gyro burgers

this recipe has been rolling around in my head for a while. i love lamb (as evidenced by this post) and in particular gyros. the wonderful earthiness of the lamb paired with the cool and refreshing tsatziki cucumber sauce is out of this world. i wasn't feeling up to creating a traditional lamb roast to carve properly, so i decided on these cute little burgers. this is a relatively quick dish, and very filling.

ingredients:

for burgers:
1 pound ground lamb
1 small onion or 1/2 of a large onion, grated
1 egg
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or mashed into a puree with salt and the back of your knife
approximately 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs

for tsatziki sauce:
1 cup of plain whole fat yogurt*
1 english cucumber, seeds removed, chopped into 1/4" dice
1 to 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of dill (or the herb of your choosing, i went with thyme because i had it on hand)
salt and pepper

for serving:
naan, feta cheese, and lettuce

directions:
heat a large non-stick pan over medium high heat.
in a large bowl combine the lamb, egg, onion (and as much of it's juices as you can get in), the garlic, salt (if you didn't mash your garlic with it), and pepper to taste. combine loosely with your fingers, being sure not to overwork the meat. form into small patties, approximately 16, and set aside to come to room temperature.
to make the tsatziki sauce, combine the yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
grill the patties for about 2 minutes on the first side, and then flip. cook for an additional minute and them remove and set aside.
assemble the gyro burgers on the naan with a heaping serving of the tsatziki sauce, lettuce, and feta cheese. enjoy!

notes:
this tastes so traditional, but is pretty easy. you could serve this in pita, but the naan is lighter, thicker, and fluffy. if you can't get your hands on lamb, turkey would be a good replacement...but lamb really is the best meat in the world.

* you could also use low fat yogurt that has been placed in a bowl over a strainer lined with cheesecloth or paper towels for about a half hour to remove most of the liquid.

a saturday morning egg sandwich

as i've mentioned before, i infrequently plan for breakfast. when my husband was in law school it felt like the only meal we always ate together, but now we almost never make a full-fledged proper breakfast. usually what happens is what happened this morning:
me: want some breakfast?
he: yeah, what've we got?
me: well, we've got eggs...
he: but no bacon.
me: right. and we've got potatoes...
he: but no bread.
me: ok. i've got an idea...i'll be right back.
and so, as with most good things, this sandwich was born of necessity. enjoy.

ingredients:
2 ciabatta rolls
2 - 4 tablespoons prepared pesto
1/2 a large ball of fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
4 eggs
handful of basil, torn or sliced
olive oil
salt and pepper

directions:
slice the ciabatta rolls and drizzle the cut sides with olive oil. toast these in a very hot pan for about 5 minutes, until they start to turn golden. remove and set aside. spread one side of the roll (or both, if you prefer) with the pesto evenly.
heat more olive oil in the same pan and then fry the eggs to your liking, as you can see from the photo we went runny (aka over easy), being sure to salt and pepper the eggs. place two eggs on top of the pesto on the bottom half of the roll. add the mozzarella cheese on top of the eggs, and then sprinkle with the basil. place the top of the roll on and enjoy!

notes:
depending on what you have in your pantry/fridge/freezer you could add more or less to this. you could put a thick slice of tomato on, you could replace the mozzarella with another cheese (gouda or fontina perhaps) and you could always add meat of some sort. as it is, it's the perfect summer breakfast. it's not heavy at all, which makes it very refreshing.

roasted tomatillo salsa

i love snacking...and one of my favorite snacks is chips and salsa. trouble is, i have a low tolerance for heat in recipes. i mean, i eat them, and enjoy them, but they tend to burn my tongue so much that i can't taste what i'm eating. i long ago discovered that i prefer "flavorful" to "hot".
this salsa is a little of both, and if you want to kick it up some, using a few more peppers will do just that. i've adapted this from the black bean tostados with roasted tomatillo sauce from the october 2006 issue of gourmet. most of the ingredients are the same, however, the process is much easier, and therefore, more practical.
enjoy.

ingredients:
8 tomatillos, husked and sliced in 1" chunks
3 serrano chilies (use more if you like more spice), seeded and roughly chopped
6 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
one large sweet onion, roughly chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper

directions:
preheat your oven to 400 degrees. place all ingredients on a baking sheet and liberally coat with olive oil, and then salt and pepper to taste.
bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, then remove and stir. return to the oven and cook for about 5 more minutes. you want the tomatillos to begin to break down, and the onions to caramelize.
remove from the oven and place all ingredients into a food processor, whiz up until the texture you prefer, and then chill. this will probably keep in the refrigerator for about a week...but it's so good that i'm sure it wont be around that long anyway!

notes:
i'm always antsy about "adapting" a recipe...i mean, how much do you have to change something before you can call it your own? i think anyone who has read the "proper" directions for this will agree that it's different enough.
this salsa is slightly sweet because of the tomatillos and the most beautifully vibrant green color...it would be a nice alternative to the standard jarred red salsa at your next get together.

