One Derby Week, several years ago, I had a gastronomic experience right out of the old Andy Griffith Show. Remember the episode in which Goober mixes up Andy’s telephone messages and Andy ends up accepting four different dining invitations in one day? At each gathering he is served spaghetti (“family secret: oregano!”), and at each one he has to pret/files/storyimages/he hasn’t already eaten spaghetti earlier in the day. By the day’s end, he has a terrible stomachache.
In my case, the recurrent menu item wasn’t spaghetti but ham biscuits, and the /files/storyimages/result wasn’t a stomachache but palate fatigue. As a matter of fact, my exact words to my husband were, “If I have to look at another (blankety-blank) ham biscuit, I am going to jump off the Second Street bridge.” Now don’t get me wrong — a ham biscuit (whether packed with country or honey-baked ham) is a perfectly edible thing, and there might even be certain times of the year — OK, of the decade — when I think, Man, I wish I had myself a ham biscuit I could go pull out of the refrigerator right about now. But when I spot a platter of them, right next to the obligatory cheese grits, at every party I’m invited to — from Boat Race eve through post-Derby brunch — my heart sinks, my stomach sinks, and I want to flee all things porcine.
It isn’t that I’m not grateful to all the folks out there who host Derby parties. They’re so festive! And springy! It’s just that I suspect that if I’m this tired of the usual fare, surely others must be too. In logic 101, this kind of thinking is called ignoratio elenchi (an ignorant or irrelevant conclusion drawn from the circumstances). So be it. All I can tell you for sure is that the first week in May should be a time for celebrating spring in all its glorious fecundity, and there are tastier ways to do this than with ham biscuits. Thus the buffet menu below, in which each dish features ingredients at their peak, before full-fledged summer rides in on that oppressive humidity train.
For lamb lovers, spring is the ideal time of year, particularly in Kentucky. Except for the shanks, neck and shoulder, the rest of the spring lamb is tender enough to be cooked by dry heat, such as grilling and roasting. And for roasting, nothing beats the leg, especially when coated with a marinade like the one below. Note that the marinade itself includes that must-have Derby ingredient, mint, which infuses its flavor into the meat so subtly yet thoroughly that the idea of mint jelly is rendered obsolete.
Some cooks shy away from the whole leg of lamb, with bone in, because they’re not quite sure what to do with it. However, the leg is both easier to deal with and more flavorful if it’s not butterflied. The trick is that the shank /files/storyimages/should always be placed to the carver’s right. If you use a sharp, heavy knife, the slices will come away beautifully.
Where there is spring lamb, there must also be baby asparagus. This is the season when you’ll find those thin, tender stalks in abundance in the produce markets. The dressing for the asparagus dish below could not be simpler. The bright green of the stalks after they are just barely steamed makes you grateful to be alive.
Next to the asparagus, we have an artichoke dish that is a bit of a cheat. As the recipe calls for canned artichoke hearts, it might be best to think of it as a tribute to artichokes. If you’re extremely ambitious, go right ahead and make it with fresh artichokes that you’ll sp/files/storyimages/the day steaming, peeling and paring, but the tastiness really lies in the gratin part of the dish, featuring goat cheese, an ideal accompaniment to lamb.
Finally, the fruit salad provides another burst of color as well as palate cleansing. The dressing is a marvelous little re-invention of the one used for Waldorf salad.
A word about strawberries, though. In Louisville, at this time of year, the grocers take to trotting out those nuclear sized strawberries. These are mainly for looks, best-suited to dipping in chocolate or as a garnish. The jumbos are not nearly as sweet or succulent as the small, dark red strawberries more naturally available in late spring. These are also a better complement to the blueberries and raspberries.
Your guests will love you more than ever.
RECIPES
LEG OF LAMB WITH MINT PESTO, NEW POTATOES AND BABY CARROTS
1/3 cup walnuts
6 large garlic cloves
2 cups fresh mint leaves
1 cup fresh basil leaves
? cup olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
A 5- to 6-pound leg of lamb,
trimmed of excess fat
Freshly ground pepper
2 pounds baby new potatoes
1 pound baby carrots
Fresh mint sprigs for garnish
Chop the walnuts and garlic together in a food processor. Add the mint leaves and basil and chop finely. Add the oil and vinegar and bl/files/storyimages/until the pesto is smooth. Set the lamb in a large roasting pan and make several slits in the meat with the tip of a sharp knife. Reserving a half-cup of pesto for the vegetables, spoon some pesto into each slit, rubbing the remainder onto the entire leg. Sprinkle generously with pepper. Let it stand an hour at room temperature, or cover and chill overnight for even more flavor.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roast the lamb 45 minutes. Add the potatoes to the pan, turning them to coat them in the pan juices. Roast 30 more minutes. Add the carrots and reserved half-cup of pesto and turn everything again to coat it in pesto and pan juices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue roasting until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the lamb registers 140 degrees. Remove it from the oven and let it stand for 15 minutes.
Carve the lamb into thin slices and arrange on a platter with the potatoes and carrots. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs. Serves six.
ASPARAGUS WITH LEMON DRESSING
1 pound thin baby asparagus
The juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
In a mixing bowl, combine the lemon juice and garlic with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in the oil in a slow stream. (This dressing may be made three hours ahead and chilled, covered. Bring it to room temperature before using.)
Trim the asparagus and have ready a large bowl of ice and cold water. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the asparagus until it’s just tender, three to four minutes. Using tongs, transfer the spears to the ice water to stop further cooking. Drain the asparagus well in a colander and pat dry. Gently toss the asparagus with the dressing. Serves six.
ARTICHOKES WITH GOAT CHEESE
2 cans artichoke hearts,
drained and rinsed
The juice of a half lemon
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup of milk, warmed
1 goat cheese log
1 egg yolk
Nutmeg shavings
Salt and pepper
Bread crumbs
Chopped chives
Squeeze the lemon juice onto the drained
artichokes. Toss and set aside. Make a bechamel sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, then whisking the flour into the butter, letting it toast just slightly before adding the warm milk. Add the goat cheese; mix until it is melted and blended into the sauce. Remove from the burner and add the egg yolk, seasoning to taste with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a small oven-proof baking pan and coat sparingly with bread crumbs. Arrange the
artichoke hearts in one layer. Spread the goat cheese mixture over the artichoke layer. Sprinkle on additional bread crumbs and bake the artichoke gratin for 20 minutes or until it is golden. Distribute chopped chives over the top. Serves six.
FRUIT SALAD WITH POPPY SEED DRESSING
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped candied ginger
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
1 ? teaspoons poppy seeds
1 quart strawberries, rinsed and sliced
1 quart blueberries, rinsed
1 pint raspberries, rinsed
Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, ginger, honey, vinegar and poppy seeds in a small bowl and whisk to bl/files/storyimages/it all. Season the dressing to taste with salt and pepper. (The dressing can be made one day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Combine the fruit in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss to coat.
Serves six.
