What’s for Friday?

Friday for me is a slow- down day. I begin to change my pace to prepare for the
weekend ahead.
On Friday nights I love to invite friends over for dinner. I feel that it sets the right
mood for the days ahead: laughter, sharing good food, the warmth we feel when all is
right and we are surrounded with people we love.
I like to take my time on Fridays to prepare for this special dinner. I plan a menu,
shop and prepare the food very leisurely. All week I make food as part of my daily
routine between my afternoon obligations. My pace is quick, and my dinners are planned
carefully to be tasty but very easy to prepare.
On Friday I want to cook differently. I want to put a special touch on my food,
to try at least one new dish just because, or to make something that is to me the absolute
dish that will say: this is the weekend!

So what’s for Friday?

It’s very cold today, so I thought of heavy, hearty food as the center of the meal.
Since we need to balance that heavy food, I am going to make some vegetable dishes to
lighten it up.

The menu plan is:

A boneless leg of lamb, roasted slowly on low heat in the oven, after being
marinated and pampered in a bath of wine, orange peel and rosemary.
Sauté spinach with raisins and white wine. We get a touch of sweetness, some
acidity and, of course, green color.
(I suggest white rice to accompany the spinach but you can go also with
mashed potatoes.)
Cold and warm salad with sautéed onions, and sunflower seeds
.
And what’s for desert? Well, my friends will surprise me with that!

Boneless leg of lamb:
Equipment: Sauté pan, roasting pan, aluminum foil, paper towels
For the marinade: (At least 2 hours and up to a night in the fridge)
1 (2- pound) boneless leg of lamb
2 sprigs of rosemary crumbled a bit to release the oils
1 clove garlic, sliced and peeled
1 cup of red wine that you like to drink, dry if you can
½ grated orange peel
2 Tablespoons olive oil
For the roasting:
1 sprig of rosemary
1 head of garlic, sliced into 2 halves
1 cup of dry red wine
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper (preferably kosher salt and fresh ground pepper)
Preheat your oven to 300F.
Dry your lamb very well with paper towels. Rub the lamb with half the olive oil and
sprinkle generously salt and pepper all over the lamb.
Sauté the lamb until brown from all sides, using the remaining olive oil.
Take it out and put it in a roasting pan with rosemary sprigs around it.
Add the wine and garlic to the sauté pan and deglaze, which means boil the wine until it
is reduced and thickened a bit.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil tightly, and roast for 3 hours.

Sauté spinach with raisins and white wine
Equipment: 10”-12” sauté pan.
16oz baby spinach or 3 bunches of spinach, rinsed well and dried.
½ cup of golden raisins
1 cup of white wine
2 Tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
Salt
Warm the olive oil in the pan. Put the spinach, chili flakes and the raisins in, and toss so
the leaves will wilt.
It takes about 2 minutes. Add the wine, and let boil until the liquids evaporated.
Add salt to taste.
Cold and hot salad
Equipment: 10” sauté pan, small pan for the seeds.
1/2 onion, sliced
1 oregano sprig, leaves chopped coarsely
3 Tablespoons Sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 head of romaine lettuce, rinsed well, dried and thinly sliced
1 cup of mixed greens
2 heads of radishes, sliced thinly
For the vinaigrette: ¼ cup olive oil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ lemon juice, ½ lemon peel,
grated, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard. Mix all the ingredients other than the oil well, then add
the oil while whisking or just put everything in your favorite jar and shake.
In a salad bowl, arrange the greens and the romaine.
Warm the olive oil and the oregano leaves. Add the onion, plus salt and sauté on medium
heat until it softens, add the radishes and sauté for another minute or two until it softens a
bit. Pour it over the greens so that some of them will wilt a bit as a result.
Add the lemon vinaigrette, and toss lightly.
Sauté the seeds in a dry pan until they release a smell.
Sprinkle over the salad.