The Best Braised Lamb Shoulder Chops & Polenta

i love braising. i like all most all foods and most all cooking techniques, but braising is definitely my favorite. lamb shanks are one of my favorite of all, but i've never tried lamb shoulder chops before. they were on sale and there was nice recipe....plus, it's easter and lamb is traditional. of course, it's usually a roasted leg of lamb--braising being more of a winter kind of technique. but i'm the only one who will eat lamb around here and the weather is still pretty darn brisk outside, this seemed perfect. they cook rather quickly, which is a good thing since the final round of the master's is today :)

there is not a lot of braising liquid in this...i added more tomatoes & tomato juice & wine than called for in the recipe, and i'm glad i did. this was a very simple recipe, with very few ingredients. too few, i thought. lamb, salt & pepper, olive oil, onion, garlic, canned tomatoes, dry red wine, and chopped parsley to added to the sauce at the end. i was thinking i'd like some thyme or especially rosemary in this, but i resisted and followed the recipe. and...the recipe is good, especially with the slow-cooked polenta that i made to go with it (also from TNBR). but the thyme or rosemary would've made it even better. oh, and you'll see that i placed a chop with some of the sauce on top of the polenta. it makes for a nice picture, but i recommend placing the chop on the side because it's kinda hard to see the bone you're trying to cut around in the chop. but definitely be generous with the sauce on the polenta, which sucks it up nicely. i won't say the best, but very good.