Lamb Chops on the Grill

When a dear friend calls and says, ‘Would you cook for me? I really feel like lamb. I’ll even pick up the lamb.’ How can you say no?

The original plan was for rack of lamb, but we finally had a day with a break in the heat. The grill and eating outside was really the way to go. Change plans. Racks out. Chops in. Good thing I really am an adaptable gal.

Now comes the agonizing part … at least for me … marinade. I needed a theme for the meal, at least a direction. I mean, how can you decide what to serve with all of this without picking a marinade flavor profile. Everything else has to follow suit.

Pouring through the books on my bookshelves, I came across Ina Garten’s recipe for lamb kabobs in the Barefoot Contessa at Home. The recipe had a decidedly Mediterranean slant, Greek even, so it was off to the races!

I modified the recipe from kabobs to chops and it was fabulous … if I do say so myself!

• 16 loin lamb chops
• 2 T minced garlic
• 2 T minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 4 t minced fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 C mild olive oil
• 1/2 C dry red wine
• 4 T red wine vinegar
• 1 t Kosher salt

NOTE: Use whatever amount of lamb chops you’d like. This fed 3 hungry people with leftovers! I would think 2 or 3 chops per person … they’re so tiny!

Place the chops in a glass dish – I used a 9×11 Pyrex.  Season the chops with salt and pepper. Whisk together the garlic, rosemary, thyme, olive oil, red wine, vinegar, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl. Pour over the chops. Cover with saran wrap and let marinate for a few hours or over night.

You can either – heat a charcoal grill with coals and spread the coals in 1 tight layer on the grill.  Or use a gas BBQ. Whichever way you go, make sure not to over cook these little beauties. They go from almost done to over done in seconds.

I served this with hummus and pita chips to start, lemony potatoes, fatoush salad and tzatziki. YUM! The rest of the recipes to follow!

Italian Wedding Soup

It’s been cold here – and not just in an ‘oh, I need a scarf today’ kinda way. This has been cold to the bone, mind numbing cold. The kind of cold that makes you longingly look back at home just seconds after leaving home. And this is during the shank of the day.

Now imagine having to be out there in the middle of the night working. My poor lovey works way too hard, for too many hours, freezing. In order to keep him (semi) happy and warm, the soup of the week is adapted from Ina Garten’s Back to Basics.

Meatballs

• ¾ lb ground chicken
• ½ lb chicken sausages, casings removed
• 2/3 C fresh bread crumbs
• 2 t  garlic, minced
• 3 T fresh parsley, finely chopped
• ¼ C freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• ¼ C freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, plus extra for serving
• 3 T milk
• 1 extra large egg, lightly beaten
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

NOTE: For some reason my supermarket chose this week to be out of both chicken and Italian sausage. I was able to find already cooked Italian chicken sausage, so I just minced that up.  I used whole wheat bread for the bread crumbs.

Soup:

• 2 T good olive oil
• 1 C yellow onions, minced
• 1 C ¼” diced carrots (2-3 depending on the size of the carrots)
• ¾ C ¼” diced celery
• 10 C chicken broth
• ½ C dry white wine
• 1 C small pasta like tubetini or stars
• ¼ C fresh dill, minced
• 12 oz/340g baby spinach, washed and trimmed

NOTE: I can’t say it enough, it was really very hard for me not to use my crappy olive oil. I am so glad Ina cleared it up by telling me I should use the good stuff. I cheated. I used stock in a box – low sodium stock in a box, but in a box just the same. I used a bag of baby spinach. It was a 10 oz. bag, but there was still a lot of spinach in the soup.

We start with the meatballs.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and combine gently with a fork. Using a teaspoon, drop small (1” or so) meatballs onto the baking sheet. There should be about 40 meatballs.

NOTE: Being the lazy sod that I am, I used a cookie scoop. These really don’t need to be perfectly round meatballs.

Bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.

NOTE: I couldn’t resist. I had to try one. These are really good. You would be heard pressed to know that these were chicken and not beef.

Now, for the soup.

Heat the olive oil over medium low heat in a large heavy bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and sauté until softened (about 6 minutes or so), stirring occasionally.

Add the chicken broth and wine and bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook until the pasta is tender. Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for a couple of minutes. Taste and add salt & pepper if necessary.

NOTE: I left out the dill. I forgot to buy it and really didn’t think it would make a big difference. I did add the pasta at this point. I knew this soup would be completely consumed within 5 days so the pasta would hold up. It you are going to make this and freeze it, skip the pasta. When you defrost the soup, cook a little bit of pasta and then stir it into the soup.

Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes until the spinach leaves begin to wilt. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan cheese.

NOTE: Definitely a keeper and something to do again. It seems like a lot of ingredients and that it would be fiddley because of them, but this comes together easily and quickly. I know it’s good when I get a peck on the cheek after tasting!

Popovers

One of the choices this month for the Barefoot Bloggers was Ina Garten’s Popovers from her fabulous cookbook Parties.I have always wanted to try Popovers or Yorkshire Pudding, but always seemed to talk myself out of it. I was making a roast, so it seemed this would be the ideal time to try this recipe.

I have to tell you that my son spent half the meal imitating of the character of Billy Sparrow from My Blue Heaven – he repeated “It’s a popover” over and over again. Sigh.

• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus softened butter for greasing pans
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups milk, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Generously butter or oil aluminum popover pans or Pyrex custard cups.This recipe makes 12 popovers so you’ll need enough pans for 12.

NOTE: This was the first time I was making any sort of Popover or Yorkshire Pudding type thing, so I was hesitant to buy anything special. I used a cupcake tin.

Place the pans in the oven for exactly 2 minutes to preheat.

NOTE: I am not sure why EXACTLY two minutes, but hey, I go with the flow the first time through a recipe. Do the Popover Police show up ig you leave the pans in there for 2 minutes and 30 seconds? Do they flop of it 1 minute and 45 seconds?

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, salt, eggs, milk, and melted butter until smooth. The batter is thin. Fill the popover pans less than half full and bake for exactly 30 minutes. Do not peek.

NOTE: It is very tempting to peek. But unless you can peek through the window in your oven DON’T OPEN THE DOOR! 30 minutes was a minute or 2 too long. I should  have buttered the cupcake cups more, but for the most part the Popovers popped right out. Now, they are completely hollow, so they do seem to be a little silly – especially when you come form a family of bread eaters – but good nonetheless, especially with a lot of butter!