Lamb Chops with Blueberry Sauce

By now we’ve all heard about the amazing antioxidant benefits of eating blueberries so we can agree that, at a mere 83 calories per cup, blueberries are amazingly good for you. And you and I have chatted before about how easy it is to use frozen blueberries in your baking when you can’t find fresh. We’ve also talked about pairing blueberries with champagne and sorbet for a simple yet elegant dessert. So now let’s turn our attention to using blueberries in a savory recipe that combines blueberries, herbes de provence (for a little French flair, ooh la la) and red wine to create a sauce for tender lamb chops. The sweet-tart flavor of the blueberries and the floral aroma of the herbes de provence gently tame the slightly gamy flavor of lamb.

This dish is really easy to prepare so it’s great for everyday dinners but still chic enough for a dinner party. If you cook this for a dinner party, you can prepare the lamb and the sauce up to an hour ahead of time, leaving out the butter at the end. Hold in a low oven with the door slightly ajar until ready to serve. I like to preheat the oven to 225 degrees and then turn it off before I put in the lamb to wait for my guests. Make sure that the oven isn’t too hot because you don’t want to accidentally overcook the lamb, which should be cooked to medium if you follow the recipe directions. Swirl the butter into the sauce right before serving.

LAMB CHOPS WITH BLUEBERRY SAUCE

8 lamb loin chops or rib chops
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 shallot, finely minced
1/3 cup red wine
1/2 pint blueberries, washed and any stems removed
1 teaspoon herbes de provence
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

Season lamb on all sides with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan.

Saute lamb on both sides until browned, about two and a half minutes per side. If you prefer a more well done chop, add another minute per side. Use your good judgment.

Remove lamb from pan and place on a plate.

Add shallots to pan and saute until translucent, stirring frequently.

Add blueberries and saute until the fruit begins to break down, about five minutes.

Add the red wine and herbes de provence.

Raise heat and bring to a quick boil.

Lower heat to medium-low. Add lamb back to the pan and simmer gently for a few minutes.

Swirl in the cold butter to thicken the sauce.

To serve, arrange the chops on a platter and spoon the sauce over the top.

Serves 4.

Champagne Float

If I had to choose only one beverage to drink for the rest of my days then I would choose champagne. I swoon for the effervescent headiness of all those tiny bubbles dancing around in my mouth. Most people drink champagne only on special occasions but how many truly special occasions do you celebrate in a year? Maybe five? Six? However many you can count, why limit yourself to champagne toasts at only the most celebratory events? Let’s have bubbly every day! We’re grown-ups so who can stop us? I’m in if you’re in.

Here’s my take on the classic root beer float, updated and made elegant with champagne, sorbet and fresh berries.

CHAMPAGNE FLOAT

1 bottle dry champagne
2 pints of peach, mango or lemon sorbet
1 pint of blueberries, strawberries or blackberries
6 champagne glasses (the ones shaped like a saucer, not a flute)

Use an ice cream scoop to place a generously sized ball of sorbet into each champagne glass.

Divide the berries equally between the glasses. If the strawberries are large then cut them into halves or quarters.

Pour in enough champagne to almost reach the top of the glass.

Serve immediately.

Serves 6

Pear Berry Tart

For some reason, fruit tarts remind me of sunshine and summertime. Yesterday was a chilly day, albeit not as chilly as it could have been this time of year, but I still found myself longing for a warm summer day. The kind where you lounge around lazily on the porch, drinking lemonade and doing a whole bunch of nothing. Considering that we’re nearing the end of February, it was obvious that any wishes for warmth would be pointless so I decided to engage in a little self-help by baking a fruit tart. Even if I couldn’t get the feel of summer, I could at least get the flavor of summer.

I used blueberries and strawberry preserves in this recipe but you can substitute any berry combination that you like. You can even use frozen berries, like I did. I usually keep a bag of frozen blueberries or cherries in the freezer, especially when they’re out of season. Frozen berries work well in this tart because you don’t need to thaw them before using. Just plop them down into the tart and you’re good to go. Oh, and one more thing- this recipe uses two kinds of fat in the pastry dough. The butter tastes good (shocking, I know) while the shortening makes the crust flaky. If you have a favorite butter pastry dough that tastes great but your crusts are tough, try swapping out a bit of the butter for shortening. Try a butter to shortening ratio of 3:1 or 4:1. That will probably solve the problem. And remember to keep the butter and shortening really cold or else it will melt as you work the dough mixture and the crust will be heavy. I keep them in the fridge right up to the point where I use them.

PEAR BERRY TART

1 1/4 cup flour
6 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons ice water
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

2 firm but ripe Bartlett pears
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/3 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup strawberry preserves
2 teaspoons milk

Combine the flour, butter, shortening, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times until the mixture looks like coarse meal.

Drizzle in the almond extract and 3 tablespoons of the ice water. Pulse to combine.

Pinch a little bit of the mixture between your fingers. If it holds together well, then do not add any more water. If it’s still too dry and crumbly, add the remaining water one tablespoon at a time until the dough holds together when squeezed.

Turn out onto a lightly floured board. Form into a flattened disk and gently smear the dough, using the heel of your hand, across the board until the disk is elongated by a few inches. Fold in half. Repeat those two steps a couple of times. This helps the fat to become evenly distributed throughout the dough so that when it melts the crust will be delicate and flaky.

Reform the dough into a disk about 6 inches across. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, to allow the butter and shortening to firm up again. Or, you can leave the dough in the fridge for up to one day.

Right before assembling the tart, peel and core the pears. Slice thinly lengthwise and toss with the lemon juice to prevent the pears from turning brown.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lightly dust your work area with flour. Roll out the dough into a large circle that is a few inches bigger in diameter than a dinner plate. Don’t worry if the edges are uneven.

Carefully fold the dough in half and then in half again. You should have a wedge shape. Place wedge on the parchment paper, with the point in the middle. Carefully unfold the dough.

Take a large dinner plate, turn it upside down and gently press it into the middle of the dough to make an imprint of a circle. Use this circle as a guide for assembling the inside of the tart. Everything should stay inside the circle.

Spread the strawberry preserves on the dough, inside the circle.

Artfully arrange the pear slices, slightly overlapping, on top of the preserves.

Place the blueberries in the center of the circle of pears.

Gently fold the dough outside the circle up over the top of the pears to form a rustic crust. Some of the fruit should still be visible.

Brush the crust with the milk.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the crust is lightly golden brown.

Allow to cool before serving.

Serves 6.