Simple But Sumptuous - Easter Dinner

I decided to cook myself a very nice Easter Dinner today. I planned to keep it simple and I think I accomplished that while at the same time having it come out tasting heavenly. The picture does not do the taste of it justice. The meal consisted of roast boned leg of lamb salted/peppered/and sprinkled with garlic powder then later basted with red wine (1/2 of one, I saved the other half for stew for next week), pan roasted fingerling potatoes (including white, red and dark purple potatoes) that were lightly covered with olive oil/salt/pepper and garlic powder (cooked at the same time but apart from the lamb in their own baking pan in the oven), broccoli steamed in butter in the microwave, and a salad consisting of lettuce, onions cucumber and dressing. To wash it all down, I enjoyed a fine beverage - one of my favorites - Ommegang Abbey Ale. Yes, I guess I also had a small glass of the red wine while I was cooking and using it to baste the lamb but then I am over 21 and am allowed.

As for those potatoes, the purple ones - yes they really were purple. The skin is either black or very deep dark purple, and the inside is a lighter purple but still pretty dark. They taste great despite looking weird. I once heard there are over 25 varieties of potato native to the Americas and we normally eat only a very small number of that variety. These are delicious, tasting a lot like regular potatoes but just somewhat stronger and earthier. The photo is not edited and is just as it came out.

As I have said before, I love fairly simple meals the best. Today's was no exception from that rule and I devoured it with gusto. I guess it helps that I like my own cooking but it was also a plus that the meat came out medium to medium rare (depending on where it was cut), so it was nice an juicy, there were plenty of drippings left in the pan for added flavor, the fat on the outside of the roast came out crispy, and it was pretty tender. Add to that the delicious flavor of a good lamb roast and it was truly a gastronomical delight. I only wish I had family or friends with me to enjoy it. Sharing a meal like that with special people always makes for a better dinning experience and I would swear it makes it taste better too (not that this needed to taste any better but sharing something that good is definitely the way to go if at all possible). While I may not have had any dining companions with whom to share it I suppose that means I will have more leftovers for myself. That is not a bad thing at all - I love lamb; and did I mention I love my own cooking - at least when I get it right - and this was ever so right.

Hope your meal today was at least as half as good tasting as mine and I also hope you at had good company there with you to share it. If you were really lucky then your company helped clean your dishes; me I had to clean my own.

All the best,
Glenn B