Easter Lamb Dinner

Today I made a leg of lamb dinner for Easter. I am practicing for an upcoming competition where I have to make an entree featuring leg of lamb, two vegetables, a sauce, a starch, and a garnish (minimum). I am given a limited list of ingredients to work with, which include fresh produce, dairy, herbs, spices, and dry goods. Here is what I came up with yesterday:

• Spice-Crusted Roasted Leg of Lamb (self-butchered)
• Blueberry Red Wine Sauce (sauce)
• Herbed Pommes Duchesse (starch)
• Butter Poached Carrot Curls (vegetable)
• Creamed Asparagus (mystery vegetable)
• Crispy Shallots (Garnish) 

It all turned out quite well and didn't take me too long to do - once I got the lamb meat off the bone. I didn't use recipes for any of it, just techniques I have learned and flavors I know work well together. 

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I prepared some chocolate covered strawberries today to use as a garnish for a dessert for Valentine's Day tomorrow. It can be a bit difficult to get fresh strawberries at this time of year, however these strawberries were easy to find and taste quite fresh and sweet. Strawberries seem to be jumbo-sized now compared to what I remember getting years ago (some of these strawberries are closer in size to an apple!), but that makes them perfect for dipping! Chocolate covered strawberries are very quick and easy to make, but they  give a professional-looking touch. They add a real aspect of elegance to any dessert, and they are also great by themselves.
To prepare these strawberries, I washed them, patted them dry, and trimmed a few of the leaves. Then I dipped them each directly into a pot of melted semi-sweet chocolate and gently swirled them to coat. I placed them on a tray lined with parchment paper, and let them chill in the refrigerator for ten minutes. Then I melted one ounce of white chocolate, put it into a plastic bag, cut a tiny hole in the corner, and drizzled the chocolate over the strawberries. You can also just use a fork to do this, but I find you have more control using a plastic bag. I let them set in the fridge again.
I left the strawberry in the middle uncovered because I figured once it was dipped in chocolate, you wouldn't be able to tell that it is actually heart-shaped. It is a little hard to see at this angle, but I think the store tried to include one heart-shaped strawberry in every package for this week!