Grown Up Pacey Witter makes me swoon or Why Lamb Hearts make great summer stew.

Darlings,Have any of you watched "The Affair?" Well I just binged it and it implored me to make a delicious Lamb Heart stew.I know, I know - I'm late to the game. So late. We cut the cable cord years ago, so I have to wait for all the good stuff to come out on any one of the many streaming services so readily available today.So, when Hulu offered me (not just me, darlings, anyone!!!) a free month of Showtime, I jumped at the chance. And I blasted through "Masters of Sex," which was and is amazing. I love Lizzy Caplan and I love the period fashions. But we'll talk about that later.Because darlings, I LOVED "The Affair."Now, many of you might just assume that I love it because of grown up Pacey Witter. And you wouldn't be entirely wrong. But I will say that growing up, when given the choice of Dawson v. Pacey, I was a Dawson evangelist. To even suggest Pacey was blasphemous.As an adult, however, I think I've realized that it was all a defense mechanism.As an adolescent, with all of the self esteem issues that that entails, I think just convinced myself that Dawson was, you know, more attainable for a gal like me. Pacey was a bad boy - out of my league (little did 15 year old LCF know that a mere 3 years later, she would find herself dating a man with a tattoo of a cheetahprint mohawk. Yes, a mohawk. ON HIS HEAD!) - and so how could I even subconsciously entertain the fact that Joey, with whom I obviously related to (you know, an orphan from a sleepy New England town or a city gal with divorced parents, same thing basically) should or would end up with Pacey, who probably wasn't even going to pass Sophmore English.Well now I know why.I mean darlings,

 VS

.  The choice is pretty obvious.I'm going to go ahead and say that sobbing, sexually tormented Dawson comes in a close second to angry, teacher-schtupping  Pacey Witter. So in hindsight, now not only am I happy that Joey and Pacey ended up together, but I'm pretty bummed that I spent so much of my own angsty adolescence upset that Dawson and Joey DIDN'T end up together.BUT DARLINGS, I DIGRESS. While I'm not going to deny that grown up Pacey, with that scruff and that voice (what is it about that voice. le swoooon) has played a decent part in my more visceral reaction/attraction to the show, I would say in all, the sum is greater than it's parts.I would suggest darlings, that you take advantage of Hulu's offering and get a free month of showtime and binge "The Affair."First of all, it has no genre. It's a sex-murder-mystery.It's kind of like Crime and Punishment, but set in Long Island in the modern day.The characters are not likeable and not even really that attractive.And the landscapes are just so believable. A sleepy winter town transformed in the summer into a playground of lobster and rose?! The mansion down the road from the shack? The beach, where both magical and sad things happen regularly? Summer nights where you can almost see the humidity and the tension it reveals? All of the poor choices? All of them?!It's all very beautiful in a very sad way. Kind of like life.Anyway, I just binged it, will probably do it again and very much look forward to the next season.

Anyway, what does any of this have to do with lamb heart stew?

Well, "The Affair" at least tries to do a good job of really fucking around with your heart. The feeling of knowing that you don't know is that of your heart dropping into your stomach and being eaten alive by your stomach acid. And even though it's fiction, it happens all the time in real life.So I wanted to take that feeling of palpitations in your stomach and turn it into something really delicious.And it just so happened that there was local lamb heart at Whole Foods. And darlings, as we all know, you can either go out to a restaurant and spend a ton of money on offal or you can just make it at home...if you have the courage to do so, which as we've discussed before is something I want all of you to build! Whats the worst that can happen? You don't like it and you have to order a pizza?!So anyway, darlings.Lamb Heart Stew.It's nothing fancy. It's a cheap and easy dinner. And your friends will be impressed (or grossed out. Don't invite those friends over.)Ingredients.2 lamb hearts, cut into 1inch squares. *note - these usually weigh in around 4oz. each and are pretty easy to prep. There is a layer of fat around that needs to be removed. If you are squeemish, have the butcher do it for you.

6 cloves of garlic, rough chop2 medium onions, rough chop3 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1 inch squares2 jalapeno peppers, sliced2 tablespoons unsweetened peanut butter3 cups chicken stock2 teaspoons cumin1 teaspoon corriander1 teaspoon fennel seeds3 tablespoons Coconut OilChopped Parlsey & Hardboiled Egg to top.Rice or Bread for serving.Method 

• In a multi quart pot, melt your coconut butter down and toss your veggies (except sweet potatoe) in. Cook until transluscent-ish.

• Throw your sweet potatoes and spices into the pot and stir.
• Add your chicken stock to the vegetable mix and bring to a boil.

• Reduce to a simmer and add the peanut butter and stir until peanut butter and stock become homogenized.
• Once homogenized, add the chopped lamb heart. Continue to simmer until ideal thickness has been achieved - about 45 minutes. The stew will thicken as the peanut/stock reduces and the sweet potatoes soften and integrate themselves into the liquid.
• Sprinkle with diced hard boiled egg and parsley and serve with dealers choice of carb if desired. Even though fairly non traditional, I love this dish with a crusty sourdough. The sweetness of the peanut and the tang of the sourdough create an amazing flavor together.

STEW ISN'T PRETTY. SO I'M GOING TO LET YOU IMAGINE

THE TASTE OF THIS INSTEAD OF ADDING A PHOTO.

So tell me darlings, will you make yourself some lamb hearts? Will you pick Pacey over Dawson? Will you take hulu up on their free month of showtime?I think you should. On all counts.Until next time, my darlings.xoxolcf