To be clear, when I say at home, I mean the house in Rancho Mirage. Which, yes, technically belongs to Van. But we are utterly at home here, and really, it's me doing the cooking, so....
We went out later in the afternoon to pick up some groceries, so I got a late-ish start on dinner. That's fine. That meant we got to enjoy the night sky over the mountains as we sat outside.
It got darker by the end of dinner, and we picked out stars before heading inside.
I had put some lamb shanks in the over to braise, but I was concerned that by the time they were done and then I had reduced the braising liquid, it would be a very very late dinner. I let them finish cooking and cooled them, putting them in the fridge for tonight. They'll absorb some of the braising liquid, which will prevent them from drying out, and I can readily de-grease the liquid before reducing it, just lifting the fat off.
While the lamb cooked, I popped another meal into the oven to cook. It's a simple effort I've done multiple times (and sometimes with lamb shoulder chops). I laid some sliced onion down in a casserole dish, then some sprigs of fresh thyme. Over that I placed two thick-cut pork chops on the bone, each seasoned with salt and pepper. A little more thyme, then more onions. Cover, and bake for a good long while (a couple of hours or more) at 325, the same temperature that I had the lamb cooking at. A few Brussels sprouts to cook and put on the side, and that was that. The salt helps draw moisture out of the onions, and it all cooks down into a self-saucing dish that tastes like a really delicious onion soup. Some crusty bread with it would have been ideal, but the chops were sizeable, so I didn't worry about having too much else on the plate.
Van made us Vieux Carré cocktails,
and we toasted the evening.
He made us a second cocktail each for later as we sat outside on the patio furniture, gabbing and keeping Olive company. A fine evening.
Oh, and what's really lovely? A man who does dishes.😉
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