International Burgers
Just because it's cold outside, doesn't mean you can't still make burgers. And they don't have to be the standard plain burgers, either. Here are two recipes that put a bit of a twist on the classic burger.
First up - a Middle Eastern inspired spiced lamb burger with a creamy yogurt sauce.
To make the patties, combine bread crumbs, lamb, turkey, onion, an egg, parsley, garlic, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and pepper. Use a grill pan, griddle, or electric grill to cook the burgers.
Make a sauce with yogurt, scallions, parsley, mint, oregano, lemon zest, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, sugar, and pepper.
Place the burgers inside pitas and stuff with fresh tomatoes and the yogurt sauce.
For a Southwestern twist, we have Salsa Verde Turkey Burgers with Avocado Mayonnaise.
To form the burgers, simply combine ground turkey, jarred salsa verde, breadcrumbs, and an egg. Combine avocado, mayonnaise, and garlic to make a sauce. Cook the burgers on a griddle (turkey falls apart too much to grill) and top with Pepperjack cheese and the sauce. If they are in season - green tomatoes are also an excellent topper.
Summer Seafood
I don't normally cook a lot of seafood other than my usual seared salmon, but in the summer I do get cravings for it. The reason is unknown - maybe because it is light and refreshing, maybe because I wish I was at the beach. Either way, I have a couple of light and healthy Summer seafood recipes to share with you.
These shrimp tacos are filled out with a slaw of cabbage, corn, fresh squeezed orange and lime juice, and a dab of sour cream. A great balance between warm tortillas, hot shrimp fresh out of the pan, and cool, crunchy slaw - they are healthy, filling, and super tasty.
This next recipe combines two superfoods into one awesome meal for Salmon Burgers with Tangy Avocado Sauce.
4th of July
It's a little late, I know. But I did some cool things for the holiday that I thought would be worth sharing.
First up, burgers:
I thought that mixing shredded cheddar and diced bacon into the burgers themselves instead of using them as a topping would be pretty tasty, and I was right! I also added in pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, and paprika (no salt b/c I figured the bacon would be enough). I didn't really measure, but you can get an idea for the proportions here.
Next up - jello shots!
I am kind of obsessed with jello shots right now. Not the kind you made in college in the little cups that tasted like Everclear, but the fun, creative, tasty kinds found on Jelly Shot Test Kitchen. These are solid enough to stand on their own in little cubes (or whatever shape you cut them into). I haven't gotten too fancy with cutouts and shapes yet, but I am getting pretty good at doing layers.
Turkey Apple Burgers with Avocado, Tomato, and Corn Salad
Ah, summer - hot weather, cool drinks, fresh produce, grilling. For me, summer is mostly about air conditioning and trying not to get sunburned; but there are times when I get excited about it - beach trips, BBQ's, long days. On one of these bouts of enthusiasm I decided that I wanted legit summer food, so here it is.
Mockingbird Bistro, Houston TX
We recently went on a trip to Houston, TX to attend an alumni event at my alma mater - Rice University. The trip happened to fall around the time of our 2nd Wedding Anniversary, so we wanted to have a nice dinner in Houston to celebrate. We chose the Mockingbird Bistro as our location and had a wonderful evening.
We were impressed as soon as we entered by the hostess's greeting: "Are we holding a table for you?" I thought that it was much more polite than the usual "Do you have a reservation?" The manager brought us complimentary Cava in honor of our Anniversary, and they also knew our favorite (and hard to find) cocktail, Pisco sour, so we were quite pleased from the beginning. Once we were seated, we had a chance to look at the decor and layout. The main room is pretty small and divided into a bar/lounge area and a dining area, but there is another large room (which doubles as wine storage), and stairs to a balcony room (both of which are available for private events). The style was very cool - hip, old Paris feel with a bit of a gothic edge - I was instantly in love with it. The cool vibe, old-fashioned cocktails, and stellar wine list (one of the best in the city) makes this a place that I would definitely hang out at - if only I had known about it when I lived there!
