sometimes, it's the little things...

...or, the not so little things that bring me joy.

Like this, a four-pound pork roast looking so much at home on my counter. At $1.98 a pound from the happy butcher man at Marconda's, I couldn't resist.
I hacked it up into twelve beautiful 1/3 pound steaks; now they wait patiently, Ziplocked, labeled, and neatly tucked away in the freezer.
In case you're doing the math, that's six (substantial!) meaty meals for two for $7.92.
Plus tax, of course.
But I'll let you add that on yourself.

Things I Love Thursdays.

Here it comes, this week's edition of "Things I Love Thursdays!"

On the radar this week are fellow recreational butchers, courtesy of the New York Times. Great article, even though it uses every conceivable butchery anecdote, leaving me to feel a bit like a can of potted meat.

Legendary food writer Jonathan Gold shared his words of wisdom and caution for us aspiring food writers at class on Tuesday. He is quite the inspiration-- had the class hanging on his every word! Just as candidly eloquent (if that makes sense) in person as he is in his columns. Too bad his event at LAPL is full for tonight. Any suggestions on how a lady might sneak in?

My new issue of Meat Paper magazine came in the mail this week! Such a lovely magazine. Gorgeous and full of flavor. In this issue, they set out to determine whether a T-Rex tasted like chicken. The diagram is priceless. Truly the best way to stay on top the trends in the meat world.

KCET (or your local PBS, I'd imagine) has been airing loads of episodes of Julia and Jacques cooking at home. I caught an episode this week about pork and watched Jacques break down an entire rack. His methods and instruction were so simple and straightforward I could imagine someone actually doing it at home for themselves. All the while, Julia towered over him making fabulous yummy sounds and smacking her lips. Now that's classic TV.


And because we really just like cook dinner at home, drink wine, and watch bad TV, I made an somewhat elaborate birthday dinner for the man that I have to share.

We love, love lamb, and these chops were pretty killer. They come with a silly story, too. I usually buy my lamb either from my favorite local butchers, Marconda's Meats or Huntington Meats at the Farmer's Market at 3rd and Fairfax or from Whole Foods, but the giant Ralph's near my house now carries quite a selection. I didn't give it a second glance when it first appeared, as grocery story lamb makes me think of the suspicious meats I remember as a child-- an oozing slab of a mystery cut shrink-wrapped with a little packet of mint-flavored jelly.
Not wanting to be too pretentious, I thought I'd check out Ralph's supply. I then ran into roadblock number two. All of the packages of chops were labeled "Wine and Mustard Marinade." Hm. I kept walking. That didn't seem right.
One more try. Aah. They weren't actually marinated, just topped with a poorly designed, misleading recipe card. So four pretty little lamb chops came home with me and did not get marinated in mustard.
Instead, they were quickly seared in my trusty cast iron and topped with the birthday boy's favorite mint sauce, a zippy seasoned-to-taste puree of fresh mint, olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, garlic, onion, salt and pepper.
Delicious. Sweet, spicy, savory and just special enough for a birthday.

Have a protein-packed day!

daily burger, number nineteen.

Steak Burger from Marconda's Meats, two ways.

For the man: Vermont Cheddar, balsamic-glazed grilled onions, and sun dried tomatoes. Protein-style with toothpicks.

Lemme tellya, that burger was gone before I could say Marconda's Meats five times fast.

And for me: Doesn't need anything at all. Iceburg wedge with salsa and half of lime, on the side.

My kitchen, DTLA, 6:15PM, May 18, 2009.

just a simple rack of lamb

Here's a typical weeknight meal at our house...


(source)

Ha! Just kidding. Thought I'd try to make you feel guilty for a minute.
I am still on a kick of incorporating lamb into our diet regularly. It is so flavorful and versitile, and pretty good for you too! Lots of zinc and iron, and us ladies need lots of that.

During my post-Argentina butcher stock-up, I visited Marconda Meats and picked up some freshly ground lamb. Last night, I used some of it along with rice, red wine vinegar, tomato juice, garlic, onions, and fresh herbs to stuff some super tasty baked red peppers. Such a simple and satisfying meal! The man had to go out of town at the last minute today, which is disappointing because after i made his rib adventure public, he had announced that tonight he would be cooking dinner for us. Guess I'll have to wait until next week to see what he had planned. I thought it would be fun to revisit my single days and have guacamole and a cocktail for dinner, but I can't escape the memory of yesterday's meal.
So, here's some lamb-facts to curb my cravings.

• "lamb" refers to a sheep between one month and one year old; "mutton" is older than one year
• the younger and smaller the lamb, the more tender the meat will be
• lamb, though rich-tasting, is relatively low in fat and calories and high in nutrients and antioxidants
• most supermarket lamb is usda choice, but higher quality cuts and organic meats are available
• new zealanders eat the most lamb, about 40lbs per capita (source)
• and for the exceedingly ambitious, here's a fun tutorial of how to bone cuts of lamb

This still doesn't give enlightenment to the mystery of the glowing green mint jelly packets that I associate with supermarket lamb!

ground meat experiences

i had several amazing ground meat experiences this week that i thought i should share.

in an attempt to bring an out of town guest into my meat-consumed lifestyle without too many major projects, we made a quick trip to marconda's meats in the 3rd and fairfax farmers market. the man and i bought the most amazing steak burgers a few weeks ago, so i decided to go on a search for some really great ground lamb to make a twist on soulvaki.

if we had been exceedingly ambitious, i would've loved to try this recipe, but we just cooked up some patties in the trusty cast iron with some lamb they ground fresh for us. we added some chopped onion and garlic, oregano, lemon zest, white wine, salt and pepper and made some rice and salad for an excellent simple (and cheap!) meal.

since we were at the fancy butcher shop, i had to get some more steak burgers that i cooked up last night, protein-style, for the ever-dieting man and i. gosh, such good meat. i'm usually kind of distrusting of buying preground meats... well, i guess i should clarify. i hesitate to buy preground meats and cook them nice and medium rare, so this was definately a treat because i knew i could trust the butcher-- i know where their beef comes from and know that they grind their burgers on-site. so tasty with fresh, leafy greens, onion, tomato, and avocado.

(not our burger, but an example of protein-style for the non-in 'n out initiated. ours were thousands of times tastier.)

i still want to try the alton brown meat grinding techniques... they're supposed to be the best, he says so himself! soon.