Welcome back! This is our second lamb recipe after the first one, Roasted Rack of Lamb . Check out the first recipe to learn a little more! Lamb Loin Chop Makes as many chops as you can put in one pan. We got 8, which is about 4 servings. Ingredients: Some lamb loin chops Rosemary Salt and pepper Herbs and/or pepper flakes (optional) Directions: Use a paper towel to dry the chops. Sprinkle on the seasonings on both sides. We only put rosemary on one side though (the side that isn't shown below). Start preheating your oven at 400°. In an oven proof heavy cast iron pan, heat some oil. This pan needs to be able to fit in your oven, so check that first! In your pan, sear the chops for 2 minutes on each side. Then, put the whole pan in the oven and bake it for 15 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes. These two recipes are pretty similar, but there were enough differences that it seemed reasonable to separate them so that you're making each one properly. They're both really good and tende...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a couple of recipes for cooking lamb, specifically for two different cuts of meat. The key to lamb is the rosemary, and of course, preparing it correctly, which is what this post is about. Something interesting: I was wondering why it was called "Rack of Lamb" and not "Lamb Rack", since that's more concise, but that's just the term, maybe because it's a French translation from carré d'agneau , which just means rack of lamb. Roasted Rack of Lamb Makes a rack Ingredients: 1 lamb rack Rosemary Salt and pepper Herbs and/or pepper flakes (optional) Directions: Use a paper towel to dry the rack. Rub the lamb rack with olive oil. Sprinkle on the seasonings on both sides. Bake it in the oven at 425° for about 25 minutes for medium-well. You can adjust it depending on how you want your meat to be. Rest for 5 minutes afterwards. Instead of Step 4, you can also do this: Sear each side of the rack for 1-2 minutes on a pan. Then bake...

Welcome back!  Today, we have an interesting dessert; it's a cake that's also kinda like a cheesecake, and it's loaded with blueberries! It's also got a good tartness because of the lime and greek yogurt, so it's a very nice combination of flavors. I'd imagine that you can make cakes like this with other fruits like cherries, strawberries, or peach, to name a few.  Blueberry Cake Makes a 9" cake Ingredients: 3 eggs 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup ricotta cheese 1 cup greek yogurt 6 tablespoons butter, melted Zest from one lime 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Lime juice from 1/2 lime 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 1/2 cup blueberry Directions: Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the sugar to it. Take a electric mixer and beat this mixture until it thickens and turns rather pale. On high power, this will take about 4-5 minutes. Add the ricotta cheese, greek yogurt, butter, lime zest, and vanilla extract into the mixture and beat it on low power just so it gets mixed to...

Welcome back!  Today, we have some pizza! Pizza is a dish that has been adapted by so many different cultures and is really so versatile; you can really put whatever on it. We have been experimenting with making different types of home-made pizza, and it turns out that naans make for a great dough that is already baked. This makes the preparation time a little quicker since the dough doesn't have to cook from being raw. We use store-bought naans but of course, you could make your own! You could also probably use pita bread if it's thin enough or tortillas for a nice crispy crust. Naan Pizza Makes however much you want! Ingredients: These ingredients all vary depending on how much you want - it's completely customizable. This is what we generally use. Naans Marinara sauce Mozzarella cheese (shredded and/or ovalini) Various assortment of Italian cold cuts - salami, prosciutto, pancetta Red onions Black olives Basil You could also add some of the following: Pesto sauce Alfredo...

Welcome back!  As a follow up to the Ten Layer Dip , here's our recipe for homemade refried beans, guacamole, and pico de gallo. Refried Beans Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 tablespoon butter 1/4 small onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1 can pinto beans 1/4 cup water 1/2 lemon/lime juice Salt to taste Directions: Saute the onions and garlic with the oil in a pan until soft. Add the spices (chili powder and cumin) into the pan and mix it a little. Rinse out the pinto beans thoroughly and put them in the pan. Add the water, lemon/lime juice, and salt and cook until the beans are soft. Once done, add the butter and mix it together. Now, to mash it. You can mash it like you do with mashed potatoes (using a fork or a special mashing tool), or you can use a blender/food processor for a smoother texture. Guacamole Ingredients: 1 large avocado or 2 small avocados 1/4 red onion Juice from 1/2 limes Some cilantro Some jalapenos...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a fun tex-mex appetizer (though who says it can't be a meal!) that combines a bunch of classic tex-mex style foods and rolls it into one for you to enjoy with your chips! Traditionally, the dip is made of 7 layers, but we decided to spice things up by making it ten layers. We have all of the ingredients that you could possibly want (OK, there's no meat but we put that on the side), and the assortment is very colorful! 10 Layer Dip Makes 4 servings Ingredients (in order): Refried beans Sour cream Black beans Corn Guacamole Pico de Gallo Cheese (Sharp cheddar or Mexican blend) Olives Jalapenos Green Onions Directions: Prepare the three things that need to be prepared - refried beans, guacamole, and pico - based off of our recipe here . Chop everything into small enough chunks: it needs to be dip-able! Assemble it. You can do it in small cups like we did or into a dish. Of course, you can add pretty much anything you want! The key things are refried b...

