Fruited Rack of Lamb
This recipe was submitted by Sande Howell.
I have a funny Thanksgiving story from years and years ago (like 1960) when we had a very interesting day. The yummy recipe that I’ll include at the end is for Fruited Rack of Lamb. My grandmother, Grace, was a hostess extrodinaire! She loved to entertain in grand style or even just for small family dinners. She had a touch of OCD and when something didn’t go as planned, it rocked her world! So one snowy Thanksgiving early morning in Michigan, I was helping her prep for our meal. She opened the refrigerator to take out the thawed turkey. Big surprise, the refrigerator had turned off and passed on and took the turkey with it! All the stores were closed, so getting another turkey was out of the question. We headed to the garage to check out our freezer. I found a 3 lb. rack of lamb. At first, Grandma Grace was nervous about serving lamb instead of turkey, but the house smelled amazing as it was cooking, and I thought she seemed pretty mellow about the whole situation. Well, I soon discovered that Uncle Bob had arrived early with a HUGE container of Brandy Alexanders! Even though this drink is generally considered a “nightcap,” she thought one or two would calm her anxiety. By noon, she was tipsy (and hilarious), and by 3pm she nearly did a face plant into the mashed potatoes!! Her husband, Bert and Uncle Bob helped her to her room so she could take a nap. She was soon fast asleep. We proceeded with our family dinner, happy that everyone loved the lamb!! About 45 minutes later, our doorbell rang. We opened the door to see two police officers. They told us they had received a frantic phone call from a woman at our address who claimed she was being held hostage by strangers who had stolen her turkey and slaughtered a lamb right in front of her! After confirming that she was NOT a hostage, they left with smiles on their faces, a story for the station and a piece of pumpkin pie for the road!
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Ingredients:
3lb rack of lamb
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 jar maraschino cherries 8 oz.
1 can of sliced peaches 1lb, 14 oz.
3/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 bunch seedless green grapes
egg white beaten
granulated sugar
1. Sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper; place on rack of shallow roasting pan.
2. Bake at 325° oven for 90 minutes, or until medium done.
3. Drain cherry and peach juices into saucepan and heat.
4. Stir in cloves, ginger and lemon juice.
5. Baste lamb with this mixture frequently and roast the lamb another 45 minutes.
6. While lamb is cooling, dip small clusters of grapes in egg white and then in sugar and allow to dry on a baking rack.
7. Garnish lamb with the frosted grapes, peaches and cherries!