• How to make tortillas and frittatas.
• Foods gone wild.
• The Plonk of the Month.
• The world of gastropubs.
• Who has the best hot dog in America?
• A review of Fast & Fit.
• Restaurants reviews: Village Grille and Cafe Italia.
• This week's recipes: Five Spice Lamb, Spicy Chicken with Orange-Mustard Sauce, Aromatic Couscous, and Lemon-Pepper Fettuccine with Asparagus and Shrimp.

OK, this is a couple of days late, but on Monday's episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, the host mentioned that in the new edition of Good Housekeeping, there's a recipe for the St. Patrick's Day Stew that O'Brien is famous for. Only one problem: it's not O'Brien's recipe, he doesn't cook, and he has no idea who sent this to the magazine. Here's video from the episode to see Conan's reaction (March 17 episode, around the 8:10 mark, right after the monologue).

Of course, that doesn't mean that we can't post the recipe here! It's after the jump.

EatingWell magazine ran a feature article about Niman Ranch, which works with a network of family farmers that adhere to strict standards to produce high quality beef, pork and lamb. Their guidelines include treating animals humanely, feeding them all-natural feeds, and allowing them to mature naturally, rather than in an unnatural, forced way. Niman Ranch is often regarded as an excellent example of a company that goes above and beyond the bare minimum standards set by the USDA for "natural" meat production. In addition to Niman Ranch, EatingWell included a list of other companies that pride themselves on the quality of their meats and the treatment of the animals in their care. Check out their whole list for more information on the individual companies, but the brands whose cuts made the cut are:

• Coleman Natural Foods
• Dakota Beef 
• Laura's Lean Beef
• Maverick Ranch Natural Meats
• Niman Ranch 
• U.S. Wellness Meats 

Remeber that amiable chap from the River Cottage TV series, the one with the beard who did things with meat? Ray - that's the chap. He is running a Lamb and Mutton Day at the River Cottage HQ in June and another in October. The one in June has Hugh FW in attendance as well.

 The one day event is demo based but you are encouraged to take part in the demonstrations at some point. What do you get for your £225? Basicaly how to get to grips with the carcass of a whole lambe 'transforming it into a range of delicious and manageable joints, plus meat for slow cooking, lamb-burgers etc'.

Whether you keep your own sheep (or plan to), or are interested in buying whole animals direct from local small producers, this course will give you all the basic kitchen know-how for dealing with a whole lamb, along with some delicious practical recipes too.

The day starts with two carcasses, one of a locally reared lamb, and one of either hogget (a one-to-two year old lamb), or mutton, Ray and the River Cottage team will demonstrate and explain the principals and process of butchering the carcass and how to prepare the various joints, both for the freezer and for immediate cooking. This is followed by demos for the various lamb offal cuts, as well as a slow cooked lamb or mutton casserole, and spicy lamb burgers. Half way through the day, guests will sit down to a special lamb lunch featuring recipes from the course. At the end of the day, you get to take home the lamb burgers.

• Springtime is baby time. No, not human babies, but lamb, microgreens, and tiny vegetables.
• Rice and peas: make it one day, and enjoy it the whole week.
• What if you made pot roast, but instead of pot roast you used ... cod?
• Ask the cook: how do you make that sauce that restaurants serve with filet mignon (scroll down)?
• This week's recipes: Radish Salad with Cucumbers and Avocado and Luxury Lemon Cake.

This is easily the most creative thing I have ever seen done with cinnamon rolls. Brynna, the extremely talented chef and author of Vegan Feast, made this adorable Cinnamon Roll Lamb out of sweet dough. It is no wonder that such delicious breakfast fare would be a hit with kids - and I have no doubt that it would be a hit with adults, too. Brynna's recipe is posted online if you would like to try it out yourself, but if you are not vegan and pressed for time, I am sure that you can use the prepackaged cinnamon rolls (from the grocery store) to similar effect . I wish I had thought to do this on Easter, but there is always next year. Not to mention next weekend!

Just in time for Easter, New York magazine offers a breakdown of all the varieties of lamb, providing details on the difference between Colorado and Australian lamb, for example. The article also offers up a recipe for Rack of Lamb with a Shallot Puree Chili Crumbs Crust. If you want more lamb recipes, check out the comprehensive list at web site Recipe Hound.

Guide to Differences in Lamb

• Colorado: Fed a mixture of grass and grain; lambs are larger; richer, more fatty meat.
• Australia: Grass-fed; leaner flesh; sweet mild flavor.
• Appalachia (Jamison Farm): Grass-fed; sweet and succulent.
• Milk-fed: Raised on milk and grain; slaughtered very young; tender and sweet meat.
• New Zealand: Grass-fed; lean and pale-colored meat; stronger flavor than Australian lamb.

Lamb is a meat that most people don't like until they've had it prepared really well. It has a full, meaty taste that is more assertive than beef, but definitely more addictive. Unfortunately, it is more difficult to prepare than it looks and it seems that the first place that many people encounter good lamb is in Australia. This was true for Lex Culinaria, but fortunately for use, she brought home a great recipe to share. Both Australia and New Zealand have better lamb than you are likely to find anywhere, but her braised lamb roast is simple and turns out a meltingly tender, juicy piece of meat - even when you only have frozen lamb available to you at the market.

• Exploring single-origin chocolates.
• A profile of chef David Kinch.
• Mark Bittman makes Steak Diane.
• Eric Asimov tastes Argentinian malbec.
• The bicerin: Turin's chocolate espresso.
• Florence Fabricant makes lamb skewers to go with her malbec.
• Chocolate cake with a secret center.

• "No spirit connotes lassitude and indolent relaxation like rum, at least nowadays." Eric Asimov and friends taste-test and report back - and no, Bacardi is not on the recommended list.
• "Somewhere between the black olive ice cream and the cough drop sorbet are simple frozen concoctions that can surpass far more elaborate desserts." Matt and Ted Lee pass along a few tips on making innovative frozen treats. The Sour Cream Ice Cream with fig topping sounds divine.
• This week The Minimalist explains how to save fried eggplant from the last-minute sog problem.
• Just because someone died, doesn't mean it can't be a party. Abe Opincar traces various post-funeral eating customs.
• Frank Bruni gives Taboon two stars, in no small part due to their "lamb kebabs, which are really more like quenelle-shaped hamburgers. They are made from ground lamb, parsley and pistachio nuts and drizzled with an extraordinary tahini sauce that [owner Danny] Hodak told me he imports from a vendor in Nablus in the West Bank."