Lamb Chops Au Poivre

OK, so onto the main course of our Valentine’s Day feast! I made lamb chops au poivre, green beans and mashed potato.

For the lamb chops, I used a recipe from Bon Apetit. The only difference is that I used short loin chops instead of rib and a splash of half and half at the end. A nice change from steak au poivre, easy and delicious. I seared the chops about 2 minutes per side and then put them in a warm oven to finish cooking while I made the sauce. This made for a perfectly medium rare chop. I just love au poivre. I mean, you are picking up yummy bits of meat with booze and butter. As Ina says, “How bad can that be?”

For the mashed potatoes, I just made them with butter and half and half since we had some in the fridge. A rarity since I tend to make mashed potatoes with skim milk and a little bit of butter or sometimes even *gasp* Smart Balance.

For the green beans, I heated some olive oil in a pan, then threw in 2 cloves of minced garlic and some chopped pine nuts. I sautéed that over low heat, while my green beans boiled (just covered fresh beans with water, brought to a boil and cooked for about 3 minutes). Then I tossed the drained green beans with the oil-garlic-pine nut mixture and some salt and pepper.  See, I can make vegetables besides asparagus!