I also had some extra guacamole… I served some on top of each burger. It was a bit messy to eat but definitely worth it. The burgers were delicious. You can served grilled corn or a potato salad with the burgers. Recipe coming up tomorrow…

• 1 poblano pepper, cut in half, seeded
• 1 small yellow onion, cut into quarters
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves, (wrapped in aluminum foil)
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the vegetables on a lined cookie sheet. Drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle the salt and pepper and roast for 35 to 40 minutes or till the vegetables are soft. Take out of oven and scrape off the skin from the poblano peppers as well as the garlic from the foil. Place in a blender or processor and process till smooth.

• 1 pound dark turkey meat
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Pepper

Place the turkey meat in a medium mixing bowl. Add the poblano mixture, salt and pepper and mix well till everything is incorporated. Form into four patties. Let it sit for 2 to 3 hours. Cook on a grill or skillet. Serve on a sesame seed bun with tomatoes, smoked paprika mayonnaise and guacamole.

Smoked Paprika Mayonnaise

• ¼ cup non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Juice of half lemon

Add the yogurt, mayonnaise, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and lemon juice in a small bowl. Mix well and keep aside.

I decided to add fresh basil and garlic into the grass fed beef we bought. Speaking of grass fed… I think it is important to get the best quality meat that you can buy.. it makes the a huge difference with taste when you buy good quality ingredients. I thought about doctoring up some store bought mayo but then realized how much fat it has.. so, I decided to add one tablespoon of mayo to some non-fat Greek yogurt. I then added kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes, garlic, salt and pepper. The spread tasted amazing and it was hard to tell how healthy it was….

The burgers were delicious with some grilled baby zucchinis and potatoes.. recipes to follow…

• 1 pound ground grass fed beef
• 1 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Transfer the meat into a medium bow. Add the basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix well and keep aside in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours. Form four patties and keep aside.

Mayonnaise

• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• ¼ cup non-fat Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup kalamata olives
• 3 to 4 sundried tomatoes
• 3 garlic cloves
• Salt
• Pepper

Process the olives, sundried tomatoes and garlic in a small processor. Mix into the mayonnaise and yogurt in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper and taste for seasonings. Keep aside.

• 2 medium tomatoes, sliced
• 4 burger buns, sliced
• 4 mozzarella slices

Cook the burgers according to desired doneness. Add the cheese on top. Spread the mayo onto the buns and add tomatoes. Serve the burgers with grilled potatoes and veggies.

Anyway, she eats burgers but only likes the ones I make. I like my burgers with herbs and spices inside the meat.. and she is used to that. Anyway, I am flattered but I would like for her to start eating burgers outside as well… although I would rather have her eat the ground beef I get which is always grass fed instead of eating God knows what…

This particular one has Indian flavors running through it. Try it for the long weekend…

• 1 pound grass fed ground beef
• ½ cup cilantro
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3 green onions
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander

Process the cilantro, garlic and green onions. Add to the ground beef. Add the salt, garam masala and ground coriander. Mix well and keep aside for 2 to 3 hours. Form into 4 patties.

Garam Masala Mayonnaise

½ cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons garam masala
½ teaspoon salt
Juice of one lemon

Mix the mayonnaise, garam masala, salt and lemon juice in a small bowl and keep aside.

• 1 large sliced tomato
• 4 soft burger or focaccia rolls
• 4 pepper jack slices

Cook the burger patties on a grill or a grill pan according to desired doneness. Top with cheese. Spread mayonnaise on the rolls. Add a tomato slice and add the patty. Serve with corn and a salad.

I started with ground turkey, although ground chicken will be delicious as well. I added sweet, savory, spicy and tangy components to the meat including some ground peanuts. Almost like a chicken satay…

I bought brioche rolls for the burgers as they have a bit of sweetness to them which went perfectly well with the spicy, savory patties. For condiments we had sliced tomatoes, onions and some wild arugula.

For the best part of the burger- the mango pineapple chutney- it is a great addition to this dish. The chutney is cooked with shallots, canned pineapple, fresh mangoes, ginger, garlic, and lots of other delicious ingredients. This fresh condiment really took the burgers to a whole new level. I would encourage you to make this chutney with any kind of burgers you end up serving for this holiday.

Overall, the Thai style burgers were a huge success- make these for the fourth of July weekend…

Burgers (Makes about 16 to 18 patties)

• 3 pounds ground chicken (dark meat)
• 2 limes, juiced and zested
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 inches ginger, minced
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup green onions, chopped
• 3 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 cup salted peanuts, chopped
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• 2 serrano chilies, chopped
• 2 teaspoons sriracha sauce
• Salt

Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl and divide into 16 to 18 patties, depending on the size.

Garnish

• 4 cups wild arugula
• 3 large tomatoes, sliced
• 2 small red onions, sliced
• 12 to 16 brioche rolls, sliced

Mango Pineapple Chutney

• 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
• 1 big shallot, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 inch ginger, minced
• 1 cup mango, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup canned pineapple
• ½ cup pineapple juice
• ½ cup mango lemonade
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• Salt

Heat a small frying pan. Add the olive oil, shallot, garlic and ginger. Saute on medium heat for 30 seconds. Add the mango, pineapple, pineapple juice, mango lemonade, apple cider vinegar and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes covered. Turn the heat off and blend the mixture till smooth in a blender. Taste for seasonings and add salt if necessary. Take out in a bowl and let it cool before using it for the burgers.

To assemble the burgers, place a burger on the sliced brioche. Spread the chutney on one side with the arugula, slice tomatoes and onions.

We recently cleaned out our grill- I actually was trying to convince my husband to buy a new one since this one is about nine years old. He was not convinced, since it had never given us trouble. After we changed the grates and cleaned the inside- really well- it was like new again.

I digress-as usual… the idea was to talk about these fabulous lamb burgers. I wanted to post something different for Memorial day and instead of beef or turkey burgers, I decided to use lamb- and lamb made me think of Moroccan food. So, I started doing some research and came up with this fabulous burger recipe. It has garlic, shallots, cilantro, cumin and harissa- which is a Moroccan hot sauce. It was a big hit- super flavorful. I paired it with a sun dried tomato and herb mayonnaise- it is a great combination. I also decided against the regular soft buns and bought a very crusty sour dough bread- a match made in heaven!

Definitely make these for the upcoming long weekend- your family and friends will love you.

• 1½ pounds ground lean lamb
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large shallot, grated
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 4 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• 2 tablespoons harissa sauce

Put the lamb in a mixing bowl and add the paprika, salt, cumin, garlic, shallot, parsley, cilantro and harissa. Mix well and divide into 8 patties. Keep aside.

Grill the patties on high for 4 to 5 minutes on each side.

Sun Dried Tomatoes Mayonnaise

• ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes (in oil), chopped
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Juice of half a lemon

Mix the sun dried tomatoes, mayonnaise, cilantro, parsley, salt and lemon juice into a small bowl. Mix well and refrigerate till serving.

To Assemble

• 2 large tomatoes, sliced
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• Baby arugula
• 2 baguettes, sliced and cut into 4 pieces each

Place a burger into a sliced piece of baguette. Spread some mayonnaise and add a tomato, some onion and arugula.