Savory Lamb Chops with Cherry Reduction

Oftentimes when I cook or eat a dish, I'm flooded with memories. It's what I particularly like about food - the tastes and smells whisk me back to little moments in life that otherwise might have been forgotten. I associate food with people and places. A bite of sushi at lunch might bring back memories of a fantastic night out on the town with friends at a high end sushi restaurant. Eating pho anytime and any place reminds me of a particularly meaningful conversation I had with my brother over a bowl of noodles. Frozen yogurt is late night rushes to 21 Choices with my best friend in college.

I remember the moment when my little crush on food (who doesn't enjoy good food in general) turned into this head-over-heels lifelong love. We cooked lamb chops. Delicious lamb chops. In college. We thought we were superstars because who cooks lamb chops in college? At that point in my life, I don't think I had ever even had a lamb chop - it was just some pricey item on a menu that I could never even really afford. It was that first juicy, savory yummilicious bite that made me realize "Hey, you can actually cook something you see in a restaurant" that I fell in love. I've used that lamb chop recipe over and over since then and each time, it brings me back to that life altering view on food.

Fast forward to today - my life seems to revolve around food. I think the only way it could possibly revolve around food more is if I were to work in some sort of food industry (what? you have a food job for me?). I read food blogs and food magazine as if it were my job. My free time is spent planning my next meal. My list of restaurants and recipes to try could probably reach from here to the moon. Vacations are planned completely for and around food and restaurants. And that's just the start. It's an all consuming type of love that we've got going on here. Borderline obsession.

So, what about you? Do you have a particularly vivid food memory of something that would otherwise be forgettable? Do you have a foodie defining moment?

Back to the lamb chops - we wanted to try a dish that used savory from our Mystery Box. On our little cheatsheet, it said savory was similar to rosemary, which is almost synonymous with lamb in my mind, so lamb it was. Then,somewhere between the cheese and dressing aisles, it occurred to me to use some of the 10 pounds of farm fresh cherries we bought. A bite of finished dish and I was reliving that defining moment in life while creating new memories at the same time.

Savory Lamp Chops with Cherry Wine Reduction

I apologize for the lack of measurements. Everything here can really be done to taste, and honestly, you can't screw it up. If you don't have savory, try rosemary.

Lamb chops, French cut
Savory, chopped
Olive Oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Red wine
Cherries

Sprinkle lamb chops on both sides with salt, pepper, and savory.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb chops to hot skillet. Cook for approximately 2 minutes on each side. Remove lamb chops from pan and set aside.

Deglaze pan with red wine. Add cherries. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Pour sauce and cherries over lamb chops.

Serve with roasted savory potatoes.

Lamb chop link love:
Rosemary Crusted Rack of Lamb with Wild Rice Ragout, Asparagus and Red Wine Reduction from Not Eat Out in New York
Lamb chops to try if you are short on time from Simply Recipes
Grilled lamb chops from Project Foodie
Balsamic Vinegar-Glazed Lamb Chops from Cooking with the Single Guy

BBQ Ribs

Here in the city of San Francisco, our weather is pretty consistent. There isn't too much of a change between the seasons - it never really falls below 40 and rarely get above 80. Summer months are actually colder than fall with our Septembers and Octobers generally being the warmest and nicest months of the year. (It's said you can pick out tourist by looking for those wearing shorts and tanks during the "summer" months of June through August.) That said, it's easy to tell the turn of seasons from "winter" to "spring/summer" when the rooftop and BBQ invites start rolling out.

I personally use the grill every chance I get. I confess, cooking on the patio looking out at the Golden Gate bridge and a panoramic view of the Bay...it's a tough life (and one that I will miss very much when I move). A few weekends ago, a couple of my friends held a rooftop pre-Bay to Breakers party...hired bartender, grill and all. Oh, and fabulous ribs. Ribs that were so fabulous at the time that I'm having the friend responsible, HL, guest blog the ribs below -

Searching for the ultimate ribs recipe is a lot of fun, and a bit overwhelming. There are endless opinions on smoking vs grilling, on dry rubs vs wet, on secret spices or just slathering the entire thing in store-bought barbecue sauce. You know the old saying "there's no such thing as a bad bbq"? That's probably true - but it doesn't mean you can still be mightily disappointed when it just doesn't come out as great bbq.

For this recipe, I wanted to try something that I could do it my oven. Living in the city that's perpetually foggy, it's not uncommon to lack a backyard with the black weber grill. That ruled out quite a few recipes asking for wood chips, a smoker, and long overnight tending of the fire. Luckily enough, I did find a highly rated recipe over at Recipezaar, one that would start and finish the process completely inside an oven. By the way, let me sing the praises of having recipe reviews to sort through the good and bad. As anyone who's tried hunting down a good rib recipe can attest, there's no such thing as an identical marinade. Everyone has their own special version, and it's hard to figure out how one with apple juice would taste over one that uses orange juice. But with reviews in hand, it helps so much to see if it comes together well in the end, and if you need to make a few tweaks to really bring out the flavor.

Digression aside, I started with a slab of baby back pork ribs from Smart & Final. They definitely offer one of the best deals for raw ribs in town - a full set of 13 meaty ribs (~2.5 lbs) only took about $8 from my wallet. It's a great way to for first-time ribbers to try their hand without breaking the bank.

The recipe called for a wet rub, but I did lightly salt the pork ribs before pouring in the marinade. Something that was also really interesting - there was no overnight soaking. The recipe called for the marinade to be poured over and then thrown straight into the oven. A little tin foil on top to keep the moisture in, and that was it. 3 hours, 300 degrees, and ding - perfect, mouth-watering ribs. The smell was absolutely amazing, the meat literally fell off the bones, and the marinade had thickened into this delicious sauce to die for. Like some of the reviewers said, I brushed the ribs a bit with the extra sauce, broiled it for a few minutes, and dove right in.

Highly recommended recipe - this one gets filed under the "go-to dishes".

BBQ Ribs
Adapted from Should Be Illegal Oven BBQ Ribs Recipe #8701 - from Recipezaar.com

1¼ hours | 10 min prep | SERVES 4 -6 , 3 lbs Ribs
3 lbs pork back ribs
6oz honey (clover blossom, the type that comes in the bear bottle)
1.5 teaspoon paprika
1.5 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 medium onion, grated or minced
12 ounces barbecue sauce
1/8 cup white sugar
Kosher salt - to season ribs

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees:
1. Line large roasting pan with single sheet of aluminum foil for easy cleanup
2. Trim ribs in half for easier handling
3. Sprinkle and rub some salt into the ribs
4. Prepare marinade in order of ingredients shown - first honey, then stirring in the spices and bbq sauce. Pour 1/3 of marinade into roasting pan
5. Lay ribs meat-side down on pan, and pour rest of marinade over
6. Cover loosely with single sheet of aluminum foil
7. Roast in oven for 3 hours
8. When ribs are done, flip the ribs on the roasting pan so it's meat side up. Scoop up the thickened marinade in the roasting pan, brush over the ribs, and broil for 3-5 minutes till ribs are nicely caramelized

Note from Chu This - I made these ribs myself this past weekend. They turned out quite different than HL's ribs, we think due to different type of honey used. I'd suggest cutting back the amount of honey initially and adding more to taste. Thanks HL for the great post :)