Wednesday, December 06, 2006

What's For Dinner?



Can you believe this? Doesn't this look gorgeous?? No offense to you vegetarians...we're a carnivorous lot over here.

I went to Safeway this morning. I was looking for a package of chicken to, you know, shake and bake. Or something equally exciting. I scanned the meat fridge. Chicken. Hamburger. Pork chops. This. My eye traveled back. This.

What is that? My brain asked at the same time that it provided an answer: something you see on the cover of a gourmet magazine. There should be little white paper chef's hats on each of those bones.

Oh.

What's it doing here at Safeway? I asked my brain.

I dunno, but it's severely marked down. Buy it!! My brain demanded.

We all had the best fun at dinner. This and mashed potatoes and gravy and roasted beets and carrots. THIS was yummy!


Oh yeah...and speaking of crowns, I finished another hat today. This one is done in Rowan Chunky Print in a colour called Girly Pink.



And...the back of the ribbed sweater is coming right along.



What's for dinner tomorrow? Leftovers!

4 comments:

Rosie Perera said...

Ooh, yummy! Rack of lamb! If you ever want to get adventurous and try to make it yourself, here's an awesome recipe from a cooking class I took. They are no longer offering amateur classes to the general public, so I presume it's fair game to publish the recipe. Besides it's already on the web here. However I'll gladly delete this comment if someone from Dubrulle stumbles upon this and says it shouldn't be here.

RACK OF LAMB WITH SUN-DRIED OKANAGAN BERRY SAUCE
Source: Dubrulle Culinary Institute (now subsumed into the Art Institute of Vancouver)

“Frenching” the rack of lamb (they often come already “frenched” from the grocery store, but you can clean it up a bit if you want):
• place the rack on the cutting board with the ribs pointing up
• score just above the “eye” of the chop – run the knife all the way across the rack
• on the curved side of the rack cut away all the excess fat
• cut in between each bone down to the eye
• peel or scrape the bones until the excess fat is removed
• if desired, remove the “deckle” (the small piece of meat sandwiched between two layers of fat on the outside of the rack)

Temperature:
• even the most experienced cooks have difficulty determining when a rack is done, so use an instant read thermometer for accurate testing
• lamb cooked beyond medium will have a strong flavor
• for rare: 115-125°F; medium rare: 125-135°F
• anticipate 5°-10° increase in temperature after removing from heat and let rest for 5 minutes before carving to set the juices

The lamb:
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup Dijon mustard
¼ cup freshly minced parsley, with fresh thyme and rosemary OR 1 tsp. herbes de Provençe
2 lb. rack of lamb

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rub the meat with olive oil. Combine the garlic and mustard and coat the meat with it. Pat on the parsley mixture. Choose a small pan that matches the size of the rack – an oven-proof skillet works well for finishing the sauce after. Place in the preheated oven and roast for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375° and test for internal temperature after 15 minutes [recipe unclear as to whether this means 15 more minutes after the original 10 or 15 minutes total; I cooked the lamb for about 20 minutes from start to finish and it was perfect]. Let the finished lamb rest in the pan for 10 minutes while finishing the sauce.

The sauce:
½ cup mixture of sun-dried berries, prunes, and or Mission figs
1 cup red wine or port
¼ cup balsamic or fruit vinegar
1 cup chicken or veal stock or wine, or ½ cup demi-glace
2-3 Tbsp. dark brown sugar or maple syrup, if desired
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Poach the fruit in the port or wine until softened. If using larger figs or prunes, macerate longer or split them to absorb the wine. Cook until port is reduced by half. Add the stock and reduce again.

Remove the lamb from oven and deglaze the pan with some of the port. Add the sauce to the pan and bring to boiling. Reduce to desired consistency. Taste for sweetness and adjust if necessary. Adjust seasonings and serve.

jayne said...

Oh yummy! Yummy!! Thank you for the fantastic recipe!! I love lamb.

That was actually a crown roast of pork. All I had to do was season it and throw it in the oven. Easy-peasy. But I'm keeping this lamb recipe. I will make that one for a very special occasion.

smariek said...

First chocolate, now this... I'm coming over to your house for dinner!!! lol.

Anonymous said...

Stop, stop, already! All this food! I'd write more, but I am hungry and have to go cook something...
(Hey Rosie, love the recipe and directions!)