And the Lamb Cried Rosemary

Wandering around Costco, I came across a saucy little six pack of lamb loin chops, tightly packaged, impatient to come home with me. I had homey visions of quickly searing them, then cooking 'em slowly for hours, much in the manner of beef short ribs.

Obviously, I'd never cooked a lamb loin chop. It seems the preferred method of cookery involves the hot flame of the grill. Not exactly what I'd had in mind for a chilly evening.

Lightbulb. I suddenly remembered the cast-iron stove-top grill plate I'd gotten for DucCat last Christmas.

Epicurious, as ever, proved a great source of inspiration. I finally settled upon Grilled Rosemary Lamb Chops - with so many glowing reviews, what could go wrong?

*beat*

Well, it's as simple as not reading the instructions precisely through from start to finish. I could've sworn I did, but had apparently missed the portion that read, "place on grill, then cover".

Ooops. DucCat did his best, and boy did they look great sitting up there in all their rosemary-drenched glory.

The cats began to circle, and even Shishi, our little lacto-ovo vegetarian feline, began sniffing with a curious nose.

Meanwhile, I pulled out my secret stash of brussles sprouts from the fridge, and set to cooking them up. The recipe was simple enough, and taken from Mark Bittman's "How To Cook Everything" (aka, My Bible).

These were quickly boiled until just tender, then pan-fried in butter with garlic and breadcrumbs. Once removed, they're doused with lemon juice and parsley, and ready to visit the table. In retrospect, I would have followed his suggestion for varying the recipe by topping this with some freshly grated Parmesan, but it was still quite good.


The red potatoes finished roasting just as the lamb was done resting. We sat down with great anticipation.


I sliced into the lamb, and took a bite.



The marinade had perfectly penetrated the lamb with just the right amount of rosemary and garlic.

Even better, DucCat had cooked it perfectly rare, just the way I like.

I dug in with gusto.


Moments later, I noticed that DucCat had sliced through all of his lamb, but hadn't taken more than a bite. He prefers his meat just a little more cooked through, and it was obvious that not a single piece had reached that stage.

Guess that would be due to not having covered them as they cooked away on our impromptu grill...

Luckily, we had a stash of Stouffer's products in the freezer, and the night ended well.

But, let this be yet another lesson to me-

ALWAYS READ THE RECIPE THROUGH!!!


Simmered Brussels Sprouts

1- 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed
2 Tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 Tablespoon plain bread crumbs
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring large pot of water to boil and salt it. Add sprouts, and keeping high heat, boil until just tender, about 1o minutes.
Drain and refresh in cold water.
(can prepare up to this point; refrigerate wrapped well, for up to 2 days before preceedingl.)
Place butter in a large deep skillet over medium heat and add garlic.
When butter foam subsides, add sprouts and breadcrumbs. Stir until hot, about 3 minutes.
Remove garlic, toss sprouts with lemon juice and parsley, season to taste and serve.

Note: to vary this recipe, top sprouts with one-quarter cup freshly grated Parmesan just before serving.