San Francisco Lamb Jam and A Food Gal Giveaway

Curry-yogurt grilled lamb chops. (Photo courtesy of the American Lamb Board)

Curry-yogurt grilled lamb chops. (Photo courtesy of the American Lamb Board)

 

How do I love lamb?

Let me count the ways.

I love it so much that if it’s on a menu, I will always make a beeline for it over beef.

I love that my father would take the time on weekends to make his special curry lamb in a pressure cooker on the stovetop, complete with carrots, onions and turnips, all tinged with that golden colored sauce.

I love that my husband enjoys cooking a leg of lamb studded with garlic and rosemary in his Big Green Egg, which we can then enjoy with hummus and pita for nights on end.

And I love that Niman Ranch, when it was still owned by Bill Niman, would host an annual outdoor barbecue bash for media, friends and ranchers, where I was lucky to be introduced to the delights of grilled lamb riblets, which are tiny yet exquisitely juicy.

If you love lamb like I love lamb, then you don’t want to miss the seventh annual San Francisco Lamb Jam, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. July 17 at the Golden Gate Club.

The American Lamb Board’s multi-city, culinary cook-off competition will feature a dozen of the Bay Area’s best chefs vying for “Best in Show,” “People’s Choice,” and other best-of categories. The winner will face other Lamb Jam champions in the finale in September in New York.

The participating chefs will be:

Robert McCarthy – Thirstybear Brewing Company

Sophina Uong – Calavera

Francis Hogan – Sabio On Main

Jay Abrams – Bi-Rite Market

Alan Fullerton – Pacific Coast Brewing Co.

Brandon Rice – Rich Table

Parke Ulrich – Epic Steak

David Bazirgan – Dirty Habit

Wesley Shaw – Presido Social Club

Michael Cassady – Kuleto’s

John Griffiths – Bluestem Brasserie

Mike Espinoza – Hogs & Rocks

Attendees will get a chance to sample all the dishes, too. Tickets are $60 each. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to La Cocina, the non-profit incubator for low-income food entrepreneurs.

Bring an appetite for lamb. (Photo courtesy of the American Lamb Board)

Bring an appetite for lamb. (Photo courtesy of the American Lamb Board)

CONTEST: Two lucky Food Gal readers will each win a pair of tickets to the San Francisco Lamb Jam.

Entries, limited to those who can actually attend the July 17 event in San Francisco, will be accepted through midnight PST July 2. Winners will be announced July 4.

How to win?

You’ve already read how much I love lamb. Tell me why you are a lamb aficionado. Best two answers will the pair of tickets each.

Winner of Last Week’s Contest

In the previous Food Gal contest, I asked you to tell me what the San Francisco Bay Area most means to you. The winner will receive a Harry & David San Francisco-Inspired Gift Basket ($99.99 value). #TasteYourCity

A bevy of San Francisco treats. (Photo courtesy of Harry & David)

A bevy of San Francisco treats. (Photo courtesy of Harry & David)

Congrats to:

Genny, who wrote: “I grew up in the ‘burbs, and most Saturdays my parents would pack my three siblings and me in the station wagon for a family culinary adventure in Chinatown. After a delicious dim sum lunch, we’d navigate the busy streets and pick up fruit at Orangeland; bok choy, cha siew, roast duck, and a whole, boiled chicken on Stockton Street and maybe an apple pie or two from Sun Wah Kue! My absolute favorite was the noodle factory where Dad would order several sheets of fresh rice noodles (fun). I would salivate and watch in awe as the ladies there would quickly and expertly pack the noodles into a pink box and tie the box with string. Even though our tummies were still full of ha gaw, siu mai, pork buns, and sticky rice, the ride home was agony, as all those delicious smells from the food permeated the car. Once home, my little sister and I would tear into the pink box, grab a plate and douse those perfect rice noodle goodness (still warm!) with soy sauce.”

Print This Post



6 comments

  • I really enjoy lamb and usually order it in restaurants because I didn’t ever know how to cook it at home so I always took advantage of lamb on any menu! The first time I ever cooked lamb, it was due to the persistent coaxing of my dear friend. She had a food blog and knew I loved to cook and was always encouraging me to try everything! I told her I never cooked it before and was a little hesitant and she went step by step, even texting me when lamb chops were on sale at a local store! I made it and instantly my whole family fell in love with the recipe. She tragically passed away and the first time I cooked the lamb after her passing, I smiled and cried through the whole process. But as time passed by, the lamb recipe has become a comforting and lovely memory of a beautiful spirit who always encouraged me to stretch myself past boundaries and expectations. Her recipe is here – http://korean-cuisine.blogspot.com/2008/06/lamg-chops-glazed-with-brown-sugar.html

  • I’ve been eating lamb for as long as I can recall. It is my absolute favorite meat. I recall when my dad would always host a party for his company employees at our home and one of the highlights of the catered dinner was a whole lamb on a spit. I would nosh on lamb the whole night while the party was going on and at the end, only the bones would be left.
    On other occasions, my uncle would prepare lamb chops with mint jelly and all of us little ones would drool in anticipation of a special treat.
    Now that I’m older, I still love lamb more than other meats and have found different ways to prepare them. I’ve cooked rogan josh (Indian lamb stew), lamb shanks, lamb chops, lamb kebabs, roast lamb legs. Gosh the ways to enjoy lamb are endless.
    But every so often I find myself nostalgic for that whole lamb on a spit. So much harder to find here and so much more expensive now back home. Just last year my dad and I were wistfully recalling those wonderful years when we always had it that once a year. Perhaps one day, I’ll get a chance to try it again.

  • My staid father had his moment. This moment came annually during and after the Easter feast. The leg of lamb was served with browned potatoes and a jar of mint jelly. You could count on my father scraping every last tint of green from that jar.

  • Lamb always reminds me of my past trips to the exotic middle east. I can recall the smell of stuffed lamb, lamb stew, kabobs and those yummy meatballs (oops. I mean patties).

    Makes me want to prepare some pilaf and pour some mint tea right now!

  • Lamb for some reason tends to invoke strong feelings among fans & detractors alike. As a life long member of Team Lamb, it’s great when there’s lamb-adverse people around because that means more for me! I love lamb. I eat it whenever and wherever I can. I just love the distinctive gamy taste, the way it envelopes the senses. Bliss is biting into that juicy, tender meat. It’s always a treat when I get the chance to eat it. My favorite home preparation is my mom’s braised lamb chunks with beancurd sheets. Such a cozy way to warm up on cold winter evenings.

    I still dream about some of the lamb dishes I’ve had at restaurants. One of the most memorable is the braised & seared lamb belly appetizer at Bellanico. It was on the tasting menu during Oakland Restaurant Week and it blew my mind. Impossibly tender meat and a melting layer of fat, crowned with shattering crackling skin. Think pork belly but a million times better. A regular favorite is the quabili pallow at Oakland’s Kamdesh, an Afghan rice dish cooked with lamb shank. The meat is always fall off the bone tender perfumes the rice so well. The last time I dined there, the shank was almost as long as my forearm!

    I’ve been meaning to go to Togi’s, a recently opened Mongolian restaurant where about half the dishes are lamb. I read in the East Bay Express that if things goes well, the owner may roast a WHOLE lamb on weekends. Fingers crossed!

    Dinner’s calling and it’s lamb chops.

    Seriously.

    I wasn’t kidding when I said I was a fan.

  • Gah! Grammatical error. I meant to say “The meat is always fall off the bone tender and it perfumes the rice so well.”

    Hope I don’t get any points docked for this!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *