So what's for dinner?

Lamb is becoming more and more accessible around here. Used to be, if you wanted lamb, you needed to know a farmer. Sometimes he'd raise it for you and you had to butcher it yourself. I know people who do that with goats.

Poss. no longer relevant as far as this particular batch of ground lamb is concerned, but... why smother a lamb burger in ketchup when there are so many other better things to put on it? (Two vastly preferable sauce-type options that come to mind at once are a tzatziki-type yogurt dressing, or a lemony tahini sauce.) IMO putting ketchup on a lamb burger is much worse than putting nothing on it.

Assuming the lamb is fit for use, of course. When in doubt, throw it out.

I use a combination of ground beef, ground pork, ground veal, and ground lamb for meatloaf. And I use a combination of ground lamb and ground pork for Scotch eggs. I've never had a lambburger but I expect it would be just fine.

eta: But, yeah, I think I'd find something besides ketchup to put on it.

I believe putting ketchup on ground lamb is a hangin' offense in some parts.

Now, mustard, on the other hand...

We were limited to ketchup because that's all we had in the house. Alas, there is no tzatziki delivery in our area, or I would happily partake. Fortunately, there is questionable Chinese food (we ordered beef...we didn't get beef, and we're not sure what we got instead...but at least it wasn't lamb.)

My version of buffalo wings (I have to make them slightly mild but always use Frank's Red Hot sauce as a base)

Salad: Romaine lettuce with olives, peppers, crumbled monterey jack cheese w. blue cheese dressing on the side

Brown rice with carmelized onions

I put about a pound and a half of pork (a cut designed for a roast) in slow cooker with some BBQ sauce (Rufus Teague), some cream sherry (inexpensive Christian Brothers) and some Asian-style dressing (Ken's [brand] lite), sprinkled salt and with some dried chopped parsley and onion flakes, topped with more BBQ sauce. Will let it go for about seven or eight hours on low.

I'll serve with corn on the cob (too early for the local stuff, so this is pre-trimmed from Mexico), steamed organic broccoli, salad (of course), and maybe some sourdough bread or the like, maybe done up as garlic bread in the oven.

Went out for an outsize waffle-house breakfast, so can coast until dinner.

--Ken

Tapas place! We had Serrano ham stuffed fritters with honey, clams cooked Portuguese style with garlic & white wine, and patatas bravas.

And a very decadent almond cake.

That sounds perfect. I've never had Serrano ham.

Tuna salad: one large pouch white albacore packed in water, about two handfuls of chopped Romaine lettuces, handful of grape tomatoes, some shredded cheddar/jack cheese, and enough Miracle Whip Light to make it all stick together.

Homemade lasagna (no meat, mushrooms, spinach, shredded carrot w/ usual ricotta/mozzarella/provolone), house garlic bread (50/50 butter/EVO slather).

Noodles & Co. Gave me a coupon for a free bowl. Cashing that in is tonight's dinner plan. They have some new no-noodle choices. That'll work.

--Ken

Haggis said:

I use a combination of ground beef, ground pork, ground veal, and ground lamb for meatloaf. And I use a combination of ground lamb and ground pork for Scotch eggs. I've never had a lambburger but I expect it would be just fine.

eta: But, yeah, I think I'd find something besides ketchup to put on it.

Click to expand...

TedTheewen said:

I believe putting ketchup on ground lamb is a hangin' offense in some parts.

Click to expand...

RedRajah said:

Now, mustard, on the other hand...

Click to expand...

What is the condiment for lamb? I used to know this. Is it some kind of a mint thing? I've been eating lamb chops lately. I have one of those cast iron grills you put on the stove and I have to say that they're fine just plain, just salt and peppered. But there is something, I know.

Tzatziki?

Had to google, but as someone who's yet to have a bite today that sounds delicious. Is that what they put on gyros? I love gyros. I just remember some kind of a mint condiment for lamb... found this http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/sauces/r/Mint-Sauce.htm That might be it.

Seafood ravioli primavera with fresh shrimp. Chopped roma tomato, orange bell pepper, baby bok choi, tomatillo, three scallions, sautéed briefly with the peeled shrimp, and added to a jar of cheese sauce, microwaved and served over the crab and shrimp ravioli. Very wimple, very good.

caw

Brie, bacon, spinach, and cranberry baguettes, trying a side of sweet potato cakes.

Whatever my wife's cousins are making for Easter dinner which will include my Loaded Mashed Potatoes (red potatoes, bacon, cheddar, butter, poor man's "chives" [green onions] and starring nonfat plain Greek yogurt as "sour cream").

I started a ham to cure last week and we smoked it today. Paired it with all manner of tasty sides. This one wasn't quite as wonderful as the first one we made (the recipe I used was entirely changed the day I went to get the ingredients, so I had to guess), but it was still a damn good ham.

Also, I made a marshmallow peep out of 2-3 pounds of marshmallow. Half is maple marshmallow and half is sassafras. The sassafras took ages to set properly and the maple wouldn't boil up to soft ball stage without boiling over. After over an hour of fussing and babying it, I smacked myself in the forehead and put the syrup in an absurdly oversized pot and cranked up the heat. It reached temp in under five minutes. Worth it, in the end. If I'm feeling like it later, I want some hot chocolate with the sassafras in it.

Sadly, my in-laws' family prefers their lamb too woefully overcooked for my tastes.

At least I had my lemon chess pie to look forward to.

Did ground lamb patties with tahini sauce tonight, with steamed asparagus and baked sweet potatoes on the side. Nice red wine. Rolls. Yum.

Welp, GF and I were going to cook up the whole ham, a couple of sweet potatoes--you know. The whole thing. But it got late (I was finishing up my taxes), and it was just the two of us. So we opted for sammiches.

Ham, Jarlsberg, thinly sliced red onion, with hot mustard (ground mustard, stale beer, a pinch of sugar and a drop of oil, well mixed and left to settle for an hour or two) on a nice Jewish rye.

Had turkey and ham with all the fixings (stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, 2 vegs, 2 salads, buns and 3 desserts) last night at my mothers. Tonight we went to my MIL's where we had sweet and sour spareribs, sticky rice, asparagus in cheese sauce, oriental coleslaw. I brought the dessert and because it was also my MIL's birthday - a raspberry cake. I used a white cake mix which I doctored by adding sour cream and raspberries and then frosted with a raspberry butter cream, which was tangy and gorgeous - a brilliant pink - served with macerated raspberries and vanilla ice cream.

Tomorrow, I'm having a glass of water and perhaps a lettuce leaf. *burp*

We had take-out from Boston Market. Chicken, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, creamed spinach, cinnamon apples, and mac and cheese.

It was good, it was easy, made MIL happy that we were there. And we ate off paper plates.

MM