Posted this last night, but it got mixed up with a thread that Julie
had posted with the same name. From now on, I need to remember to add
a date if I ping you so it doesn't get buried in another thread.

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Tonight's meal - 12-30-14: (thick) lamb shoulder chops,
"semi-roasted" potato (cut in half, coated with EVOO and seasoned,
then put cut side down to bake), broccolini and tossed green salad.

I'm not taking back any derogatory thing I've said in the past about
Australian lamb, but do you remember I said earlier this week that NZ
lamb being almost indistinguishable from American? I bought thick cut
Australian lamb shoulder chops from Safeway the other day and cooked
them tonight. OMG - they were wonderful and hubby loved them! Tender
and delicious, no odd mutton/gamey flavor. I wouldn't be able to tell
them from NZ and I'm not sure if I could tell either from American at
this point (remembering what a big difference there was between
ranches with grass fed beef when ChrisD and I attended a grass fed
beef tasting together). If this trend continues, I won't need to go
to a different grocery store just to buy lamb anymore and I'll even
buy it from Costco when I'm there!

Added benefit: you sure can't argue with the price! Don't
know/remember if you said what you paid, but mine cost $4.99 lb @ full
price which is a mere shadow of the $11.99-$14.99 I pay for lamb
T-bone chops.

I still haven't found a whole shoulder roast (the lamb equivalent of
pork butt), but I hope they become more available. I think I'll ask
the butcher next time I'm in and see if I can buy one whole. I've
seen recipes that use a (boned) shoulder roast whole that I'm
interested in - but of course their lamb shoulder came from la-tee-da
from a stand alone butcher shop or the grower instead of a grocery
store butcher counter. I know I can ask at the butcher counter for
cuts I don't see in the case, so I'll do that the next time I'm over
there.

--
A kitchen without a cook is just a room