Lamb Surprise Burgers

2009-02-01T19:02:00.000-08:00

My first attempt at cooking lamb was less than successful. In fact, it made me doubt if I even liked the stuff. I baked the lamb in a tomato and Greek yogurt sauce. In my opinion, it was pretty much disgusting. My family ate it, but agreed the flavor was not right.
Needless to say, I was a little hesitant about giving lamb another shot. So, I decided to seek a little guidance from my beloved cookbooks. I landed on the "Prosciutto Lamb Burgers" in Giada's Kitchen by Giada DeLaurentis. I had the grocery list ready to go. And then it snowed. A foot of the cold white stuff put a quick stop to my grocery trip. However, mom had already thawed the lamb, so I had to just improvise.
It was a success! Everyone enjoyed the burgers, even me.
Here is what I came up with:

ingredients:
1lb. ground lamb
2 eggs
1/2 cup italian breadcrumbs
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon each oregano and parsley
1/2 onion (chopped)
4 slices mozzarella cheese
12 pieces fresh baby spinach
4-6 slices bacon
*toothpicks
preheat oven 375 degrees
combine lamb, eggs, breadcrumbs, parmesan, herbs, and onion in a large bowl. mix together with hands. separate into 8 thin patties.
place 1 piece of mozzarella and several pieces of spinach between 2 patties. pinch sides together. repeat, creating 4 stuffed patties. wrap bacon around each patty. secure with a toothpick. (depending on size, you may need more than 1 slice of bacon to get around the patties.)
sear burgers on medium-high heat. about 3 minutes per side. transfer patties to oven safe dish (if you have an oven safe skillet, like cast iron, use it to help reduce dishes). bake for approximately 20 minutes. *use a meat thermometer for safe and accurate doneness*
remove toothpicks.
serve and enjoy.
*the ground lamb, spinach, eggs, bacon, and herbs can all be purchased from kiss my grass farm in season. (kissmygrassfarm.net)*

Hello

2009-01-29T19:52:00.000-08:00

Hello there! My name is Lydia. I am beginning this cooking blog as an addition to my folks' website (www.kissmygrassfarm.net) for their farm. They produce fresh fruit, veggies, eggs, and meat.
I guess I've always been a little food obsessed. My mom says that when I was little I would just walk around and steal food off of her plate and everyone else's. I still think food tastes better off someone else's plate. Mom would have me in the kitchen all the time when I was growing up. I would help her make apple butter, breads, ice cream, and just about anything else she was cooking up. We usually had a garden in the back yard. My brother and I each had our own smaller gardens and got to plant whatever we wanted. Mine was usually full of corn, tomatoes, and strawberries (still 3 of my faves). I have always loved looking through cookbooks. As a teenager I didn't really enjoy cooking, but I would still flip through cookbooks and fantasize about someday creating those meals.
A few years ago I started cooking again. I am officially addicted. I still love to look at cookbooks, but now I not only make the food, I change the recipes to suit my taste (and the tastes of my friends and family). Every week I peruse my cookbook collection and pick different meals to prepare. And every Tuesday is grocery day. I like to perfect meals I already know how to make and also to challenge myself to master ones that seem impossibly complex. Sometimes it's a major success and sometimes it's dog food. Either way, I enjoy myself and learn something.
My blog will share my own recipes, variations of other's recipes, my favorite kitchen gadgets and feature lots of locally grown products.

Lydia's Home Skillet

Lamb Surprise Burgers

Hello