Lamb Chops with Pistachio Sauce and Vegetable Saute

Technically, those tomatoes and artichoke hearts should be mixed together, but Saucy Sally had an inkling that we wouldn't care for the artichokes. (She was right, of course.)

Servings: 4
Total Time: 30-40 minutes
Definitely okay for guests (if we could ever afford it!)
(Note: While the lamb chops get a 4, the vegetable saute gets a 2.)

Saucy Sally and I loved the flavor of this tender meat and the gravy it created. I was definitely a fan of the pistachio sauce. Unfortunately, the vegetables weren't up to par. The tomatoes would've been better roasted, and canned artichoke hearts taste, well, canned. Saucy Sally said she'd forget about the vegetable saute next time and serve the lamb with a baked potato and a green vegetable, which sounds good to me.

1/2 c shelled pistachios
3/4 c coarsely chopped fresh parsley
8 loin lamb chops, each 1 inch thick (about 2 lbs)*
2 pints grape tomatoes
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts in water, rinsed, drained, & quartered

1. Make sauce: In a blender, purée pistachios with ¼ cup water until smooth (add a splash more water if necessary); season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Season lamb with salt and pepper and place in skillet. Cook until medium-rare, about five minutes per side (temperature of 145˚).** Transfer to a plate, and cover loosely with foil. Reserve skillet (and any fat left in it).

3. Add tomatoes, artichokes, and ¼ cup water to skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high, stirring frequently, until tomatoes begin to soften, 6-8 minutes. Mix in remaining ½ c parsley. Serve.

* Being that we're not quite there with the dinero and lamb is expensive, we opted for one lamb chop each.
** The original recipe, from the May 2007 issue of Everday Food, didn’t offer temperatures, which led us to finding this handy site.

Spinach-Stuffed Flank Steak

This flank steak didn't do it for us.

Servings: 4
Total Time: About an hour
Presentation: Not for guests


Saucy Sally and I didn't really care for this flank steak, which we pulled from the May 2007 issue of Everyday Food and served with biscuits, steamed broccoli, and small baked potatoes. The meat was tough (perhaps overdone), and the vinegar taste in the spinach mixture turned us off (despite that we both typically like vinegar). We won't be making this dish again.

2 (10 oz) packages frozen leaf spinach, thawed
1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 c grated Asiago cheese
2 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
coarse salt & ground pepper
1 small flank steak (1 lb)
1 tsp olive oil

1. Heat broiler, with rack set 4 inches from heat. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil; set aside. Place spinach in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. (Note: Saucy Sally did this in a colander over the sink, which worked fine.)
2. In a medium bowl, combine spinach, parsley, cheese, capers, vinegar, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper; toss to combine. (Note: We couldn’t taste the cheese, which was kind of expensive to be wasting in this dish. Also, my thought was that the capers and vinegar together might have been responsible for the unpleasant taste of the spinach concoction.)
3. Butterfly the steak. (Note: When you’re finished, it should be twice as wide, not twice as long, which isn’t exactly how it played out in our kitchen.) Lay the meat on a cutting board with the grain of the steak running horizontally. Using a long sharp knife, cut the meat almost in half horizontally, opening it like a book but stopping before going all the way through.
4. Mix (2 parts) salt and (1 part) pepper in small bowl; set aside.
5. Cut several 9-inch pieces of kitchen twine; space evenly underneath steak. Spread spinach mixture down center of meat. Roll steak over mixture, pressing firmly to compact the filling as much as possible; tie twine to secure roll. Cut roll in half crosswise. Place halves, seam side down, on prepared baking sheet; rub with oil, and season with salt and pepper mixture.
6. Broil until browned, 8 to 10 minutes for medium-rare; let rest, loosely covered with foil, 10 minutes. Remove string, and slice steak into ½-inch rounds.