With the purchase of a new camera comes the necessity for a photo shoot, and in order to host a proper photo shoot one needs to have a subject.
While the cyber world is riddled with websites that feature the unclad flesh of the human form and populated by the perverts that seek out such 'jerk-worthy' material, here at NTT we dress up our meat for the camera.
If you've never seen your "O-face" before, just take a look in the mirror as you feast your eyes on these beauties.
My more than capable kitchen comrade, Evan and I marinated these lovely New Zealand lamb chops in olive oil, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, fresh minced garlic, cracked black pepper, minced red onion, Kozliks curry mustard, and fresh chopped mint, rosemary and sage. Sealed up nice and tight and housed in the fridge for a solid couple of hours before we patted them dry and seared them in a pan of fine EVOO and butter.
Out of the pan and onto a roasting tray with some of the extra marinade and placed on top of a thinly sliced round of lemon. Into the oven at a temperate 220-degrees for about twenty minutes until medium rare.
Once our game was under the flame we made a duo of sauces for our lamb and veggies. First, a refreshing mint yoghurt (not pictured) with greek yoghurt, fresh mint, olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, a dash of curry powder and garlic, mixed and then pureed to bring out the beautiful bright green colour and flavour of the mint.
Our second sauce was a mustard, red wine and black pepper sauce with roasted garlic and jalapenos. We began by sauteing minced fresh jalapenos in olive oil with orange zest and the juice of half an orange, added whole black peppercorns, dijon mustard, red wine, roasted garlic, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, paprika, and savory spice. We brought that concoction to a simmer let reduce, and then deglazed later with more red wine.
Our veggie component came in the simple form of sauteed asparagus and green beans in butter and olive oil with fresh ginger, salt, pepper and a dash of soy sauce and balsamic vinegar.
All that was left was some precise plating, and we had a meal that was as tasty as it looked.
Get out the tissues...now:
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| The Full Monty |
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| Everyone loves a close-up |
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| La Table |
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| Evan's plating |
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| My playing |
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| My plate from above. |
Recipe page and restaurant coming soon...
