"This is the song that never ends..."

Do you remember that song?  That's right... Lamb Chop!  Ah, the memories of growing up.  Well I'm afraid to say that last night the song finally ended.  I ate Lamb Chop.  At least the Spiced Lamb Chops from last month's issue of Bon Appetit.  I'd been wanting to try my hand at cooking lamb for quite sometime, and this seemed like the perfect recipe to use.

I bought an 8 rib rack of New Zealand Lamb Chops at Whole Foods and sliced the ribs into indivdual cuts.





Spiced Lamb Chops

Ingredients

8 whole cloves
1 small dried chile (I think I used a dried Serano)
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 6 ounce container of Fage or Chobani Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
8 lamb rib chops (each about 1 inch thick), excess fat trimmed



Preparation

Combine first 5 ingredients in small skillet. Stir over medium heat until spices are aromatic and slightly darker in color, about 3 minutes. Transfer spices to bowl and cool. Grind spices to coarse powder in spice mill. Combine spices, yogurt, and ginger in 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Add lamb chops and turn to coat with mixture. Let marinate 30 minutes.
Preheat broiler. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil. Arrange chops on baking sheet. Broil lamb to desired doneness, about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer 2 lamb chops to each of 4 plates.


To round out this meal, I decided to use my go-to Creamy Polenta recipe, adapted from an old Bon Appetit recipe as well...

 
Creamy Corn-Studded Polenta


Ingredients

3 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal)
1 can of corn
1 tablespoon butter
Shredded cheese of your choice


Preparation


Bring broth, cream, and salt to boil in medium saucepan. Gradually whisk in polenta; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes, stirring often. Add corn; increase heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until polenta is soft, thick, and creamy, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Stir in butter and cheese (I used parmesan and goats cheese), and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.
 
Italian Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus

Ingredients

25 spears of fresh asparagus (buy thick, bright green spears if you can find them).
4 slices of Prosciutto
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper


Preparation

Cut the ends off the asparagus.  Toss in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Divide into 4 bundles of spears, and wrap each bundle with a slice of prosciutto.  Roast in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

"Maybe"

Such a soft word.  And, yes, we all use it to some degree or another.  What's it mean to you?

Uncertainty?

"I'm spread too thin"?  

"Could be fun... but then again something MORE fun just might come along."?  

How has our culture evolved into such a fast-faced, over-worked, over-committed lifestyle where, apparently, people want to have the "perception" of pleasing everyone, yet lack the willingness to give definitive answers and, apparently, the ability to collectively interpret such a gray word in the same way.

I came across this article today, and I found it to be an interesting read.  Hopefully you do too.

Too Many Powers of Maybe

Here's my take.  In most social settings, maybe means no.  When I send facebook invites to a party, most of the maybes and even a good handful of the yeses never make an appearance.  People want to please everyone, yet the ending result is probably a bit closer to the opposite.  It's okay to say no.  I'm certainly not offended by the answer.  I also think quality of experience diminishes as we spread ourselves thinner and thinner. 

As for planning, it's simply difficult and frustrating to organize an event around people who don't commit.  Dinner with friends? Have enough food and drinks for the ones who were thrilled enough to say yes.  Don't strain yourself to make sure there's going to be enough for those who "might have time to swing by".  This quote from the article pretty much nailed it on the head for me: [maybe means] 'You are not that important; other people or things might come along that are really more important,'

 More than anything, I try to take it all with a grain of salt.  Maybe is most often a weak answer, yes, it does annoy me most of the time.  I still use it occasionally, but I try to remember being on the receiving end of the answer and practice those simple words, yes and no, more frequently.  I think our digital selves are becoming more and more detached from true interaction, emotion, and how we affect others.  I've seen it in friendships, dating, and even the workplace.  We should probably just stop all of this social planning in the real world and start hosting group chat parties online.  It would sure cost a lot less, invitees wouldn't even have to be friends you've met in the real world, and maybe - just maybe - some of those folks might actually start increasing their attendance rates.

The 100/0 Principle

The following is adapted from an e-mail I received from my manager at work yesterday.  

Brian Tracy said..."Eighty percent of life's satisfaction comes from meaningful relationships."   Think about it...when you look back at the end of your life, what will really matter?  I'm betting the top of your list will include the quality of your relationships.

Life is busy...lots of clutter.  That's why from time to time, we all need to be reminded of what's most important.  So here's the question:  If your relationships are one of the most important parts of your life, what are you doing to make them all they can be?  

So, what is the most effective way to create and sustain great relationships with others?  It's The 100 / 0 Principle: You take full responsibility (the 100) for the relationship, expecting nothing (the 0) in return.

Implementing The 100 / 0 Principle is not natural for most of us.  It takes real commitment to the relationship and a good dose of self-discipline to think, act and give 100 percent.
The 100 / 0 Principle applies to those people in your life where the relationships are too important to react automatically or judgmentally.  Each of us must determine the relationships to which this principle should apply.  For most of us, it applies to a special someone, work associates, customers, family and friends.

