Lamb and grits

During one of our trips to Costco, my wife spotted a package of lamb chops and decided she wanted lamb for dinner. No problem, I thought. Lamb chops sound fancy but it can be cooked simply with salt and pepper on a cast iron skillet for a quick meal.

Now that we had the protein, I pondered what to do about starch. The only bread we had was sandwich slices, and that didn't seem very good. I didn't really want to eat it with rice, either, since it seemed too boring. I decided a nice creamy polenta would work best. Once I got home though, I realized I didn't have any polenta. Crap. Hmmm...what about grits? It's the same thing, except a different color, right? What the heck, I decided to do it. Add some sauteed veggies on the side and we were set.

For the grits, I just followed the directions on the back of the box, substituting 1 cup of milk instead of water. I also added some leftover white wine from a previous meal. I wanted it to be a little richer, so I added butter. To give it some flavor, I added a handful of dried thyme and black pepper, to taste.

For the lamb, I simply seasoned it with salt and pepper, and cooked it on a cast iron grill over medium-high heat. This gave it a nice seared outside while keeping the meat done at medium.

Grits
1 cup grits
1 cup milk
2 cups water
splash of dry white wine (optional)
1 tsp butter
thyme, to taste (maybe 1 tbsp)
pepper, to taste
salt, to taste

1. Bring water, milk, and wine to boil
2. Add grits, thyme, salt and pepper
3. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick (about 5 minutes)
   
4. Add more water until desired consistency is reached
5. Add butter
   
6. Adjust seasoning to taste

Lamb chops
lamb chops
salt
pepper
dry white wine (optional)
oil

1. Season lamb chops with salt and pepper
   
2. Heat oil in a cast iron skillet on medium-high heat
3. In batches, sear both sides of the lamb, cooking a few minutes per side until desired doneness
4. Remove lamb chops.
5. Deglaze with white wine, reduce by half, and pour over chops.