November 30 Meal:Lovin' the Lamb Chops

Last night of November.  The remaining recipes were Kale and Cannellini Soup, Lamb Chops with Red Onion, Grape Tomatoes, and Feta, Pear Crostata with Figs and Honey, and Fresh Fennel Pan Gravy.  If you are keeping track, you know that I left out Fennel, Sausage, and Ricotta Stuffing, which was supposed to be made with the butterfly turkey and The Autumn Orchard cocktail.  The first I didn't make because we didn't want the stufifng with that turkey and the second because a lot of the different liquors are not available in the local ABC stores.

Kale and Cannellini Soup

This is an easy second-night soup.  The night before, I made the kale and cannellini beans for the bruschetta.  All I had to do was saute some carrot and celery, add beans and kale, tomatoes in juice, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and Italian seasoning.  After it simmers for a while puree half and mix it in.  This soup tasted great and was hearty enough with the beans. 

Yumminess: 9 out of 10
Cost: Approx $4 for 4 servings
Time: Bon Appetit said 20 minutes for prep and 50 minutes total.  It took me about 10 minutes for prep and 40 minutes total.
Was it worth it?: Yes, I love this soup.

Lamb Chops with Red Onion, Grape Tomatoes, and Feta

I'm actually starting to like lamb.  This was the first time I ever cooked lamb chops.  The lamb chops are marinated in a mixture of olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, and cumin.  Cook up the chops, saute the grape tomatoes, and top the chops with the tomatoes, red onion, and feta cheese.  I'm not a huge fan of sauteed tomatoes, which is opposite of most people who have issues with tomatoes.  I could eat fresh tomatoes every day, but cooked ones are less satisfying to me. 
Yumminess: 8 out of 10
Cost: Approx $11.25 for 2 servings
Time: Bon Appetit said 30 minutes for prep and 1 hour total.  It took me about 35 minutes for prep/marinating and 45 minutes total.
Was it worth it?: Yes, I like this lamb chop recipe.

Pear Crostata with Figs and Honey
This is a fun recipe because it doesn't really matter how pretty you make it, it will end up looking rustic as intended.  The crust is rolled out and the fillingg mounded on top.  The filling is pears, dried figs, sugars, cornstarch, cardamom, and ground cloves.  I really liked the dried figs.  As long as you can keep yourself from being too much of a perfectionist with this dessert it is easy.

Yumminess: 8 out of 10
Cost: Approx $9.25 for 8 servings
Time: Bon Appetit said 1 hours for prep and 3:20 hours total.  It took me about 40 minutes for prep and 3 hours total.
Was it worth it?: Yes, fun dessert.

Fresh Fennel Pan Gravy

In an effort to make all the recipes this month I went to great lengths to make this gravy.  Unfortunately, once I made it I completely forgot to eat some of our leftover frozen turkey with it!  I brought back the turkey carcass from the butterflied turkey to make the turkey stock and also the drippings from the pan.  The other ingredients are fennel, shallot, Pernod (an anise-flavored liquor), flour, and white wine.  It sounds really good, but I wouldn't know.

Yumminess: ?
Cost: Approx $3.75 for 1 cup
Time: Bon Appetit said 30 minutes for prep and total.  It took me about 20 minutes for prep and total.
Was it worth it?: Not sure...