Grilled Lamb Chops with Fenugreek Sauce and Tumeric New Potatoes

To continue my Vij's tribute to Jeff, tonight I cooked his all-time favorite dish from that restaurant: Vij's Lamb Popsicles. To give you a sense of the flavor, I marinated the lamb in a mustard and sweet white wine mixture before I grilled them. The fenugreek sauce is cream-based with a mixture of Indian spices, ginger, and peppers. Finally, the potato dish is a mixture of sauteed potatoes, cauliflower, spinach, and masala. I can see why this is their signature dish. It's clear that Vij really spent time working on this dish to achieve the optimum flavor combination between each element. The soft meaty texture, the luxurious spice-filled cream sauce, and the satisfying hearty warmth of the vegetables complemented each other in a manner which brought each element to a new taste level. The effect was like Gestalt Theory. It really made the dish sing. I think Jeff would've been proud...and full.

On a side note, I wanted to share another Jeff memory with this post that I didn't mention in my official eulogy. One of my fondest memories of Jeff was during his Bay Area visit. He arrived on the same night as my second date with Raquel. Once I informed him of this, here is the conversation that followed:

Jeff: "ooooh, you're going out with that girl again? nice. should I take a cab back from the airport instead?"

Me: "don't be silly Jeff. my family comes first".

Jeff: "it's ok. perhaps I should find a hotel for the week? ;)"

Me: "Cut it out. It's just a second date. That's not how I roll".

The second date went well enough that Raquel and I continued to text throughout the week. When Jeff noticed, he started reading her texts and my responses over my shoulder. As usual, he couldn't help but tease me about how I have no game. So, he then proceeded to act as my Cyrano de Bergerac and fed me my flirty lines. Raquel and I have been together for almost three years now, and I'd like to think Jeff had a hand in it in the beginning. But, when I asked Raquel if any of his lines actually worked, she thought I just wanted to be friends during those texts. Ouch. Sorry Jeff, guess we both didn't have game.