Roasted Lamb Chops with Creamy Grits

I love marinades.  It's like a little chemistry experiment each time you put one together.  I've been using a lot of rosemary and thyme lately because they are still growing well in pots outside in my backyard.  They are, anyway, classic herbs for any meat and combined with parsley and sage, well, good enough to name an album after.  A little sweet something always goes well with lamb, hence the brown sugar and mustard.  


8 Lamb Loin Chops
2 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
8-10 fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup fresh flat Italian parsley leaves
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp Walla Walla sweet onion mustard (or other sweet mustard)
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil

Puree everything (but the lamb chops), in a small food processor until it becomes a paste.   Place lamb chops in a glass or ceramic baking dish and spread paste over all sides of the lamb.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for several hours.  If you are pinched for time, I'm sure an hour or so would be just fine.  Remove from the refrigerator and bring to room temp before cooking.
Heat oven to 450f.  Sear lamb over medium to medium high heat in a heavy cast iron pan with a little vegetable oil, about 3 minutes per side.  Transfer the lamb back to the baking dish and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes for medium rare.


Maggie has been requesting creamy grits since last weekend when we had it with the hanger steak.  So, for my babe, more creamy grits tonight.  No Seckel pear in the house, so I substituted with Honeycrisp apple.  The lamb was tender and sweet.  But the best part of the meal tonight... Stella playing "Soak up the Sun" as I finish typing this.