Easter Dinner - Roasted Leg of Lamb and Turkey Breast

I never pass up a holiday that I can cook for and Easter with the traditional foods that I grew up with is no exceptions. Although I have to admit I don't know if I follow many of our recipes too closely. I'd like to think that I have come up with a good version of my mother and grandmothers cooking but with my own set of ingredients. I have so much respect for my elders when I host a holiday dinner. There was always so much at our holiday spreads and it was always homemade! My easter was a bit smaller - only four of us turned out - but the spread was pretty impressive. One of the best parts of the dinner was the "drunk" girl roasted potatoes that my good friend Jema provided! Not only were they delicious but I loved the story.

This year I decided that I would butterfly my lamb roast and stuff it with a mint chimichurri - it was easy to assemble because my lamb roast had one of those elastic mesh "girdles" on it. I served it with bacon wrapped asparagus which is a decedent twist on the spring time classic. The turkey breast was obtained for free (yay!) due to some smart shopping and a great holiday special at Shoprite. Turkey breasts are such a great option for holidays - they take much less time than a whole turkey and still have all of the deliciously tender white meat that most people enjoy.

As always I brined my turkey, I find it hard to eat poultry prepared any other way recently as brining is just so easy and delicious (though it does take a bit of advance planning)

keep reading for the recipe for the turkey breast

Valentine's Day Dinner

It was around noon on Monday that I decided that it just wasn't right to have leftover soup on Valentines Day. Even though we weren't planning on going out and instead had plans to go and work out, I didn't want to make dinner so 'normal'. So when I ran to the store and saw the last package of baby lamb chops sitting right in front of me - Perfect! I had been talking to a friend who was making lamb for the first time that night for her fiance and it was right in the front of my mind.

This time I took the extra step of removing the small piece of fatty meat under the chop to make them "Frenched". This step makes it much easier to eat the lamb chop and turns it into just a few choice bites.... A luxurious dinner if there ever was! For this dinner, I applied a rub of sea salt, fresh crushed pepper and rosemary and seared the chops on my grill pan. Only about 15 min from fridge to dinner plate - good food doesn't have to take a long time to make!

Baby Lamb Chops

They are just so irresistible. Baby Lamb Chops just are decadent, delicious and oh so savory. This fast cook just needs a herb rub before a quick sear and then a few minutes warming in the oven at 350 F.  They make a great little appetizer or first course.....

7/22/10 - Lamb Chops

I really love the taste of lamb but the price usually has me looking for alternatives. Earlier this year I splurged on some Frenched baby lamb chops.... and boy were they delicious! This week we were expecting company again and some how I had nothing ready so a quick run to the store was in order. I was pleasantly surprised to see that lamb loin chops were on sale for a very reasonable $5.99/lb while they weren't exactly like the ones from Whole Foods I didn't mind paying 50% of the price! Only Lamb rib chops are "Frenched" (which means cutting away the meat as to expose the bone) so they didn't have the lovely little 'handle' instead they were more like a little miniature T-bone! But either way I found them to be very good.

Again all I did was a simple seasoning with a bit of "steak seasoning" (salt, pepper, garlic, dill, crushed red pepper) that I have in a grinder and seared them on a hot grill pan for about 3-5 min per side. I served them with an ancient grain mix from Trader Joe's which is my fast easy go-to when company unexpectedly arrives. I also made a veggie mix (not pictured) of sauteed zucchini, onion, pepper, mushrooms, new zealand spinach, and some diced tomatoes in some garlic seasoned with salt & pepper.

4/24/10 - Greenmarket Fresh Spring Salad

Even though its still just April, the Green Market in Union Square in NYC is open! I have been craving the sunshine and fresh foods, so we decided to take a trip in this afternoon to see the offerings. While its still early for most vegetables the first greens have begun to arrive and even some early greenhouse grown produce. Also there is many fresh farm products including cheeses, meats and baked goods.

Once we got home, it wasn't long before I was preparing our food score into a nice fresh lunch. I tried to keep things simple as to showcase all the beautiful flavors from the food. A blend of micro-greens and baby spinach formed the base of the salad and was topped with some apple, crumbled cheddar and seared lamb sausage. I dressed the salad with a mild vinaigrette that I mixed from red wine vinegar, oil and mustard. I also had fun teaching Jeremy to shuck a cherry stone....which was quite interesting since he is a lefty so it was all backwards!

This was what we brought home: 
1/2 cheddar & jalapeno loaf (he loves it but its a little spicy for me!) $7
1/4 lb sharp cheddar (we also tried some medium aged alpine) $4.50
bunch of ramps (I had to see what the fuss was about!) $3
bottle of bittersweet hard cider (also tried an ice wine and a pear & peach wine) $14
flat of basil plants, hot peppers and lettuce (since we didn't kill the parsley, cilanto, chives and oregano we have going yet we are going to give it a go!)
4 pack of lamb & rosemary sausages $12
mixed swiss chard $3
baby spinach $5
micro green mix
2 small juices (fuji apple and apple currant) $3
and best for last.....1 doz cherry stones $5 and 1 doz little necks $6

4/4/10 - Easter Dinner....Boneless Leg of Lamb

We were with family all weekend but left early on Sunday to beat traffic, which means I made my first ever Easter dinner. With lamb on sale this week at the store I couldn't resist picking up a small boneless leg to attempt a roast. I left it to defrost in my refrigerator on Friday afternoon and came home Sunday morning hoping that everything would be ready to go (it was!). We had a friend joining us so I tried to have dinner ready by 5 pm but as always I was a off by an hour. I assumed that the stores were closed because of the holiday, so I had to throw a nice dinner together with the left overs from the week.

I was a bit perplexed when I saw that my roast was wearing this elastic girdle but quickly figured out that it was a clever way to "tie" the roast. I studded the roast with garlic and lemon before coating it in salt & rosemary which infused a lot of flavor throughout the meat. I was happy that I got the roast on the right side of med- rare/ med line and everyone was happy. I added a side of raspberry chipotle maple glazed carrots, asparagus wrapped in bacon and finally a baked potato (simple but delicious!). I also served a small salad to start - mixed greens salad topped with pear and cheese (pictured above).