Lamb chops w/espresso balsamic sauce, herbed potatoes & roasted asparagus

An Easter(ish) dinner. First time ever making lamb chops, I think. My housemate gave me a bottle of espresso balsamic vinegar a little while ago, and you pretty much can't go wrong with that stuff!

Makes 2 servings

- Lamb chops (I used fairly thick "loin chops" - I thought there were two large chops in the package but it turned out to be 4 smaller ones)
- 1 lemon
- 1 large russet potato
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1/2 bunch asparagus
- olive oil
- chopped fresh parsley & basil
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup espresso balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbl butter

Grate the zest of the lemon into a small bowl. Season the lamb chops on both sides with salt, pepper and most of the lemon zest; set aside. Preheat the oven to 375.

Cube the potato into smallish cubes. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, and saute the potatoes in a bit of olive oil. Turn every so often as they start to brown. Season with salt & pepper.

Trim the asparagus & put on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper.

Heat up a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. When the potatoes are about halfway done, add some olive oil to the cast iron pan and sear the lamb chops for about 4 minutes on one side. Put the asparagus in the oven. Add the chopped shallot to the potatoes. Flip lamb chops & cook for 4 minutes on the other side, or until they're done to your liking. Remove to a plate, and pour out any excess oil from the pan. Check the asparagus, it's probably done! Add the remaining lemon zest and squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the asparagus. When the potatoes are done, add the fresh herbs to them.

Add chicken broth & balsamic vinegar to the cast iron pan & scrape up any bits. Add butter. Cook for a couple minutes until it's reduced. Put the lamb chops in the pan & turn to coat with the sauce.

Seared Scallops & Lemon Pasta Primavera

I remembered after making this that you don't end up with awesome, truly *seared* scallops unless you buy fancy "dry" scallops (i.e., not what most grocery store seafood counters sell). Even though I followed all the procedures to get a good sear - dry them thoroughly, hot non-nonstick pan, don't move them around - they still released a lot of liquid and didn't get a perfect brown crust. But, whatever, they still tasted good!

This makes 2 hefty servings.
- 6 large sea scallops, rinsed & patted thoroughly dry
- 1/2 box whole wheat linguine
- 1/2 bunch asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1/2 a red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 shallot, halved & thinly sliced
- 1 lemon
- 1 Tbl. butter
- 1 Tbl. olive oil
- a bunch of chopped parsley and/or basil
- optional - splash of half & half and/or handful of parmesan cheese


Prep all your ingredients before you start cooking, as it goes quickly. Grate the zest of one lemon into a small bowl. Cut the lemon in half & squeeze the juice into the bowl. Season the scallops with salt & pepper. Bring a large pot of water to a boil & add a good amount of salt.

Heat a large saute pan (preferably not nonstick) over medium-high heat; add oil & butter. Start cooking pasta (it should take about 7-8 minutes which is enough time to cook everything else).

Add scallops to pan seasoned-side down, then season the other side when they're in the pan. Cook on one side for no more than 2 minutes. Flip and sear the other side for a couple minutes. Remove scallops to a plate.

Add bell pepper & shallot to pan and saute. When there are 2 minutes left on the pasta, add asparagus to the water. Scoop out about 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Add the lemon juice & zest to the pan, reserving about a teaspoon. Add the reserved pasta water & scrape up any brown bits (if you have some white wine already open, you should totally add some here). If the scallops have released any liquid on the plate, add that. You should have a thin sauce.

Drain the pasta & asparagus, and add to the pan. Toss and add the parsely & basil, and if you like, a splash of half & half and some parmesan. Taste the pasta for salt & pepper. I also added some Penzey's Red & Black (cayenne & black pepper).

Divide the pasta between two plates and put the scallops on top. Sprinkle the reserved lemon juice over the scallops.