Spiced braised lamb shoulder with lentils
back on my private chef shit
When I first started working with Collin on Scratch Made, I thought it would be a brief stop on the way to what I was certain would become my next real step: private cheffing. And to be honest, I expected it all to come together fairly quickly. I had been running Grateful Pizza for the past couple of years—my pandemic-era frozen pizza business—and during that time, I’d received many requests to teach cooking classes or cater dinner parties. I always declined because I was too busy literally hand-making, packaging, and delivering hundreds of pizzas every week (it turns out I can be a real work harder, not smarter kind of girl sometimes).
With my schedule now a little more open, I figured I could easily fill that time with private events. At first, that seemed to be the case. Soon after announcing I was closing up shop on the pizzas, I booked a cooking class and a Galentine’s Day sit-down dinner all in the same week. My plan was working.
But the thing was—I just didn’t like it that much. I found myself sitting in the car afterward, sort of staring into space, feeling more exhausted than after any shift I’ve ever worked as a cook or server. Something about having to be on the whole time—chatting, answering questions, all while trying to keep the food coming at a reasonable pace without rushing the guests—felt like a lot.
This was surprising because overall, I’m a pretty social person. While doing the pizza business, I often craved more face-to-face time with customers. Also (and this cannot be overstated), my clients were kind of ideal—super supportive, interested, and with beautiful kitchens. And if you're one of those clients: it’s not you, it’s me! I just found it to be too much. And when I started to think about how many of these events I’d need to book in order to support myself, I quickly concluded that this wasn’t for me… at least not in the way I had originally imagined.
However, I’ve found through some trial and error that doing these events with Collin is a completely different experience. It’s so fun! There are many things I love about my job—chief among them is that I get to cook for a living without the crazy hours. But I do sometimes miss the excitement—and even the drama—of service (toxic!). Doing private dinners now and then, together, gives me a little hit of that.
It also allows us to be more creative and elaborate with the menu than we typically can for our regular meal delivery. Recently, we cooked for one of our customers’ birthday parties at home, and it was SO fun. The client gave us free rein with the menu and asked for something springy, so we centered the meal around this killer spiced braised lamb. We were leaning towards a Middle Eastern flavor profile and Collin has a recipe for a Levantine-style baharat spiced lamb. Crusted with coriander, paprika, and warming spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, this lamb is to die for.
Variations of this spice blend can be found throughout the Middle East. In Lebanese cooking, it tends to include black pepper and warming spices, and sometimes even paprika. It brings deep, fragrant flavor without being overly spicy, making it perfect for slow braising and pairing with fresh, vibrant sides like fattoush, hummus, and baba ghanoush, which we served alongside. I also made a za’atar focaccia. Seemed only right.
The best part might have been making a sandwich with the leftover lamb. We spread baba ghanoush on the focaccia, layered on the lamb and its juices, and... yeah. Sometimes the chefs inadvertently keep the best bites for themselves.
Spiced braised lamb with lentils
For the braised lamb:
Serves: about 6
Ingredients:
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Scaled Down to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.