What I had for Dinner

So, as I mentioned earlier today, I'd be cooking dinner. It's a rare occasion that I do decide to cook on a weeknight. Usually it's leftovers from the weekend or something that we're nuking up; otherwise, it's some brown rice or quinoa with steamed veggies - nothing particularly exciting from Chef Laura's kitchen.

However, I was inspired by a certain friend who had offered to cook dinner for their date, and decided I'd treat Daryl to a delicious weeknight meal, even if it wasn't as lavish as the one we had on a Monday night a few weeks ago at Aqua.

Anyway, I even planned in advance (like one day) - we had this rack of lamb in the freezer that I decided to use, plus fresh baby asparagus tips from the market on Sunday. Remember that romesco sauce I made the other day for the Gigya party? Well, no time like the present to use up leftovers.

I haven't exhausted my use of the grill yet either, and have learned some tricks. Turns out that roasting potatoes on the grill take about half as long as when you do them in the oven - so I did that first. I wrapped some assorted baby potatoes (purple peruvian, fingerling, banana, ruby crescent) coated in the romesco sauce, in foil, then stuck them under the hood for about 25 minutes, which was just in time for Daryl to get home and for me to prep the rest of the ingredients, which wasn't that hard anyway.

I'll be writing more about my little farm soon, but currently while everything is kind of just shooting up in Spring, my herbs are just thriving! I only snipped off a sprig of rosemary and some mint, since they are still baby plants and i don't want to kill them just yet. (I'm really excited about our first batch of tomatoes & veggies though!)

I sliced the rack of lamb into individual cutlets so that they'd cook easier, then brushed them with the minced herbs and olive oil. For the asparagus, I lightly dressed them in the balsamic vin that I had made last week for the roasted veggie salad - it really is a great marinade to have on hand, and you can get the recipe below.

Once Daryl got back, I got to grilling the lamb chops which were done in like 5 minutes, and then the asparagus, another 3.

All in all, it took 30 minutes to get the plate ready - Herb Scented Lamb Cutlets with Marinated Asparagus and an Assortment of roasted Potatoes with Romesco sauce. I also served it with the apple mint jelly that I made from Easter. The jelly is keeping so well, and it pairs up perfectly with so many things (lamb, beef, cheese plates, bread, etc etc), that I think I'll be doing some canning soon to have it as a staple in my pantry.

I'm really loving this outdoor grill/fresh food/gourmet dinner thing now; but I don't expect that I'll be cooking like this everyday that's for sure...

More to come soon!

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Use this to marinade meats, or for a quick salad dressing. It's a tasty sauce to always keep handy in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before using each time. Keeps almost forever.

Makes 1 Cup

1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
3/4 Cup Good Quality olive Oil
1 Tbs Shallot, Miced
1 Tbs Garlic, Minced
2 Tbs Parsley, Minced
1 Tbs Mixed herb like oregano, thyme, mint, basil, minced

Zest of 1 orange

Salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender, until oil & vinegas form an emulsion
Season to taste
If mixture separates while in storage, shake well before next use