Rack of Lamb

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 day

Ask your butcher to remove the backbones from the racks to make carving easier. If the lamb has not been trimmed, cut off the outer layer of fat and about two inches of the fat between the bones (the bones will be exposed); this technique is called "Frenching." Begin preparing the lamb a day before serving to allow time for marinating.

"While visiting Chicago, I had dinner at The Berghoff," writes Mary H. Wright of Arlington, Virginia. "I'd like to prepare the excellent lamb chops for my family."

At the restaurant, the chops are accompanied by a rice pilaf made by mixing mango, cashews and basil into basmati rice.

Begin the meal with a salad of endive, pear and watercress with a blue cheese vinaigrette. The lamb is wonderful with the onion-potato gratin and boiled haricots verts; Côte-Rôtie is the right wine. A French apple tart from the bakery topped with some sweetened créme fraîche makes a nice ending.

"The recipes here reflect my British roots, but not necessarily my family traditions," writes Mairi Morrison of London, England. "Although my mother is from Scotland and my father is from Northern Ireland, I grew up in Los Angeles, where our weeknight meals were typically American: spaghetti, tacos, and burgers. It wasn't until I moved to Europe that I became really interested in food. Here in London my social life is centered around the table. I really like this dish because it is typically British, and perfect for a rainy winter evening in London." This inventive, super-easy glaze is made by mixing fresh mint with purchased mango chutney and mint jelly.

Because the lamb in this recipe is marinated in a barbecue-style sauce and then grilled, the hotel nicknamed the dish "paniolo", which means "cowboy" in hawaiian.

These chops become extra special with a highly seasoned crumb coating usually pressed onto rack of lamb.

For this recipe the lamb racks are frenched all the way down to the eye of the meat. For decorative purposes, we asked our butcher to leave a 1-inch-wide strip of fat along the top of the eye of the rack.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

The lamb that we buy today hardly requires a typical English mint sauce (the puckery flavor was originally designed to cut through the stronger taste of mutton), but the combination is by now a traditional and still-welcome one. Buttered carrots and a watercress salad would complement the lamb nicely. Uncork a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon or red Bordeaux.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Here, lamb chops are presented atop a salad that was inspired by the flavors of Sardinia. A perfect first course or a light main course.

Have the butcher "french" the lamb racks, which entails trimming the fat from the lamb and between the bones.

Begin marinating the lamb one day ahead.

A delicious entrée from L'Apogée.

The White Horse tavern accompanies this with lightly sautéed swiss chard.

Lovely dinner fare from L'Auberge Chez François in Great Falls, Virginia. Serve with roasted new potatoes and asparagus.