Lamb Chops, Crab Cake with Mashed Yams and Bok Choy

As a prelude to our anniversary (dating anniversary, not the other thing), we we decided to do a decadent but quick and easy dinner at home.  First plan was ribeyes and lobster, but lobster was a bit more work than I was interested in expending (both cooking and eating) and we eat steak often enough it seemed too boring.  So, not venturing too far afield from the original menu we went from ribeye to lamb rib chop (basically the same cut of meat on a different animal) and lobster to crab cake.  

The plated meal 

I started with the crab cakes instead of the lamb because they can hold very well in a warm oven after they're finished.  You could do the same with the chops, but if you want a nice rare lamb chop there's more chance of it starting to overcook a bit even with the oven at 200.  Crab cakes are cooked through so all you need to worry about is keeping the outside nice and crisp.  Its important to plan our cooking a big meal keeping these kinds of details in mind to get the best, easiest results.  

Anyway, crab cakes are intimidating to many inexperienced cooks, but in fact they're one of the easiest things you can make because the crab itself is a very forgiving ingredient.  Here's the basic ingredients:

1 lb Lump crab meat (Phillips is by far the best commonly available brand but others works fine)

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 of a small yellow or white onion

old bay (to taste)

1  tablespoons butter

~3 oz breadcrumbs

1) For bread crumbs I used some crackers I happened to have on hand.  Just crush them to a pretty fine powder.  You might think adding bread is a kind of cheap filler, but in fact its a necessary and beneficial ingredient.  First its a binder, otherwise the crab cake would just fall apart.  Second it improves texture and helps to create the tasty brown crust during cooking.  You need bread crumbs in a crab cake. 

2) Combine 2 egg yolks (I have a video of how to separate the white and yolk below), mayo and old bay in a bowl and mix well.   

egg, mayo, old bay mix

3) I was lazy so i skipped onions, but normal i would mince and saute half an onion for about 7 minutes and add it to the bowl 

4) Add crab meat and mix gently.  You should be careful here not to mush up the crab meat while you mix it.  Its important to maintain the texture of the lump pieces so its more of a folding or tossing mix.

5) Add the bread crumbs and gentle mix again.

At this point you want a consistency that is not too wet but has enough egg and mayo to allow you to form a 

pretty solid ball with the crab mixture.  If its not wet enough add mayo, if its too wet, at a bit more bread crumbs.  Then let the mix rest in the fridge for about 20 minutes (you will be prepping the lamb at this point).  This lets the bread crumbs absorb moisture to help bind the crab.  

6) Add a tablespoon of butter to a large pan at medium high,  form patties with the crab about 3/4 - 1 inch thick (any diameter is ok).  Once the butter is melted and the pan fully heated add the patties.  Cook about 4-6 minutes per side (until golden brown).  When they're done place on a wire rack and in the oven to the lowest setting available.  I think  mine is 180.

Next up, yams.  This is super simple.  Just throw them in the microwave skin on for 10-20 minutes depending on size and the strength of your microwave.  When they're soft all the way through (test with a knife), let them cool enough to handle, then peal and mash with some olive oil or butter.

Bok Choy is a great, healthy vegetable that's very common in chinese cuisine.  You can do a lot of things with them, but today I just threw them in a pan with about 3 oz of water, a little olive oil and some soy sauce.  Cover and let steam for 12-15 minutes, then remove the cover and continue to cook until most of the liquid is evaporated.  Put these in the oven too.

Now, the lamb chops.  You should do this step earlier while the crab mix is resting.

1)Basically, just salt and season with whatever herb mix you prefer.  I had a bag of dried herbs for a veggie dip I used and some black pepper (always use fresh ground.  the pre-ground stuff loses all the flavor and oils and just becomes kinds bitter heat).  Leave in the fringe for 30 min or up to a day covered.

2)  Scrape off spice mix.  This may seem weird but the point of the marinate time was to let the flavors absorb into the meat.  If you left the spice mix on now it would burn in the pan leaving a bitter burnt taste in the meat.

3)  Add a couple tablespoons of oil to a large pan.  Its important to use oil here and not butter, because you want a very hot pan and butter will burn.  Olive oil should work, but also has a somewhat low smoking temp, so vegetable or some other high temp oil is preferred.  This rule applies anytime you are searing meat.  You want to very hot to get browning and flavor on the outside quickly enough that it doesn't overcook, and you need a high temp oil to prevent smoking.  

    For a rare chop its only going to take about 3-4 minutes per side because the lamb chops are small and relatively thin.  

4)  As the chops finish, place them on a plate and cover to let the meat rest and the center continue to warm and cook a bit more.  Meat will always keep cooking inside for a while after heat is removed, which is another reason you only need a very short cook time here.  The rest also allows muscle fibers to relax and juices to redistribute making the meat more juicy and tender when you finally cut into it.

5) Finally, (i forgot to take pics of this) a great simple sauce for lamb is greek yogurt with balsamic vinegar.  This tart and sweet sauce complements the very rich flavor and cuts the fat.  You can serve it in a small dish on the side or place a couple spoonfuls on the plate and place the chops over it.


Now plate and enjoy.  I'm not the best at artistic plating, but I did my best.  A somewhat tannic, full bodied red would go well with this, also to help cut the fattiness and balance the strong flavor of the lamb.  You could serve with lemon slices or a melted butter lemon sauce for the crab cake.  Bon Appetit!