There’s nothing like a good neighbor

healthysoutherncomforts — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:33:48 +0000

There’s nothing like expecting important company and having a broken oven, especially when you’re serving a leg of lamb. There I was three hours before a long planned dinner with both of my editors: Sherry, the owner of this website: weareblackwomen.com; Michael, my op-ed editor from the Philadelphia Daily News, and his wife Becky, the arts editor for its sister paper The Inquirer. I had promised them a feast and was determined to make good on my word.

My 5 ¼ pound leg of lamb needed a place to roast, and fast.

And, my eldest daughter Ariell, whose oven I was supposed to hijack, was nowhere to be found.

Thankfully, my neighbor Joan was there to rescue me and allowed me to use hers. She readily agreed when she realized the bind I was in and pre-heated her oven to 375° F while I went back home across the street to gussy up the lamb with fresh garlic and rosemary, baby carrots and red onions.

Joan was on her way to take a nap, so rather than staying in her kitchen while she slept I preferred to leave the lamb in her oven for the two hours it needed to cookrather than hovering over the lamb to baste it. That allowed me time to go back home to prepare the rest of the food, finish tidying up the house and showering before my company arrived.

The Menu

Crudités’ & spinach/artichoke dip

Cheese plate with sesame/rice crackers & grapes

Spring salad with arugula, goat cheese and beets

String beans and mushrooms tossed with fresh garlic

Curried couscous with yellow raisins and scallions

Buffalo wings with blue cheese dip

Glazed teriyaki salmon

Roast leg of lamb with rosemary garlic glaze

Blueberry and banana walnut pound cakes

Vanilla ice cream

My biggest fear was that without my continually basting the lamb, it would dry out, but it turned out tender and juicy, thanks to Joan who had set her alarm so she could turn off the oven. She must have known I’d arrive later than the two hours we calculated for the lamb to roast to perfection. Fortunately, it was moist, but the meat didn’t fall off the bones like it does when you constantly baste it with its own drippings.

My next concern is how to buy a new oven. I crave a Wolf 6-burner with a double oven that costs about $10,000.

Healthy Southern Comforts » goat cheese

There’s nothing like a good neighbor