Sautéed Lamb Rib Chops

We’ve always been ham people for Easter, and I’d always been just fine with that until the year my parents started serving a spiral cut thing that came with a little packet of high fructose corn syrup glaze. How can you not visualize it spinning on a lathe in a factory? Now that we celebrate on our own, I’ve become slightly more adventurous, if you can call lamb adventurous.

These are great to serve to guests, Easter or not, because lamb rib chops couldn’t look unappetizing if they tried. Propped up on a cloud of mashed tubers or root vegetables, lamb rib chops always look impressive and inviting. We served them with a combination of mashed potatoes and parsnips, which offered a lovely sweetness to complement the lamb’s aromatic flavor. The dish is finished with a piquant wine sauce which is made by deglazing the pan.

Sautéed Lamb Rib Chops – serves 2

1 – 1 lb frenched rack of lamb ribs (8 ribs)
3 T + 1 T olive oil
3 T herbs de Provence
1 t sea salt
1/2 C dry white wine
1 t butter

Dry the rack with a paper towel. Divide into individual ribs by separating them between each bone. Place on a large plate and douse with olive oil, salt and herbs and massage until well coated. Refrigerate 30 minutes to an hour.

Heat the additional tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over high heat until the oil shimmers. Add the chops. Lower heat to medium, being careful not to burn. Sear for 2 – 4 minutes per side depending on preference for doneness.

Transfer the chops from the pan to a warmed platter. Allow to rest in a warm place at least 10 minutes while the sauce is made.

Drain the pan of excess fat. Increase heat to high. Add wine to the skillet and, using a wooden (or metal, just as long as it’s not plastic) spatula, scrape any bits from the pan. Reduce for 1 minute. Lower heat to medium heat and continue to reduce for 4 minutes. Swirl the butter into the wine mixture, and stir into the sauce until well incorporated.

Drizzle sauce over chops and serve with a nice grassy Sauvignon Blanc.

Ingredient origins: Lamb – New Zealand (I know. Not local at all. It’s terrible. I’m sorry, okay?); Olive oil – Italy; Herbs de Provence -Maryland; Sea salt – Maine; Wine – California; Butter – Maine

French Onion Soup

French onion soup can be either really great or really not so great and it all depends on the quality of ingredients. Imagine how hollow it could be if the stock was made from a bullion cube, the bread was a slice of HFCS laden supermarket “French bread” and the whole thing was topped with a waxy, mass-produced domestic “Swiss” cheese (I’m going to sound like a total cheese snob here, but there are hundreds of different types of cheese that come from Switzerland. There is not just one “Swiss Cheese”. There. I said it.), rather than an authentic Gruyere? The soup would be thin and over-salted, the bread would turn to an algae-like substance and the cheese would form a tough skin when broiled, rather than melting and mingling.

Fortunately, it’s not prohibitively expensive or difficult to find quality ingredients for French Onion soup, and it makes a world of difference in the end result.

This recipe calls for homemade beef stock, a good baguette with a thick crisp crust and open crumb, and a good authentic Gruyere cheese. If you live in an area with good artisan cheese makers, you may be able to find an local equivalent to Gruyere, but be sure to test it out first to see if it works. Sometimes cheeses can become stringy when added to soup and that makes for a less appetizing appearance and texture.

To get a light essence of garlic into the soup, burnish the bowl and toast with a halved piece of garlic. This combined with dry white wine, good cheese and French bread makes this soup reminiscent of a good fondue.

French Onion Soup – Serves 2

3 yellow onions, quartered and sliced
2 T butter
1 dash of salt (or 3 grinds from salt grinder)
1 t brown sugar
1 T flour
1/2 C dry white wine
4 C beef stock
2 – 4 thick (1/2 – 1 inch) slices of French bread
1 clove of garlic, peeled and cut in half
4-6 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

Melt butter in a large stockpot. Add onions and cook over medium-low heat until creamy and softened, about 10 minutes. Add brown sugar and continue cooking until golden brown, 20 more minutes on medium-low. Stir in flour, being sure to evenly coat the onions and cook 10 minutes, still on medium-low heat.

Increase heat to medium-high and add wine. Stir to blend the wine with the onion and flour paste, scraping up the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Stir in beef stock and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Occasionally skim any foam from the top and stir.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toast the pieces of bread – depending on the thickness of the baguette, you may need two toasts per bowl. Rub the toasts and oven-proof soup crocks with raw garlic.

Divide the finished soup into two crocks, float toast on top and cover with grated Gruyere. Place soup crocks in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until cheese reaches desired level of meltiness. This could range from just bubbling to browned.

