Thursday, April 05, 2007

Easter Dinner For One

This Sunday is Easter, and we always had a big celebration in my family when we were growing up. Turkey or ham was typically on the table. But when I started living on my own, Easter Sunday became less of a big celebration because unlike Thanksgiving, there were very few “orphan” Easter dinners. So I generally celebrate Easter alone, and I know there are probably a few of you who may be in the same boat. (I would invite you all over but I don’t think you’d all fit in my studio. Plus, I know some of you don’t celebrate Easter.)

That’s why I came up with this blog to give simple recipes, especially for events like this weekend when you might want something special but don’t want to go through a lot of hassles. To me, lamb chops are really easy to cook because they’re already so tasty that you don’t have to do much other than add salt and pepper and grill them. Because they can be eaten slightly rear, they’re also very quick to cook. (I like them a little more done; makes it easier to cut with the knife.) Roasted lamb seems really big these days for Easter dinner, but I think pan-frying lamb chops that have been French cut is simpler.

The recipe below dresses up my lamb chops for special occasions like Easter with this balsamic vinegar glaze. I also created a bed of tomatoes and fava beans to note the coming of spring. Just to be different, I saw these interesting brown-green tomatoes (pictured at the very top) at the store. They’re called Rosso Bruno tomatoes by Dulcinea Farms in Ladera Ranch, California (in Southern California). I thought they looked so unusual, almost like the blood oranges of tomatoes because of the dark color and the slight redness inside. This is a designer tomato because it was created by Dulcinea Farms and a Vancouver, B.C. partner about two years ago and it’s a combination of several European tomato varieties. They were kind of pricey, but I thought, why not? It’s a special occasion.

So after your period of fasting, hope you enjoy this simple feast for one.

2 comments:

Ancilla Indigna said...

What? No Easter desert?

Liz said...

Lamb chops, huh? Thank you! After Googling several different variations, I finally tried the search "Easter dinner for one". I'll have to forgo the tomatoes (alas!), but that's a good idea. There's nothing wrong with baking a pork chop, either (I have actually done so). I can probably start baking the potato first, unless I decide on instant. Maybe bake a pear on top of it. When I was in the hospital for the second operation on my knee (long story, short pier), I had a piece of meat baked with a pear half on it. I thought it was highly unusual, but it was actually quite good. I think the balsamic might go very well with that, too.