I confess that lamb was not something I had ever eaten prior to moving here to the UK. My mother did cook lamb chops once when I was a teenager, but they smelled like burning mittens so none of us would eat them.  I strongly suspect it was mutton and not lamb.  In any case, the smell was enough to put us all off for a very long time.

 

My mother often spoke of a lamb stew that she had enjoyed in the hospital when she was having my brother.  It was a taste memory that she carried with her all the days of her  life.  My brother just turned 60 last week, so that was a very long time to be thinking about what something tasted like.

 

I know all about that.  The summer before 12th grade I went on a school exchange trip and we stayed at Carlton University in Ottawa.  Each night we were taken to a restaurant in Ottawa called "The Cascade Restaurant."  The very first night I ordered the Barbequed Chicken.  It was so good I ordered it every night that we were there and I have been thinking about the taste of it ever since!

 

Taste memories can be very specific and they stick in your brain, often becoming even more delicious (or not as it were) in the memory as years go by!

 

My ex husband would never eat or try lamb because his father wouldn't and so it was not something I ever cooked when we were married. It was not until Todd and I got married that I took the risk of trying it. 

 

Our church congregation had taken us out for supper at a restaurant to celebrate our marriage and there was saddle of lamb on the menu at the restaurant.  I took a chance, ordered it and I have to say I fell in love with it at first bite.

 

This was proper lamb.  British lamb. Succulent, tender and almost sweet. It was incredibly edibly delicious.

 

Since the I have enjoyed lamb in many ways.  I do so adore a good lamb stew and I have several really delicious recipes fot that on here.  This Simple Lamb Stew is beautiful and probably my favourite. Then there is my Lamb Stew with Feather Dumplings, also very good. I also have a delicious recipe for Small Batch Irish Lamb Stew which is very pleasing!

  

I also have several recipes for lamb chops.  Spiced Lamb Chops with Roasted Roots. which has a very Indian-like feel to it.  One of my favourites is Garlic Lamb Cutlets with a Mint and Sun Blush Tomato Sauce.

 

There are actually quite a few Lamb Recipes on this blog.  You can access all of them here.  Tagines and stews, and steaks, etc.  All very delicious, I can assure you.  These chops I am sharing today are especially delicious.  They are seasoned and flash fried, and then a super simple honey, mustard and balsamic vinegar glaze is produced in the pan drippings.

   

They are coated in this and briefly reheated before serving.  Oh but they are so delicious.  Tender, perfectly cooked, and that flavourful glaze, well  . . .  its like manna from heaven.

 

We enjoy our lamb on the pink side.  Its so juicy and tender.  Today I servd it with some Dauphinoise Potatoes and Steamed Brussels Sprouts.  This was a fabulous dinner!  I have given quantities so you can either cook for 4 or for 2.  I also like to use French trimmed loin chops.  The meat is so succulent and delicious.

 

Our Camelia bush is already in bloom. It seems really early this year, but I saw daffodils blooming this morning and there are buds all over our bushes. The greening of England is about to begin and Spring really is just around the corner.  I look forward to Spring every year, but it also heralds the end of Comfort Food Season which I mourn just a tiny bit . . .  okay, MORE than a tiny bit. I am a comfort food lover at heart. I thought that it would be fun today to share ten of my favourite Home Style Comfort Dishes. Oh, to be sure we will have a lot more blustery days before Spring finally lands, but its definitely time to get in your last tastes of your comfort foods before its too late. Every single dish I am sharing here today is one that we love.

 

Stewed Brisket & Potatoes.   Crusty, buttery little drop biscuits . . .  tender in the middle and going oh-so-well with that beautiful rich gravy, potatoes and those tender chunks of meat!  

Macaroni Shepherd's Pie.  Shepherd's pie with the delicious twist of a layer of macaroni and cheese on top instead of the usual potatoes! Scrumdiddlyumptious!

 

Beef Casserole with Horseradish Dumplings.  Hearty and delicious! My own oven stew recipe with a lovely dumpling recipe borrowed from Mary Berry, and adapted to my own needs.  

 

French Onion Chicken.  All the flavours of your favourite soup  baked into a deliciously saucy chicken casserole beneath golden cheesy croutons. What's not to like!

 

Irish Stew.  Tender lamb and vegetables beneath a thatch of potato cobbles, in a flavour filled broth. Simplicity at its best.  

 

Chicken Savoyarde.  Tender pieces of cooked chicken beneath a rich and creamy taragon sauce, topped with crisp bread crumbs.  Delicious!

 

Beef, Ale & Parsnip Pudding. Kind of like a steamed meat pie, filled with lovely flavours.  Beef, parsnips in a lush ale gravy, served with cabbage and boiled potatoes. 

 

Chicken Rarebits with Melted Leeks.   A deliciously rich and indulgent chicken dish, which is simple to make and uses simple ingredients.   

 

Stuffed Cabbage Trou Style.  Layers of cabbage and the sausage meat create a magical taste combination that is unbeatable . . . the long slow cooking breaks the cabbage down until it is almost buttery . . . the juices of the cabbage and sausage melding together into a melting deliciousness that is just the best flavour in the world. 

 

Cottage Pie with Potato Cobbles.  This may be the most delicious Cottage Pie you've ever eaten and I don't make that claim lightly!  A really tasty meaty base topped with sliced rounds of potato and a layer of cheese baked until the potato cobbles are golden brown and everything is bubbling up nicely. 

Oh, I could have easily done 20 or more of my favourites.  This really is just the tip of the iceberg! 

 

As promised yesterday I am back today with a delicious casserole that you can make with some of your leftover cooked pork.  I think that this casserole would also work well with leftover cooked chicken, beef or lamb as well. 

 

I am a great lover of the casserolee and of using up my leftovers.

