Little Tomatoes: The finished bloody mary spheres are topped with a stem and greens made from a mix of juiced celery, salt, and gelatin (in custom-made silicone molds).

The chemical reaction between the sodium alginate and calcium lactate forms a thin shell of gelatin around the outside of the shot, making it look solid, but once your teeth make contact with it, the thin, gelatinous “skin” breaks, releasing a flood of spicy, boozy, heirloom tomato juice. It’s almost exactly like biting into a cherry tomato (with a tasty grilled shrimp inside.)

Quick! Now’s your chance to justify all that book-learning you did by reading the full article in order to find out more.

“Baaaaa.”

“I have heard such a thing, yes. But you neglect a key detail.”

“Baaaa?”

“The present is clear; the future is known only to God.”

“Baaaaaaaaaa.”

“Then I shall send you to Him. On guard, sir.”

Roasted for hours in root vegetables, wine and herbs, this lamb would be served in its own sauce over white beans.  What could be better?

Alas, I didn’t read carefully enough to realize that you absolutely had to cover the lamb in foil before you roasted it for six hours. Needless to say, I ended up with Shoe Lamb (Chaussure De Sept Heures).

This week I’ve been reading the Three Musketeers (in order to work up my courage, drunken insouciance and general sense of romantic adventure), and tomorrow, I will revisit my Own Private Waterloo, and this time I will conquer Spoon Lamb.  

I have you in my eye, sir.

Spoon Lamb

5-6 lbs leg of lamb, boned and tied (ask for the bones, and have them sawed into 1 inch pieces)

3 medium onions, each stuck with 2 cloves
3 carrots, split lengthwise
6-7 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
4-5 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsley chopped
1 cup red wine
chopped parsley (to garnish)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Rub lamb with salt and pepper and place on a rack in a roasting pan
3. Surround with the bones, onions,carrots and 4 to 5 garlic cloves
4. Pour the olive oil over the bones and vegtables
5. Roast at 400 for 30 minutes
6. Reduce heat to 350 and roast for 30 minutes
7. Reduce heat to 200
8. Transfer lamb to baking pan or casserole dish.
9. Add remaining garlic, 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper, tomatoes and bones and vegtables from the roasting pan
10. Rinse roasting pan with the red wine and pour wine over lamb
11. Cover tightly with aluminum foil
12. I repeat, cover tightly with aluminum foil
13. The aluminum foil part is important
14. and roast in a 200 oven for 6 hours
15. Transfer lamb to a platter and remove the strings
16. Discard bones and bay leaf
17. Remove the cloves from the onions and puree or blend all the vegetables
18. Combine with the pan juices
19. Serve meat and sauce with cooked white beans seasoned with salt and pepper garlic and basil
20. Eat with spoon