ham and lamb plus a little gospel and a bunch of bats…

Two Sundays ago was Easter and I’m still posting Easter recipes. This past Sunday I was in Austin and Marissa and Jeff took me to Gospel Brunch – it was AMAZING!

There are several restaurants in Austin that serve brunch with a side of gospel music, we went to Stubb’s BBQ and heard The Original Bells of Joy. What an absolute JOY it was. Thanks, M & J!

The night before that we took a boat cruise out on Lady Bird Lake and watched as the 750,000 pregnant Mexican bats started out for a night of hunting.

You can read all about it HERE. It is a truly beautiful and fascinating sight to behold.

My Easter ham was a no-brainer.  I bought a spiral-cut ham at Costco. I mixed together some whole-grain Dijon mustard (1/4 cup) with 1/2 cup each of the following; maple syrup, brown sugar, and fresh orange juice. I spread that all over the ham put it on a rack and stuck it in a 325-degree oven for 90 minutes. That was it. No recipe is needed and no photos were taken of the easy process.

The lamb was almost as simple, though I do have a recipe and photos for you. I bought a little French-trimmed rack of lamb at Costco, cut it into chops, and served the chops with a chimichurri sauce.

Traditional Argentinean chimichurri is made with parsley, garlic, white vinegar, and oregano. I put my spin on it and used cilantro in place of the oregano, added a little southwest spice by way of cumin and red pepper flakes, and used red wine vinegar instead of distilled white vinegar.

Lamb Chops with Southwest Chimichurri

Chimichurri Sauce

• 1 cup (packed) fresh Italian parsley
• 1/2 cup (packed) fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil

Lamb

• 8 to 10 rib lamb chops
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chimichurri Sauce: Puree all ingredients, except oil, in a food processor.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the oil (start with 1/3 cup and add more if desired) run the machine again to combine and then transfer to the bowl.

Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature. Or maybe made up to 24 hours ahead, cover and refrigerate, and let come to room temperature before using.

Makes about 1 cup.

Lamb: Season lamb chops on both sides with salt and pepper, then place on the rack of a roasting pan. Broil until medium-rare, about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Remove and let rest for 3 minutes. Top with room temperature chimichurri before serving.

Serves 4

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