The Best Meal I Have Ever Made

Just in time for Mother's Day... save it for Valentine's Day... here it is...

THE BEST MEAL EVER!!!

Well, for me, anyway.

I haven't made lamb in forever. It's just too darned expensive. The other day while perusing the "green meat case" (as my dad likes to call it), I discovered several racks of lamb marked 50% OFF!! I couldn't resist. I now regret not buying them all.

The only ways I have made lamb in the past is either marinating a boneless leg and cooking it on the rotisserie or marinating and pan-frying chops. I'd never done an intact rack before. But hey... cooking meat isn't rocket surgery as long as you read and follow instructions. I can do that.

And I did.

Please excuse the splooge of balsamic on the lamb, but this was THE BEST DAMN MEAL I HAVE EVER MADE!!! Roasted rack of lamb with garlic and herbs, truffled smashed red potatoes, and roasted asparagus with balsamic reduction. I impressed even myself.

Garlic and Herb Roasted Rack of Lamb

1 8-bone rack of lamb, bones frenched

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 1/2 T. fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1/4 C. Italian parsley, finely chopped

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

additional olive oil

Several hours before cooking, combine garlic, herbs, and olive oil in a small bowl. Allow to stand around and make snide comments about your cooking skills. Tell it to shove off every once in a while. Have a beer. About an hour before cooking, take lamb out of fridge. Turn on kitchen fan, open all windows, and disable smoke alarm by tearing it off the wall and throwing it in the utensil drawer. If you do this right, there's gonna be some smoke. Right before preheating skillet, pat lamb thoroughly dry with paper towels and season all sides generously with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 350°. Heat cast iron skillet large enough to hold the entire rack of lamb over medium-high. Add about 1 T. olive oil to skillet and heat until smoking. Sear all sides (except ends) until golden brown. Remove from heat and drain excess fat from pan. Spoon garlic and herb mixture onto meat side of rack, covering as much as possible. Roast in oven for 15 minutes. Cover lightly with foil and roast for another 10 minutes. Remove skillet from oven, remove lamb from skillet, and place on plate or cutting board to rest for 10-15 minutes. Slice as desired and serve.

*if there is any herb mixture left, set it aside for the potatoes*


Truffled Smashed Potatoes

3 lbs. red potatoes
2 large cloves garlic, peeled

kosher salt

1 - 8 oz container chive and onion cream cheese spread

1/4 to 1/3 C milk

any leftover garlic and herb mixture from lamb

2 t. black truffle oil

Scrub and cut potatoes into approximately 2" chunks. Place in large pot along with garlic cloves. Cover with water to about 1". Add a couple tablespoons of salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 min. Drain thoroughly. Add cream cheese, milk, leftover herb mix, and a pinch of salt, cover, and let stand for at least five minutes. Mash with hand masher. Add truffle oil. Mash some more. Stop when you like the consistency. Cover, let stand five minutes, stir, and serve.


Perfect Oven Roasted Asparagus

1 bunch asparagus, rinsed and tough ends snapped off, dried thoroughly

olive oil

kosher salt

Preheat oven to 375°. Place asparagus in a relatively single layer in roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle lightly with kosher salt, toss around, and roast for 7 minutes, tossing and turning asparagus halfway through. Remove from oven and serve as is or with your favorite topping, sauce, etc.

I didn't want to go to the grocery store...

We'd been out at our lake place for the past four days. The water out there is... different. It makes my hair do... strange things. I'd taken a shower the morning we left, so I didn't want to take another one the next day just to go to the grocery store, yet... 

The hair remained...

Okay, truth be told I could have easily straightened my hair and gone to the store for something, but I decided I would create another one of my self-challenges and make something from what I already had. 

Best decision ever.

BEHOLD!!! ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I HAVE EVER COME UP WITH!!!

Shrimp in Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce over Grilled Corn Polenta

(sounds pretty schmancy, huh? tastes like it too!)

This is grilled corn IN polenta, so technically it's a bbq dish. Just sayin'. Don't be intimidated.

Let us begin...

For the polenta -

2 ears fresh corn, shucked

4 C. chicken broth

1 C. polenta

1/2 C. Parmesan (I admit I used shaky cheese, but fresh grated would be so so much better)

Preheat grill. The temperature depends on what kind of grill you're using. I used my standard propane grill, all four burners on high. It just has to be really hot. Grill corn, rotating frequently, until browned grill marks appear... like this...

Remove from grill and cool until easily handled. Cut corn from cobs and set aside.

In a large sauce pan, bring chicken stock to a boil. Turn heat to low, whisk in polenta until thoroughly incorporated, and cover. Cook for 25 minutes, whisking every 5 minutes. Stir in cheese and corn thoroughly, cover, and set aside until the shrimp are done, about 5 minutes. It will set up quickly, so try to time it so the shrimp and polenta are finished at about the same time.

For the shrimp -

1 1/2 lbs. shrimp, shelled and deveined

6 slices bacon, diced

3 large cloves garlic, severely dealt with

1/3 C. green onions (about 6), sliced (a couple pinches reserved for garnish)

1 lemon, zested and juiced (you will need 1 tsp. of zest and 2 tbs. of juice, so that works out to about one small-to-medium lemon)

3/4 C. heavy cream (I never said this was diet-friendly... ha!)

large pinch of kosher salt

1/2 tsp. of your favorite hot sauce. I used Tapatio, and I would recommend Frank's, but Tabasco might have too much vinegar in it... that's up to your personal taste. Maybe cut back on the lemon juice if you use Tabasco... up to you.

In a large non-stick pan, fry bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels and drain all fat out of pan, except for what clings. Don't wipe out the pan. Return pan to medium heat, add garlic and green onions (remember to leave a little for garnish!), and saute for about 1 minute. Turn heat to medium-high and add shrimp. Saute until half done, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove to plate, scraping out as much of the garlic and green onion as possible. Return pan to stove and add cream, most of bacon (reserve a little for garnish), salt, hot sauce, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and reduce by half until thickened, about 8 minutes. Add shrimp back into pan and boil until shrimp are cooked through and sauce has re-thickened. 

Spoon polenta into shallow serving bowls (or whatever serving device you happen to have on hand) and spoon shrimp with sauce over. Garnish with reserved green onion and bacon. Eat and die happy.