Mici with Lemon Pistachio Pilaf

March’s Improv Cooking Challenge ingredients are lamb & rice. I must confess, I’ve never cooked lamb & the only time I ever tasted it was when we ate at Fogo de Chão some time ago… I didn’t even know where to shop for lamb meat in our town!But I did know which recipe I wanted to make. A few years ago our oldest had the opportunity to travel to Romania with a ministry team from our church. Despite the wonderful people he met, the incredible crusade they participated in, the historical sites they visited – what our boy talked about the most was the food he ate there!And the food that impressed him the most was mici. This is a traditional Romanian sausage (pronounced “meech”) that every family or geographical group seems to have a slightly different recipe from their “bunica”. The variables seemed to be types of ground meat(s), spice palate, and “resting” time – non-negotiable items were they 1) had to be grilled over charcoal, 2) must be served with potato fries or wedges,  3) must be served with prepared mustard, and 4) beer must be consumed along with the eating thereof…(Since I don’t “appreciate” beer; hard apple cider was appropriately substituted. )

The lamb meat I found at our favorite Asian/International market, along with various spices. I grabbed a combination from the ones I found in several recipes, then passed them under Zach’s nose to see if they should go in the mix. He approved the ones listed in my recipe.I’ve fixed pilaf in my oven many times; never before have I used my cast-iron skillet. And never again will I prepare it without said skillet! Cooking was a breeze!I figured I’d have a ton of leftovers to serve another meal. I was wrong. Only two fellas at this address had another meal of our lamb & rice.

Check out the links below to see how my fellow Improvers prepared their March ingredients:

An InLinkz Link-up

Matcha Macs with Honey Buttercream

When our Improv Cooking Challenge moderator Lesa posted the 2016 monthly themes back in November, my eyes roved the list making mental notes of what recipe(s) I would attempt to complete. I cross-referenced with Pinterest pins that have been sitting unused for years… February’s challenge being TEA & HONEY, I decided I would finally try Brave Tart’s “nutless” macarons which utilize ground pepitas instead of almonds for the flour. Since they (pepitas/pumpkin seeds) are green-ish, matcha seemed the likely companion.I first ordered matcha powder back in October. I’ve been gagging down trying to drink the stuff as part of my daily regimen. Usually I just bury its bitterness in our morning protein shake. So, maybe all that powdered sugar can tone it down…

I lightly toasted the pepitas and tossed them into my Blendtec along with the sugar & matcha. A couple seconds on low speed ground the mixture fine enough to pass through my sieve.The egg whites whipped beautifully using Stella’s method of 3 minutes on “4”, then 3 minutes on “6”, 3 minutes on “8”, then a final minute on the highest speed.I piped the batter onto the waiting pans. (Because it’s been a year since I last made macarons, my rounds were a little off!) I loved that I could see the little green specks that were pepitas.Macs were baked, cooled & matched.Next was filling them with the honey buttercream I’d whipped up the day before.Too late I realized the star tip made the beautiful filling quite ragged.  

Oh well…Now for the taste test:Oh dear, they’re hollow this time. (In doing a little research I learned that those cute flecks of the seed might have deflated the meringue while baking…)

Here’s the recipe for the Pepita Matcha Macarons (not going to waste space here with the method, ‘cause you can find such detailed information on other sites.)

• 115g lightly toasted pepitas
• 1 T. matcha powder
• 230g confectioners sugar
• 144g egg whites
• 2g Kosher salt
• 72g granulated sugar

And here’s how I made my Honey Buttercream. (So delicious! It reminds me of the honeybutter my mom used to make when I was a kid!)

• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 3/4 c. whole milk
• 1 t. cornstarch

Whisk together in saucepan. Heat until it thickens, but don’t allow to boil. Cool to room temperature.

Beat 1 cup salted butter (softened to room temperature) in mixing bowl. Continue beating while adding spoonfuls of cooled custard alternating with drizzling in 1/4 cup honey. Whip until combined & smooth. Chill until use.

My fellas were allowed to taste the macarons after dinner tonight. Mixed reviews on the flavor of the cookie; but all of one accord praised the honey buttercream! (I even caught a couple of them dipping pretzels into the leftover filling…)

I used a locally produced honey that is soooooooooo deliciously sweet. It is a Citrus/Mesquite Blossom honey that we use by the gallon!

 

Now you can follow these links to see what my co-contributors made with TEA & HONEY:

An InLinkz Link-up