BABY LAMB CHOPS - YUM!
Not much going on today, watching the tennis and looking for something new to try for dinner for just the 2 of us. Decided to rifle through the recipes I cut out of NYTimes, there are always plenty of those.   A good co-incidence happened, I asked Alan what he fancied for dinner, he responded 'lamb chops',   I had just come accross Seared Lamb Chops with Anchovies, Capers and Sage .  I have a very healthy sage plant in my garden and am always happy to find a recipe to use it. I changed this recipe a bit, only because at the end it says 'spoon the sauce over the chops' and I had no sauce.  I had a pan with a lot of capers and sage leaves but no liquid, so I deglazed the pan with some red wine.  It was delicious, but not for those who are dieting! For those who do not like anchovies please do  not be put off, these really just season the dish, it does not have a  strong anchovy flavour.  I liked the lemon squeezed over.  I served with green beans, as you can see, and corn, which filled the gap on the plate.  The corn is so good at this time of year, I serve it with little encouragement!

Here is what you need for 2 servings:

• 6/8 baby lamb chops
• 3 Tbsps olive oil
• 3 anchovy fillets
• 1 Tpsp drained capers (more if desired, recipe called for 3, I thought too much!)
• 15 sage leaves
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• splash of red wine
• lemon wedges for serving

Season chops with salt and pepper, but go easy on the salt, the anchovies are salty.  Heat a skillet large enough to take chops in one layer and heat the oil til it shimmers.  Add the anchovies and capers, stir and cook for a couple of minutes, anchovies will break down. Add the chops and brown for about 3 minutes on first side and 2 minutes after turning over. Time will vary depending on thickness of chops and your preference of done-ness. Transer chops to serving plate.  Add garlic to pan, cook for about a minute, til starting to brown, turn the heat off the pan then add the wine.  Cook for about a minute then spoon over the chops.

FRIDAY NIGHT SUPPER

Rack of Lamb & Caesar salad, a stable for us and almost a store cupboard meal! We had a rack of lamb from Costco, which is vacuum packed and had been in the fridge for a couple of weeks. We usually have romaine, and always have anchovies and parmesan cheese.
Covered the rack with fresh crumbs (from a wholewheat english muffin) to which I added some fresh rosemary and garlic, basically threw the ingredients into my mini Cuisinart. Cooked for about 25mins in a 500 degree F oven. I have made Caesar so often I don't use a recipe, but the one I started with was from the Delia Summer book. Throwing the dressing ingredients over the lettuce and tossing has never worked for me, I do the dressing separately in the same mini Cuisinart. Forgot to photograph the salad but will next time!