Arrived up in the mountains yesterday afternoon to enjoy a relatively quiet season through the new year. The large family get together was last weekend and tomorrow, we’ll have a few family over. I’m probably not going to do anything fancy for Christmas dinner. Maybe a simple pot roast. Or, maybe my brother will bring the wild killed elk steaks he promised.

We got together with some friends Wednesday night prior to heading out yesterday and I cooked up a bit of a lamb feast for four. This is the grassfed, pastured lamb from my Marin Sun Farms CSA. That’s turning out very nicely, by the way. 17 pounds per month of various beef, pork & lamb (goat is available, too). The first delivery was heavy on the lamb and the one I picked up last week, heavy on the pork. The variety of the cuts ensures I get in lots of new things to experiment with.

Lots of Lamb

I had four racks to work with (one of them frenched and one boneless & tied). Prep is so simple. Sea salt, ground pepper and a bit of garlic powder on the fatty portion of the racks. Then I broiled them on high on a cookie sheet to brown them for a few minutes. Then 350 until internal is 135. Let ’em rest and you’re done.

I mashed some taters and did my red wine reduction in the classic way but with a pinch or so each of thyme and rosemary.

Rack of Lamb

Oh, and just for fun, here’s what we were snacking on yesterday. Elk salami from a wild kill. It is amazing. Far better than most beef or pork I’ve ever had.

Elk Salami

We’re up here for about the next 10 days. Lot’s of relaxing, reading, and working on plans for both business and this blog. Perhaps not a lot of blogging, though. But we’ll see.