This meal is one of those funny representations of how different my palate is now compared to not so long ago.  Up until I was about 18 I always ate red meat at either medium well to well done temperature (eesh), absolutely hated cauliflower and didn’t care for cooked greens of any kind.  It’s amazing how seemingly overnight my tastebuds changed and now I regularly order my meat med-rare, love sauteed greens as a side, and happily eat cauliflower like it’s carrot sticks.

The inspiration for this came from the lamb.  One of the best things about working a food photography shoot is all that leftover food gets given out to the crew at the end of the day, and I was lucky enough to score the extra rack of lamb which I saved until I saw something inspiring.

This recipe idea is fanstastic.  The bitter greens with the sweet-syrupy reduced balsamic and tender, simple lamb is just awesome.  I changed a few things like keeping the rack whole, omitting the chard stems, etc, but the thing that really sings here is the rosemary-infused balsamic syrup. I wanted to eat it with a spoon (and may have…).  I was also trying to think of an additional side dish to beef it up but also keep it light when this cauliflower puree, a diet favorite of mine, popped into my head.  It’s one of those “fool your kids into thinking it’s mashed potatoes” kind of side, but it’s incredibly simple, tasty and guilt-free for adults, too.

One of my old enemies.  Now a dear friend.

Cauliflower hot tub.

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It may sound cheesy but this couscous ‘recipe’ is very dear to my heart.  When I first started to get into cooking around age 16 or so, I was addicted to the Food Network and more specifically, Jamie Oliver’s “Naked Chef” show.  He made this couscous dish for his nieces for a pier picnic and it was the first thing I remember trying to make after seeing it on tv.  Roasting the red peppers and using couscous for the first time, it was a big to-do for me then and although my own rendition of the recipe has changed quite a bit, I always think of this as one of the first ‘froufrou’ things I ever made, despite the fact that it’s pretty much a kitchen sink kind of dish.

Oddly enough, the lamb also comes inspired from TV, but something quite different.  Marcel on Season 2 of Top Chef (I loved him and his Wolverine hair) made something similar for his snack challenge and the idea of lamb kabobs with spicy-sweet curry mayo always sounded stupendous to me.  Since I had been craving lamb like mad lately, I finally got around to making them, and hoo boy, I wish I hadn’t waited this long.  The rich, spicy lamb with the cooling mayo and über-fresh couscous salad make this an ultimate summer supper, even if you have to grill inside due to rain once again rearing its ugly head.

Curry and mayo… how can this not be delicious?

Lamb prep with some chardonnay along for the ride.

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