"Titanic" Dinner No. 1: Lamb with Mint Sauce, Parmentier Potatoes & Green Peas

I ACTUALLY DID IT. 

I started my weird goal of cooking through the Titanic's first-class dinner menu. And for this first try, I picked the lamb with mint sauce, "parmentier" potatoes and green peas, all originally offered during the fifth course. The meal sounds pretty basic, and to be honest, it was - I generally prefer dishes more packed with flavour - but it was still quite yum. I mean, I'm not sure that the ship's Chef Joughin would be particularly blown away by it, but hey, for my first time cooking lamb, I'm happy with how it turned out. I think the issue was I bought the meat from Metro instead of a real butcher. (NOT MY FAULT, I tried the butcher down the street but they were out.)

I really need to improve my food photography game

As I mentioned in my introductory post about this project, I, being a chef n00b, found these recipes online. Some I adapted, some I didn't, but I definitely don't want to claim the hard work of these fine, actual food bloggers. What I did do below, on top of making my own adjustments here and there, was provide combined instructions for cooking all three of these dishes at once, instead of individually. :) I'll link the original recipes below! 

What you'll need:

For the lamb with mint sauce (originally posted by Joanna on jocooks.com)

• Four lamb chops (the menu didn't specify how the lamb was done, so I went with chops)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar 
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp mint, finely chopped 

For the parmentier potatoes (originally posted by Julia on happyfoodstube.com)

• 5 yellow potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried rosemary 
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper, to taste

For the green peas (originally posted by Byron on lordbyronskitchen.com)

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter or margarine
• 2 shallots, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup frozen green peas (again, menu didn't specify style so I sauteed them)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1) I started with the potatoes, since they take the longest. Preheat the oven to 400. After peeling and dicing them, put them in a pot and add just enough water to cover them. Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil.

2) Once boiled, drain the water and dump potatoes into a large bowl.

3) Toss the potatoes with the olive oil, salt, pepper, dried parsley, dried rosemary and garlic powder.

4) On a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet, spread the potatoes in a single layer. Pop in the oven and set your timer for half an hour (note: make sure you toss them at least once while they're in there).

Another very lame photo, sorry, I tried

5) Next we'll start on the peas. Heat the olive oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil's hot, add the shallots and garlic. After about 5 minutes, stir in the peas, salt and pepper and sautee for another 10 minutes, stirring often. 

It's actually a bit embarrassing how bad these photos are

6) While the peas are cooking, start on the lamb. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Season both sides of the chops generously with salt and pepper. 
7) When the lamb pan is hot (HOT!), add the chops and sear that first side for 2 minutes, then turn and sear the other side for 3 minutes for medium-rare or 3 1/2 minutes for medium (I did ours medium). 

I guess this one's not too bad

8) OKAY, SO, all three dishes should be ready at around the same time. Once they're all done, plate them and drizzle the chops with the mint sauce.

9) Done! Bon appetite! 

Yay! If anyone is actually reading this, thanks for checking this out and I hope you join me in this little ~historic~ culinary experiment and try these recipes! 

_______________________

P.S. I figured I should end each post in this series with a bit more Titanic content because that's what it's all ABOUT! Even though I may be the only one on the planet who would find this stuff interesting. Besides James Cameron, obviously. 

Did you know: You can tour the wreck virtually! Check out this 45-minute video with guided audio, or you can download "Titanic VR," a game where you can explore it to your heart's content. Crazy. 

Fun fact: The remains of the Titanic's first-class dining saloon, where these recipes would have been enjoyed the night the ship went down, was first explored by James Cameron when  returned to the wreck for his 2001 documentary Ghosts of the Abyss (10/10 would recommend). Unfortunately most of the grand room had collapsed - per Wikipedia, "the aft end was severed during the break-up of the ship, allowing its contents to spill out." But as I mentioned in my introductory post, they discovered that most of the ornate glass windows were still intact, along with a lot of the rich wooden paneling, gilded brass light fixtures and cast iron supports for the tables. 

The first-class dining saloon