Another Pantry Meal: Lamb "Lollipops" and Leftover Chorizo & Clam Risotto

It's great to have nice stuff in the freezer. One can eat really well without having to do a lot of planning or weekly shopping. So, when scrounging for something to make on a random night in, it can be a sort of event.

We had a rack of lamb that we purchased from Costco a while back. Feeling that we have gone out a little too much lately (and we're also heading to Philly for a sort of food weekend next week), I decided to make something of the meat.

I cut the ribs into individual chops (or "lollipops" or even better "lolli-chops" since they're best enjoyed held at the bone and eaten like a lollipop), marinated them briefly in some country mustard, Worcesteshire and olive oil, then coated them in a dry mixture of rosemary, mint, garlic, oregano, and crushed pepper corns. I seared them in a very hot iron skillet then finished them in the oven at 450. We had some leftover risotto from PS7 (a lovely, smokey medly of spicey chorizo, clams, and arborio rice) so we used it as a bed for the "lollipops".

Cutting the rack of lamb into lolli-chops!

The marinade... Found some stuff to marinate the meat in: Worcesteshire, country mustard, and olive oil.

Dipping a lolli-chop in the marinade...

After marinating for 20 minutes, coated each chop with a mixture of herbs found in the pantry: rosemary, peppercorns, garlic, mint, oregano, and basil...

Seared the chops 2 minutes on each side, then finished in a 450 oven for another 5 minutes (for medium rare).

Lamb "lollipops" on top of Peter Smith's chorrizo and little neck clam risotto.

Had with our go-to favorite Shotfire Ridge, 2003 Shiraz (93 points, Wine Advocate). Not too bad for a lazy, make it up as you go meal.