Look how beautiful the table looks. "A" did a great job! It was nice being back "home".
The meal started out with some beautiful heirloom tomatoes.
The colors were just gorgeous.
A good red onion got a rough chop.
And bathed in a great balsamic.
Then the tomatoes marinated with the onions and balsamic. Mozzarella added at the end.
Made a beautiful pre-meal Italian salad. It was delicious. The balsamic had the perfect balance with the tomatoes and onion and the cheese evened it all out. Fresh basil, from the garden, topped it off. Yum!
The start of the main meal began with Dragon Tongue beans. Very interesting!
They had such a unique look to them. They get boiled, until you can snap them perfectly.
Fresh herbs, olive oil and garlic dressed them.
The star? Nothing less than rack of lamb!
A good spraying of salt and pepper.
It bakes partially.
And then gets a mustard and bread crumb topping.
Then bakes the remaining 20 minutes.
I love the way a rack of lamb looks, displayed. So elegant.
Blank canvas, as I like to call it.
Starts with a toasted slice of baguette.
Then the dragon tongue beans. Notice how the purple color cooked out. Very interesting.
And, the star. The rack of lamb. Impressive presentation.
Cooked to absolute perfection. Great job, "J".
Finished! This was an incredible meal. The lamb had a buttery flavor. The crust was amazing. The beans, one of my favorite side dishes yet. The garlic flavor on them, love. Thank goodness I wasn't going home to kiss anyone. :)
Dessert? Yep, starts with a high level of Olive Oil.
Egg Whites.
Heavy Cream.
Yeah, "J" made an Olive Oil ice cream folks. So Italian!
This is the custard, complete, and ready for the ice cream maker.
The ice cream, with some chocolate shavings on top. It was so refreshing. You could taste a hint of the olive oil, but otherwise it was a very creamy vanilla flavored ice cream. Delish!
A great night, back together at the table.
Recipes are below. Enjoy!
Until next time.....A la cuisine!
Balsamic Heirloom Tomato Salad:
ingredients:
1-1/2 to 2 pounds Heirloom Tomatoes {of different color and variety}
10-13 Basil Leaves
1 Clove of Garlic, minced
1 Vidalia Onion
Kosher Salt
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
1 pinch of dried Oregano, ground in your palm?
Fresh Cracked Black Pepper, to taste
preparation:
Wash and remove stems. Slice tomatoes into halves, quarters or eighths depending on the size of the tomato and toss into a colander set over a large bowl. Generously sprinkle kosher salt over tomatoes, gently toss and let sit for 20 minutes. The salt not only removes some extra water from the tomatoes, but seasons them too.
In another bowl combine the sliced Vidalia onion and garlic. In a measuring cup combine the balsamic vinegar, olive oil and oregano. Whisk until combined and pour over salted tomatoes. Toss, season with fresh cracked black pepper and serve!
Dragon’s Tongue Beans
2 ½ cups Dragon’s Tongue Beans
2 tbsp olive oil
5-6 cloves crushed garlic
1 tsp dried basil
Salt and black pepper to taste
Steam the beans for 3-4 minutes, then immediately toss with the remaining ingredients and serve.
JAK’s Rack of Lamb
Ingredients
3 small or 2 large racks of lamb, frenched (2 lbs)
Olive Oil
Dijon Mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped garlic cloves(3 cloves)
1 cup fresh white bread crumbs
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped thyme
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Place the racks in a roasting pan, fat side up. Cut a diamond pattern across the entire fat side of the rack. Rub the tops with olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast the lamb for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the rosemary, thyme and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until they're both finely minced. Add the bread crumbs and balsamic vinegar and process for a second until combined.
Take the lamb out of the oven and quickly press the bread crumb mixture all over the meat. Drizzle with the melted butter and return immediately to the oven and roast for another 15 minutes.
Take the lamb out of the oven and cover with aluminum foil. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes, cut in triple chops, and serve.
Olive Oil Ice Cream
Adapted from David Lebovitz.
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
pinch sea salt
4 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup fruity olive oil
1tsp Vanilla
1. Whisk together the egg yolks in a small bowl. Put the heavy cream in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.
2. Place the milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add a bit of the warm milk into the egg yolks in a thin stream, stirring to combine, then add the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan. Cook the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (do not boil or it will curdle).
3. Pour the custard through the strainer into the heavy cream. Stir to combine, then whisk in the olive oil. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (3-4 hours please).
4. Whisk the chilled custard until well combined, then pour into your ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer's directions. Store in the freezer.
5. Serve with chocolate covered fleur de sel.
