Adam Lamb-burp.

Not that Mr Pancakes is the biggest fan of American Idol. Just that the Pancakes were watching Jimmy Kimmel Live! and they were showing this magazine cover of him on Rolling Stone. Had a good laugh before Mr Pancake went into the kitchen to fix up the dish. So yeah, to our AI runner-up, this dish shall be named Lamb-Burp. And this is the first decent lamb dish Mr Pancakes manage to come up with after umpteen tries.

Overdue photo of a quick breakfast whipped up by Mr Pancakes. Enjoy looking at it. If you are lucky, you might be invited to have breakfast with the Pancakes. :)

Anyway, long week for the Pancakes. Mr Pancake had a tournament going on and Mrs Pancakes went to watch all the games, except the final game due to work commitments. Nevertheless, Mr Pancakes appreciates that. Tournament didn't go as planned, combination of injuries and the competitive edge did us in. (Could be age, but nah, none of us will admit to that.) Still, Mr Pancakes is still proud of his team, and is glad to be in there.

Okay, back to the dish. Mr Pancakes adapted this recipe from Chef Ryan Hong of "Chef for Hire". Great Channel 5 TV series. He makes it seem so easy putting 3 dishes together and throwing a mini-party. I like.

On a separate note, Mr Pancakes really think that he needs a new camera to take photos of his culinary adventures. To do justice to the great tasting food he cooks and eats. Or at least make them look appetitising. Ha. GSS now... *Mr Pancake ponders.

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Here goes for Lamb-Burp.(serves 2)

The dish call for:

1) Two fresh lamb foreshank (~650g)

2) Half red onion (medium size)

3) Two cloves of garlic

4) cane sugar

5) black peppercorn (1tsp)

6) 1 bay leaf (ok, spelling error in the picture)

7) red wine

8) chicken stock

Some tweaking from the ingredients Chef Ryan used in the show. He used molasses, which Mr Pancakes didn't have at the point of cooking, but had since got some. Molasses are basically unrefined cane sugar. Get it in it's thick syrup form. Should be better. Mr Pancakes got it in black sugar form. Chef Ryan also used fresh green pepper corns and veal stock, which Mr Pancakes didn't go to a bigger wet market to get (pepper corns) and Mr Pancakes do not take beef, so chicken stock was used instead. And yes, some fresh thyme leaves will do good too.

Directions:

1) In a stock pot / casserole, brown the lamb shanks on all sides under high heat with olive oil.

2) Add in the chopped onions and silvers of garlic.

3) Once the fragrance of onions and garlic is in the air, add in one-third of bottle of red wine.

4) Turn down heat to medium. Add enough chicken stock to cover the lamb shanks.

5) Add in black pepper corns and bay leaves. (you may want to bag them)

6) Add sugar to taste when stock starts to bubble.

7) Turn down heat to low and leave to simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Turning the lamb ocassionally as the liquid boils off.

8) Serve in a deep plate, with the stock. Goes well with boiled potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle freshly chopped thyme (dried ones will do too) before serving.

The meat should slide off the bone very nicely. More garlic and peppercorns should musk the game-y smell of lamb better. But Mr Pancakes is satisfied with the current balance.

The stock turns milky as the simmering progresses. Heavenly taste, a tad too sweet this time round, but Mr Pancakes will settle for it. Fresh thyme would had added that kick to it. Have some fresh bread ready to wipe up the stock. Worth every ounce of calories.

Total Cost: <$20. Enjoy.