I <3 LAMB

I love lamb, I really REALLY do.

So when a frenched rack of lamb was on sale at my local grocer and it also just so happened to be my boyfriend and I's 7 year anniversary, I had to get my hands on it - it took some help from the store's meat department and butchers, but I got the cut I wanted for the price I was willing to pay.

The recipe is one I've attempted before, it's based on Gordon Ramsay's "Herb Crusted Lamb"; you season and sear the meat off in a pan with a bit of olive oil, then transfer to a hot oven (350F) for 8 minutes, remove, brush with dijon mustard, apply a full coating of the herb crust mixture*, then crisp the herb crust under the broiler for another couple minutes - remove and LET REST.

Lamb is easy to cook, but it's also easy to OVER cook, so the challenge is trusting yourself and your instincts in cooking meat (I'm starting to get the whole "meat temp by feel" thing, but only recently).  Also remember, perfect meat temps are ALL about the rest (also you don't want to sacrifice any juices and risk the meat becoming dry by stabbing it with a meat thermometer or god forbid, slicing into it prematurely).  This was my third try cooking this lamb dish and I NAILED the temp - it was perfect, melt in your mouth goodness.

Sides:  For the sides I did simple roast russet potatoes with onions, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and olive oil and I also tried out a new brussels sprouts recipe - also based on a Gordon Ramsay dish: blanch the sprouts in boiling salted water for 2 minutes, remove and add to a pan with bacon lardons, finish with butter, chopped walnuts, lemon zest and lemon juice (he uses chestnuts and pancetta in his).

Learnings:  If I made this exact dish again, I would opt for garlic mashed potatoes instead of roasted potatoes. I felt the dish needed a smooth starch element as the sprouts were already pan roasted.

*Herb crust:  This time I ONLY used fresh herbs and it made a world of difference to the colour and taste.  The Herb crust is pretty much breadcrumbs, fresh thyme, rosemary and parsley leaves/flowers, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.  

Photos  - a couple beauty shots of the final meal, my new knife that is AMAZING and a shot of the lamb thawing at my desk at work yesterday ahead of bringing it home to cook :)

Gordon's Honey Glazed Duck with Green Bean Salad

I love duck, but I had never cooked it before - so I reached out to Gordon Ramsay's YouTube channel for advice and got this awesome recipe, Honey Glazed Duck with Green Bean Salad.   I added a couple tweaks to his recipe, mainly based on ingredient availability; the grocery store I went to for my ingredients didn't have hazelnuts or hazelnut oil for the salad, so I used walnut oil and walnuts instead.  It turned out great and I was really proud of the temp I was able to reach on the duck - the fat was completely rendered and had perfectly crispy skin and the meat was nice and rare in the middle.  Can't wait to try my hand at cooking duck again soon!

My first attempt at cooking duck :)