Rack of Lamb Persillade

Dinner: Rack of Lamb Persillade, Brown Rice, Arugula and Romaine Salad, Smoking Loon Pinot Noir

This is one of my favorite dinners. The rack of lamb comes from Costco, so when I go, I just grab a few racks (about $13 a rack, or $9.99/lb) and throw them directly into the freezer. If I'm in a rush, I can throw the frozen lamb (shrink wrapped) into warm water, and it's ready to cook in about an hour. It's also great because after cooking, (in the oven for only 25 minutes!), it needs to sit, and it's one of those dinners that can totally be served at room temperature. This is good for me because there are nights when I don't really know what time Javier is going to be home, but we can still sit down to a nice dinner together.

Tonight's dinner was also a success because we coordinated it so that the boys could have it for their dinner as well. I'm constantly striving to make one dinner for the four of us, and tonight worked because we stretched the boys a bit later. I also substituted a Dr. Praeger's Spinach Pancake and Sweet Potato Pancake for their veggie, since neither boy really eats salad. (I always have Dr. Praeger's on hand, this is one of the main veggie sources for my boys. They're great, but I'd love to work in other kinds of fresh vegetables.)

This lamb dish is sooooo easy. The one drawback is that you have to use the food processer. The only reason this is a drag is because it's one more thing to clean afterwards. But really. Easiest recipe ever, from Barefoot Contessa in Paris cookbook. Here is a link to the recipe if you don't have the book:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Rack-of-Lamb-Persillade-113816

The salad - same ol, same ol - used my standard vinegrette (see lunch below), but for my acid, I used lemon, to match the lemon zest that goes on the lamb. A little tomato, a little shallot, a little goat cheese.

Javier made the brown rice and it was dee-lish, and I don't always love brown rice. (And both boys loved it too. Jack said "Mmmm! Rico!") To make it, Javier browned the rice in olive oil, threw in some garlic cloves, and added chicken stock in a 1:1 ratio to the rice, letting the rice absorb the stock. Then he added water in a 2:1 ratio to the rice and cooked it uncovered at a low heat until the liquid level was about par with the rice. Then he covered the rice and let it cook/simmer for 20 more minutes, took it off the heat and it sat like that until dinner. I know this is a lot of detail, but I'm always struggling to make good brown rice, and this was it.

The wine: another Pinot Noir - runs about $15 bottle - slightly lighter than the wine from last night - I think I like last night's better, but seriously, I'm not complaining. It will be a banner day when I write on this site that I had a glass of wine that I didn't enjoy.

Lunch:
Delicious leftovers! Baby arugula salad, with my "special" dressing - modified from Jamie Oliver recipe:
1 part creme freche
1.5-2 parts vinegar (champagne vinegar, good balsamic vinegar)
4-5 parts oil
salt and pepper
Also threw tomatoes, cucumber, shallots, and feta cheese into the salad.

Then we had leftover beer battered flounder from Thursday night and it re-heated so well! Jav just threw the pieces in the over on a baking sheet at around 400 degrees F until heated through. We blotted with paper towels, and yum, yum, yum. Jack loved the fish, poor Declan didn't get any because he was napping, and it was gobbled up by the time he woke. We also had the remainder of scallops that we didn't eat/cook from last night. I need to better figure out portion sizes so that I don't over-buy, but the leftovers worked in this case. Jav and I shared a bottle of the Dogfish IPA 90 Minute beer, which is very tasty, but not a beer I'd reach for on a regular basis.

Breakfast:
J&C: Scrambled Eggs with chorizo, shallots, tomatoes, goat cheese; Toast w/ Apricot Jam; Coffee; Juice
Kids: Share 2 egg omelet (could have eaten more); pineapple - not their favorite; chocolate milk