Ketchup

I’m not going to jump into the fray of what makes a perfect cheeseburger, but what I will say is, don’t overlook the opportunity to jazz up your ketchup.  Last night I topped our open faced caramelized onion bacon cheeseburgers with a dollop of curry ketchup and it made it a whole lot more special without much effort.  I simply stirred in a quarter teaspoon of curry paste into a small bowl of ketchup right out of the bottle.  Think about a squeeze of Sriracha, a spoonful of your favorite barbeque sauce, or a little mayonnaise and relish for a Thousand Island burger.  Then there’s chili and cumin powder for a Mexican twist, or a bit of hoisin and soy sauce if you’re feeling Asian.  And for you purists who aren’t going to mess with it, check out Simply Heinz, it’s the classic recipe minus the high fructose corn syrup.  Happy 4^th!

 

Corn, Cilantro, and Wheat Berry Salad

If you’ve never tried wheat berries you must, it’s a texture like no other and as easy as to prepare as pasta.  You do have to plan a little as they take an hour to cook so best to make more than you need so you can have some leftover for salads or another side dish.  For this corn and cilantro salad simmer your wheat berries in salted water for an hour, strain, and let cool.  Next, husk your corn and slice away the kernels before tossing with the cooked wheat berries, half a bunch of chopped cilantro, a minced garlic clove, the juice of two limes, and coarse salt and pepper to taste.  The longer it sits around before serving the better.  Tomorrow try adding your leftover wheat berries to a spinach salad with a horseradish lemon vinaigrette, or adding to a chicken salad….good stuff.

 



Soft Shell Crabs with Lemon Aioli

Soft shell crabs may look intimidating but as long as your local fishmonger cleans them properly for you they’re actually pretty easy to prepare.  Heat up about an eighth of an inch of vegetable oil in a pan while you prepare a bowl each of flour, stirred eggs, and a half bread crumb half corn meal mixture.  Dredge the crabs individually in each and fry for roughly four minutes per side.  I served them this time with a lemon aioli I concocted by combining a minced garlic clove, lemon juice from half a lemon, and a chopped hardboiled egg in the bottom of a mason jar and stick blending while drizzling in some olive oil.  After chilling for an hour I added salt and ground black pepper to taste. 

Mint and Garlic Infused Lamb Roast

Mint is everywhere and combined with abundant amounts of garlic and salt makes for a very tasty lamb roast.  For maximum flavor you really want to prep the meat the day before and refrigerate overnight.  Hand chop or Cuisinart a bunch of mint, half a head of peeled garlic, black pepper, and at least a couple tablespoons of kosher salt.  Form a paste by adding a little bit of olive oil then apply to all surfaces of your roast, wrap in Saran, and refrigerate until two hours before you plan on cooking.  I like roasting this time of year using indirect heat on the barbeque, but the oven will work too.  If you’re going to serve it with a salad or vegetable a lemon vinaigrette compliments the mint and garlic nicely.