Tough day at the office? Try this: mustard crusted rack of lamb!

Disclaimer:  This is a favorite recipe that The Wife and I prepare quite often.  It was originally one that The Papa Bear of all gluttons, Emeril Lagasse had demonstrated on one of his Food Network Cooking shows.  If his short lived bomb-sitcom had one iota of the magic of this recipe, it would have made MASH or Seinfeld look like Cop Rock.  Trust me on this one, this recipe is a home run!

Cook time: About an hour.

Ingredients

• 1 rack of lamb, trimmed (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (It’s KEY that you use the REAL stuff – FROM ITALY.  Trust me on this.)

Note:  This recipe ALSO works well with the loin chops, as well as the rack; but the rack is the preferred cut of lamb to use.  Overall, it’s pretty simple to execute.  Any fool can pull it off.

If you have a dog, and he/she’s like ours, once the lamb comes out of the packaging, your dog will go nuts.  When our dog smells all that gamey, meaty goodness she starts gleefully howling like she’s being tortured.  It’s not that the smell is THAT strong to the human nose, but to the canine nose it inspires a reaction somewhat akin to a sorority girl smelling a generous amount of Drakar Nior on a trust fund, pre-med frat boy.  So…..

Season the rack of lamb well on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat a medium skillet over high heat and, when hot, add the oil. When the oil is almost smoking, add the rack of lamb and brown well on all sides for about 4 - 6 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a plate and set aside to cool slightly before proceeding.  Depending on how you want to pull this off, you can section off the lamb into little chops.  We prefer to section them each into a chop containing three rib sections.  Or you can simply leave them intact.  It’s you’re choice.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Combine the minced garlic and the mustard together in a small bowl, and then generously spread them onto the lamb.  The back of a spoon can work, but my wife prefers to simply use her hands.

In a small mixing bowl combine the breadcrumbs and grated cheese and mix/toss together thoroughly. Using your hands or a spoon, spread the breadcrumb mixture evenly all over the lamb, pressing so that the crumbs adhere to the meat.

Place the rack of lamb on a baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes for medium-rare. Allow lamb to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before carving or serving.

As for side dishes, we like to serve roasted baby or fingerling potatoes with a dusting of rosemary and olive oil; along with steamed FRESH green beans with this dish.  The lamb itself is pretty rich and a similarly rich side dish would simply be too over the top.

As for a wine pairing, we really like Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon.  It’s Chilean, and it can be found for under $20.  If you want to spend more money, one of the BETTER California Cabernets will work.  A red Bordeaux that’s mostly Cabernet based will also work.  But why bother with those expensive choices when Montes Alpha is already a complete slam dunk with this dish. 

Chew on that!
T.S.G.