Don't let Easter prep turn you into a basket case: Easter ham & lamb is at the Goose!

Carrot sticks and chocolate eggs may fill the kids' baskets, but a little bunny told us you want meat for Easter...and we're all ears.

Terry Knudson has been raising lambs since he was 11 years old. Today, his twin boys, Conner & Hunter, along with his wife Jane work with him at Viking Lamb, their Morristown farm that supplies Indy's best chefs with tender, tasty, all-natural lamb. Chris wrote this recipe for Roasted Leg of Lamb--rich with garlic, rosemary, and a sherry vinegar pan sauce--with Viking Lamb in mind.

Legs of Lamb from Viking Lamb
Bone-in $7.50/lb
whole: about 9-10 lbs
half: about 5 lb

Boned, rolled and tied $9/lb

whole: about 7-8 lbs

half: about 4lbs

And because no holiday is complete without pork, the Goose is curing bone-in Easter hams from Gunthorp Farms with maple, clove, allspice, juniper berries, and rosemary before we smoke them over fruit woods. Packed with flavor and ready to heat and serve, these hams are perfect for the center of your holiday table, but they're so good, be sure to get extra for the post-Easter ham and eggs, ham and cheese, ham and beans, ham and ham, and ham.

House Smoked Easter Hams
Bone-in $4.25/lb
5-7 lb pieces
10-12 lb pieces
18-20 lb pieces

Call the Goose to reserve your Easter treats (317.924.4944) or hop over to check out the goods!

Kids' Nutrition: tell Lugar we're not talking about goats

Indiana Senator Richard Lugar serves on the Agricultural Committee that today has started marking up the bill that will plan our kids' menus.

The Child Nutrition Act proposes more funding for kids' nutrition programs, better nutrition standards, and support for Farm to School programs. It's not the end-all solution, but it's an important step in the right direction. So now is our chance to take three minutes to contact Senator Lugar (202.224.4814 or email) and ask him to represent his constituents' interests by

• helping schools serve healthier food by making the full investment of $1 billion per year for child nutrition programs.
• including $50 million over five years for grants to start Farm to School programs, which link schools to local farms and support the local economy

While our own memories of horrid school lunch food may be enough to call for change, there are hoards of experts, statistics, teachers, and even kids who can point to the damaging effects of lacking good, clean, and fair food for children. And if the reports aren't enough, well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Join the Goose and contact your senator to support better food for kids!

St. Paddy's Day House-cured Corned Beef

It's so good, you'll think you're walking on Eire.
The Goose is getting corny this St. Paddy's Day...ahem, corny beef, that is.

For our house corned beef, we treated whole briskets from Fischer Farms in Jasper, Indiana, to a rich dry cure loaded with black pepper corns, fresh bay leaves, mustard seeds, and cinnamon. Tender and packed with flavor, our corned beef will be available in four pound packages for you to cook at home.
Preparing the already seasoned and ready-for-the-pan beef is easy and allows plenty of time for penny whistle practice and snake herding. Just empty the beef and its dry rub into a pot and cover with water. Simmer gently until fork tender.



And don't forget the braised cabbage and Irish-inspired ale for a well balanced meal (all available at the Goose!). To reserve your corny, Irish meat treat, call the Goose at 317.924.4944.

For the Celts who can't wait, look for a limited quantity of ready-to-eat corned beef in our cases in time for St. Paddy's day.

May the road rise up to meat you!

Nevat

For Catalan artisan Josep Cuixart, cheesemaking began with a road trip. About 20 years ago, he shepherded four goats into his car and drove 400 miles back to the farm near Barcelona where, amazingly, he still wanted to make cheese after all that quality time with his new herd.

At his Can Pojul production house, he perfected fresh goat cheeses before developing Nevat, an aged, soft-ripened cheese made by draining goat's milk curds in cheesecloth bags. Named for the Catalan word for snow, Nevat ages for two or three months until the rind is bloomy and the paste inside is soft and creamy under the edge but cakey and more dense toward the center. With a little time to warm at room temperature, the long lasting flavors are tart and mushroomy with just a bit of surprising grassy sweetness.