Lamb-tastic Chops with Rosemary and Garlic

Hey boos!

Wow, it's been a while since I posted too. F-bomb, thanks for your philosophical musings. It sounds very smart aside from the fact that anchovies are mega gross.

I had my friend June over for dinner last night, who is currently on a food cleanse to try and figure out what's irritating her stomach. In any case, I had to meal plan around an extensive one-page document of do's and don'ts, which lead me to just say eff-it, I'll cook meat, even though I'm mildly terrified of doing so given that I've cooked vegetarian all my life. A trip to Blah-blahs (Loblaws) later, I found this recipe, and it was sooooo good. I might have to do it again tonight. I was cooking on the fly so didn't have time to marinate at all, and compensated by just making hella marinade. It worked out just fine. My sides were quinoa, shitake mushrooms, and asparagus salad.

 

The things:

• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried
• 1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 18 small lamb rib chop

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)

The actions:

Combine first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Rub about 1/4 teaspoon mixture over each side of each chop. Sprinkle chops with salt; place on plate. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours. 

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add 9 chops to skillet; cook to desired doneness, about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to platter; cover with foil. Repeat with remaining oil and chops. Garnish platter with rosemary sprigs, if desired.

Courtesy of Epicurious

Freedom

Hi loves! I miss you.

I have not been posting here recently because I have hardly used a recipe in months. I have hardly used a recipe and I think I am finally learning how to cook. I have been inspired by my various roommates over the last year who have come home many nights and whipped up a meal for one with whatever's in the fridge. By contrast, the contents of the fridge would stare out at me blankly and I felt overwhelmed and left them be, preferring a couple of slices of bread from the freezer toasted.

My roommates were the inspiration, but a particular book has been the tool that helped me overcome my reliance on recipes and the belief that everything worth making takes at least one hour. The book is called An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler. It's prose but not one of those cooking memoirs, it's very much about how to cook.

She writes, for example:
 "If we were taught to cook as we are taught to walk, encouraged first to feel for pebbles with our toes, then to wobble forward and fall, then had our hands firmly tugged on so we would try again, we woul learn that being good at it relies on something deeply rooted, akin to walking, to get good at which we need only guidance, sense, and a little faith."

The book is about taking small experimental steps in cooking and learning from each one. She has basically a whole chapter on boiling water. She has another chapter on anchovies. She starts by talking about how to find good anchovies and then provides some areas for exploration. Try them fresh, packed in oil, packed in salt. Try them plain. Learn their flavour. Then mash them with plenty of garlic, olive oil and butter and try this sauce on a variety of boring kitchen standards: boiled potatoes, wedges of raw cabbage, soft-boiled egg, lightly boiled celery, or endive. Experience their flavour in combination with other simple flavours. I think through this constant experimentation you develop instincts about cooking that allow for greater complexity down the line.

I tend to only peruse the book while standing in the kitchen waiting for my oatmeal to finish so I haven't read it all, but the overwhelming message appears to be to taste everything you do, at each stage. I'm getting pretty good at this. And I have never enjoyed cooking like I do now.

Kisses to all...