Lamb is one of those nostalgic scents for me. I spoke a bit about this when I posted on Basque Lamb Stew. My dearly loved Grandma used to make roasted lamb. She and Grandpa lived on a ranch, which was an amazingly fun place to visit as a kid. After a day of swimming with goldfish in the horse trough, dodging the psychotic rooster, and taking rides with Grandpa around the ranch in his hot pink Jeep... we would open the door to the house and become overwhelmed by the scent of lamb that had been slow-roasting most of the day. It tasted as good as it smelled too. So as a result, lamb has always been a favorite special treat. Last weekend, I treated my family to Ina Garten's Rack of Lamb.
I've made many recipes for rack of lamb. Though it can be on the expensive side, if you're armed with an instant-read thermometer, it's an easy meat to prepare and it's well worth the extra cash. I buy my lamb at Costco- their racks come already 'frenched'- and I've been very happy with the quality.
In Ina's recipe, you just spoon the quickie-marinade over the top of the rack and let it sit at room temp. for about an hour. Then it's popped into the oven for a quick roasting. I have one of these great oven thermometers where you can stick the thermometer in the meat but the part that registers the temperature sits outside the oven. It's an invaluable piece of kitchen equipment for me! If you have one of these, your meat will turn out perfect every time. No guessing needed. No over or under-cooking! You must get one.
The Barefoot Contessa rarely disappoints, and this was no exception. It was unanimous- my family loved this lamb recipe. The flavor was nice, and the meat was tender and perfectly roasted (we roasted it to medium-rare 130 degrees.)
This night, the scent of lamb filled the house and stirred up a few Ranch memories to share during dinner. And hopefully, with all of the cooking that I do, I am creating some nostalgic scents for my own family!
This recipe can be found HERE. For the next week or so I'll be posting a string of Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) recipes that I've been trying.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Ina Garten's Dijon- Balsamic Rack of Lamb
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26 comments:
Ok so I love your blog,I am a huge Ina fan and have rarely been disapointed, her cookies are not very good but everything else is always a hit at our house! I always make the pork tenderloin with rosemary,cherries and shallots. You should make it next! You won't be dissapointed!
I need to try that. It looks so good.
So gorgeous. I have only made rack of lamb once at home. Yours makes me want to do it again.
Lori, I've had success w/ Ina's dishes and I can see you have too!
You cooked the lamb the way I like it...pink but still cooked!
Again, I'm holding off on lamb until Greek Easter..then watch out!
i'm convinced that all roosters are psychotic. :)
thanks for sharing your memories and this recipe--when i come to terms with the fact that it's okay for me to eat a baby sheep, i promise to give it go.
I have bnever attempted this...but wow, that looks fantastic.
Fabulous! Rack of lamb is the ultimate!
I love the Barefoot Contessa!!! And your lamb looks just luscious!
Perfectly pink RecipeGirl. My Greek mother would be so proud.
Looks wonderful!
ali
That lamb looks spectacular, as do the photos! Very nicely done--it sounds like it would taste incredible
I loved your story of the farm! What great memories. I love Ina's recipes and this one seems to be as wonderful as any of them. I'm not a huge fan of lamb, but that looks like it could persuade me!
ok, ok, i do give ina garten s*it often b/c she annoys me, but when it comes to simple food made with herbs, she knows what she's doing. this really looks lovely and i think that the balsamic probably adds a wonderfully sweet flavor. i got to your blog thru another one i was reading on rack of lamb - it's making me jealous b/c i love it and can't really afford to buy rack of lamb. it's soooo tasty, though.
great pictures!!
amy @ we are never full
I've never been brave enough to try rack of lamb but this looks delicious! Your family is lucky to have a great chef as a mom...I'm sure most other families around the block aren't eating rack of lamb for dinner!
This is so elegant looking and I know it's good. All of Ina's recipe's are. My fav is her chicken piccata, to die for.
Mmmmm, this looks terrific. Ina is definitely a favorite of mine. Beautiful too.
I've never tried rack of lamb, but it looks spectacular!
I love Ina Garten, AND I love lamb so this must be a killer conversation.
I have always had good luck with Ina's recipes but have never tried this. In fact I have been wary of cooking lamb because I didn't really know much about cooking it. But this looks like something I will try out. Love the photos.
Your lamb looks perfect...perfectly cooked.
I've made a few Ina recipes and have always been very happy with them.
As a child I couldn't eat lamb - but as an adult I gave it a chance and I love it! I love the things that make us remember the happy memories!
Your story about the psycho rooster took me back to my childhood! We had a rooster I called bully - because when we would go into the hen house he was ready to attack to make us leave. I really hated going in the hen house!
Those racks of lamb at Costco are the best, aren't they! Beautiful pics, Lori. We'd rather eat lamb than any kind of red meat.
I have never made lamb before, but I just found somewhere that sells it here. I've never been able to find it at Costco - I should check again! This recipe sounds like a winner!
This has been on my "to do" list forever. I love lamb, but I never seem to find nice racks at the store. I've got to try harder. It looks wonderful!
I used to watch Barefoot Contessa, but the show is no longer available on our BBC Food.
The thermometer is a great idea, I should get one, because your lamb looks spot on.
This looks amazing! I love Ina Garten!
I love lamb...never met eat I did not like :)
This recipe is wonderful!
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