Mountain Views News          Saturday, March 21, 2015

FOOD & DRINK

9

Mountain Views-News Saturday, March 21, 2015

PASADENA SANDWICH COMPANY… 


Recently I visited an old friend, must be friends 
because one of the servers asked where have I been 
lately. The Pasadena Sandwich Shop. You can 
sit down or go right to the deli case. I usually go 
directly to the case. This family run business has 
not missed a beat since I have last been there. 

 The Pasadena Sandwich Shop has done what 
Jerry’s Deli. The New York Deli and Ben’s Deli 
weren’t able to do. Stay in business. The restaurant 
itself is small; in fact it is located in a small office 
building, sandwiched between a strawberry lot 
and a kids hair place and is across from Bed Bath 
and Beyond. They tell me that they just celebrated 
20 years in business, it tells me that with good food 
and a positive customer attitude the restaurant 
business does make sense!

 The prices range between $7 and $9. I have 
never finished an entire sandwich on my own until 
last week. Here are a few of my recent lunches: The 
Big “B” Roast Beef - cheddar, lettuce, tomato with 
Russian dressing on a French Roll; The “Chicago” 
Corned Beef - Pastrami, Swiss, cole slaw (it’s triple 
decker on rye); and again, good luck in finishing 
one!!! The Sheepherder - Corned Beef, Pastrami, 
Turkey, Salami, Swiss - it’s another triple decker on 
Rye. 

 You can mix and match meats and breads or you 
can even order “Trust The Cook” whatever the 
cook feels that day. My suggestion is bring a friend 
to share. With National Ham Sandwich Day Fast 
approaching the Pasadena Sandwich Company is a 
must.

 Platters are available, and the restaurant offers 
chips and soda. Eat In or take out is available.

Peter’s Tip: They have spicy beaver mustard, it’s a 
must!!

 All and all a pretty good place for lunch

 

 Pasadena Sandwich Company 259 Sierra Madre 
Villa, Pasadena (626) 578-1616

 Hours: Open daily at 9 AM closes at 3 PM No 
dinner. Saturday opens at 11AM closes at 3PM. Join 
me this Saturday afternoon at 5:30 PM on AM 830 
KLAA Radio or email at the chefknows@yahoo.com.

TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills

thechefknows@yahoo.com

FOR THE PERFECT EASTER 
DINNER: ROAST LEG OF 
LAMB

(This recipe serves 8 - 10 people)

INGREDIENTS

Marinade

 1/2 cup orange juice

 1 cup white wine

 3 cloves garlic, minced

 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme

 2 Tbsp of fresh chopped rosemary or 1 Tbsp of dried rosemary

 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper

 

Blend marinade ingredients in a blender, just a few pulses until well mixed.

 

Lamb Roast

 1 (6-pound) leg of lamb, bone-in or boneless. If boneless, the leg should be tied up with kitchen 
string by butcher.

 Marinade

 Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Place lamb and marinade into a plastic bag. Squeeze out as much of the air as possible from the 
bag and seal. Wrap again with another plastic bag to ensure that the marinating lamb doesn’t leak. 
Marinate for several hours, or overnight, in the refrigerator. Remove the lamb, still in its marinade 
bag, from the refrigerator at least an hour (preferably two hours) before putting in the oven to help 
bring the lamb closer to room temperature before roasting.

 

2 Preheat oven to 425°F. Arrange two racks in the oven - a middle rack to hold the lamb, and a lower 
rack to hold a roasting pan with which to catch the drippings. Note that this arrangement of racks 
and pans, with the roast sitting directly on the oven rack, will create a natural convection of heat in 
the oven, causing the roast to cook more quickly than if cooked the traditional method in a rack in 
a roasting pan.

 

3 Remove the lamb roast from its marinade bag (you may want to temporarily place lamb in another 
roasting pan, just to make it less messy to work with.) Pat dry the marinade off the lamb with paper 
towels. Generously salt and pepper all sides of the roast. Arrange the roast fattiest side up, so while 
the lamb is cooking the fat will melt into the meat. Insert an oven-proof meat thermometer into the 
thickest part of the roast, not touching the bone if your roast is bone-in. Place the roast directly on 
middle rack of the oven, with a roasting pan on a separate rack a rung lower, to catch the drippings. 
You may also want to put some water (a cup or so) in the bottom roasting pan, so that the drippings 
fall into the water instead of burning in the hot pan and smoking up your kitchen.

 

4 Roast at 425°F for 20 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 300°F and roast an additional 40 minutes 
(for a 6 pound boneless roast) to an hour (for a 6 pound bone-in roast). If you are cooking a roast 
bone-in, the bone will act as an insulator and will require a longer cooking time than a boneless roast. 
In general estimate 10-13 minutes per pound for total cooking time (for rare), including that first 20 
minutes at high heat. (Assuming you let the roast sit out for an hour or two before putting it in the 
oven. If it’s right out of the fridge, it will take longer to cook.)

 

Note that the method of cooking directly on the oven rack will mimic a convection oven and the 
cooking time/oven temp needed will be less than you would need if you cooked the roast on a rack 
in a roasting pan. If you are cooking the roast in a roasting pan, rack or not, start the roast at 450°F 
and then reduce the heat to 325°F. Also, the shape of the roast will have an impact on the cooking 
time. Our roast was rather long and thin, so it cooked up fairly quickly. A thicker roast may take 
longer than expected.

 

So, use a meat thermometer!

 

About 20 minutes before you expect the roast to be done, start checking the meat thermometer. Note 
that every time you open the oven door, you’ll need 10 minutes or so to bring the oven back up to 
temperature, thus slowing down the cooking process. So, don’t check too often. Remove from the 
oven anywhere from 125°F to 135°F for medium rare. Lamb should never be cooked until well done 
or it will be too dry. Let stand for 25-30 minutes before carving. Cut away the kitchen string and slice 
with a sharp carving knife, 1/2 inch thick slices, against the grain of the meat.

 

5 While the roast is resting, use a metal spatula to scrape up the drippings in the roasting pan. Use the 
drippings to make a gravy, or use just the drippings themselves to serve with the lamb.

 

Serve with some homemade mint jelly for an added treat.

For more information, go to: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes


Altadena’s newest coffee stop.
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PICTURE OF THE WEEK

 
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Children Ages 4~12 $15.95 
(Ages 3 & under are free) 
For Reservations: 626-531-8025 
Easter 
Champagne Brunch 
at 
Courtyard by Marriott Monrovia 
Sunday, April 5, 2015 
11:00AM ~ 3:00PM 
COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT MONROVIA 
700 WEST HUNTINGTON DRIVE 
MONROVIA, CA 91016 
Great Family Essentials???? This photo was taken in a Denver, Colorado Ralph’s 
store. What struck me was the heading above this huge display of Easter candy. Being 
almost addicted to Jelly Beans once a year, even I thought this was pushing the Easter 
sugar rush a bit far. Essentials? Really?! S. Henderson/MVNews


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com