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.

Early Spring!

Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog didn't see his shadow today, so an early spring is expected! Thank The Lord too, because I'm tired of all this snow!

Fried Chicken is on the menu tonight with steamed broccoli. As I promised a meal review of the past few days, we had Lamp chops with Cognac Cream Sauce (yummy! Recipe below) and baked sweet potatoes, oven baked cod fish -marinated in truffle flavoured oil, salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, and fresh dill- .served along with a garden salad and Spanakopeta. Yes, I finally attempted Spanakopeta (Greek Spinach Pie). A long process, but well worth it! Last night was the beef pie. I made the filling in a pan on the stove top vs. in the crock pot, which actually came out 100 times better.

Cognac Cream Sauce (from Cooks.com)

 

1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1 tsp. grated orange rind
1/4 c. sweet paprika
1/4 c. olive oil
Bay leaves
4 (2 inch) filet mignon
3 tbsp. cognac
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1/4 c. dark beer (optional)
1 tbsp. ketchup
1 tsp. Worcestershire
1/4 c. fresh minced parsley
1/4 c. heavy cream
Salt and pepper

 

Blend butter, lemon rind, orange rind, paprika, salt and pepper. In a skillet, heat oil with bay leaf on high heat, discard bay leaf and saute the filets for 12-15 minutes, turning. Take out and keep warm.Pour off oil and deglaze the skillet with cognac. Add butter mixture, onion and cook low until onion cooked. Stir in beer, ketchup, Worcestershire, parsley. Bring to a boil. Stir in cream. Season with salt and pepper and serve over filet mignon with rice. Serves 4.

Cranberry Glazed Lamb Chops

This will be my first time cooking Lamb, but I think I'm up to the challenge. Tonight's dinner will be a Cranberry Glaze on  Lamb chops, steamed asparagus served with from scratch Hollandaise sauce, as well as red potatoes quartered and roasted in olive oil with garlic and herbs. To top it off, we have paired this meal with a Cabernet Sauvignon. I can't wait to start eating- I mean- cooking!  And the part everyone in this household likes, is every time we make Hollandaise sauce it means Meringue cookies. Why? Because you can't let good egg whites go to waste! The Hollandaise only requires egg yolks, thus leaving a perfectly good excuse to use the egg whites on a simple tasty dessert.

To satisfy my time up until this [hopefully] awesome meal, it's time to work on making Holiday Cards. I cleaned the craft store out of a beautiful holly printed paper, now it's time to design and create...