September 13, 2012 Dinner – Lamb Chops and Turnip/beet Sauté

September 13, 2012 Dinner – Lamb Chops and Turnip/beet Sauté           

I made an omelet with the left over stuffed Eight Ball Squash and three eggs for breakfast.  Ground pork, tomatoes, sweet peppers, basil and kale. Quite nice.

We met Jim from Southern to try Italian wine at Slate Street at 5:30, so we were a little drunk and not so hungry when we arrived home at around 8:00 p.m.  We had decided to make lamb riblets.  There was an interesting story behind the lamb riblets.  When I was shopping at Costco on Tuesday, I saw a package of what looked like a rack of lamb cut into chops two ribs thick in the chop section and priced at the chop price of$7.99/lb. and not the rack price of $11.99/lb.  When I asked a butcher why the rack was cut up and priced as the chop price, he said, “The package was opened, so we cut up the rack.”  Not very believable, but I did not question him further and took the package.  So Suzette we got our flashlight and went to the garden and picked about 7 or 8 turnips and 3 or 4 beets and a handful of oregano and Willy washed them off and I chopped them into small bite sized pieces and plucked the oregano leaves and chopped them.  We then par-boiled the turnips and beets covered with saran in the microwave for 2 ½ minutes with a little water to steam them. Then Suzette threw them into a skillet with butter and olive oil and the oregano, a little salt and pepper, and sautéed them with a bit of water covered with a lid to steam them, while she grilled the riblets.  The chops were a little burned but inside they were perfect.  We opened a bottle of Stickleback Australian red meritage wine and had a wonderful fresh dinner.  Willy marveled at the freshness of the turnips and beets and he was correct.  They did not have any perceptible flavor other than one of freshness.  What a difference fresh food makes.

Bon Appetit