Lamb Chops & Bacon Mac’n’Cheese

Dinner tonight was broiled garlic-rosemary lamb chops with bacon, sharp cheddar & Parmigiano-Reggiano mac’n’cheese.

Several weeks back I picked up a family pack of lamb chops on sale. Last night I pulled the last set out of the freezer. I wanted to do the garlic-rosemary combination that I did on my first lamb chops. To my chagrin, I was out of fresh garlic. I ground together some dried garlic and rosemary in my mortar and pestle, but needed some liquid, so I added a little bit of fish sauce. I rubbed this combination on the lamb chops and set them aside while I made the mac’n’cheese.

I took the last of a package of bacon (~ 1/4lb), diced it and threw it in my 12″ cast iron skillet. I cooked it till it was nice and brown, then removed the bacon to a plate. I transferred the grease to a small sauce pan and added some flour to make the roux for my mac’n’cheese. The cheese was a blend of sharp cheddar and Parmigiano-Reggiano that I grated earlier this week. I assembled the mac’n’cheese and spread the bacon on top.

I broiled the lamb chops for 3-4 minutes per side and then rested them while I broiled the mac’n’cheese.

The lamb chops were really good. The mac’n’cheese was good but not as good as my normal recipe. I did not care for the cheese combination and there was too much bacon (who knew that was even possible). With dinner, I had a nice Russian River Valley pinot noir.

Read Full Post »

Garlic & Rosemary Lamb Chops

I’d never made lamb chops before, but they were on sale last weekend, so I picked up a package. The first serving I decided to do like this Lamb Chop Ideas.

I mixed dried rosemary (my rosemary bush is currently buried in snow) and garlic in my mortar and pestle, then rubbed it into the chops. I put the oven rack in the top position and preheated the broiler on high. I salted the chops right before putting them under the broiler, for 4 minutes per side. I was a little disappointed with the sear I got, but was absolutely shocked on the even medium doneness of the chops. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a piece of meat cooked more evenly. I have two more servings, and I’m tempted to cook them just like these.

Read Full Post »

Vegas dining

As mentioned previously, I recently went to Vegas.  I did not get to choose where I ate, but the food was good.

Cafe Bellagio-Colorado Grilled Lamb

I have never been a huge fan of lamb.  I’ve always looked at it as simply over-priced pork.  I chose this dish because it came with rosemary-polenta.  The polenta was this lovely little cake with pieces of rosemary visible.  The texture was fabulous and the taste was good too.  My medium-rare lamb chops varied from medium-rare to medium.  The bed of green beans and carrots that the lamb chops rested on were both overdone.

Studio Cafe (MGM Grand)-Southwest Lasagne

This dish more resembled a soup than any lasagne I’ve ever seen.  There was a column of tortillas in the center of the bowl surronded by concentric rings of guacamole and tomato.  The taste was subtle, I can’t remember last time I tried a Mexican-type dish were you could actually taste the tomatoes.  They served it with sweet cornbread.  The cornbread was good, but it was a little too sweet for me and they did not let it cool long enough, so it got a little soggy where they stacked it in the basket.

Coffee Shop (Treasure Island)-Smoked Jalapeno Penne

This was a chicken pasta dish served with a spicy cream sauce.  It was good but not entirely memorable.

Read Full Post »