Lamb Ribs 9/8/10

Ahhh, the great indoors!

Before heading home for dinner, I popped into Publix to pick up some fruit for my wife to bring to work during the week, and I cruised the meat dept. like I do every couple days looking for expensive items marked 'chuck steak' by mistake...

Is that wrong?

Something I've never seen there before stood out---- one lonely out-of-place 2pk. of  'NZ Lamb Breast Section' was looking up at me like a Disney character...

And only $4.81! 



New Zealand Lamb Breast Sections



Once, at the restaurant 'Plaka' in Tarpon Springs I ordered their 'lamb ribs' for $10.00, surprisingly from the appetizer section, and was pretty happy with them...

They were crusty, juicy, and flavorful, even if they were kinda fatty and not very meaty...

So I thought that for under 5 bucks I'd take these guys home, treat them Greek, and see what happens...

If they were at least that good it'd be worth it...



Seasoned with Kosher Salt, Fresh Ground Tellicherry Black Pepper, Oregano,
Granulated Garlic, Onion Powder, & Spice House 'salt-free'
 Adobo Seasoning... 

Well, after 30 minutes at 450F, when I clicked on the light of my convection toaster oven and saw the beginning stages of this, I started to giggle a little hysterically...

I yelled to my wife to come take a look...

It was more than I expected and I didn't understand where all that meat came from, but I guess in pulling in from the bone, it bunched up and really turned into something... I squeezed on a little lemon, gave it another 20 minutes, then turned off the power to let them finish cooking residually, and then rest...

I thought back to a couple hours earlier when I first saw them, an unordered item delivered by mistake no doubt... Well look at 'em now!

I didn't know exactly what I was going to find when I slid my knife 'tween the bones, but when I did, I called my wife back in!

The Cilantro was her idea to make the pictures prettier, but when I tasted it with a bite of the lamb, it became a huge part of the dish... We ate a few leaves with every bite, which gave it a Vietnamese vibe...

Hugely flavorful, absolutely juicy, and incredibly tender...

Much meatier than the ones I ordered in Tarpon Springs...

The rest seemed to have really paid off!

As soon as I spot a beautiful boneless leg of lamb marked 'Turkey Backs'

I'm gonna do this again with the much better cut...



 

Sorry... I know it ain't pretty...





If you love Sweet Potatoes...

I just washed, trimmed, and tossed these two dudes into my convection toaster oven and thought I'd take a pic to make sure you knew about them... 

They're perfectly white inside... Well, the color of a peeled banana...

I would imagine they'd have them at Whole Foods or Fresh Market, but I've only seen them at Publix, and they usually only have a dozen or so piled up on display when they have them at all, labeled 'Organic White Sweet Potatoes'----- and they take the Sweet 'tater experience to another level...
Regular sweet potatoes are great, but these deliver a more adult, complex sweetness, and aren't as wet & mooshy it seems... They might even remind you of something you ate long ago in Guatemala... ;-)

Keep an eye out, and snatch up a few when you see 'em...

Of course baked whole, drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with S&P, and wrapped in foil they'll take an hour at 350 to be soft when you squeeze them--- but cut into chunks, seasoned and baked they could be ready in half that time...

Very special item...  



'Organic White Sweet Potatoes'





I do this gently seasoned medley of Calabaza Squash, Acorn Squash, Sweet Potato, White Sweet Potato, Turnip, Onion segments, and CRAISINS that looks and tastes like Thanksgiving--- and these are a key player...
People seem to really enjoy it and usually request the recipe when I bring it to covered dish gatherings...

Recipe and photoze to follow...