Roast lamb

Hill Court, Warranwood, September 26, 2014—

YES: AS NOTED HERE many times before, Virgil was right to sing

Of all the meat that we can eat
Chicken, beef, or ham
The one that tickles my palate the most
is lamb, lamb, lamb…

And that is what the blessed Mel, wonderful cook that she is, gave us tonight on what had been a special family day. 

First, since there seem to be no Martinis here in Australia, we had a Kir royale as an apéritif. It doesn't hurt to have a Frenchman — a Parisian, even— in the downstairs apartment: he arrived with a bottle of Cassis and did the mixing.

Then came the lamb, Spring lamb, roasted to just the right degree with rosemary and garlic, with steamed new potatoes and asparagus. There's nothing more to say. This is one of the Hundred Plates.

Shiraz, TarraWarra Estate, 2012: Complex and rich (thanks, Jim)