This cookbook is way better than others because it is organized by season, and because all the recipes take less than an hour. Our first year of marriage I cooked nearly every recipe in here because they look really pretty on a plate but they're not that hard. Perfect for the new cook! That year consequently marked the beginning of my obsession with Martha Stewart. Although, I must say, I don't have the stick-to-it to handle the monstrous recipes in her other books.
Mike had some chopping to do to make the yummy sauce for the lamb chops. He was greatly distressed at the lack of fresh mint in the grocery stores... but, hey, that's what happens when you cook out of the Spring section. He made it work.
Note the lovely green asparagus. The lamb broils in the oven, but Mike can't cook without firing up the Big Green Egg, so he did the asparagus outside.
The lamb only broiled for four mintues per side, so this dinner was ready in a jiffy. Mike brushed the asparagus with a little butter and garlic, then threw it on the egg for five minutes. How about that for a pretty looking dinner?
We knew that it would be ridiculous to even try to get Jack to eat this, so Mike made him a grilled cheese. We offer this photo as proof that Jack actually does eat some things.
We love this dinner every time we cook it, and tonight was no different. It always stirs up a recurring disagreement, however. I get mad because I spend the entire meal cutting hunks of fat off each bite. Mike gets mad because I'm wasting precious flavor, and tells me that I should eat the fat. Those iridescent little globules just don't scream flavor to me, and I wonder how Mike can enjoy eating them. I look across the table, see Mike digging in, and start to wonder about his blood pressure and cholesterol. He has to reassure me that he has great life insurance before I'll let him finish another bite.
There is really no solution to this problem. We've had this argument lots of times before, and we'll have it lots more. I've seen my parents have this same argument, too, only about bacon. I threw in the towel on bacon long ago. Some things about Mike are never gonna change- they're written in stone. His insatiable need for bacon is at the top of the list. And don't try sneaking turkey bacon on him... he will not be fooled.
The only way to to ease the tension tonight is to have another glass of wine. Since we have our favorite wine opened tonight, that's easy to do. The clean up tonight was fast and easy, and I was happy to get a chance to give the kitchen a good once-over. We had finished eating and cleaning up by 6:30, and didn't know what to do with our extra time.
Jack had some ideas. The trains, of course, needed their nightly exercise. And Mike needed to do some curls.
Our fourth day of home cooking was a breeze. With meals this great, we're wondering why we used to eat out so much!
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