Valentine's Dinner, 2009:

Somehow, Mina and I were both in the mood for lamb this weekend and I wanted to try something new, so I poked around on the net to find a recipe for a rack of lamb. Racks, like most roast type meats, are relatively hard to find in Japan (likely correlated with the lack of ovens as standard equipment in most kitchens...), so for most of my cooking life were not really an option.

Anyway, we picked up a frenched rack of lamb and some magic transpired (partial thanks to Epicurious.com - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spice-Coated-Rack-of-Lamb-for-Two-with-Arugula-Avocado-and-Blood-Orange-Salad-351234).

For those who don't want to click through, here's what you do: mix a tablespoon of ground cumin (freshly ground is best), a tablespoon of ground coffee, a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa

 powder, and a couple of grinds of black pepper. Rub this all over an 8-bone rack of lamb, then sear on all sides in a couple of tablespoons of canola oil. Whack that into a 400 degree (F) oven for 7 minutes, then top the lamb with a tablespoon of unsalted butter than you chop into little pieces.

The recipe calls for a couple of sprigs of thyme, but I just sprinkled some dried thyme over the lamb at this point. Continue roasting in the oven until the internal temperature of the lamb hits 130 F (about 7-8 more minutes). Actually, mine was at 140 after 5 minutes, so I pulled it at that point and let it rest for 10 minutes. Carry over got me up to 144 degrees, which is what my meat thermometer calls medium rare for lamb. I was a little worried that it would be over done, but as the picture indicates, it turned out a lovely pink on the inside. The texture was perfect and the flavors complex. This was really one of the best lamb dishes I have made.

I served it with the avocado-arugula salad that is suggested in the recipe and some wild rice. We had a 2006 Nieto Senetiner Cab from Argentina along with it. Dry, but not too dry, and it complemented the spices on the meat nicely.

For dessert, a chocolate mousse with golden raspberries.