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Union Square Cafe has the best bar nuts of all time.  These are aren’t a perfect replica and slightly spicier, but not too far from the original.

• 4 cups unsalted almonds
• 2 T melted butter
• 3 t brown sugar
• 3 T fresh finely chopped rosemary or thyme
• 1 t ground cardamon
• 1-3 t cayenne and/or Piment d’ Espelette (depending how spicy you like it)
• sea salt to taste

Melt butter with spices and herbs, toss with nuts, and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 4 strips of bacon, thinly sliced
• 1 cup of tomato sauce — this time of year, it’s easy to find great heirloom tomatoes for a simple homemade sauce, but I use store bought sauce all the time as well
• 1 large bunch of hen of the woods mushrooms (see above) very roughly chopped (leaving some large chunks)
• 1 cup grated cheese — we found something slightly stinky at the farmer’s market which worked great with the earthy mushroom flavors (can’t recall the name unfortunately), but almost anything will work
• Pizza dough

Prep:

1. Saute the bacon over high heat until browned.  Remove, leaving the fat to cook the mushrooms.
2. Cook mushrooms in bacon fat over med-low heat for just a couple minutes.  They will continue to cook in the grill, so you really only need a little toast.
3. To assemble pizza, start with a very thin layer of tomato sauce, then add bacon and mushrooms, and finish with a light layer of cheese.
4. Grill pizza (instructions here) and serve with a salad and oaky red wine.

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For the grilled lamb:

• 4 lamb chops
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 T tomato paste
• 1 T garam masala
• 1 T cayanne pepper
• 4 sprigs of rosemary
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 3/4 cup red wine

For the risotto:

• 3 links lamb merguez sausage
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped leaks (about 2 small leeks)
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1 cup white wine
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup grated young sheep’s milk cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 3 T chopped lemon thyme

Lamb marinade: Saute garlic in olive oil with tomato paste and garam masala until garlic is slightly soft.  Add rosemary, soy sauce, and wine and bring to a boil.  Remove from hear, place in a large bowl or shallow baking dish and cool.  Once cool, add lamb and refrigerate for at least a couple hours.

Because the timing can get tricky with both grilling lamb and cooking risotto, I start by cooking the risotto until it’s about 3/4 finished, turn the heat off, and then grill the meat until its about 3/4 finished.  Then finish the lamb in the oven on very low heat while cooking the risotto.

For the risotto, saute sausage over med-high heat until browned.  Remove.  Add onion and saute until transparent.  Add garlic and leeks and cook for a minute or two over lower heat.  Add rice and cook for a few minutes to toast slightly.  Add wine and cook until rice has absorbed the liquid.  Add stock 1/2 cup at a time and stir constantly until the rice is al dente.  Fold in the cheese and garnish with chives and thyme.

For the lamb chops, grill over direct heat until a nice crust forms.  Move to indirect heat and cook until medium-rare.

• 5-7 fresh tomatillos, depending on the size
• 1 poblano pepper (for mild)
• 2 jalapeno peppers (add for medium)
• 2 serrano peppers (add for hot)
• 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 4-5 garlic cloves, skins removed
• 1 tsp cumin
• ~1/4 cup cilantro
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 or 2 tsp honey

Preheat oven broiler or grill on high heat.

Remove husks from tomatillos, rinse,  cut into quarters, and remove core.  Quarter and remove stems and seeds from peppers.

Toss tomatillos and peppers in olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and place in roasting pan (or tin foil will work if using grill).  Roast until charred, flip and roast until the other side is charred (see below).  It’s important to keep a careful eye on them, as they will cook very fast.  Set side to cool.

Saute onion over med heat until transparent.  Lower heat and cook garlic cloves until soft.

Add tomatillo mixture (with all juices), onion mixture, and all other ingredients to a large bowl and refrigerate for an an hour or two.

To finish, either chop everything up by hand or mix with a food processor or blender, depending on the consistency you’re looking for.

Very important to taste for additional seasoning at this point: salt & pepper, cumin for more “Mexican” flavor, lime for more citrus/acid flavor, chopped pepper for more spice, etc.

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