Welcome back!  Today, we have another recipe for when you want to use some of your extra bananas! Unlike the Banana Bread from last time, this one is basically a chiffon cake that is modified to accommodate for the bananas. It keeps the really light and fluffy texture of the cake while also having the banana flavor, and it also goes nicely with other fresh fruit like shown below.  Banana Chiffon Cake Makes one 9-10" pan Ingredients: For the egg yolk mixture: 7 egg yolks 2 tablespoons sugar 2 medium bananas 80 grams oil 90 grams orange juice 110 grams cake flour 10 grams corn starch 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda For the egg white mixture: 7 egg whites 110 more grams of sugar 1 teaspoon lime/lemon juice Directions: Mix the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Then, add oil and mix thoroughly. Then, add orange juice and mix. Then, add vanilla extract. Sift the flour along with the baking soda and baking powder and add it in the egg yolk mixture. Gently fold ...

Welcome back to Chez Chefpo!  Today, we have an iconic dish: Confit Byaldi! If you haven't heard of it, this is the real name for the variation of ratatouille from the 2007 Pixar movie. Ratatouille in general is just a stew that contains many of the same ingredients as the confit byaldi, and it doesn't have to be sliced into such thin slices; in fact, it's often just chunks of the vegetables. From the movie, it seems like this dish is for the intense gourmets and that it's really hard to make. However, all it takes is a some precision with the knife and a little patience! Easy Ratatouille (Confit Byaldi) Makes a 8" by 5" oval dish Ingredients: 1/2 zucchini 1/2 yellow squash 1/2 Chinese eggplants (you'll want these because you want the size to be the same as the rest of the vegetables unless you have massive zucchinis and squash) 2 roma tomatoes 1/2 cup marinara sauce Olive oil Some herbs, like thyme Salt and pepper Directions: Thinly slice all the vegetabl...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a recipe for a dish that we've made a lot but only recently with the help of the Instant Pot, a handy multi-cooker that can cook any type of food! We will also divulge our combination of spices, which is the other key part of this recipe. There's actually many different methods of preparing ribs, as each state in the US tends to have their own variety, and some regions within those states have varieties. The sauces can vary from tomato-based to vinegar-based, and the meat can be smoked, grilled, or roasted. This version is made to be convenient and clean to do from your kitchen! Instant Pot Barbecue Ribs Makes 1 rack Ingredients: Meat: 1 rack of ribs 1 cup water or apple cider vinegar (we did half a cup of each) 1 tablespoon liquid smoke Barbecue sauce (whatever you like!) Spices: 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon ground mustard 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teas...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a recipe for banana bread, which is a great use for your aging bananas. We eat bananas quite often in Chez Chefpo so we also tend to have some surplus bananas, but we always end up making some other sort of banana bread-like cake that isn't quite like this one, which is more traditional. So, this was rather new and very delicious. Banana Bread Makes a 4" by 8" loaf Ingredients: 3 medium bananas 50 grams sugar 35 grams brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 5 tablespoons butter, melted 2 tablespoons condensed milk 1 1/2 cups (about 180 grams) flour  1 teaspoon baking soda Directions: Mix together all the wet ingredients: the eggs, melted butter, and condensed milk, and make sure it's smooth. Then add in the sugar, brown sugar, and salt and mix thoroughly. Sift the flour and add it along with the baking soda. At this point, just mix it some. You still need to add in the bananas and you don't want it to be over-mixed when the banana comes ...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a popular soup that actually dates from ancient times, though it gained its popularity since the 1960s. Surprisingly, this increase in demand was seen first in the United States rather than France, where people were eating fun French food like escargot. Although the dish seems simple (a big pot full of onions, right?), it's actually quite time consuming to make and involves many steps that we'll go over. But in the end, you get a nice authentic soup to enjoy! French Onion Soup Makes 4-6 servings Ingredients: 3 large sweet onions, thinly sliced (this should be about 8 to 10 cups) 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon sugar 1 tablespoon garlic, minced 1/2 cup white wine 4 to 6 cups beef broth (depending on how concentrated you want it to be, we used 4 cups) 1/2 teaspoon thyme (dry or fresh) Salt and pepper to taste Serve this alongside some baguette slices topped with cheese (we used Gruyere). Directions: In a Dutch oven, put the oi...