Burger Night!

This week, Matt’s cousins from Utah came into town and I wanted to make a nice dinner. Since you can’t go wrong with burgers, I figured a nice juicy burger would be a good choice. But…this is me we’re talking about. So I couldn’t just make any burger…

Indian Style Lamb Burger

1 1/2  lbs ground lamb

1/2 lb ground pork (or beef, but pork is much cheaper and with the lamb being so expensive…)

1 shallot or half a small red onion, grated

2 cloves garlic, grated

1-inch piece ginger, grated

1 tsp each of turmeric, coriander, cumin, garam masala, chili powder

1/2 tsp each smoked paprika and black pepper

1/4 tsp each of cinnamon and red pepper flakes

4-6 tbls crumbled feta

4 sliced smoked mozzarella

4 brioche buns

Heat a grill pan to high and brush with oil. In a large bowl, add the meat and spices and grate in the onion, garlic and ginger. Combine with your hands until all ingredients are just incorporated (over-mixing will lead to tough burgers). Make 8 even balls and flatten them out. Pile the feta onto 4 of the patties and put the other 4 patties on top. Seal the edges so the feta will not come out. Put the burgers on the grill pan and sear for 3 minutes on each side. Then lay the slices of mozzarella on the burgers and cover the entire pan with tin foil and allow to cook another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cut open the rolls and toast them, then slather both sides of the rolls with Indian BBQ Sauce (recipe to follow) and put greens (anything you have around) on the top side. When the burgers are done, put them on the bottom of each roll and put the lettuce and top of the bun on top. Serve with salt and vinegar chips (or any kind you like). These burgers are HUGE so…Happy, and messy, eating!

Indian BBQ Sauce

2 tbls light oil

3 apples, julienned

1/2 large onion, sliced

3 tbls tomato paste

1-inch piece ginger, grated

3 tbls stock

1/3 cup tomato sauce (its fine if it has flavor, whatever you have)

1 tbls garam masala

1 tsp each turmeric, cumin, coriander, chili powder and paprika

6-8 cardamom pods, wrapped in 1 layer of cheese cloth and tied

2 bay leaves

2 cinnamon sticks

Salt to taste

1/3 cup craisins

In a medium sauce pan, over medium heat saute the apple and onion in the oil until they begin to caramelize. Add the tomato paste and grate in the ginger and stir briefly to wake up the tomato paste.  Add the stock to deglaze the pan, then add the remaining ingredients. Don’t be afraid if you taste it and it’s not very good—the spices and flavors need time to meld and combine. Allow to cook, covered, for no less than half an hour. You might want to make extra as a dipping sauce or anything really. It’s really delicious, and if you add some fresh herbs like cilantro or parsley, it will really brighten it up, so you can thin it out with water and use it as a marinade or a sauce. Go crazy!

Japanese...ish...

A while back, I bough this amazing tuna steak. Unfortunately at the time I was really busy and I knew I wouldn't have time to cook it before the tuna went bad, so I stuck it in the freezer for another night. Well Monday night was that night. So i defrosted the tuna completely, made a simple asian-style glaze, and coated the tuna with it before searing it. Pretty simple preparation because my boyfriend just loves the flavor of the tuna and I didn't want to overpower it. However, I was able to get creative with the side dish, and I have to say, I really didn't feel the need to eat the tuna after tasting this.

Soba Noodle Stir Fry

2 bundles of soba noodles

1 1/2 tbls light oil (any variety you have)

1 red bell pepper, very thinly sliced

1 medium onion, sliced to the same thickness as the pepper

2 cloves garlic, chopped or grated, depending upon your taste

1 tbls toasted sesame oil

1 tbls chili garlic

1 tbls hoisin sauce

1 tbls rice vinegar

1 tbls lite soy sauce

1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, grated (straight into the bowl to get the juices)

4 scallions, sliced on the bias (its prettier than just regular slices)

handful chopped cilantro

1 tbls toasted sesame seeds

Put a medium-sized pot of salted water on to boil, and when it comes to a boil, add the soba noodles and cook until just before done (pull out about a minute before the package directions). Meanwhile, in a large skillet, add the light oil and saute the onion and bell pepper over medium heat until soft. While allowing them to soften, stirring occasionally, in a small bowl whisk together the garlic through the ginger. Turn the heat down to low, add the noodles to the saute pan, add the marinade, and combine carefully so the noodles don't break. Stir carefully for about a minute, then add the remaining ingredients and saute another minute. Garnish with extra cilantro and scallions and serve. Happy eating!

Family Dinner

Over the weekend, I was home with my family, and two of my non-related family members came over for dinner. We split the meal so they were bringing the veggie (a delicious salad, as always), my mom did the main course (steaks--her specialty), and I made the side dish (roasted potatoes with olive oil, chili powder, fresh rosemary and salt and pepper) and dessert. The dessert turned out pretty well, so I thought I'd share it with you. I am going to make some sort of apple variation of it next week after I go apple picking, but the original was bright, rich and delicious.

Lemon Raspberry Pound Cake
1 10-oz bag frozen raspberries, defrosted (no sugar added, if possible)
3 tbls Amaretto liquor (like Disaronno)
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 8oz package cream cheese
1 cup butter
2 1/2 cups sugar (2 cups if the raspberries have added sugar)
6 eggs
3 cups cake flour

Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees and butter and flour 2 loaf pans. Combine the raspberries, amaretto, lemon zest and vanilla in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, cream together room temperature cream cheese and butter with your hand-mixer (they will not combine easily if they are cold) and whip for about 2 minutes. Add the sugar a bit at a time while continuing to cream the ingredients. When they are light and fluffy, add the eggs 2 at a time and continue to beat. When all the eggs are fully combined and fluffy, add the flour 1 cup at a time and stir manually until just combined. Pour in the raspberry mixture and swirl into the batter, making sure it runs through the batter, but isn't completely mixed in. Pour into the prepared loaf pans (half in each) and bake for an hour and a half (check at 1 hour). To make it extra special, before you serve it, turn the loaf upside down on your serving plate, and pour some of the cream cheese frosting from the "Birthday Cake to the Extreme" and allow it to come down the sides a bit. Slice and serve.

Happy eating!