 

We've had some really cold days this past week or so, with heavy frosts on the ground in the morning and the days haven't warmed up too much either.  

Before things get a chance to warm up the sun is setting, and things are chilling up again! Wintry, cold, damp  . . .  these days call for proper comfort food. 

  

 

There is nothing we enjoy better on a cold damp night than a hot bowl of soup or stew.  My husband's very favourite is a stew. 

 Stews are lovely. You can make them with beef, or lamb, pork, chicken . . . venison.  Almost any kind of meat is good in a stew. Today I used beef.

 

My vegetables that I use for stew are pretty simple.  Onions, garlic, carrots, parsnips, swede (rutabaga)  . . .  humble vegetables, comfort vegetables . . . winter vegetables.  I like to cut them into a pretty uniform size.  

I find there is something really mindful standing at the counter peeling and chopping. My mind is usually everywhere else and I am channelling my mom, nan, great nan, etc.  I also add potatoes, but I cut those into larger chunks so that they don't disintegrate in the long oven braising time.

 

One secret to a really good stew is to brown your meat really well. You will want to do this in batches. 

If you add too much to the pan at a time, it won't brown really well. There is a lot of flavour in the browning . . .  so do it in small batches and . . .

 

brown it really well.  Once you have it all browned you can add it back to the pan and add the aromatics . . .  (I use a flame proof oven roasting/braising tin with a lid for this.)

 

By aromatics I mean onions, celery, leek . . .  just bung them into the pan with the meat and cook and stir until the oven has softened . . .

 

I have a few secret ingredients . . .  you can see them above. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but they add fab flavours!  

The Balsamic adds a hint of red wine  and sweet . . .  the Worcestershire is a bit sharp and the Ketchup a bit of tomato and spice . . . back home I would add a splash of vinegar from a jar of sweet mixed pickles, but we don't get them over here in the UK.

 

I add the potatoes and some herbs and cover everything with beef stock/bullion, just to barely cover and I show a broken bay leaf right down into the mess.  

Did you know that breaking a bay leaf in half helps to release its flavours?  Now you do  . . .

 

And that's it pretty much, cover it tightly and bang it into the oven to oven braise for  2 or 3 hours. I check it every now and then to make sure its not boiling dry. 

You can add a little bit more of stock if it is.  The stews done when the beef and vegetables are tender.

 

The gravy will be nice and thick and beautifully flavoured with all of those browned meat juices and aromatics, herbs, etc.

 

The vegetables add lots of flavour also  . . .  yummy.

 

I like to serve it with plenty of crusty bread to help sop up all of those delicious juices  . . . .

  

If you wanted to you could add a cup of frozen peas to the stew about half an hour before it's finished for colour.    Its delicious either way.

 

I confess one thing I have always loved to do with stew, since I was a child is to mashe the potatoes up in that stew gravy . . .  and if I am feeling a bit indulgent I will dot  a bit of butter on top so it melts down into everything.  Yes, I AM naughty like that sometimes!

 

This Pasta with Chicken Broth, Butter & Cheese that I am sharing with you today is a beautiful example of simple and uncomplicated foods.  Food done well and put together in a most delicious way.

 

These are my favourie kinds of recipes.  I just love them. Its how I like to cook most of the time. I am so done with complications in my life, let alone in my food.

 

There are several things that I always keep in my larder.  One of them is a variety of pasta shapes, from the always popular spaghetti right on down to rice shaped orzo.  

 

 

I love pasta, and would eat it in any way shape or form. My husband, however . . . is not so sure! More for me!

 

He does always eat whatever I put in front of him. He is a fan of pinching the pennies, and so he didn't complain overly much when I served him this. 

 

Plus there was still some Baby Sticky Toffee Pudding Cakes, leftover from the other day for afters. Who can complain about that!

 

Another thing I always keep in my store cupboard is a variety of stock cubes and gel pots.  Chicken, vegetable, beef, ham, lamb, etc.

 

Stock and pasta are the basis of this very simple and yet delicious dish in which pasta is quite simply cooked in a quantity of stock . . .  It doesn't get much easier than this.

 

Cooking the pasta in the stock infuses it with lots of flavour. The starch from the pasta actually serves to thicken the stock somewhat into a sauce,

 

A miracle of chemistry.

 

The knob of butter added at the end doesn't hurt either . . . . just sayin'  You will hear no complaints from me.

Butter, pasta, cheese . . .  all weaknesses.

 

This is one dish where you want to cook the pasta at a slow simmer. To boil it in the stock would mean that too much of the stock would evaporate.

 

You want to keep as much of the stock in the pot as possible for that sauce. A low simmer does the trick perfectly.  

 

As you can see, I had plenty of stock left to ladle over the cooked pasta for the sauce. You don't want it to be overly soupy, but neither do you want it to be dry.

 

I used a very small elbow macaroni for this today, but any small pasta shape works well.  Ditali, orzo, any small pasta shape.

 

You want ideally one that will cook in less then 10 minutes. So make sure you check the package for a cook time.

 

If you use a good stock you shouldn't need any seasoning, other than coarse black pepper.  The stock should be salty enough.

 

Do make sure you use a quality stock however. Most of the flavour of the dish will becoming from that.

 

Me, I always like a good grinding of black pepper on everything. My father is the same. He loves a good lot of pepper on everything.

So much so that I am often aghast at just how much he uses and I wonder at how he can taste anything beyond pepper!

  

Garnished with some freshly grated Parmesan Cheese and a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley this was a real treat for me. 

 

Comfort in a bowl  . . .  it doesn't get much better than this. Some hot buttered toast on the side goes very well. 

 

It is the simple meals like this that I enjoy most of all.  I have never made it for any more than two people, but if I was going to do so, I would cook it in separate pots.  This really is a delicious doddle!