So, my husband and I are kind of “foodies” per say. I LOVE to cook (obviously) and we LOVE to eat!! For our anniversary, we always spend it in Asheville because my parents send us to a marriage retreat up there every year. So, we save $$ to specifically go to a new and FANCY restaurant. Our dates… we love new and nice restaurants. Now, don’t get me wrong, my husband has a strange obsession with Taco Bell, so it’s not like we never eat less expensive food, but we REALLY enjoy eating out where it’s farm to table, or all natural ingredients, and there’s a lot of thought and freshness put into the meal. In Charlotte we went to a restaurant called the Dandelion Market. New and fun things… new flavors. Inspiring for me too!

One of our most favorite dish, that is usually too expensive, is lamb. Last time we ordered it was probably on an anniversary a few years ago. So… I was needing a date night, and $$ was a bit tight due to saving for a couple of upcoming trips… so I made a fancy dinner here at home!!!! And, compared to an approximate $100 tab at an upscale restaurant (including tip and wine), this meal cost around $25. Pretty good huh?! So, here’s the recipe in case you want an at home date evening!!

Rack of Lamb with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus and Quinoa Tabbouleh

Rack of Lamb Ingredients:

1 half (or full) rack of lamb
8-10 leaves of fresh mint chopped
1 tsp of minced garlic
2 small branches fresh rosemary… remove and mince the leaves.
3-4 TB olive oil
1 tsp sea salt

The rack of lamb needs to be “frenched”. Basically exposing the bones on each rib. You can have the butcher do this. I purchased one that was already done. I then marinated the lamb. I mix the chopped mint, rosemary, garlic, salt and olive oil together with a fork, and then cover the entire half rack of lamb with it. (Most of it on the “fattier” side that is left up. I then put it in a bowl, cover with foil, and put in the fridge for 4 hours.

When done marinating, heat up the cast iron grill pan. (Or grill) Salt the grill pan with sea salt. When hot, place the entire rack fatty side down onto the grill pan to sear. After 6 minutes, flip, and put into the oven and broil for 10 minutes with fatty side up. Take out of the oven , wrap in foil and let sit for 5 minutes. After, remove from foil and cut apart each separate rib. Most people leave it here because people like it on the “rare” side of medium. Since I don’t, I like it on the well side of medium, I put the cast iron pan back onto the stove top, heated it up and seared each side of the meat of each individual lab pieces. About 1 min per side. Then… served!! DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fingerling Potatoes:

Toss the potatoes in olive oil, sea salt, and rosemary and roast in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes. DONE! 🙂

Asparagus

Roast in oven w/a light amount of olive oil, and salt. 12 min at 350.

vi

Tabbouleh: This I threw in because I discovered a fresh cucumber in my garden!! I figured, lamb, asparagus… why not stick with the Mediterranean vibe and make this!! The recipe here is from a previous post: https://dancinandcookininthekitchen.com/2014/06/02/quinoa-tabbouleh/