Merlot Lamb Stew

I believe that Valentine's day is about spending time with those that you love; husbands, wives, friends or family it really does not matter.  Fill your heart to the brim with good food, good times and wonderful people.  And that is exactly what we did tonight.

Tonight's dinner was a wonderful dark Merlot Lamb Stew.  It was quite experimental, we cooked it in the pressure cooker adding in random vegetables (carrots, celery, fennel, red onion and tomatoes) and hoping for the best outcome.  We started by caramelizing the red onions then browning the lamb.  Coarsely chopped vegetables and the browned lamb all go into the pressure cooker, add in a bit of Merlot and clamp the lid on.  Now we have about 25 minutes to bake some whole wheat scones.  You know that you will need something to clean up the dark, rich Merlot sauce.  As for a garnish we had lemon and mint infused sour cream (I had no plain yogurt!) and fresh tomatoes with a sprinkling of fresh lemon zest.  The lemon zest gave it wonderful bright citrus notes, the mint was fresh and lively and the fresh tomatoes were cool and refreshing.  It all came together so well at the end.

Here are the pictures for you to enjoy!

Have a Happy Heart Day and enjoy your Family Day long weekend!

E