Family Dinner Night

For Christmas, my brother (www.rettalbot.com) and sister-in-law (www.karentalbotart.com) gave us three things we'd never had before: a Moroccan lamb recipe, ras el hanout spices (blended in their own kitchen), and a tagine to cook it all in. Pretty awesome present, right?

We've been waiting to dive into our new project until we had an afternoon and evening together to really spend cooking, and today's MLK holiday offered the perfect opportunity! After Jeff enjoyed a long chat with our friendly McLean butcher (who kindly boned the leg of lamb for us), we brought it home to give it a lovely, spicy rub.

There are several places in this recipe that require waiting, and this was the first. While the lamb warmed up to room temperature and the ras el hanout soaked in, we decided it was a rare weekday when we could relax.

Jeff got busy setting up his work-from-home computer in the office while I tackled making lunches for the week. Once Jeff had headed out to get sample paint for our bedroom (definitely the subject of a future post!), I chopped up the butternut squash, onion, sweet potatoes, and carrots to toss in the tagine with some olive oil.

Into the oven it went to cook for 30 minutes, which was just enough time for me to finish up this week's lunches: a quinoa salad variation (green and red peppers, edamame, sliced almonds, tofu, mango, and cilantro with a thai dressing).

Once the thirty minutes were up (and the lunches were safely stowed in the fridge), I added some wine and the lamb to the tagine.

With Jeff just home from Home Depot, there was time to snap a few proud pictures to show just what a family affair tonight really is! Not only is our meal from my brother and sister-in-law, but also check out the guest appearances below!

See that super-cute clock on the wall behind me?
A wedding present from Tante, a beloved angel who watches us from heaven.

You're loving that hot pink skeleton apron, aren't you?
Jeff has a matching one in black--
they're from his brother, sister-in-law, and niece who we adore!

Sometimes family isn't related by blood;
the red oven mitts came from an original production of Alice in Wonderlandthat I adapted and directed and that Jeff did set and lighting design for.
The mitts were our lobster claws for the "Lobster Quadrille,"
and they remind us of some of our closest friends and favorite students.

As we waited for the two hours that the lamb needed to cook, Jeff diligently painted our walls with some shades of blue and grey as the house filled with delicious smells, promising the amazing dinner to come!

Next time, perhaps a little less cooking time and a little more salt, but a worthy first attempt with our tagine all the same!