Northern Shrimp Newburg

Madeira loves Crustaceans. Oh yes. They go way back. Madeira is what brings that aromatic sweetness to Lobster bisque and Lobster Newburg.

This dish is inspired by Lobster Newburg. We used 5 lbs of freshly caught Northern Shrimp from our fish share. Feel free to substitute the shrimp for lobster, but the little red guys work just as well and have a more tender texture to boot.

Northern Shrimp Newburg – serves 4 – 6

2 shallots, diced
2 T butter
1/2 C Madeira wine
4 – 5 C Northern Shrimp, peeled with heads and tails removed
2 T flour
3/4 C light cream

Melt butter over medium heat in a sauté pan or deep skillet. Add shallots and soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in Madeira, increase heat to medium high and add shrimp. Sauté for about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and, using a ladle, transfer liquid to a 2 quart saucepan. Simmer over medium high heat to reduce, about 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium. Whisk in flour one tablespoon at a time and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in cream and whisk until well incorporated.

Combine sauce with shrimp, gently stirring to incorporate any additional liquid.

Serve piping hot over egg noodles, rice or with a good crusty French bread.

Ingredient origins: (Oh, farmers markets, how I miss thee!) Shallots – California, Butter – Maine; Madiera wine – California; Northern Shrimp – the waters just outside our door; Flour – Vermont; Light Cream – Massachusetts

Easy Rustic Northern Shrimp

We had our first pick-up of shrimp from our fish share this week. A five pound bag of these little fellas, freshly plucked from the ocean only hours before. Very exciting!

This recipe is basic but delicious. The shrimp are cooked whole and peeled at the table. It’s not necessary to devein because of their small size. Tender and sweet, they don’t need much additional flavor, but the wine and seasonings lend zing and complement the sweetness.

Easy Rustic Northern Shrimp - Serves 2 – 4

2.5 lb North Atlantic Shrimp
1 1/2 C dry white wine
3 C water
2 T Old Bay seasoning

Rinse shrimp, removing any roe and long tentacles. (Note: The roe is actually edible! We tried a tiny bit on crackers just as you might any caviar. It was mild and sweet.)

Bring water, wine and seasoning to a boil in a large stockpot. Add shrimp, bring back to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 3 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit an additional 3 minutes. The shrimp will continue to cook during this time.

Remove shrimp from stock, reserving some liquid.

Serve in shallow bowls with a half cup of liquid and crusty bread for dipping. To eat: twist the head off (be sure to enjoy the glorious liquid from the head!), peel the shell off like a jacket and enjoy.

Ingredient origins: North Atlantic Shrimp – the waters right outside our door; Wine – California; Seasoning – Maryland

Slow Cooked Short Rib

This holiday season, I was given the greatest gift of all. A slow cooker! Yay! I decided to christen it with short ribs.

The meat melts down over the course of hours, turning into rich, tender bits of falling-off-the-bone loveliness. I like to use vegetables that hold their shape well, like mushrooms and onions for dishes that cook more than two hours and I avoid ones that turn to mush, like carrots. The onions add a subtle sweetness and the mushrooms lend additional heft. Served over mashed potatoes, this dish becomes a serious winter warmer.

One last note is that I like to remove the meat from the bone before serving just to make it a little easier to eat and slightly more presentable.

Slow Cooked Short Rib – serves 2 – 4

2 lb beef short rib
1 T olive oil
16 oz whole button mushrooms
2 leeks, cleaned and loosely chopped
1 yellow onion, quartered
1 C dry red wine
2 C beef stock
1/3 C brown sugar

Prepare vegetables and arrange the first layer of leeks and smaller mushrooms in the slow cooker.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high. Sear the short ribs on all sides. Remove ribs from skillet and arrange on top of the vegetables in the slow cooker. De-glaze the skillet with red wine, scraping up any small bits. Stir the beef stock and brown sugar into the wine.

Arrange the larger mushrooms and quartered onions over and around the ribs. Pour the wine mixture over the short ribs. Cover and set the slow cooker to low. Cook for 8 hours.

Slide the meat off of the bone and serve with vegetables over mashed potatoes.

Ingredient origins: Short rib – can’t be sure (I know it’s terrible! I bought it at a store whose name rhymes with stop and flop, which means the cow was probably raised on a brown, hideous feedlot somewhere in the Midwest, consuming corn and other things that cows should not eat, like hormones and antibiotics. I know, I know! I’m sorry! The natural foods store was out of local short rib. Sigh. I’ve lost all cred now, haven’t I?); Olive Oil – Italy; Mushrooms – Pennsylvania; Leeks – New Hampshire, Onion – New Hampshire; Red wine – California; Beef stock – Colorado; Brown sugar – Florida