Saturday, January 8, 2011

A little Le Creuset Cassis French Oven (and Baked Lamb Chops)...



I'm feeling a little bit more french these days...


I mean, I've always wanted to BE french...


Isn't there just something so glamorous about everything french?


Their fashion, their food, their wine, their way of life. 


I'm pretty sure I was meant to be french, but until I can somehow manage to buy a french villa and accompanying vineyard, overlooking the Mediterranean ....

this little Le Creuset pot will have to do ;)




My lovely husband surprised me with this little beauty for Christmas!! :) :)


I am completely spoiled. I know.....I know....


But he's going to reap the benefits ;) 

Well, at least until the novelty wears off...hehe. ;)


I don't think it will, though. This french oven is perfect for so many dishes.

The first meal I made was "Coq au vin". YUMM.

(I didn't take pictures).

The second meal was a little concoction I sort of just threw together with what I had in the fridge, and I was DELISH!

Baked Rosemary Lamb Chops (sounds like a suitable name?)




First, I marinated four lamb shoulder chops for about a half hour (longer would be better) in 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 +/- Red wine (in a separate bowl). Then I seasoned them with sea salt and rubbed fresh rosemary on both sides.

While the lamb was marinating, I cut up about 6 red-skinned potatoes, one large yam, and 3 carrots into cubes and popped them in the pot.




I then added some butter (approx. 3 tbsps +/-) in globs on top of the veggies, as well as some "Herbamare" (my favourite spice mix by A.Vogel...found at the health food store), freshly ground sea salt, black pepper and 2 whole cloves of garlic (just peeled).




I placed the lamb chops on top of the veggies and popped it in the oven at 325F for approx. 2.5 hrs. (with the lid on).





15 minutes before we were ready to eat, I boiled a little bunch of asparagus for approx. 2 minutes and then dumped it in on top of the lamb (seasoned the asparagus with sea salt, black pepper and a little freshly ground garlic flakes). The asparagus was in the oven for about 10 minutes (lid off), and it browned a little and took on a nice flavour from the pot.


All in all, a super easy and delicious (though I say so myself) meal! 


I know that lamb isn't for everyone....it's definitely a flavour that a lot of north americans are not used to, but it's my all time favourite meat. My parents are irish, and we grew up eating lamb at least once a week.  



I definitely notice the difference cooking with a cast iron pot. It cooks so evenly and doesn't burn, and the flavours seem to blend much better than I've ever noticed with any of my other dishes. Maybe it's my imagination? Who knows.....whatever it is, I'm loving it!!


And isn't the colour fabulous? It's the new colour for 2011....Cassis. 



LOVE!




Bon Soir;)

I'm off to build an IKEA Expedit shelf for the boys' playroom. We need somewhere to contain the now- out- of- control toy situation.






16 comments:

  1. I want one too!! Love your colour, but I'm going to search out an orange one!! Tracey - you didn't mention - did you put the lid on while you baked the chops 'n stuff? I'm thinking that because the asparagus browned a bit, you didn't use the lid.
    Victoria

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  2. I was drooling over the selection of Le Crueset at Gourmet Warehouse, and spotted your eggplant color. It's so pretty. Your meal looks divine, even though I don't eat lamb (though most Aussie's do, as well as the Irish.) Happy cooking!

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  3. I love the color! Anything you make will look and taste that much better in that beauty - she'll even look fabulous just sitting there on the stove. So if the novelty does wear off she'll still be one gorgeous accessory! Enjoy!

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  4. Yum! Lucky you. I have wanted one for years! Hmm.. you might be right about food tasting better, it always does when you use pretty pots or dishes. The colour is fantastic as well!

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  5. I love my white Le Crueset pan. Its my go to pan. Most people turn their noses up at lamb and they don't know what they are missing. Thanks for promoting it and I am going to give your meal a try this week, it sound delicious. My favorite is leg of lamb, YUM. My dad puts a lamb in our freezer every year. We also BBQ lamb chops for Easter, besides all the family, I think the whole town would like to be invited. There is always hinting for an invite around that time. Have a Wonderful 2011.

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  6. I just discovered you blog & loved it. I'm an interior designer from Melbourne, Australia & I found it very inspiring. Blogging is all new to me but I have just set up my own blog
    scrapbook-melissah.blogspot.com
    You may like to check it out because I had so much fun doing it. It's got a bit of everything fashion, interiors, food, travel spots - hopefully you will find something in there that you like.
    Thanks for providing me with such great entertainment!
    Cheers
    Melissah

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  7. I love Le Crueset! That was the only cookware my mom used. I was jut trying to figure out what color I wanted and had not seen Casis yet. It's beautiful! What a sweet gift from your husband. Cooking does seem more fun with beautiful cookware! My husband and I are both lamb lovers. Your recipe sounds delicious. We'll be having that this week.

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  8. How cool is that color!!! I always (secertly) wanted to paint my kitchen plum color :D

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  9. I've been wanting one of those for a while now. I know they're worth the money...my mom's had a couple that have lasted over 20 years. Food look delicious.

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  10. love these! been spotting them at home sense lately...looking for a tall stock pot in white!

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