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There are some dishes that will be delicious no matter what. This is one of them.

Sure, there are a few little tips to make it more delicious, and I suppose you could burn the lamb into a hockey-puck-like state, but, odds are, this one's pretty fool-proof.

Lamb is one of those meats that's plagued with an underrated status in the United States -- a vital part of many cultures' diets, it has a deep, full flavor that so many factory-raised chickens and cows can't provide, a subtle musk that's unfairly maligned and too often dismissed as "an acquired taste." Sure, everyone's had a piece of lamb with a little more funk than they're used to. It happens -- get over it. Don't make that an excuse to miss out on one of the world's great gustatory delights.

To that end, then, a tip on where to find your lamb: Because it's not all that popular on a national level, carrying it can be a hassle for stores; as a result, the prices in supermarkets for lamb can be sky high -- just last week I saw chops like the ones I'm cooking here at nearly twenty dollars per pound. So, rather than get gouged at your local big-box store, search out markets where the supply is high and the price is low; I buy mine from a West Philadelphia Halal butcher for 5.99 per pound. By buying from a smaller butchery that deals with a more lamb-friendly population, you're guaranteeing yourself good turnover (fresher meat), careful butchering (often regulated by religious practice), and a much, much lower price. Go search out those small markets. You'll be glad you did.

Anyway, this week, we're taking some of that gorgeous lamb and dressing it with my own version of the classic Argentine sauce chumichurri. You won't believe how fast and easy this is. Let's get to it.

"We started our evening off with iced Clos des Goisses champagne, which Paul served in the big bubbly-glass goblets that we'd bought in Biot, the local glassmaking town. The first course was 'tomates farcies a la pistouille'; tomatoes stuffed with chopped eggplant, fresh tomato pulp, basil, and garlic. A poached egg sat on top, like a queen on her throne." -- Julia Child, "My Life in France"

How many people have taken their first steps towards serious cooking because of Julia Child? How many people have read her words or watched her on their televisions? How many people saw a gawky, awkward woman who never seriously cooked until her forties, looked at the delicious food she had made, and then said to themselves, "Wait -- I could make that?" In a way, the best compliment to Ms. Child is that her contribution to home cookery cannot be quantified. In a culture increasingly fascinated by food, where chefs now regularly enjoy celebrity status, where people write and read blogs like this one, perhaps the real question is this: What part of food culture didn't she contribute to?

Indeed, however many people have been influenced by Ms. Child, as of this week, we can add one more person to their ranks.