sometimes twice as much is better

while i love my whole wheat pizza crust, one thing about it always bothered me; it was dry. i mean, you feel good eating it because it's whole wheat, and therefore, healthy, however, i'm one of those people who feel that healthy can also be tasty. so i experimented.
last night i came across a discovery...using 4 tablespoons of olive oil in the dough, instead of the 2 i previously called for, creates a softer and chewier crust...not dry at all!
i've updated the pizza recipes on the site to reflect the additional oil...i hope this encourages you all to create your own whole wheat pizza crusts at home!
and, as an added bonus...just because you are such wonderful people, i've also decided to give you another variation on the pizza...see below:

crispy proscuitto pizza

ingredients:
the new and improved pizza dough from here or here
1 small can, tomato paste
1 to 2 tablespoons water
several sprigs fresh thyme
4 ounces very thinly slices proscuitto
1 cup shredded mozzarella (not fresh)
1.5 cups shredded parmesan

directions:
prepare pizza dough per my instructions.
while it is rising, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. lay the proscuitto out in one layer on a baking sheet and pop into the oven. keep an eye on it, but let it get crispy. this will take about five minutes, and you'll know it's crisping because it's edges will curl.
meanwhile, mix the tomato paste with a little water until it's thinned out some, and then add the thyme and mix together.
spread out the dough in a thin layer, making sure to create a crust. sprinkle parmesan onto the crust of the pizza (for added flavor) and then spread the tomato mixture evenly on the middle of the crust. add the proscuitto, breaking it up with your hands as you go. then top with the mozzarella and then the remaining parmesan.
the pizza will only need to bake for about 15 minutes...but keep an eye on it to make sure that the cheese has bubbled and browned.

notes:
this is my cheat pizza sauce. it's a simple solution when you are in a pinch (most of us have tomato paste lying around, right?) and it tastes excellent. the mixture can't be too wet or the crust will be soggy, that's why you can't use fresh mozzarella either.
the crust, once you are used to making it, takes less than 8 minutes to pull together. so it's perfect for a weeknight meal.
at some point i will use it to make zeppoles...so stay tuned for that!

prezzies

you may have noticed some items disappearing from the wish list side bar, and this is because i've been getting them as gifts! (fear not though, i've replaced them with new goodies to long for!)

my friend jen was kind enough to buy me jamie's dinners by jamie oliver for my birthday last week. this book is chock full of wonderful classic recipes that are loved by all. it has everything from tomato soup to roasted shoulder of lamb...it's wonderful. i'll be making the tomato soup this week, so stay tuned for a review. i always love jamie's recipes though, so i doubt i'll be dissapointed.
also, my lovely friend katie got me the oxo good grips mandoline! i'm so stoked about this new toy, i can't even tell you. i've wanted a mandoline for a very long time, and i'm so excited to user this as soon as possible. it has a ton of settings for juliened veggies, and thin sliced potatoes...it's going to be a lifesaver in the kitchen. the coolest part of this is that she doesn't even read my food blog, but still knew i'd want this...she also baked me focaccia bread, from the artisan breads in five minutes book...it was so good that i've added the book to my wish list.

and, though i bought it for myself, i've also recently added in nirmala's kitchen to my cookbook collection. i'm making three recipes out of this book this week alone, and i can't wait to get started. i'm sure, that like everyone else, i'll love this book.

sausage and pepper quesadillas

though you will frequently find me spending well over an hour on a weeknight dinner, i occasionally need something that is fast as well as satisfying. quesadillas are ready made for this purpose, being simple in both construction and ingredients. though these ingredients are a classic italian combination, they work equally well in this mexican preparation.

ingredients
2 bell peppers, roughly chopped
1 large sweet onion, sliced
2 pre-cooked gourmet sausages (we use aidell's artichoke and garlic), chopped
4 large whole wheat flour tortillas
1 block of monterey jack cheese, grated
olive oil
salt and pepper

directions
heat olive oil in a large pan over high heat. add the peppers and onions, and then salt to taste. Stir for about 5 to 8 minutes until the onions are softened and the peppers are beginning to caramelize. add in the chopped sausages and heat through, about 2 minutes.
remove the vegetables and sausage from the pan, and using a paper towel, wipe the pan clean. place a tortilla in the hot pan, add a layer of cheese (being sure to get close to the edges) and then a layer of the vegetables and sausage, and then another layer of the cheese, topping it all off with a tortilla. press down on the top of the tortilla, using pressure to "seal" the two tortillas with the melted cheese. let this cook for about 2 minutes, and then carefully flip. let it cook on the second side for one minute and then slide out onto a cutting board and slice into triangles.

notes
you can top these with salsa, sour cream, hot sauce, or anything that suits your fancy. they are fast, nutritious, and delicious...what more could you ask for?
as an alternate, you can also cook these with fresh sausage, but you'll need to brown it before you cook the vegetables, removing it to sautee them, and then adding it back in to heat through.

cheers

today is my 30th birthday, as well as my third wedding anniversary. because of the dual reasons to celebrate, my husband cooked me dinner, and we popped the cork on a bottle of champagne we've been saving for a very special occasion.

on the menu was rare filet mignon, roasted local asparagus, and baked local potatoes with sour cream. but, of course i dug in before i could take a properly set up photo...so you only get the aftermath.

oh, and here's the bubbly goodness. it makes me happy just to see the photo. 16 years old, and just opened tonight...how special is that!?
happy birthday to me.