “It’s My Life”, “Wanted Dead or Alive”, “Bed of Roses”, “Always”, and “Have a Nice Day”.  Click Here to cast your vote.

It is that time of the year when all of the “Top 10 Lists” of the previous year come out!  Nielsen Soundscan released the final music sales numbers for 2009 and not surprisingly, it was all about Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Susan Boyle. Michael was the top selling artist of the year, moving 8.2 million albums– most of them after his death last June.

Here is the complete Top 10 List of the Top Selling Artists of 2009 (along with sales totals):

#1.) MICHAEL JACKSON, 8.2 million

#2.) TAYLOR SWIFT, 4.6 million

#3.) THE BEATLES, 3.2 million

#4.) SUSAN BOYLE, 3.1 million

#5.) LADY GAGA, 2.8 million

#6.) ANDREA BOCELLI, 2.6 million

#7.) MICHAEL BUBLÉ, 2.2 million

#8.) EMINEM, 2.1 million

#9.) CARRIE UNDERWOOD, 1.8 million

#10.) BLACK EYED PEAS, 1.8 million

So here we are a week or so into 2010 and as usual, all I hear about are New Years Resolutions. People talking about how they are going to lose weight, stop smoking, get out of debt, finally use that gym membership they’ve been paying for but never use and the list goes on and on and on. Do you want to know what my New Years Resolution is? Simple. Nothing.

I used to be one of those people who made a list of things I wanted to change in the New Year, but, there is only so much faliure one can take! I mean, how many people really have lost the weignt they wanted, stopped eating crap, stopped smoking etc.? The majority of us FAIL! Why set yourself up, right?

Besides, the more I thought about it, why do we need that date of January 1st to start making a difference in our lives? If I decide in June that I want to eat better, what good is it if I say “Well, once it is January 1, I’m going to eat better…but until then, let me enjoy another Popeye’s biscuit”. That leaves me 6 months of eating crap! By the time January comes around, I’ve probably hoarded more biscuits then normal out of fear that I will be giving them up! Now, I’ve packed on 20 more pounds I need to lose and then when I fail at “going to the gym” to lose weight, I’ll still be carrying around that “extra” 20 pounds!

If you really want to change something about yourself, why do you need a date? Just do it now and get the faliure over with so you can move on! Why stress out about it and hold yourself to these crazy timeframes? Seriously, I’m probably paying for 4-5 gym memberships based on New Years Resolutions. This year, now that I’m a “realist”, I did not sign up anywhere! When the time is right and I really want to go to the gym, they will still be there. If I ever want to really cutback on the crap I digest, fruit will still be there. If you smokers really want to quit, the patch isn’t going anywhere. Your lungs however, I can’t help you there. It isn’t like there is a lung store, but, I digress.

Frank Costanza had Festivus to celebrate Christmas without participating in the pressure and commercialization of the holiday. I think we need to create one for New Years Day so we can just enjoy the day off from work without feeling the pressure to make a New Years Resolution. I don’t know what to call it, but am open to ideas. Let’s start the movement now! What do ya’ think?

I created a great start to the New Year by ending with a fantastic menu in ’09. “Keep it simple and plan to start off on the right footing” I thought. No unhealthy foods to temp my desires, restock the refrigerator with fresh ingredients and the pantry with some grains and legumes, in case there’s a snow in, (that way I don’t have pick at all the tempting favorites I’ve had around over the holidays) plan a weekly menu that has variety and offers some versatile inexpensive ingredients to compose some good personal physical results. When I create the resolution list it has to have a least a few easy & obtainable goals, since I’m not one who makes time for the daily workout regiment.

Although those who do workout tirelessly should have a sense of “how to” knowledge in the kitchen! It’s interesting, as I converse with committed gym enthusiast most are inexperienced with getting around in the kitchen. Then you have a small group who really enjoys nourishing their body which they have just put through a rigorous workout. Planning seems to be the biggest challenge for most individuals. I think if you look back over ours blogs you will find tips on planning for yourself and family to make eating at home easier and shopping for ingredients more rewarding! So enjoy the day, don’t put to much pressure on yourself and if you think about it, moderation is the key.

My menu for the end of the year:

Fresh Crisp Organic Greens with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Stuffed Breast of Chicken with Spinach & tri color-Peppers with a White Wine Lemon zest reduction

Steamed Brown Rice with fresh herbs

Swiss chard, quickly sautéed

Fresh sliced Fruits

A simple but elegant menu! Just remember to cook with Love….

Ciao and thanks Bernard

“…to make an end is to make a beginning.”

— T.S. Eliot