I’ve finally made the perfect cheeseburger after being disappointed on many other
occasions. And, no cow was harmed in the making of this burger. It’s not like I 
haven’t enjoyed my burgers in the past, it’s just that I haven’t hit that bliss moment 
the way I have during other burgers at my favorite burg spots. Until yesterday. This 
burger could make a lamb lover out of you, if you aren’t one already. So if you read 
on, I’ll share my holy moment with you and even suggest a wine pairing that worked 
wonders!

I won’t take credit. I followed the recipe from this link almost exactly for the burger 
(although I used different toppings): Saveur Lamb Burger

Lamb-Burger
To top my burger, I kept it simple: Goat cheese and pickled onions on French 
bread, which I grilled with olive oil and flavored with a touch of kosher salt. I tried 
sundried tomatoes as suggested, and also a homemade roasted tomato spread, but 
these were both rejected for the simplicity of goat cheese and onions. The flavor 
of the burger was perfect as is. Even the best beef burgers tasted better with many 
add-ons including ketchup, but this lamb recipe was enough for me, who can be a 
condiment queen. 

The pickled onions are divine, and I must share the website link that made them 
possible (THANK YOU to a Farm Girl’s Dabbles- I’ll be a repeat visitor!) They will 
be used for the next month, as this is how long they keep (unless I polish them off 
before then which is very possible). Farm Girls Dabbles

After mixing sautéed onions, chopped garlic, Dijon, coriander, cumin, fresh herbs 
(parsley, mint and dill, though I cheated and used freeze dried parsley/ dill), 
oregano, scallion, salt and pepper with the lamb/ pork mixture (3:1 ratio), I formed 
two large patties (and one baby patty for a little leftover treat). Though this may 
sound like a lot of ingredients, the flavor they created easily made this a winner in 
the “best seasoned” category of my burger history. 

Outside, the grill was waiting and oiled. I kept the coals on one side, since the 
burgers drip a lot of grease which fuel the coals and create a lot of flame. They 
worked nicely not directly over, but close to the coals and cooked in the same 
amount of time mentioned in the recipe link- 5-ish minutes on each side for medium 
rare. A note about medium rare- it was really more like medium, pink but not too 
pink. I was nervous about this because of the pork included, but the meat tasted 
cooked through and not overdone, which was perfect. To add to the grill, corn on 
the cob cooked in the exact same amount of time, how convenient is that? So the 
burgs and corn both kept each other company after brushing some oil on the corn 
for roasting quality. One note about “roasting quality-“ The corn, over the coals, 
blackened from the smoke created by burg juice on coals. Next time I’ll put them on 
the other side of the grill, not over the coals.

OK- that’s it really! After grilling the oiled bread, I brought the goods inside and 
prepared the toppings: Just a smear of spreadable goat cheese and onions, which 
added a crisp, fresh crunch to the perfect flavor of burger. My dinner companion 
and I looked up and made eye contact after the first bite- the first wordless sign that 
something had gone very, very right in the preparation. I should mention here that a 
parsnip/ potato mix was roasted and served on the side, but it was kind of lackluster 
compared to the burger.

On a wine pairing note: I got it right the first time (I won’t pretend I didn’t look up 
good pairings, though I had to take a chance on a different brand of wine since I 
was at your average grocery store). A Rioja Tempranilla reserve was suggested, 
and I found one on sale for $12 (Campo Viejo 2007). It was smooth with an earthy, 
peppery quality, and stood up to the intense flavor of the burger. Damn if it didn’t 
go with the goat cheese as well. I think the reason wines don’t usually pair perfectly 
with burgers is because of ketchup, which just isn’t a friend of vino. Good thing this 
burger is perfect without it. 

And a delicious Friday night BBQ was had by all. It’s on my repeat list and I hope you 
agree.

Its like chopped up in this business!  Just kidding, but I do like going into the fridge in the morning and coming up with various breakfast dishes in order to use up the leftover food. It cuts down on waste and then I can pretend I too am a contestant on Chopped and I'm given these ingredients to make a dish for the starving people of the world.  I know... sooooo dramatic. :)

Here we have "Texas Breakfast"...

Ingredients:

• 3 beaten eggs
  
• One small roma tomato
• 4 Red Lobster Cheddar biscuits
• Some green onion
• Mushrooms and onions (your preference) 
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Sweet corn
• Filet mignon or left over steak

All of these ingredients were in the refrigerator and/or were leftovers.  I first cut holes out of the middle of the each biscuit and put them in a frying pan.  Then cracked the eggs in a cup, cut the corn from  the stalk and mixed it to make a scramble.  

Let that sit and then pour some oil in a different sauce pan and sautee the mushrooms and the onions.  While that's cooking down pour in your scramble in the center of the biscuits and press down with your turner in order to have the eggs cook on the bottom so the yolk doesn't run out.  Then let it cook for a couple minutes and flip them over to cook the other side.  

Stir your onions and mushrooms and then dice up your tomato and green onions to top on your biscuit.  Slice up the leftover steak into slivers and you can either have them cold on top or put them in the frying pan for a 30 seconds or so on each side.  

If the eggs are looking cooked and ready to go, sprinkle some cheddar cheese over the biscuits and cover with a saucepan top to melt.

Once everything looks like it's ready (cheese melted, and veggies sauteed) then start plating!  Put the biscuit on the plate and sprinkle tomatoes and green onions on top.  Take two slices of steak and place them on the top as well.  Salt and pepper to taste. 

Feel free to customize how you want based on your last nights dinner!  That's part of the fun! :)

Not pictured: the fried down and cubed twice baked potato leftovers and the thick cut bacon
*I like to mix in garlic salt and onion salt with pepper into the egg scramble, but that's just a preference

I have a ridiculous amount of food photos that I have taken and not uploaded.  It would be a shame to not show them.  When I get the Travel and Review sections updated I will work on the Home Cookin' and recipes. Stay Tuned!

Basically this picture could be right out of The Food Network Magazine.  Woot!  It's super easy to make, but you need a cast iron skillet.  Prepare for oniony goodness.  NY Times didn't lie!  What's great about this meal is it can be repurposed into many other forms of delicious meals such as my personal fave - The Pot Pie.  Thanks Scott K. for sharing the delicious wealth. 
NY TIMES Splayed Chicken with Carmelized Ramps and Capers