STEP 1 - Determine what you can do to make the relationship work...then do it.  Demonstrate respect and kindness to the other person, whether he/she deserves it or not.

STEP 2 - Do not expect anything in return.  Zero! Zip! Nada!

STEP 3 - Do not allow anything the other person says or does (no matter how annoying!) to affect you.  Even if the other person tells you to “slow down” or “I’m not feeling this” or “it’s not going to work”.   In other words, don't take the bait.

STEP 4 - Be persistent with your graciousness and kindness.  Often we give up too soon, especially when others don't respond in kind.  Remember to expect nothing in return.  By being persistent in your kindness and respect for another person, you may likely change the dynamic of a relationship. 

At times (usually few), the relationship can remain challenging, even toxic, despite your 100 percent commitment and self-discipline.  When this occurs, you need to avoid being a "Knower" and shift to being the "Learner." Avoid Knower statements and thoughts like "That won't work," "I'm right, you are wrong," "I know it and you don't," "I'll teach you," "That's just the way it is," "I need to tell you what I know," etc.

Instead use Learner statements and thoughts like "Let me find out what is going on and try to understand the situation," "I could be wrong," "I wonder if there is anything of value here," "I wonder if..." etc.  In other words, as a Learner, be curious!
Principle Paradox:  This may strike you as strange, but here's the paradox: When you take authentic responsibility for a relationship, more often than not the other person quickly chooses to take responsibility as well. Consequently, the 100 / 0 relationship quickly transforms into something approaching 100/100.  When that occurs, true breakthroughs happen for the individuals involved, their relationship, their teams, their organizations and their families.

Now, I'm usually one to advocate complete balance in any relationship - if it's not fair, get out and avoid people who don't give their share.  That said, I think reading this reminded me that it's still good to give selflessly without and expectations whatsoever at times.  If you anticipate ZERO return, anything is a positive outcome.  I also know for me, I actually feel good about making effort to do something positive for someone else...

"Some people are stupid!"

On a daily basis, I usually run into a few people who's levels of intelligence cause me to scratch my head... or at least laugh and wonder how they function in their day-to-day lives.  [*Everyone does it!  I'm just willing to admit it ;).]  Yesterday, I encountered a particularly off-color fellow who wasn't particularly stupid... he was just completely "full of shit".

Here's one of my favorite skits from George Carlin.  I'm pretty sure you'll relate...

Spaghetti & Meatballs... Enough Said

Valentine's Day was a few weeks ago.  To celebrate, I had a small group of friends over for dinner - more of a singles awareness party.  I decided to make home-made spaghetti and meatballs.  This dish had been on my mind for quite sometime, and it had been a LONG time since I'd had great spaghetti and meatballs.  I found the perfect recipe.

For Christmas, my mom got me a book I'd been wanting, called the "The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual" , and it is one of the coolest cook books I've seen!  Along with killer recipes for pastas, sauces, vegetables, salads, meats, and desserts, it covers basic kitchen / pantry supplies, and essential tools one should have at home.  Not only are the recipes great, but there is a story to go along with many of them.  I made the "Sunday Sauce" and the raisin and pine-nut meatballs.  The story that went with the sunday sauce described how the old italian women would wake up before the sun came up to start the sauce.  After attending mass, the meal would continue to come together for a massive feast, with the sauce, of course, as the star of the show.  Although I'm not from an Italian family, it reminded me of growing up and being around family for certain meal gatherings.  It goes to show how we don't simply eat for taste.  Love and memories go along with a meal.

I followed the sauce recipe to the t, and it was phenomenal!  It was super simple: tomatos, olive oil, garlic, salt, and crushed red chili pepper.  It did take four hours, though!  Time is what brought all these flavors together to make some of the best sauce I've ever tasted.  I had never really experienced garlic in this way before.  As the sauce cooked, it became extremely tender and sweet. 

As for the meatballs, I did modify them just a tad.  The recipe in the book called for ground beef.  I went with a three-part blend of beef, veal, and pork.  I think this brought a more complex flavor to the party, and there's nothing like pork fat to make something better, right?!  I roasted them in the oven for about 30 minutes, then the day of the meal, they spent sometime in the sauce before being served.  [I made the meatballs two days ahead].

As for the pasta, I picked up fresh some fresh made linguini (they were all out of spaghetti for the day) at the coolest Italian market in Nashville's Germantown neighborhood: Lazarolli.  If you plan on doing any Italian cooking, please check this place out.  They were extremely friendly and helpful.

The fact that nobody at the table had any desire to pickup a fork for dessert meant on of two things: nobody likes chocolate anymore... or the meal was tasty enough, everyone ate enough to hibernate for a month or two.