Lamb with horseradish panko crust cont.'d

Wow! This turned out even better than it sounded (see previous post for recipe)! Of course, I didn't follow the recipe religiously and just kind of went with it... Adding more of some, less of that. I think the biggest impact came from using 2 different kinds of mustard: Maple Maine Champagne Mustard from Stonewall Kitchen, and inglehoffer's Original stone ground mustard. Brussel sprouts par-boiled and pan fried with a Balsamic Basil vinaigrette, and wild rice accompanied the meal. An excellent wine to serve with this dinner is Pine & Post Merlot from Washington state.

Things I learned while making this recipe- do not add the Panko crust to early! I pan seared the lamb (1min each side), then placed it under the broiler. I broiled the meat for 3 minuets on one side, then turned them over. After turning, I spread the horseradish/mustard mixture on top, generously sprinkled the Panko crust atop that, and returned it to heat under the broiler. HOWEVER... The Panko crust started burning. The lesson, kids, is go to ahead and broil with the horseradish/mustard mixture, but do not add the Panko crust until the very last second.

Brussel sprout Chicken skillet

I had no clue what I was going to do for last night for dinner. All I know is I had made up some potato salad and figured it would go well with grilled marinated chicken... Except the only chicken I had in the freezer were whole birds, and the gas grill was out of propane. So, I asked my boyfriend to pick up chicken breasts on his way home from work -though by the time he got in, it was to late to do much with them (b/t/w, never send a hungry man to the grocery store). So, I just threw something together right quick, and it tasted fabulous. And, since I made it up, I'm naming it Brussel Sprout Chicken Skillet.

This is all I did:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Sprinkle 3-4 chicken breasts on both sides with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Set aside.
Parboil some halved brussel sprouts for about a minute in salted water.
Heat up a cast iron skillet with bacon grease (approx. 3 tbsp.), and brown 1/2 a medium onion and 2 cloves of garlic in it.
Add the drained brussel sprouts to skillet. Cook/fry them up for 4-6 minutes.
Push brussel sprouts to sides of pan, and add chicken in the middle.
Sear chicken for 1-2 min. per side.
Place skillet in oven until chicken reaches 155 degrees internal temperature (20-30min.)
Rest chicken for 5 minutes before serving.