"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.