I Really Have Been Cooking Lately ...

You'd never know it from the posts. Lots of issues right now and these take up real estate in my brain. However, what's taking up real estate in my appetite (and nether regions post-repast) is this:

Garlic-Rosemary Lamb Chops with Blackberry-Balsamic Sauce

Garlic-Rosemary Lamb Chops with Blackberry-Balsamic Sauce

For the chops:

2 lb. Lamb Chops

2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped fine

3/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper, ground

olive oil

For the sauce:

1 cup balsamic vinegar

3 fresh rosemary sprigs

1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, whole

1 9 oz. jar blackberry fruit spread (real fruit)

two grinds of a black pepper mill

Combine the sauce ingredients in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Simmer the sauce until it is reduced to about 1 cup of liquid and coats the back of a spoon. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve, working it across the mesh to get most of the sauce out. Discard the solids.

Heat the broiler.

Rub the chops with the oil, then sprinkle on the garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper, both sides. Broil the chops 4-5 inches from the heating element, about 3-1/2 minutes per side for medium rare depending on the thickness. Grilled is better, so if you can do that, I recommend it. Serve with sauce.

The sauce on this dish is a reduction sauce, my favorite. It is complex enough to make a simple, roasted meat special, but it won't overpower the lamb.

The sauce on this dish is a reduction sauce, my favorite. It is complex enough to make a simple roasted meat special, but it won't overpower the lamb.

After the recent meat recall from downer cows, I decided I have had it with any trust in school lunch programs — even our private school. Their menu is, well, if a three-year-old asks you to pack her lunch, you can guess the rest. I did call the supplier of meats for the school, though. Just to be sure none of their product was included.

I'm trying to create some lunch box-friendly vegetable dishes. I liked a similar slaw from Gourmet, but it was a bit too much for kids with olives and some other pungent ingredients. This version should be a new favorite way to eat carrots.

Carrot-Raisin Slaw

For a recent faux-Mex night, I wanted to make a black bean dish, but also wanted to bump the nutrition in it with sweet potatoes. This is a nice side for southwestern flavors.

Black Beans and Sweet Potatoes


Find this post and many other recipes in this week's Recipe Carnival.