About six months ago I had bought a couple of racks of lamb at Costco, which were marked down for some reason. They looked fine so I brought them home, repackaged them and froze them to use at a later date. This weekend I thawed one out and roasted it for our Sunday lunch.
It was absolutely beautiful. I can't think why it had been reduced, perhaps the original packaging had been punctured or some such. In any case there was nothing wrong with it at all.
Lamb is not something we ever ate when I was growing up. Mom did try to cook some lamb chops once, but they were not popular with any of us. I suspect strongly that they were mutton and not lamb as they smelled like she was burning a pair of mittens when she was cooking them!
When mom was in the hospital having my brother (over 60 years ago!) she had remembered having a lamb stew and she always talked about how delicious it was. Until moving here to the UK, chops that smelt like burnt mittens and mom's memory of lamb stew were my only experiences with lamb.
I have come to love and enjoy lamb very much here in the UK. We have some of the most beautiful tasting lamb in the world. Our hillsides are covered with sheep, everywhere you look. That was one thing I noticed when I first moved over here and had a chance to wander about in the countryside. Sheep, sheep everywhere.
We also pay a lot more for local lamb than we do for New Zealand lamb. I am not sure what is up with that, but I can tell you, local lamb is worth the extra cost. It's is simply wonderful.
I decided to use a recipe for a glazed rack of lamb that I found on Linger. It sounded delicious with a fabulous Apricot and Mustard glaze.
The original recipe was for the use of two racks of lamb. I cut it in half successfully.
It called for a full 4 cloves of garlic for the full recipe. I tried it with two, but I could tell that it was going to be obnoxious as soon as I had minced it all with the thyme. The smell was far too strong. I cut both in half yet again and that was perfect.
She talked about the glaze becoming somewhat of a sauce to spoon over the lamb. I didn't end up with a sauce. My glaze was simply a glaze, but it did taste beautiful and I feel it was a smart move on my part to cut back on the garlic and the thyme.
The full whack would have totally over-powered the natural taste of the lamb. I like to taste what I am eating. Any complimentary flavours should do just that. Compliment, not overpower.
Just my opinion of course! But if you are paying a huge price tag for a beautiful piece of meat, lets taste the meat!
The timings were spot on. I ended up with beautifully roasted lamb, nice and pink just like we enjoy it.
I loved the glaze just as I did it. It was fruity and mellow and went perfect with the lamb.
We both really enjoy this delicious entree. I served it with the Balsamic Roasted New Potatoes & Asparagus I shared the other day with you. This was a perfect Springtime menu.
Apricot & Mustard Glazed Rack of Lamb
Yield: 4
Perfctly cooked and glazed rack of lamb, with beautiful flavours. Elegant and yet very simple to execute.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pound rack of lamb, french trimmed
- 1 tsp fine seasalt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 heaped dessertspoon of apricot preserves (about 1/4 cup)
- 1 heaped dessertspoon of grainy Dijon mustard (about 1/4 cup)
- 2 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely minced
Instructions:
- Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil. Spray the foil with some canola cooking spray. Lay the rack of lamb on it. Season on both sides with the salt and pepper.
- Stir together the apricot jam and the mustard. Stir in the thyme and the garlic. Spread 1/3 of this mixture on both sides of the lamb.
- Let the lamb sit for one hour undisturbed until it comes to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F. gas mark 7.
- Spread 1/3 of the remaining apricot jam mixture on the top of the lamb. Place the baking tray with the lamb into the oven and roast for five minutes. Spoon over another 1/3 of the jam mixture. Roast for a further five minutes. Spoon on the remainder of the jam mixture and roast for 20 minutes longer. (50*C/120*F rare) or for 25 minutes (52*C/125*F medium rare) or for 30 minutes (55*C/130*F medium).
- Remove from the oven to a cutting board. Tent lightly with foil and leave to rest for 14 minutes. Cut each portion alotting two ribs per serving size.
If you have some lamb and are looking for a beautiful and delicious way of preparing it, this would not be a bad choice! I think this would make an excellent dinner party entree with two racks and maybe a Potato Gratin on the side. Bon Appetit as they say!
Pancakes were not something we had very often when I was growing up. We had them once a year, for supper, on Shrove Tuesday.
