How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days: Cherry and Merlot Glazed Rack of Lamb
BEN: Dinner is served. Chef’s special tonight, lamb with a cherry glaze. Start you off with the main dish right about there. A few carrots. Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, hey. You okay?
ANDIE: It’s beautiful.
BEN: Thanks.
ANDIE: You’re beautiful. The game, the whole thing. l wish l ate meat. Mary had a little lamb… little lamb… You have to take it away before l gag.
HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS
If you haven’t noticed yet, Valentine’s is only a few weeks away! Christmas decorations have been taken off the shelves to only be replaced by large heart shaped boxes of chocolate and Valentine’s Day cards. I’m really not the biggest fan of this Valentine’s Day but I can’t turn down a good romantic comedy now and then. I believe I first saw How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days when I was in middle school and I thought the concept was hilarious. In one of my favorite scenes, Ben (Matthew McConaughey) invites Andie (Kate Hudson) over to his apartment with dinner. He serves her a cherry glazed lamb along with some roasted carrots and wine. The dinner seems to be going well until Andie reveals that she doesn’t eat meat. They then end up in a vegan restaurant eating salads. Thank goodness, I’ve never had that happen to me!
The roasted rack of lamb I have today is so good. It’s honestly damn good. The cherry preserves was just sweet enough to provide a bit of sweetness. to the glaze. I was first intimidated to roast a whole rack of lamb. It’s expensive and I didn’t want to ruin it but don’t worry because it really is as easy as I keep it in this recipe. Please enjoy, thanks!
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days: Cherry Glazed Rack of Lamb
Ingredients
- 1 - 8 rib 1 1/2 lb - rack of lamb, trimmed
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp - vegetable oil
- 2 - large carrots 1 1/2" pieces
- 1 lb - red potatoes halved if large
- GLAZE
- 2 cups - merlot or any red drinking wine
- 2 - cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tsp - fennel seeds
- 4 tbsp - cherry preserves
- 2 tbsp - unsalted butter
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Combine the merlot, crushed garlic cloves, cherry preserves, and fennel seeds in a saucepan and place it over medium heat. Simmer until it's reduced and it slightly thickens. There should be about 1/3 cup left. Add the butter and stir until melted. Taste for salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Heat a cast iron pan over high heat with 2 tbsp of oil. Generously season the trimmed rack lamb with salt and pepper. Once the pan is smoking hot, seear the lamb on both sides just until golden brown. This should take about 5 minutes. Set the lamb on a sheet pan or you can roast it in the cast iron pan.
- Spoon half of the reduction onto the lamb and roast for 20 minutes or the internal temperature reads 125F (medium rare). Half way through cooking, Spoon the rest of the reduction onto the lamb and let it finish cooking through.
- Meanwhile, toss the carrots and potatoes in olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes until tender and golden.
- Once the lamb is cooked to your preference, let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing. The internal temperature should now read 135F. If you like, toss the roasted vegetables with some of the drippings from the pan. It really takes the vegetables up a notch.
