Recipe: Broiled Lamb Chops with Fresh Herbs

I concocted a recipe for broiled lamb chops the other night. It was wonderfully fresh for a summer night - but I did heat up the kitchen quite a bit with the broiler. When I pulled the packs of Deck Family lamb chops out of the freezer, I pulled a pack of goat chops too on accident. I cooked them both up anyway and found out that 1) this recipe works well with Lamb or Goat, and 2) a side-by-side comparison of the two meats was really interesting. The Lamb is super tender and rich, the goat is somewhat tougher but has a more complex flavor.

The measurement of the garlic is best determined by the cook. Our family loves garlic, so I put in the full 6 cloves. However, because of the way the herbs crisp during the broil, the garlic retains almost all of its fresh spice. One option would be to lightly saute the garlic before mixing it with the oregano, another would be to use less garlic. Also, because of the final broiling step, I'm not sure that this could transfer to the grill, but possibly someone with more grilling expertiese could figure it out.


Broiled Lamb Chops with Fresh Herbs

8 Lamb (and/or Goat) chops
Worchestershire sauce
Fresh squeezed lime juice
Salt & Pepper
2-6 cloves of garlic
3-4 tbl. fresh oregano

Defrost the chops and sprinkle them with the lime and Worchestershire sauce - I didn't measure this, but just made sure that each chop had a drizzle. Marinate at least 45 minutes, flipping them over and redistributing the juice about halfway through.

Heat your broiler for at least 5 minutes. Mince the garlic and the oregano and combine, setting aside for now. Spread the chops on the broiling pan. Sprinkle lightly with salt & pepper. Flip over and sprinkle salt and pepper on the second side.

Broil, close to the heat, until the meat browns and the fat begins to carmelize. Remove from the oven and turn over. Spread the garlic-oregano over each chop evenly and broil again for 5-7 minutes. Fully cooked (medium-rare) lamb or goat chops should register an internal temperature of 145F.

We served this with cous-cous, salad, and roasted sweet potatoes. Super tasty and super easy - my favorite kind of cooking.

Recipe: Not-Ceviche Shrimp and Pasta

Some of my better recipes come from having one dinner plan, but failing to fully read the recipe or buy all the ingredients... and then having to completely alter my plan with what I have, usually at the last minute. That's where I got the Orange-Miso Salmon recipe.

And what happened on Saturday as well. I had been planning on making Ceviche, but at actual preparation time I realized that I...well...hadn't started it early enough. Whoops. So with shrimp, some anaheim chilies, and other stuff on hand, I whipped up this very tasty

Not-Ceviche Shrimp Pasta.



1 pound cooked shrimp (I like to use the already peeled dudes, because it is easier to serve to kids).
1/2 cup lime juice
6 tbl. butter

2-5 cloves of garlic
2 (or more) anaheim chili peppers
6 large tomatoes
2 handfuls of fresh basil
Salt & pepper to taste

1 pound rotelle or similar pasta

Cook the pasta.

Heat a large frying pan on medium heat and melt the butter. Add the shrimp and lime juice, turn to low and simmer until the dudes are cooked through - nicely pink. Remove from the heat.

Mince up the garlic and chilies and coarsely chop the tomatoes and basil (this is so easy if you have a food processor). Mix throughly and add to the shrimp/butter/lime mixture. Add the pasta and let stand for 20 or so minutes to let the flavors mix.

You can leave it to flavor up and serve as a cold pasta dish if you want. It was really good the next day, after it had set over night.

That is all. With the food processor it is a very simple and satisfying dish, especially with a nice salad on the side, or some fruit. If I was making this for my spice-loving brother, I would have passed minced jalapenos or another hot chili to sprinkle on at the table.

Just a Thing I Do

I made spanikopita for dinner. This is something I do a couple of times each year. This evening I was thinking about when I learned the recipe.

As far as I can remember it was probably about twenty years ago, while I was studying Greece and its culture. As a homeschooled kid I undertook a full Greek banquet as part of the project, along with other components. Homeschooling rocks.

But back to this evening's dinner.

Spanikopita is one of those recipes that I can't give out because I know it in my hands and heart, and I wouldn't know how to write it down. I can tell you that I usually add other greens to the spinach - kale, nettles, whatever. I can tell you that it bakes at about 350 until it's done. It should certainly have lots of garlic.

Recipes like this, recipes that live in my bones, delight me. I cook them and it feels like a dance. I eat them and I am sated to my core. My spanikopita recipe is twenty years a part of who I am.

Does anyone else have recipes like this? What is a core piece of you?