They were a real treat. My mother had a huge round griddle pan that she had gotten with her Wear Ever Aluminium Cookware set.
She would stand there ladling pancakes onto it a few at a time, until they were all cooked.
I imagine it was a bit of a chore as the griddle pan was bowed in the middle and I can remember it turning around on the burner whenever I used it.
I am sure she found it quite annoying. I know I did.
The only other pan she had for frying in was a small 10-inch frying pan that came from the same set.
The set of pots and pans was bought the first year they got married, in 1954. It was still being used when she passed away last year. 64 years.
That's an incredibly long time in the life of any pan I'd say. My parents would have celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary this year. That makes me sad to think about.
They got divorced when I was in my 30's, but remained good friends for the rest of my mother's life. Admittedly it was a bit touch and go at the start, but once the dust all settled things were good.
That was the greatest gift my parents could have ever given us. It enabled us to be able to love our parents equally without having to feel like we needed to divide our loyalties. Not everyone is so blessed.
My father still calls the house when he knows my sister isn't there, just so he can hear the telephone message that my mother recorded a while back. He loves to hear her voice.
He says he always leaves a message. He misses her. The greatest gift a father can give his children is to love their mother. I know my father loved my mother. He was just not the staying married kind of man.
Anyways, pancakes! When my own children were growing up, I made pancakes on Shrove Tuesday for supper of course, and them anytime they had a friend stay over or on special occasions (like Birthdays) I would make them for breakfast.
My oldest son makes them for his boys every Saturday morning. They are a tradition. And I think a very tasty one.
If I had had a recipe as simple as this sheet pan pancake I think I might have made pancakes even more often, although I would have had to double the with my crew!
My two oldest boys would have gobbled this up all by themselves!
You can of course just bake it plain . . . but then again, why not make things a little bit more special with just a few additions . . .
I totally adore lemon curd and blueberries. It seemed only natural to combine the two in this fabulously tasty pancake!
Each quarter of the pancake was drizzled with some lemon curd and then topped with a few blueberries prior to baking in a very hot oven.
After only 15 minutes bake time it is ready to serve . . .
Cut into quarters and served hot with a few extra berries and a drizzle of your favourite pancake syrup. In our case, pure maple syrup . . .
I did dust them with some icing sugar to brighten them up a bit for the camera, but its not necessary if you are just making them for your family.
I think if mom could have made pancakes as easy as these we might have been treated to them a lot more often!
Blueberry & Lemon Sheet Pan Pancake
Yield: 4
This delicious pancake bakes in the oven. It bakes in 15 minutes and is hands free rather than standing over the stove cooking individual pancakes, leaving you to get on with other things. Simply cut into four squares when done. Serve with additional berries and your favourite pancake syrup.
Ingredients:
- 175g plain flour (1 cup + 4 1/2 TBS)
- 2 TBS sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large free range egg
- 240ml buttermilk (1 cup)
- 2 TBS butter melted
- 4 TBS lemon curd, thinned with a bit of lemon juice
- 20 blueberries, plus more to serve
- your favourite pancake syrup to serve
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F/ gas mark 7. Line a small rimmed baking sheet with foil, leaving an overhang to lift it out and then spray it generously with some canola oil spray. (Mine is 10 inches square)
- Whisk the flour, soda, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Whisk together the egg, buttermilk and melted butter. Add all at once to the flour mixture and stir together just to combine. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it out evenly.
- Whisk your lemon curd and a bit of lemon juice together until it is thin enough to drizzle comfortably. (Depending on your lemon curd, you may not need any.) Dividing the pancake into quarters, drizzle some of the lemon curd decoratively into each quarter. Place five blueberries into each quarter, spacing them out evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 14 to 16 minutes, until golden brown and the edges have started to pull away from the side of the pan. Remove from the oven. Lift out onto a cutting board and cut into squares to serve.
- Serve hot with some additional berries and your favourite pancake syrup to drizzle over top.
I love the mix of just a few cooked berries and the some fresh berries scattered over top when you go to eat them. The lemon curd isn't overpowering, but adds a subtle touch of sweet moreish lemon. In all truth these are excellent even without any syrup. Truth.
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