Send to KindleConfession time…I have a cold and I’m miserable! I suppose that’s not quite the confession you were expecting from me (the “I’ve been featured in 15 Girls Gone Wild Videos” or “I’m really Winona Ryder doing this under a pen name just so that I don’t lose touch with reality” confessionals can only come after drinking 5 or 6 shots of tequila, not at 4 in the morning being awakened by what felt like 2 gigantic tampons being simultaneously jammed up my nose causing me to literally become a mouth breather or I would die).
While my significant other (whose significance greatly changes depending on whether he or the dog is irritating me less that day) simply goes about his business occasionally interjecting such bon mots as: you better not get me sick or if I get sick for this trip I’m taking….He says these things like I should care. The only reason why I have this stupid cold now is because he had one and gave it to me. I suppose this means I can’t call him selfish.
Regardless of the state of my health, I’m still cooking (oh joy and rapture). Because it appears that if I don’t enter the kitchen and whip up some kind of food, the nourishment of the two of us will be left to Craig’s ambitions. These ambitions almost always mean Taco Bell. Since I’m already sick, and don’t intend on dying of starvation or food poisoning while I have this cold, I took to the kitchen to make some hearty Greek lamb chops. A good dose of garlic not only keeps the vampires away, but isn’t it supposed to cure the common cold? Let me dream.
I love cooking lamb chops. 1-because they taste really good and 2-because they’re quick and easy to make. I posted an oil poached lamb chop recipe on here before. In fact, I’ve posted a few lamb chop recipes on here. So in the spirit of “you can never have too many lamb chop recipes,” I’m giving you another one.
I make these Greek lamb chops pretty frequently (it’s a really easy lamb recipe). There’s something about the flavor combination that I really like. They’re a bit unusual in that ground fennel is part of the marinade and it gives them a subtle, yet distinctively different flavor. For this lamb chop recipe, I make a sour cherry sauce which is not something you see very often paired with lamb.
To make my life even easier, I cook this whole thing on the stove top. I like pan seared lamb chops as opposed to grilled chops because you taste more of the lambiness (yes, made up that word) instead of the smoke and char that can sometimes overwhelm the flavor when done on a grill. I’ll grill bigger pieces of lamb, like a leg, because there’s more meat to balance out the flavors the flame gives the meat. Besides, cooking lamb chops to a medium rare stage takes so little time, it’s hardly worth firing up the grill. Plus, you have a little more control over the heat that you use. This can be really important, especially if you’re cooking the little lamb chops. You can go from yum to briquette pretty easily on the grill with those little chops.
This easy lamb recipe is great because you can have it on the dinner table in under an hour (including marinating time) or you can marinate the meat a day ahead of time and then just finish them off in the pan when you’re ready to eat. With all of the flavors in this dish, you won’t believe how quick and easy it comes together.
Relationship Advice
In the movie Pulp Fiction, Vincent (John Travolta) says to Mia (Uma Thurman): “I gotta know what a $5 milkshake tastes like. That’s a pretty fucking good milkshake. I don’t know if it’s worth five dollars but it’s pretty fucking good.”
The economy ain’t what it used to be. Today, five dollars can buy you a fake boyfriend or girlfriend, and not the blowup kind (those still cost way more than $5). There’s a site called Fiverr.com that claims you can buy or sell just about anything for five bucks. A few industrious boys and girls have decided that they are willing to be your fake boyfriend or girlfriend for anywhere from 5-15 days for about the cost of a fancy coffee drink.
What does a Lincoln get you? Your fake “friend” or “lover” will leave you text messages, make a video, post on your Facebook wall or send messages to your inbox depending on what your arrangement is. What’s the purpose of this? It’s the modern day version of the girlfriend experience. Not to actually spend any time with the person, that’s so 80′s. All of this to find out if your boyfriend/girlfriend is cheating on you, wants to cheat on you, is snooping around in your business or you just want to make them jealous.
Today, since we use social media over actually being social, the way we find things out about each other is handled over the internet instead of just asking each other directly.
I suppose if we’re that afraid to actually confront someone about our feelings and we need to pay some total stranger to find the answers we already know (deep down inside), Vincent’s milkshake quote works in this instance too: “That’s a pretty fucking good milkshake. I don’t know if it’s worth five dollars but it’s pretty fucking good.”
Recipe: Greek Lamb Chops
Ingredients
- 4 Small Lamb Chops
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
For Marinade
- 2 Teaspoons Ground Fennel
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 3 Garlic Cloves (minced)
- 1/8 – 1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Pinch of Sea Salt
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
For Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Chicken Boullion
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
- 1/2 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 1/4 Cup Water
- 1/2 Cup Sour Cherries (pitted)
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
Instructions
- In a small bowl, thoroughly mix all of the ingredients for the marinade.
- Arrange the lamb chops, in a single layer, in a container just slightly larger than chops.
- Pour the marinade over the top of the chops and let them marinade for 20 minutes on each side.
- While the chops are marinating you can mix up the sauce.
- In a small saucepan, over medium high heat, add the first 5 ingredients.
- Cook, and occasionally stir, the mixture until it is reduced by half.
- Stir in the butter and remove from heat.
- Pour the 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large saute pan over medium high heat.
- Once the oil begins to shimmer lay the chops, in a single layer, into the pan.
- For medium rare, cook 4 1/2 minutes on each side.
- Remove from pan and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Arrange the lamb chops on a plate and drizzle with the warm sauce.
Quick notes
The cooking time for the lamb chops is based on them being room temperature. If you have marinated them for a longer amount of time in the refrigerator, let them get to room temperature before cooking. To check the doneness, you can cut a SMALL slit in the middle of one of the chops. If it’s not to your liking, continue cooking it.
Variations
You can play with the sauce to make it sweeter or tangier by changing up the amount of honey or vinegar that you use.
Preparation time: 50 minute(s)
Cooking time: 10 minute(s)
Diet tags: Gluten free
Number of servings (yield): 2
Culinary tradition: Greek
Hope you were able to taste these beauties after you made them! I crave Greek/Mediterranean flavors this time of year…after all of the holiday food, I am ready to lighten up. Love these!
I hope you’ll feel better. I have a Hot Toddy planned for Friday that might do the trick. GREG
We love lamb chops and they’re not hugely expensive here. I’ve never marinated chops before but I’m going to try this soon. They look fantastic.
I hope you feel better soon. The image in my head of the tampons up your nose made me cry.
This recipe looks fabulous, part tradition, part twist. Thank you. Take a look at this recipe, this is how we do it. Helps to be in Greece, on vacation, within sight of the Aegean… but it works other places too
!