A few weeks ago, I finished reading Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser, a gem of a book that my sister and i found browsing through a bookstore in Eastwood City one lazy Sunday afternoon. The author is a food writer for the New York Times, and the book is a memoir about her love story with Mr. Latte, which is inextricably intertwined with her love story with food. Each chapter of her story was tied to a memorable meal, with the recipes given at the end of the chapter.
I really enjoyed the author’s witty, honest, down-to-earth storytelling. I loved how she showed how much food plays a part in everyday life, whether it be at a gathering of friends at the table, or a romantic dinner with that special someone, or a solo meal enjoyed just for the sheer pleasure of the food itself. Food brings people together; it nourishes and comforts; it can make you smile or laugh or cry.
I made this rule a few months back, that whenever i bought a cookbook or a cooking magazine, i would have to make at least one dish from that book/magazine. So for dinner tonight, i decided to make lamb chops from chapter 14 of Hesser’s book, Dinner When No One Wanted to be Alone.
I chose the recipe not because i particularly craved for company tonight, but because i wanted to make something a bit more special than our usual dinners but at the same time was really easy to prepare. I coated the chops in a mixture of rosemary, garlic, and olive oil and left them in the fridge for about a day. I added salt and pepper before broiling them in the oven for about 3 minutes each side.
The chops came out nearly perfect, brown on the outside and pinkish on the inside, and really flavorful. The olive oil and the fat from the chops gave the dish a creamy texture. Both my sister and i thought that the chops needed more salt, but that was probably my fault, as i’ve never been good at estimating how much salt or pepper to sprinkle over anything. In the end, it was still a really good, satisfying meal that my sister and i thoroughly enjoyed chomping down 
Tags: food, cooking, cooking for mr. latte, amanda hesser, dinner
