Lamb Slider Trio

We got leg of lamb for $399/lb. $3.99 A POUND! We had a small roast and then ground the rest, thinking that we could come up with many more recipes for ground lamb - one being lamb burgers. But we never had a lamb burger and didn't know what to pair it with.

So we did what every indecisive couple with a serious cooking hobby would do and experimented with the top three contenders - Greek, Middle Eastern, and American.

The Greek burger included sliced tomato, a slice of romaine and some tzatski sauce on a plain bun.

The Middle Eastern burger included a slice of arugula, a feta/mint/yogurt sauce, and avocado on a poppy seed bun.

The American burger included ketchup, mustard, goat's cheddar cheese, crisped prosciutto, and a slice of arugula on, what else, a sesame seed bun.

I tried to get Nick to rate them, but he couldn't. He said they were all good. I did, but honestly, it was so close.

My favorites:
1. Middle Eastern
2. American
3. Greek

All to watch Worst Cooks in America. How was your weekend?

Open Faced Grilled Cheese

I thought I would share this quick and easy meal with you all since summer is coming to a close (for those of you that don't suffer with me in Florida) and as the days get shorter, a few last nights on the deck or patio by the grill are in order.

I love grilling. Not that I'm a master at grilling meat of any sort (that's Nick's job), I can handle myself with vegetables and other items - like this Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

Ingredients:
1 c feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 c goat cheese, crumbled
Olive Oil
1 French Bread or baguette,  split lengthwise and cut into large slices crosswise
2 plum tomato, thinly sliced*
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Salt & Pepper
Balsamic vinegar, optional

Heat the grill or grill pan. Brush olive oil on the inside face (not crusty side) of each bread slice. Sprinkle a small bit of salt on each slice. Once the grill is heated, place the bread face down on the grill until crispy and grill marks appear. The time will depend on how hot your grill surface is, but no more than a few minutes. You just want to crisp the outside, not dry out the bread.

While the bread is crisping up on the grill, mix the feta and goat cheese together, slice the tomatoes and chop the parsley. Flip over the bread on the grill (or a work surface) and top with the cheese mixture and tomatoes. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Place the bread back on the grill, cheese side up until the cheese warms and softens.

Remove from the grill and top with fresh parsley and some cracked pepper. Drizzle some balsamic for added flavor. Plate and serve.

*Although the original recipe did call for thinly sliced tomatoes, after making it (and trying to eat it), I would recommend giving them a large dice so that you can more easily eat it. The slices were a little precarious on top of all the cheese.

Shrimp & Pineapple Skewers with Rum Butter Dipping Sauce

Happy Memorial Day!

Back in 2007, we were grilling out at a park during spring break. Coincidentally, we were grilling the same meal back then. But it's so yummy that we've kept it in our recipe collection and fall back on it on occasion. It's a slight adaptation from this recipe. The grilled, prosciutto wrapped shrimp are fantastic with the marinated pineapple. And oh, the rum butter sauce. Rum and butter? In a sauce? 'Nuff said.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp minced gingerroot, plus 1 tsp
2 tsp minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
1 tsp red pepper flakes
24 medium uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/3 lb prosciutto
1 small pineapple, cut into 1" cubes
2 tbsp shallots, minced
1/3 c. dark rum
6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces and kept cold
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

Soak skewers (if wood/bamboo) to prevent burning while on the grill. To make the marinade, place the lime juice, olive oil, 2 tsp of gingerroot, garlic and red pepper flakes into a bowl to combine. I mix the oil and lime juice first to make sure it is combined before tossing in the other ingredients.

Toss the shrimp and pineapple in the marinade and marinate while the grill is heating up, about 15 minutes.

I like to prepare the rum butter sauce before placing the skewers on the grill just so that I don't have to run between the two.Heat a pan to medium or medium-low heat and pour in the rum. Add the shallots and remaining teaspoon of gingerroot. Stir to combine and let simmer until the alcohol has burned off. Add one tablespoon of butter at a time, making sure to stir to combine so that the mixture doesn't break. Remove it from heat once all the butter is incorporated. It should make a pretty thick sauce.

Wrap the shrimp in thinly sliced prosciutto. Then place the shrimp and pineapple on skewers. Grill about 4 minutes per side, or until shrimp is pink and cooked through.

Remove them from the grill. Remove from the skewers and place onto a plate or platter. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro and serve with the rum butter sauce for dipping.

We served this with brown rice and grilled corn on the cob.

Hope you all have a good (and tasty) Memorial Day with your families. Thanks to all those members of the armed forces who have and continue to serve our country.

Quick Fixin: Teriyaki Salmon with Easy Brown Rice

We've been pretty busy lately. I started working full time just as my licensing exam was over and our wedding planning kicked into high gear. So, quick and easy meals have been my saving grace. This recipe in particular takes almost no effort.

Ingredients (for fish):
1 fillet salmon
Teryaki sauce - I recommend Soy Vay teriyaki if you aren't making your own

Place the fish and teryaki sauce in a plastic zip top bag. Marinate for 15 minutes, no longer than one half hour. Place skin side down on a hot grill until the meat of the fish is cooked and it peels easily from the skin.

Ingredients (for rice):
1 1/2 c short grain brown rice
2 1/2 c water
1 tbsp butter, unsalted
1 tsp salt

Place the butter, water, and salt in a 9" x 9" glass baking dish and heat in the microwave for 5 minutes. Once heated, stir in the rice and cover with aluminum foil. Place in a 375F degree oven for 1 hour. Remove the rice after one hour and fluff with a fork before serving. This is an easy way to cook rice, with no burning the bottom, that I learned by watching, who else, Alton Brown.

We typically serve this with a salad or some other vegetable. Because corn was on sale this week and looked better than I've ever seen Florida corn, we had a few grilled cobs.

What are your favorite quick fix meals?

Chicken Kabobs

Here in Florida, even though it isn't unbearably hot yet, cooking indoors right now increases the temperature of our apartment so much that it's uncomfortable. This is why we love our grill. Tonight we fired it up to cook grilled chicken and vegetable kabobs. To compliment the chicken we used a colorful mix of vegetables: beets, white onion, green pepper and pineapple.

Ingredients:
1/2 green pepper
1/2 white onion
2 medium beets, steamed until tender, skin removed
2 c pineapple
1 chicken breast
olive oil
salt and pepper
seasonings or rub - we used a chili lime rub we had on hand

Turn the grill on to heat. Cut the chicken into 1" size pieces and season with the oil, salt, pepper and seasonings. Toss to coat and set aside. Cut the veggies into similar size cubes (to even cooking time). Place the chicken on skewers.

We put the chicken on first, for a total of about 8 minutes, turning once (but your cooking time would depend on the heat of your grill). While the chicken is cooking, make the vegetable skewers. Once we took off the chicken, we put the veggie skewers on the grill. I let those grill for about 5 minutes on one side to get a nice char, and then flipped to get light marks on the other side.

Remove the skewers from the grill and slide the chicken and veggies off the skewers and onto a serving plate. Toss the chicken and veggies together and serve.