Cuisine & Screen: At Home, Part 29

I'm having trouble believing that my next post will be C&S: At Home, Part 30. Part 30?! How did that happen! I definitely miss dining out and going to the movies, especially this time of year when all the awards shows are usually announcing nominations, but for now, I'm still enjoying cooking and entertaining myself at home. In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and for a good laugh, this is 7 year old me - my parents' favorite Christmas ornament.

CUISINE
I can't think of any meat more luxurious than lamb. It's definitely my favorite protein - give me a lamb shank over a steak any day - and with the help of Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa herself, it doesn't need to be intimidating! I recently made her Lamb Shanks and the meat was incredibly unctuous and perfectly cooked. Her recipe calls for adding Orzo during the last 30 minutes, but I omitted that part and made my own Cheesy Polenta with Gouda. This would be great with mashed potatoes, rice - really any starch to soak up all the tasty juices. Oh, and one more note - leave your Dutch oven uncovered so the meat can brown nicely in the oven! Here's Ina's Lamb Shank recipe.

The Lamb Shank in all its glory

SCREEN
Whiplash - I recently re-watched this excellent film, and went back to find my C&S review of it from 5 years ago. I only cringed a little bit at my writing, so I'll link it for you here. It really is a great movie, with incredible performances by Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons (who won an Oscar for this role!)

Happiest Season - A refreshing holiday film that focuses on a romantic relationship between two women during the holidays, and all the complications that ensue. Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis are the leads, but the real stars are the supporting actors - Dan Levy, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza and Mary Steenburgen. The film may not end the way you want or expect, but the journey is a pretty good, not great, one.