Rosemary garlic lamb chops

 Wow, my poor neglected blog. sniff sniff.  I feel so bad.  I still haven't posted recipes from last summer!! sigh..Oh well, can't undo the past.  I just haven't been in the mood to food blog.  I will however blog about this lamb recipe because it is delicious so thought I'd share. :)  Mike and I have been on a lamb craving frenzy lately.  I'm surprised we haven't started raising them in the back yard just so we can eat them!! nom nom nom.  I don't know when or how it started but it did.  We went from never buying lamb chops in our lives to having to buy it at least every 2 weeks! It is just so damn good.  As much as I'd love to buy an actual rack of lamb or a leg of lamb, that is just not in our meat budget.  for two teeny weeny racks it was $28.00 at Sam's club.  Yikes! Soo we've been buying lamb shoulder chops that are between $6-$8 per lb depending on the sale and they are awesome!! Enjoy!

Ingredients 
Adapted from Bon Appetit

• 4 large garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, lightly crushed
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, lightly crushed
• 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 6 1-1/4-inch-thick lamb loin chops ( I use lamb shoulder chops because suit my wallet more. lol )

Preparation

• Mix first 4 ingredients and 1 tablespoon olive oil in large bowl. Add lamb; turn to coat. Let marinate at room temperature at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. 
   
  
   
  
  
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add lamb; cook until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer skillet to oven and roast lamb chops to desired doneness, about 10 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer lamb to platter, cover, and let rest 5 minutes. ( I did NOT do the oven step, I simply fried my shoulder shops in the cast iron skillet for about 6 minutes a side for well done and then let rest for 5.)

And Enjoy!

Filet Mignon topped with Blue Cheese Dill Butter

My bff got me hooked on the show worst cooks in America on the food network channel.  It's hilarious watching some of these people cook.  A few weeks ago chef Robert Irvine made pork with a herb butter compound and it looked delicious!  I love learning new things when it comes to the culinary world and a compound butter was a must on my to do list!  I already had blue cheese and originally was just going to broil my steaks and then add the blue cheese in the last ten minutes of cooking.  I decided to see if there was a recipe for blue cheese butter..just out of curiosity...and there was!! I swear this recipe was calling my name because I literally had every single ingredient including the cast iron skillet to sear them up in! Mike rated this dish a 9 and I agree. Super tender steak, crispy on the outside with a stinky cheese on top! what could be better? :)

Ingredients

2-5 ounce Filet Mignon steaks at least 1 inch thick Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 2-4 tablespoons of clarified butter (see below) Bleu Cheese Dill Butter (recipe below)

recipe adapted from real restaurant recipes
Clarified Butter 
I wish I knew what clarified or drawn butter was a long time ago.  I make crab legs at home and just melt butter to dip them in but it's never the same as in the restaurants.  Makes sense now, because it wasn't! lol. This is the type of butter that you dip seafood in and it is delicious.  It is perfect for high heat because without all of that 'milk fat' it doesn't brown quickly and burn.  Super quick and easy. 10 minutes tops.  
ingredients:  1 stick of butter (makes about 6-7 Tbsp)

On low heat melt your butter in a small sauce pan.

 Foam (milk fat) will rise to the top, go ahead and skim it.

 Discard the solids.

 You are then left with clarified butter.

Blue Cheese Dill Butter 
Ingredients
5 oz blue cheese crumbles
1 stick of butter softened
3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce 
3/4 tsp coarse black pepper
dill (I eyeballed the dill but it was probably around 1 1/2 tsp) 

 

 cream butter

 add in Worcestershire and pepper

 add in your blue cheese crumbles

 add the dill

 Spoon onto plastic wrap then roll and twist sides to seal it up.   (see picture below)

Shape into a log or fat cigar..whatever your heart desires. Place in fridge until ready to use.

If not using immediately, refrigerate (3 days maximum) or freeze (2 months, maximum) If frozen, thaw and cut into 1 1/2 ounce pieces and place on top of hot steaks.

Instructions

Let the meat sit at room temperature for about an hour
Heat the clarified butter (see above for recipe) in a saute pan or cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
Salt and pepper the filet mignon to taste 

 Place the steaks in your pan until well browned on the bottom and about half way cooked. Use a meat thermometer if needed. I browned them for about 3-4 minutes before flipping.

