Sunday Dinner November 8, 2020

Gather the family members and together, prepare your guest list as well as:

1. Decide on your menu making sure to include vegetarian and special dietary needs dishes.
2. Order your fresh turkey, or buy your frozen turkey and put it in the freezer. 
3. Pick up all beverages.
4. Shop for non-perishable goods (cranberry sauce, pasta, maple syrup, brown sugar, legumes, etc.)  now, before the rush.
5. Purchase/make all your dried seasonings and spices i.e. Poultry Seasoning, Pumpkin Spice Mix, etc.  Toss all of last years’ seasonings, they are too old. Even if they still smell okay, they can give your dishes a bitter/dirt like taste.

On the Sunday Dinner Menu:

Rosemary Orange Glazed Lamb Chops

4 Servings

Traditionally this recipe uses honey, but since I am not a big fan of honey, I’m going to use Maple Syrup instead.

Ingredients 
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
½ teaspoon ground pepper
4 lamb chops

Method

Whisk together the orange juice, maple syrup, salt, rosemary, grated orange peel, garlic and pepper.

Place chops in a baking dish and pour over the marinade.  Make sure all chops are cover with marinade. 

Cover chops with plastic wrap and let them marinate in the refrigerator 2 hours or overnight.

Remove chops from refrigerator, drain and reserve the marinade.

Let chops come to room temperature before cooking.

Meanwhile, add marinade to a sauce pan and simmer until sauce is reduced by half. Remove from heat and set aside.

Put lamb chops on broiler rack and broil for 6 minutes on one side. Broil the second side for 5 minutes, or until desired doneness is reached.

At time of plating, spoon marinade over each chop.

Cilantro Lime Herb Rice

6 Servings

Ingredients

2 cups long grain rice

3½ cups water

1 lime

1 teaspoon sea salt                                                                                        

1 teaspoon granulated garlic                                                    

1 teaspoon granulated onion                                              

¼ – ½ teaspoon crushed red chili peppers

1 teaspoon fresh mint, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon fresh dill, chopped

¼ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Method

Rinse rice, strain and place in a sauce pan.  Add the water; squeeze the juice from ½  of the lime, salt, garlic, onion and crushed red chili peppers. 

Mix thoroughly, bring pot to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook for 16 minutes.

Once the cooking time has ended, let rice sit covered 6 minutes before removing the top. 

Add the fresh mint, dill, cilantro and squeezed the other half of the lime over the rice.

Gently fold the added ingredients into the rice and serve immediately.

• 
   Grilled Vegetables
  4 Servings
  
  
  Note: You can choose any vegetables that take well to grilling, such as peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, carrots, squash, onions, potatoes, corn on the cob, artichokes, mushrooms and asparagus are just to name a few.
  
  
  
  Ingredients
  2 zucchini squash, sliced
  12 cherry tomatoes
  2 red onions cut into fourths
  2 red bell peppers, seeded, halved
  2 yellow bell peppers, seeded, halved
  
  
     For the marinade/dressing
  ¼ cup olive oil
  1 lemon, juiced
  2 tablespoons balsamic or rice wine vinegar
  ½ teaspoon sea salt
  ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
  ½ teaspoon granulated onion
  ¼ teaspoon crushed red chili pepper
  
  
  Method
  Combine marinate ingredients in a blender or whisk ingredients in a bowl. 
  Marinate vegetables for 15 minutes before grilling.
  Prepare a medium-hot fire in the charcoal or gas grill.
  Put the vegetables directly on the grill grid, on skewers or in a vegetable basket.
  Turn the vegetables often, brushing on more marinade as needed.
  Remove the vegetables when they can be easily pierced with a fork.

• 
  

Mesclun Salad with a Balsamic Strawberry Vinaigrette

2 Servings

Ingredients

6 ounces mesclun salad mix

1 Persian cucumber, sliced in coins

4 0unces grape tomatoes, halved, lengthwise

1 small red, orange or yellow bell pepper, sliced thin

½ ounce Strawberry preserves

3 ounces balsamic vinaigrette

1 ounce walnut halves

1 ounce goat cheese

Method

Thoroughly rinse salad mix and pat dry with paper towels. Trim the cucumber and slice them thinly into rounds. Halve the tomatoes. Remove seeds and veins from bell pepper and slice thin.

In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinaigrette with the strawberry preserves.

Gently toss all the vegetables and dressing in a large bowl and top with the walnuts and goat cheese,