Lamb Loin Chops @TinaKashian1 #Christmas

 Hello from TINA KASHIAN! A favorite Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dish is lamb. As we decorate our Christmas tree and the house for the holidays, we are looking forward to getting together with family. Lamb will most likely be one of the dishes served on Christmas day. Today, I’m sharing a recipe for lamb loin chops. I found this recipe from Pinterest. I wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

8 lamb loin chops

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking dish with parchment paper and arrange chops in a single layer. Season chops with salt and pepper. Combine all other ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Spoon 1/8 herb mixture onto each chop and spread to coat evenly.

 

Bake until internal temperature reads 135 degrees Fahrenheit (about 15 minutes) Remove from oven and tent with foil for five minutes.

 

Serve hot. Enjoy!

 

 

What is your favorite holiday dish? Please share.

 Christmas is coming and this is the festive read for you! Prepare a hot cup of cocoa or tea and curl in a comfy chair with a blanket and read.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3d6TK2V
Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/2V2R4NV
Google Books: https://bit.ly/3hrFS73
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Kobo: https://bit.ly/2ABK3wc

Not even her impending nuptials can keep Lucy Berberian, manager of her family-owned Kebab Kitchen, from the Jersey Shore’s annual Polar Bear Plunge. But her dive into the icy ocean is especially chilling when she finds a fellow swimmer doing the dead man’s float—for real . . .

 

Who would kill a man in cold blood during Ocean Crest, New Jersey’s most popular winter event? When Lucy learns the victim is Deacon Spooner, the reception hall owner who turned up his nose—and his price—at her wedding plans, she can’t help wondering who wouldn’t kill the pompous caterer . . .

 

Perhaps the culprit is the wedding cake baker whose career Deacon nearly destroyed? Or the angry bride whose reception he ruined? With her maid of honor, Katie, busily planning Lucy’s wedding without her, Lucy will have to get to the bottom of this cold-hearted business in time for Kebab Kitchen’s mouthwatering Christmas celebration—and before her hometown’s holiday spirit washes out to sea . . .

 

Recipes included

  

 

Tina Kashian writes the Kebab Kitchen Mediterranean mystery series, and her first book, Hummus and Homicide, spent six weeks on the B&N bestseller list. Tina is an attorney and a mechanical engineer whose love of reading for pleasure helped her get through years of academia. Tina spent her childhood summers at the Jersey shore building sandcastles, boogie boarding, and riding the boardwalk Ferris wheel. She also grew up in the restaurant business, as her Armenian parents owned a restaurant for thirty years. Tina still lives in New Jersey with her supportive husband and two daughters.

You can also connect with Tina at:

Website: www.tinakashian.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TinaKashianAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TinaKashian1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinakashian/

The Key to a Successful Lamb Loin Chop

I have avoided buying lamb at the grocery store for years because of the cost. But lamb was always my go-to Easter dinner entree, so when I saw that they had lamb loin chops, I decided to try them. They cost a little bit less than beef for filet mignon, but enough that I certainly didn't want to ruin them!

For the record, they're a nice cut. I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again. Plus, they're super easy to prepare and lend themselves nicely to whatever flavors you like. I ran across some recipes that served them with a butter sauce. Um, lamb is not the least fatty meat in the world, so I avoided adding more fat, although I suspect that it's pretty good with butter. Everything is good with butter!

The key to a successful lamb loin chop is to not overcook it. Would it be edible if it were well done? Yes, it would. But I'm quite sure it would no longer be as tender as it is at medium rare. I readily admit that I cannot tell whether meat is done by pressing it like everyone suggests. It all feels the same to me. So I rely on my trusty Thermapen which improved my meat cooking enormously! Lamb is medium rare at 145. So as soon as the Thermapen registered 145, it was out of the pan.

A huge caveat if you're looking at recipes. They vary enormously on cooking time. I was thrilled that I decided to go by my Thermapen. Had I used any of the times on the recipes I looked at, my meat would have been completely under-cooked or woefully overcooked. Let's face it, cooking times for meat depend a lot on the thickness of the chop. If you have a temperature probe—use it!

I used a cast iron pan. Generally speaking when it comes to red meat, I find cast iron to be preferable.

Loin Lamb Chops

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
lamb loin chops
salt & pepper
1/2 cup white wine
3-4 cloves garlic, minced

Add olive oil to pan and heat on medium or medium high until a drop of water in the pan will sizzle. Salt and pepper the chops and place them into the pan. Leave them there, untouched (don't flip or move them around) for 3 to 4 minutes while they brown. Flip and brown the other side for 3 to 4 minutes. Continue cooking for another two minutes on each side. Test with temperature probe. You want them to be 145 degrees. Add the garlic and the white wine to deglaze the pan. Continue cooking the chops until they register 145. Remove from pan and allow to rest for at least five minutes. Scrape any remaining bits clinging to the pan and pour over chops to serve.

I served these with roasted asparagus and mashed potatoes.

Brown the chops.

Add white wine and garlic.

Allow to rest before cutting.