Lamb Chops With Herbed Potatoes and Parmesan Asparagus For WHB*: I Need A Kitchen Fairy
It seemed so simple: marinate and sear some lamb chops. Broil asparagus and make mashed potatoes. How hard could that be? How much mess could it possibly make?
Last night’s dinner was delicious but it was one of those meals when apparently I needed just about every pan, gadget and utensil to orchestrate bringing it together. At some point, it just got away from me, but I kept going forward knowing that soon, I’d be indulging in a terrific meal.
Not to discourage you from making it. Sometimes, I’m just a spaz. Between staging the shots and timing the meat and God forbid-using the broiler (the kiss of death to any absent minded cook such as me), it was a real “ta-da” moment when I got to plate the food without- you know-causing a fire.
Lamb chops with herbed potatoes and parmesan asparagus is a delicious meal which, if your in the mood to use a few pans, is a real treat and value, considering a plate like this in a restaurant these days could cost you over $30 and perhaps even rub up near the $40 mark.
My lamb chops are from Costco, and when marinated and simply pan-seared, are absolutely delicious. The asparagus was on sale at Whole Paycheck Foods for $2.98 a pound, and the Alouette cheese spread was around $5 at Safeway.
So, roll up your sleeves, cook up a special meal, and know that although you have to clean the dishes after, you’ve just save a whole lot of money.
For the lamb
- 4-6 lamb chops
- 1 cup red wine
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced and zested
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 6 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed and stems discarded
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary (or 1 Tablespoon fresh)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- several grinds of fresh black pepper
Place all ingredients in an airtight baggie and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Take the bag out of the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to searing to get the chill off.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Remove lamb chops from marinade and freshly season with salt and pepper on each side. Heat a pan over high heat. Add about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to the pan (the oil should start to smoke) and add lamb chops. Sear lamb on each side for 3 minutes. Don’t move the chops while they are searing.
Place chops on a baking sheet and place in oven to cook until the internal temperature reaches 125 degrees before resting. This will give you medium-rare chops (see photos).
While chops are resting, place marinade liquid in pan and bring to a boil. Scrape up the fond (brown bits) and add 1/2 cup more red wine. Reduce sauce by half and add 2 Tablespoons of butter.
For the Parmesan Asparagus
Place asparagus on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Pour about 2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over asparagus and toss to coat. Arrange asparagus on sheet in a single layer and season with salt, pepper and 3 Tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Place asparagus in the 425 degree oven for 8 minutes and finish by turning on the broiler to melt the cheese.
For the Herbed Potatoes
Peel and quarter 2-3 large Russett potatoes. Place in a pot with cool water to cover. Bring potatoes to a boil and cook until they are fork tender. Drain water. Place as much butter as you like over potatoes and season with salt (and pepper if you like). Add milk or half and half, about a half a cup, and mash potatoes. Add 3 Tablespoons Alouette Garlic and Herb cheese spread.
*WHB- Weekend Herb Blogging is a really fun weekly food blogging event started by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. This week’s host is Zorra from Kochtopf.
I hate meals like this. Or maybe it’s just me as a cook that I hate. I’ll take the “simplest” meals from people like Rachael Ray, and it’ll take me an hour because I can’t multi-task and do everything all at once. I’m pretty fond of one-pot meals for this reason. Just throw everything in and stir.
Ha! RR has lots of production assistants to orchestrate her meals. I’ve NEVER made on of her meals in “under 30 minutes”
I love one pot meals to….I think that’s why I make soup all the time.
We’re all laughing because we’ve all been there! If we could all make a RR meal in 30 minutes, then I’m pretty sure we’d have a show on the Food Network. Back in December I tried to make these Pretzel Turtles I saw in her magazine, about twenty minutes in, I was ready to knock her out with my rolling pin! They were delicious when all was said and done, but definitely not worth the effort.
I know this problem, too. If you meet the kitchen fairy send her to me, please.
Thank you for your participation in WHB. Roundup should be online next Monday.
It does sound like a fantastic combination, even if you had to use every pan. I love those lamb chops from Costco. I can rarely manage photos if I’m cooking this type of meal, so I’d say you did very well.