maryland crabcakes, lamb, spinach and garlic bread dinner

I had a little extra time to make up a delicious dinner, since the thunderstorms were running through the area off an on.  I decided to give Bota Box wine a shot and so far, I give it a thumbs up.  Now most of us grew up thinking box wine is cheap and awful.  However, due to more economical packaging that is less wasteful,  and helps wine last longer, there is a whole new market of box wines that are fantastic!  You won’t be disappointed if you want a glass here and there during the week but don’t want to waste a bottle.

Perfectly paired with the Chardonnay were the Maryland Crabcakes I made.  These were based off of Paula Deen’s Maryland Crabcakes Recipe.  Though I’m normally not a huge fan of her cooking she does have a few great dishes.

These were lump crab meat with crushed up ritz crackers, diced red bell peppers, diced green onions, lemon juice, and mayo then dusted with a little flour and fried in peanut oil for a few minutes on each side until crispy and brown!
The dipping sauce was not your typical tartar sauce (which i feel is overused).  It was mayo, worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, mustard powder, white wine vinegar and a sprinkle of white pepper!  Perfect complement!  I think next time I’ll make them a little smaller and serve them to a group when I’m entertaining!  I couldn’t stop eating these!!

Now for the entree!  Lamb is so simple, yet people are intimidated by it.  These nice cuts were brushed with olive oil, rosemary, salt, pepper and set in the fridge until ready to cook.

My love for a cast iron skillet shows with these beauties.  Heat up the skillet in the oven at 400 degrees for 40 minutes to an hour, then take it out and put it on a hot burner.  Toss on the lamb for about a minute and a half on each side to get that nice sear and crustiness.

Place it back in the oven after searing both sides for 3 minutes, then flip and place back in the oven.  Lamb is best served medium or rare…but if you want it more well done, cook longer on each side in the oven.

Do NOT forget to let it rest when you take it out of the oven!  I promise you, it won’t get cold!

As a sauce for the lamb (which really didn’t need it) I made a creamy horseradish sauce, based off of Alton Brown’s recipe (can you tell I’m a foodnetwork.com junkie???)  Though, I used a little heavy cream, horse radish, dijon mustard and black pepper. 

I also whipped up some wilted baby spinach, which was heated up in a pan with fresh roasted garlic and kosher salt.

Since I had bread around, I made up some garlic bread with my roasted garlic, kerrygold butter, and some parmesean and romano cheese grated, toasted to perfection!

Now, I’m full, but I hope I made you hungry enough to cook up some good eats yourself!  What’s your favorite food to make??
*K