My Favorite Meal

Lamb chops are absolutely my favorite dinner food. Having only had them for the first time about three years ago, it did not take me long to develop a deep and intense love for these succulent little bits of savory meat and bone. I always serve them with corn on the cob baked with spices because the baked spices provide a nice little "dip" for the lamb. Tonight I also made a tabbouleh salad, which my husband loves served with tangy plain yogurt.


Baked Corn on the Cob (Collected from somewhere but I cannot recall where)

This dish only works with fresh corn on the cob. Frozen is just too mushy even when completely thawed out first.

4 ears of fresh corn
1 stick of melted or margarine, or olive oil
2 tablespoons or more of ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt (I like the crunch of kosher salt but table salt would work just as well)
1 or 2 tablespoons chopped or minced garlic
1 handful of fresh cilantro (dried works fine too)
A sprinkle of red pepper flakes, if desired
Fresh cracked pepper
Aluminum foil

To be honest I don't really measure my ingredients when making this corn. We like lots of spices so that we can dip our lamb. I use quite a bit and the measurements provided here are only estimates. You should wrap each ear in an individual foil packet for best results. When I am out of foil or being lazy I do make this in a covered baking dish but you must add a little water if doing so or the corn and spices will dry out.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In individual foil packets place one ear of corn. Pour some butter or oil over the corn and roll it around to wet it. Be generous with the butter or oil. You need it to keep the spices moist while baking. Add the spices to taste. Bake for about an hour depending on your oven. My current oven takes one hour but my previous oven took about 45 minutes. (It was a beautiful shiny convection oven that we had to leave behind when we moved to Denver. I was very sad.) I've never tried this on the grill but I bet it would be a great.


Lamb Chops or Rack of Lamb (Collected and adapted from The Joy of Cooking)

Lamb chops and rack of lamb seem to be exactly the same thing to me. I'm no lamb expert but it seems that lamb chops are just the already separated rack of lamb. The best lamb is the New Zealand or Australian lamb that you can buy in places like Fresh Market. It is unbelievably tender and less fatty than some other lamb. It is also quite pricey. We only buy Halal meat (Halal is to Islam what Kosher meat is to Jews) and the market that we buy from sells American lamb.

If you by a rack of lamb here is how you prepare it. Open what is usually an incredibly difficult to manage package without slicing off your finger. Pull out the rack and put it on the counter. On one side of the rack there should be this thick white THING. That is called the "fell" and you have to cut it off. So slide your knife under it and slice of off. It should cut away pretty simply. There will be sections of it still left near the bones and it is best to try and get it off because it tastes kind of waxy. But, it still will not ruin the taste if you can't get it all. Don't worry; just try not to eat that part.

If you buy lamb chops there is very little that needs to be done. Sometimes you might have to trim a little fat but a good butcher will have already done so. Our local halal market has cute and flirty teenagers running the butcher's counter. They've probably never cooked so much as a Hot Pocket so I doubt they know to trim off the extra fat.

I like to use my iron skillet because we like a little crunchiness on the edges of the meat. True lamb connoisseurs would be appalled by what I am about to say but here's the truth - we don't like our lamb rare or even medium rare, we like it nice and well done and crunchy.

So, over medium heat melt 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. The butter is for taste and the olive oil can take the high heat. Place the lamb chops gently in the pan and add salt and pepper. Cook on each side for 4-8 minutes depending on how well done you want your lamb. Sometimes our market gives us very thick chops and they need at least 10 minutes on each side. Just cook them until the juice is no longer red. Easy, right?


Tabbouleh Salad (Collected from various different sources and then adapted to fit my needs)

This is a great side dish topped with plain yogurt. The yogurt provides a nice creamy tang to the sharp and deep herb and lemon flavors in this dish. I make it up on Sundays and then my husband takes it to work all week long.

2 bunches of fresh cilantro, chopped or cut with kitchen shears,
2 bunches of parsley, chopped or cut with kitchen shears
3 cucumbers, sliced into bite-sized pieces
5 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup of bulgur wheat
1 cup water
a pinch of dried mint
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

Bulgur wheat is kind of like couscous but the two are not very interchangeable. I buy mine in the bulk food section of Whole Foods. I've never had any luck finding it at Target or Walmart.

You must seed the tomatoes or the salad will be watery. To do this, I just slice my tomatoes and then scoop out the seeds with a soup spoon.

In a small saucepan, boil the water. When you get a good boil add the bulgur wheat and remove from heat. Cover and let sit while you make up the rest of the salad.

In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, salt, lemon juice, and mint. Taste it. It should taste sharp, very lemony and salty.

In a larger bowl, add in the cucumber, tomatoes, parsley, and cilantro. Mix in the bulgur wheat and add the dressing. Mix together well and serve topped with plain yogurt.

I decided that my blog needed a picture or two so the above image is how my dinner looked. It might not be the purtiest thing in a dress but it tasted great.