Lamb chops & brocolli mold?

My husband and I enjoy spending time over the winter experimenting with new recipe ideas... and high on our list this winter - inventive ways to serve basic vegetables. With that in mind - we have started to experiment with brocolli and this is our first attempt, but certainly not the final product. But, you got to start somewhere and for us -that means starting at the most basic starting point and adding from there.

1/2 lb of brocolli - cook this in boiling water. Drain. Puree with either a food processor or one of those hand-held stick blenders. We often use the hand-held stick blender for puree foods - it is great for soups! Mix in 2 eggs. Pour into buttered ramkin. Put in hot water bath (about 1/2 way up the side - we started with 2/3, but decided that was too much water once it started to boil and then had to take some water out!). COVER the pan. Boil for about 20 minutes. We had room in the pan so added our baby potatoes at the same time. By the way - this will make enough brocolli for 4 ramkins - I only show 2 in the photo.

The verdict: We were very happy with the way the brocolli "set". It was very bland -definately needed salt, but the brocolli flavor was very distinct. This is an idea that we will continue to experiment with - we are thinking of doing 1/2 carrot, 1/2 brocolli, or a layer of shredded beets, or, or, or??? Another possibility is creating a blue cheese sauce to serve on the side, or even in the mixture, or, or, or??? Although cooking this on the stove top worked just fine for the 2 of us, often we need 20plus servings of something, so we will experiment with a hot water bath, covered with foil - in the oven next time!

Anyway, when experimenting in the kitchen - it is always a good idea to also serve tried & true dishes as well... just in case...

So last night we had marinated lamb chops. These are small chops - you have to take your very sharp knife and trim off ALL the fat. Marinate overnight (we couldn't get fresh ingredients, so ended up using a prepared lamb marinade, which was just fine!). Lamb chops - broil on high for 3 minutes each side and then put under a tinfoil tent for a few minutes to finish cooking. It is important not to overcook lamb! Mint jelly on the side is always tasty with lamb!

The boiled potatoes. And, Vogel salad - a small green salad typical in Austria. I love this particular salad mixed with a mixture of 80% pumpkin seed oil and 20% balsamic vinegar, sprinkled with a tiny bit of salt. Pumpkin seed oil is a very dark, rich oil - if you have never tried it - I highly recommend that you do - you can find it in the USA in specialty grocery stores or by mail order. It is really worth looking for!