Wednesday, May 18, 2011

It's Spring and a Girl's Thoughts turn to.... Lamb and Lilacs



   A couple of weeks' spate of travel, moving trucks, and unpacking have denied me blogging time, but I'm back.  As I write, the books are still stacked, the dishes are in disarray, the painters are scraping merrily and loudly, and the most recent house guests just took off for the interstate.  The crazy life has left us reaching into our back pockets for meals we can fix blindfolded, and here's an easy, elegant supper for a cool spring evening...


Grilled Lamb Chops and Roasted Carrots, Potatoes and Red Onions serves 4

12 carrots, peeled, trimmed, and cut into 1-2" pieces on a decided angle
12 small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half or quarters
2 large red onions, cut into eights (trim so blossom end is barely cut off- so onion pieces hold together)
4T fresh rosemary, minced
1t kosher salt; 1/2 t freshly ground pepper
1/4 c olive oil (Plain old oil is fine--needn't be extra virgin.)

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Place vegetables on a large, rimmed baking sheet.  Toss with olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper.  Roast for 30-40 minutes until tender and crispy at edges.




8 lamb chops ( I like loin chops, but shoulder chops would do!),
3T olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat grill pan over high heat.  Meantime, brush lamb with oil and season liberally with salt and pepper.  Place lamb chops on hot grill and cook 2-4 minutes each side, depending on how done you like your lamb.  2 minutes will be rare, 3 medium, etc.  You can also choose to grill for 1 minute and finish cooking the chops in the oven.  Whichever way you choose, you might want to test the temperature of the chops.  Not everyone will agree, but I think 130 degrees F is about medium...still pink, but not rare and not done.  Try 120 for rare and 140 for medium-well done.  Let meat rest 3-5 minutes before serving.

 Need something green?    Asparagus, of course.  Grill or steam--your choice.  It's that time of year.
Taken last May at Pike Place Market in Seattle.
 Wine:    We drank an Aussie Shiraz with this meal.  Forefathers makes their McLaren Vale Shiraz moving toward spicy, but not terribly peppery.  Ours was an 05 and ready to go.
Dessert:  I hate to admit I made apple-raisin bread pudding, topped with a baby-sized slug of Asbach-Uralt (German brandy...Weinbrand, actually.) and a spoonful of ice cream.  What else do you do with old baguette?






 Two-Dog Kitchen and Around the New 'Hood
  Our 100-year old lilac trees are about to burst the bounds of beauty..two more days til full-bloom.


You always knew I was a Bleeding Heart, right?





 

Just back from walk to the Mississippi River and back.

White Bleeding Hearts

Driveway tulips.


West side tulips and strawberries just beginning to bloom

Going outdoors--my favorite distraction.

Before clearing room for piano

How to put rugs down when the dirty floor is covered with boxes?
 
Who bought all those serving pieces and quiche dishes anyway?

The cookbooks start to go up.

From naturalized front yard

Unpacked books from boxes making way for piano

More cookbooks up

Piano window area cleared for piano delivery

Now you don't see it, now you do.

The new big mess.

Office furniture delivered and installed...unpacking now

Our hundred-year old lilac trees beginning to bloom.  May 18, 2011.

Joyce Smith visits from Sandpoint

Almost bloomed tiny lilacs on trees.
All the way from Colorado Springs to The Groveland Tap...Sara loved it.

Mother's Day Weekend in Princeton--Wine-Tasting Luncheon


Sing a new song,
Alyce


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