Broiled Lamb Chops in Herb Marinade

The nice thing about working in a grocery store is that I get to see markdowns as they happen. In this case, it was lamb loin chops marked down to $2.34 for a package of 3. I grabbed two.

Loin chops are tiny, but the meat is tender and succulent. Marinated in fresh herbs and garlic then quick broiled in the oven made for an easy meal that would have cost ten times as much in a restaurant.

• 6 loin lamb chops (about 1.5 lb. total)
• 1 tablespoon pressed garlic or paste
• 1 1/2 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon all-purpose pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• Several grates lemon zest, (optional)

Wipe loin chops witha damp piece of paper towel and place on a plate.

In a small bowl, mix the garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, olive oil and, if using, lemon.

Coat both sides of lamb chops with marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for an hour or two.

Broil about four inches from heat source for about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove to plate and allow to rest a bit before serving.

Notes: I always put a bit of water in the bottom of my broiler pan to prevent smoking and splattering.

Ground-Beef Stroganoff

This is total comfort food and sooo difficult to photograph. It’s rich, satisfying and filling. I’ve made it countless times through the years, especially when money was tight when I was a young teacher in a small Indiana town.  It’s basic and easily lends itself to interpretations and additions, such as mushrooms. Even spinach. Or a pinch of caraway. I've known people who added corn. Leftovers make for a great lunch. Mashed potatoes with lots of melted butter are an alternative to the noodles. The recipe is easily halved.

(Serves 4)

• 1 lb. ground chuck
• 3/4 - 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed with a garlic press
• 2-3 tablespoons sour cream
• 6 - 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon all-purpose pepper
• 5 - 6 oz. broad, flat egg noodles of your choice
• 4 oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained (optional)
• Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish (NOT Optional)

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil for the noodles.

Add a bit of olive to a medium pan and heat. Add the ground chuck to the pan along with the onions and brown, breaking up clumps with a spoon or fork. When cooked through, remove some of the grease (most will be water). Add the mushrooms, garlic, salts and pepper and just stir through.

Begin adding the cream cheese in small squares until it melts and then the sour cream (add more of both if you want it creamier and remember you will be adding pasta to it later). Taste for seasonings. Cover and keep warm on low heat.

Make noodles according to package directions. Drain. You have two options: butter the noodles to prevent them from sticking and serve separate in a bowl. Mound noodles on a serving plate and then spoon stroganoff mixture on top. OR, just mix it all together. Top with a bit of grated Parmesan, if desired.

I love this with canned, baby whole beets.

Note: Ground chuck is not that much more expensive than ground hamburger which contains a lot of fat. I try to buy ground beef that is actually ground at the store in which I buy it and avoid commercially-packaged ground beef. I prefer ground chuck since it has more taste than ground sirloin. I used Philadelphia Original Cream Cheese and Daisy Sour Cream. NO, they were were not low-fat.

Chicken Provencal

Here's an amazingly simple recipe with a rustic, bistro-like flare and presentation. I've used fennel for pork, but never chicken. I was wildly surprised at the flavor. I used three very small chicken leg quarters I had on hand even though the recipe from Epicurious called for one whole chicken. Cornish Hens cut in half would be wonderful, though.

It also called for Herbs de Provence which I don't keep on hand. Instead, I used a bit of Fines Herbes, dried thyme and freshly-snipped rosemary. I seasoned the chicken with Lawry's Seasoned Salt and Cavender's All Purpose Greek Seasoning. That's it. I used "vine-ripened" grocery store tomatoes.

Serves 2

• 3 chicken leg quarters, 1.5 lbs. total
• 2 small tomatoes, cut into fourths
• 1/2 large onion, cut into thirds, root intact
• 1/4 cup black, pitted, brine-cured olives (Kalamata)
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1/4 teaspoon fennel seed
• 2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• Dry white wine
• Butter (optional)
• Several pinches dried thyme (about 1/4 teaspoon)
• 2 teaspoons freshly-snipped rosemary
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 F degrees. Remove any extra fat from chicken, rinse, and pat dry as possible.

In an 11 x 7 casserole dish or pan, place the tomatoes, onions, olives, sliced garlic, fennel seed, dried thyme flakes. Sprinkle on a bit of Herbs de Provence or Fines Herbs. Drizzle with the tablespoon of olive oil, a few pinches of Kosher salt and several grinds of fresh pepper and mix gently to coat. Push to sides of pan.

Season chicken with seasonings of your choice, front and back, and arrange in pan, skin side up, re-arranging vegetables to the sides and then between chicken. Rub chicken with pressed garlic. Scatter rosemary on top and give another drizzle of olive oil. Splash in a bit of wine.