Important: If the steaks are fairly thick and you are cooking them to medium or above, turn the heat down to medium or medium-low when you turn your steaks over so the meat will not brown too much.  I cooked mine for an additional 5-6 minutes on medium low.

Let your steak rest for 5-10 minutes depending on thickness so the juices can redistribute.

Top with your sliced blue cheese butter and serve with your favorite side!

NOM NOM NOM!!!

Grilled Nutella Banana Sandwich

If there was one thing I could eat for the rest of my life, I think this might be it.  Every bite makes me want to do a twirl in the kitchen....seriously...I take a bite and do a twirl and go "MmmmMMMmmmMmmm!!!" It's like I can't control myself. The Nutella has that much power over me.  Not to mention the combo with bananas? I looove bananas! Another great one is grilled peanut butter and bananas sandwiches.  Ooo I wonder if I could add marshmallows to that one and make it like an Elvis sandwich?! lol, I'll have to try that one soon.  A peanut butter banana fluff panini. Nom Nom Nom!! ...oh..hee hee...back to the Nutella sandwich.  There's obviously nothing to it and the fact that so little ingredients make such a delicious treat is fantastic!! If we ever have a baby girl her name is going to be Nutella.  If it's a boy, Nutello....what's the problem? :)  Happy Eating!

Ingredients for 1

2 slices of bread ( I used whole wheat to ease up on my guilt)
2 tbsp Nutella
2 tbsp butter
1 banana sliced

Take your bread and spread 1 tbsp on each piece.

Take your sliced banana and place it on top of bread.

 You can either spread the butter on your bread or put it directly on your griddle or pan which is what I did.

 Leave for about a minute and continue to check till it's a nice golden brown, then flip.

 I personally pressed down on my bread with my spatula because I like it when it's nice and flat. That's it! Now take a bite and enjoy!!

 Look at the Nutella oozing out of it.

 This is where I took a bite and did a twirl!!...no joke. talk about skills. lol.  Twirling and Mmming and taking a decent photo.

Bravetart's Caramel GF

I was in the need of caramel and did not have any on hand so was in search of a recipe.  My sister in law recommended one from her friend Stella who is a pastry chef and creator of  Bravetart.  So far the caramel is the only thing I have tried of  Bravetart's but it won't be the last.  This was by far the best caramel sauce I have had in my life.  The notes of vanilla bean are a perfect addition. I must warn you it is very addicting.  Once I made it all I could think was "What else can I put this on?" I think I only made desserts that week that would pair with caramel sauce. lol.  It is very tedious but worth every minute.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. Oh yeah, GF is gluten free. :)

recipe from Bravetart
Ingredients

12 ounces cream
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1½ ounces butter
7 ounces sugar
¼ tsp salt
Bring the cream to a boil with the vanilla bean. Steep for an hour, or as long as you can. If you don’t have that kind of time, use 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract instead.

Caramelize the 7 ounces of sugar by setting a large pot over a medium flame. Sprinkle with some of the sugar to form an even coat over the bottom of the pan. As the sugar melts, sprinkle in a little more. This is a slow process. Shake and swirl the pan to mix, don’t stir. If you notice a hot spot that is caramelizing too fast, sprinkle extra sugar there to “put it out” so to speak. When all the sugar has been added and liquefied, cook until it reaches a foxy brown color.

 This definitely scared me...but fear not

 it slowly starts to melt......

 Then you get this beautiful color and consistency.

Immediately pour in a quarter of the cream, and stir. It will bubble and foam but, if you have a large pot, you’re safe. The mixture will foam up, but not out. Stir, being careful of the steam that’s undoubtedly coming from the pot. The sugar will clump. Worry not. When the foam subsides, pour in more cream, repeating until it’s all been safely added. Stir and simmer until any clumped up sugar has dissolved. Then stir in the butter, salt, and vanilla bean scrapings.

You can strain the mixture if you like, to sieve out any bits that may have not dissolved.

 While still warm I drizzled on top of some monkey bread.

 After it was cooled in the fridge I just drizzled some on pieces. Deeelish!! I'm also weird and prefer some things cold.   Cold spaghetti, cold chicken, cold pancakes....I know..WEIRDO!

There you have it.  Bravetart's amazing caramel! Why are you still reading this?? Go make some asap!!