Happy New Year (a little late)

Happy New Year! Sorry for the dearth of posts... it's an understatement to say that I was busy over the holidays. But things are feeling a little more back to normal... for now, anyway.

I considered doing a post about New Years Day dinner, which I hosted for 2 families (not including us). If I do say so myself, it turned out pretty great (all of the adults had seconds and took home leftovers), but I think it's best to save that menu for next end-of-the-year when you might actually use it.

So instead, here's is our New Year's Eve dinner... dijon rack of lamb served over mashed potatos with spinach and grapefruit salad and Seven Vegetable Soup.
The rack of lamb is courtesy of Mom, to whom I made the slightest mention about wishing I could find decent lamb, and she of course ran to CostCo and bought me some to bring back home. She's amazing sometimes. The recipe, however, is from Southern Living, and I followed it exactly (well, except that I halfed it), so I'm reprinting below (thanks, SL.com!). Definitely watch the lamb when you're browning it because it browned much quicker than the recipe said. I also did use the foccacia bread crumbs, and I think it's worth getting a whole piece of foccaccia. The lamb was delicious and we (mostly Mike, who now loves lamb) ate the whole thing that night.



Dijon Rack of Lamb, from SouthernLiving.com and Chef Jacques Haeringer
Ingredients
• 2 (8-rib) lamb rib roasts (2 to 2 1/2 pounds each), trimmed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 cup fresh herb focaccia breadcrumbs*

Preparation

Rub lamb evenly with salt and pepper.
Cook lamb in hot oil in a large skillet over high heat 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Place lamb, fat side up, on a rack in broiling pan.
Bake at 425° for 20 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion registers 145°.
Remove lamb from oven; leaving oven on. Cover lamb loosely with aluminum foil, and let stand 10 minutes or until meat thermometer registers 150°.
Brush lamb with mustard; cover with breadcrumbs. Return lamb to oven, and bake 4 to 5 minutes or until golden. Cut into chops, and serve.
*1 cup fresh French breadcrumbs may be substituted.
Note: When Jacques prepares this dish, he prefers to cook the lamb until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion registers 135°.

Seven Vegetable Soup coming...