Errol Flynn’s Roast Leg of Lamb

Oooh, Errol’s leg was fabulous.  His recipe was for a 6lb leg but I only bought half a leg (2lb) as it was dinner for two at Silver Screen Suppers Towers yesterday.  I had ascertained that Mr R is very partial to lamb so I tempted him over with the promise of a coffee doused chunk with all the trimmings and Barbra Streisand’s Instant Coffee Ice Cream to follow.

Errol’s lamb was gorgeous, rather like my dinner guest.  I took Mr R’s advice on how long to cook it (an hour and 20 minutes at about 160 degrees) and it did make me laugh when he kept adding silly things to my hand written timetable showing when to start the Vincent Price’s Petits Pois a la Francaise (they take 45 minutes), when to put the roast potatoes in (he was in charge of these so gawd knows) and when to take the lamb out to rest.  Miraculously, everything seemed to be ready at the same time.  Dinner was scheduled for 3 and was on the table at just gone 5.  I guess that is the way it goes though sometimes.  Even with the best of intentions.

Keep your eyes peeled as I’ve decided to make Errol’s lamb dish the recipe of the month for June.

It’s so funny looking back over my blog sometimes.  The first time I cooked this on New Year’s Day 2008, my darling flat mate Gaby was in the first flushes of a relationship with Paul.  The second time I made it in 2009 she had just married him.  Ha ha!  I did have a laugh about my new year resolution of 2008 – “no involvement in 2008 with men that make me cry. And I mean it!” I will have to consult with Heather regarding the Review of the Year for 2008.  Our annual recap of the year’s events always includes the category, “who made you cry this year?” as well as many others such as “tiny things that have made life disproportionately better”.  I believe my fabulous shoe mender in Highgate made it onto the list last year.

After dinner me and Mr R. watched an episode of Columbo – it was effectively the first real episode (after 2 pilots) and Peter Falk makes an omelette.  He beats up the eggs and adds cheese and onions, then cooks it in a tonne of butter.    Mmm – yum yum – he looks as if he knows what he is doing.  It’s either very good acting or he was a good cook.  I suspect the latter.  I have only one recipe for him so far – Pork Chops and Vinegar Peppers – but I have yet to find Vinegar Peppers anywhere here in the UK.  Anyone know where I can get me some?  Or in fact, does anyone know what the hell they are exactly? I’m happy to attempt to make some myself in advance (I do love a pickle) but I need some advice…

Later in the first episode Columbo gets a hot dog while he quizzes someone useful to his investigation.  The hot dog stand is brilliant – it is shaped like a cartoon hot dog.  I will have to get a screen grab of it for Yinzerella over at Dinner is Served 1972 sometime or another when I work out how to do it.  I still owe Yinzerella a guest post about the momentous day when I got a firm grip on a Pizza Hut Frankfurter Stuffed Crust Pizza.  Oh YEAH!  WIENERS! Columbo likes his CHARRED apparently – What Columbo Likes to Eat

I think that Errol would have enjoyed one of those…