Colorful. Beautifully arranged.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and baste chicken with juices and, if desired, melt a  bit of butter over chicken pieces. Return to oven for another 20-25  minutes until chicken is nicely browned and crisp and register 165 in thickest part. (I usually remove at around 150 F).

Remove from oven. Give a final baste of juices. Cover with foil and allow to rest 20 minutes. Serve as in the pan along with plenty of crusty bread and French butter. A side of seasoned white rice goes well. 

Notes: Next time I'll tuck in the black olives a bit more since they can dry out during cooking. I could also see adding some fresh, thick-sliced mushrooms. This makes a great sauce as it cooks which would be great spooned over roasted new potatoes. Just because I had it, I used the leaves from one fresh oregano stem.

Creamed Onions with Thyme and Gruyere Cheese (Onion Gratin)

Humble, simple ingredients. Elegant fare. Cooking at its finest.

This is really an "onion gratin." But who goes around saying "gratin?" I have no idea where I got this recipe. But since I took the time to type it up it means two things: a) I made changes and b) it was good. I know it was good because I included the following comment, "This was so good I licked the plate." I haven't made it in years. I'm glad I re-discovered it!

This is a beautiful side for any beef dish, especially beef tenderloin.

I love a dish like this that uses the simplest of ingredients and ends up both elegant and delicious. The first time I served it was at Christmas with my family. The star of the meal was beef tenderloin. I wanted something a bit different, but not too heavy, so I brought this along with my recipe for simple, baked carrots. (http://www.kitchenbounty.com/2009/04/baked-carrots.html)

I watched my niece's husband fork his way back-and-forth between carrots and onions. Finally, after a swallow, he accusingly smiled, "You've been holding out on us!" LOL.

I use regular yellow onions. Look for onions that are firm with tight skins and no blemishes. To avoid tears, use a very sharp knife and never cut an onion with a serrated knife. Onions that have been refrigerated produce the least amount of tears. Sweating the onions is the only time-consuming part of the whole deal. 

A word about black pepper. Compared to twenty years ago, we now have access to a wide variety of pepper, many we can grind ourselves. But for a recipe like this, I use regular table pepper. My favorite brand is McCormick. It's finely ground and I know I can depend on its consistent taste.

Serves 4-6 (or two piggies)

• 2  - 2.5 lbs. yellow-skinned onions
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small clove garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon (scant) dry thyme leaves, lightly crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup beef stock
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1-2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 1/2- 3/4 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 F. degrees. Butter or spray a shallow baking dish about 10 x 7 or 10 x 6. Set aside.

To cut the onions: Cut off stem and blossom ends from onion. Peel outer skins and discard or freeze for soup base. Slice onion in half. Place cut side down and slice into 1/2 inch-slices.

Peel and cut the garlic clove into very thin slices. Then slice into strips and mince. Set aside

Grate cheese using large holes a box grater. Set aside

Measure the cream, beef stock, thyme, pepper and salt into a micro-wave safe bowl or measuring cup. Add just a pinch or two of the minced garlic. Microwave for about 1 minute or just until warm. Taste for salt. Whisk in the tablespoon of flour. Set aside.

Melt two tablespoons of butter in a 12-inch skillet. Add onions and cook over medium heat until they begin to brown. This will take a good 20-30 minutes or so. It's important to "sweat" them using a low heat. Don't hurry the process. Why are you doing this? You want to release the water from the onion which will intensify its taste. You can raise the heat a bit toward the end. You don't want to caramelize the onions, just sweat and brown them. Just before they're done, add a few pinches of the garlic (I never use the full one clove of garlic). Stir in for about one minute or so paying close attention that the garlic bits don't burn. You don't want the garlic to overpower the onions in this dish.

All wormy and yummy!

Remove onions from heat and layer into baking dish. Return pan to heat and add one tablespoon or so of dry, white wine to de-glaze the pan by scraping up the brown bits on bottom of pan. Drizzle over onions. Drizzle cream mixture over onions while stirring it at the same time to keep the flour incorporated and evenly distributed. Cream mixture will not cover the onions. Top with cheese.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes until it is a bubbling and onions and cheese have browned a bit. It will not have a "crust." Remove from oven and allow to rest at least 20-30 minutes to allow juices to thicken. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs. 

It's important to let this rest a bit so the juices have a chance to thicken up.

Notes: My baking dish was a bit deeper than I would have liked. I suppose one could use a good Swiss cheese, such as Jarlsburg, which is less expensive than Gruyere. In my "notes" I have half '1/4 cup grated Gruyere and 1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan.' I went with all Gruyere. The last five minutes or so, I raised the oven temperature a bit. When I removed it, it was a bubbly mass.