SRC Reveal: Lamb with a Red Wine-Blackberry Reduction

It's time for Group B's August 2016 for the Secret Recipe Club. This month I was assigned to Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm. Woohoo!

Let me just say that I have been waiting for this assignment since Wendy joined my group. She has been one of the most enthusiastic bloggers I know, participating in many of my multi-day, multi-blogger events. I just adore her!

She was one of my bloggers for our year-long project The Book Club Cookbook Cooking Project; she made a Deviled Egg Guacamole for my #GuacSquad12 event. And our circles collide for Food'N'Flix and several other fun groups. Additionally, she coordinates Fish Friday Foodies - you can check out the facebook page and request to join: here. We can all stand to eat more seafood, right?!?

Wendy and her husband, Frank were both police officers who retired and moved as far away from the hustle and bustle as they could. They planted fruit trees and flowers, got dogs, joined a CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture), and ordered up some laying hens. They have friends who raise beef, bees, goats, lambs, vegetables and fruit and are blessed to have hunters and fishermen who provide additional goodies.  And Wendy started canning and freezing in an attempt to be as self sustainable as possible, teaching herself by researching on the internet and through books. Wow.

She and Frank have been married for over two decades, blending their families to a great (even!) team of 2 girls and 2 boys. I'm jealous as I often feel very outnumbered as a permanent resident in Testosterone Land.

They also became grandparents on September 19th, 2014!! And Melody Elizabeth often makes an appearance on the blog. She's adorable.

And when they aren't cooking, you'll find them enjoying SCUBA, travel, reading, games, hiking, entertaining, cooking, quilting and painting all of which she does as frequently as possible. Frank joins her in most of those pursuits and is also a firearms instructor who enjoys shooting and teaching others about guns and is a private pilot with a Cessna 205 that carries up to six passengers.

One more thing before I get to her recipes - her brother lives not too far from me. So, the next time they're out to visit, I hope to make it down to Paso to meet her in real life.

I perused her beverages, first, and really wanted her Whiskey Sour or her Lychee Nut Martini. On the food front, her Green Rice, Dandelion Pickles, Spiced Apples, and Recycled Potato Salad were at the top of my list. I considered making a gluten-free pasta to replicate her Frutti di Mare; and her Steamed Mustard Shrimp was really intriguing, too.

In the end, I really wanted to make her Venison Tenderloin Tips with a Red Wine and Blackberry Reduction. But I couldn't get my hands on any venison, so I opted to adapt the recipe for lamb. Slightly adapted...

Ingredients

• 1 lb lamb steaks
• freshly ground salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 12 ounces organic blackberries (set aside a few for garnishing, if desired)
• 1 T brandy
• 1 T organic granulated sugar
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• 3 T butter
• 1/2 C red wine (I used a Cabernet Sauvignon)

Procedure

Pull meat from the fridge at least 30 minutes before you want to cook it. Season with salt and pepper and let sit at room temperature.

While meat is coming to room temperature, place berries, brandy, sugar, and balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil and let cook until berries soften and fall apart.  Stir, crushing berries and allow to cook until reduced and syrup like.

Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl, expressing the juice and trapping the solids.  Set syrup aside.

Heat butter in a large, flat-bottom pan over medium heat.  Add the meat and sear on all sides for a minute or two and then remove to a cutting board. 

Let stand for at least 5 minutes, then cut lamb into bite-sized pieces.

In a medium saucepan, pour in the wine and the syrup. Simmer until the mixture is reduced by at least half.

Add the lamb back to the pan to rewarm before plating. Pour the reduced sauce into the pan and toss to coat the meat.

Spoon onto a serving platter and garnish with fresh blackberries, if desired. Serve immediately.

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