Stacey's Lamb Chops

Ingredients:

8 loin lamb chops, 1/4 inch in thickness
4 wooden skewers (9 inches long)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
12 garlic cloves, peeled
Basil butter (see recipe)

Soak wooden skewers in water. Preheat charcoal grill according to manufacturer's instructions. Peel garlic, leaving cloves whole.* Lightly salt and pepper lamb chops. Put a clove of garlic on skewer, add one lamb chop (run skewer through the loin portion of the chop), another garlic clove, second lamb chop and one more garlic clove. Repeat with remaining chops and garlic. When the grill is ready, place lamb chops over direct heat and cook 1 1/2 minutes, turn and cook 1 1/2 minutes on second side. Serve immediately, topped with basil butter.

*We suggest picking up a garlic peeler for recipes calling for multiple cloves of peeled garlic. The garlic is placed inside the "peeler", a tube of polypropylene, and rolled until the skin pops off. They are available for under $10.00 and they are amazingly efficient.

Basil Butter

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups packed basil leaves, washed and stemmed
1 lb salted butter, softened
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Using kitchen shears, finely chop basil leaves and add to softened butter. Mix well and season to taste. Drop by tablespoons onto foil and freeze. When completely frozen, place each tablespoon of butter in small sandwich bags, then place into a larger heavy-duty freezer bag. Makes l lb. Keeps for 6-8 months. To use, thaw at room temperature.