A Romantic Dinner

Ok, so I am a bit late on this one, but I thought I would share my Valentine's Day menu. I decided to cook a nice meal this year instead of going out to a restaurant. I was excited about the chance to make something that I woiuld not normally make!

This year's January/February issue of Cooking Light had a Valentine's menu consisting of rack of Lamb, truffled polenta, and a spicy sweet pepper relish so I decided to follow that. I added a side dish of peas sauteed with bacon, mainly because I wanted a bit more color .

The lamb chops were excellent, which was exciting as it was my first attempt with lamb! I started with chops right out of the refrigerator which may not have been the best idea. The chops were a little underdone after baking for 15 minutes, so I put them back in for a couple minutes. I think that 20 minutes of baking would have worked better, or letting my chops get to room temperature. Besides, this little setback, the lamb chops were very successful!

For the polenta, I made my own from scratch rather than using the Cooking Light recipe that used instant polenta. Polenta is really not hard to do and I started that first and then working on chopping the ingredients and preparing the lamb. The polenta worked really well as an accompaniment, especially since I get sick of mashed potatoes as an accompaniment. The spicy sweet pepper relish was not as big of a hit. I think it was a strange thing to pair with lamb and I didnt think it worked very well. I also just dont think I liked the recipe. I loved the peas and bacon! They were such a nice green! There is something about lamb and peas that makes me think of spring!

All in all, I think the meal was a hit. This lamb chop recipe is great as a romantic meal, but it would also be great for Easter or for entertaining! Again, the recipe is from Cooking Light and is as follows:

Fennel and Rosemary-Crusted Roasted Rack of Lamb:

1 tablespoon fennel seeds, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 (12 oz) French- cut rack of lamb, trimmed
Cooking spray
Rosemary sprigs (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Rub lamb evenly with garlic mixture; place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 475 degrees for 15 minutes or until a thermometer registers 145 degrees (medium-rare) to 160 degrees (medium). Garnish with rosemary sprigs if desired. Yield: 2 servings (serving size- 3ribs).