Until last week, I never saw the appeal of lobster rolls. I know that they're incredibly popular and even pop up at some fast food restaurants during the summer months, but the thought of loading up perfectly good lobster with globs of mayo and celery just seemed wrong to me. But then last weekend at the Food Truck Drive-In, something caught my eye. Along with "regular" lobster rolls, one vendor was selling what they called a Connecticut-Style Lobster Roll that was simply lobster and melted butter. I had never heard of such a thing before! I was already full from the other trucks so I didn't get to sample their version, but the idea has been with me all week.

I wasn't sure if the dish was a real thing or something they made up, so I did what any self respecting food blogger would do: I googled it. Apparently it is real, and boy have I been missing out! From what I gather, the mayo-laden lobster roll that I'm familiar with is actually a Maine-style roll or a lobster salad roll. It makes me wish that I had inspected the many booths hawking lobster rolls at the Taste of Hartford a little closer.

There seems to be a bit of a feud about which type of roll is better, and many people seem to complain that the butter of the Connecticut style roll turns the bun into a soggy mess before you can finish eating the sandwich. I figured that problem should be easy enough to solve by toasting the bun and using less butter on the lobster itself — which also has the added benefit of producing a lighter sandwich with less grease. I definitely didn't have any issues with sogginess — instead I had a delicious sandwich bursting with the sweet flavor of lobster. There was just enough butter to highlight to lobster's richness, and the toasty edges on the bun added a little texture to a sandwich that would have otherwise been too soft and squishy for my liking.

Served with corn on the cob (sprinkled with Old Bay seasoning) and baked salt and vinegar chips (I love the Kettle brand)—, this was the perfect summer meal.

I didn't feel like dealing with actual lobsters, so I bought a container of frozen meat. Having done that, I wouldn't have it any other way. $12 got me more than enough beautiful chunks of lobster — mostly whole claws — for two generous sandwiches. It also meant that the whole dinner could be made in under 10 minutes.

It's summer! Finally. What better way to celebrate than with a fat, juicy burger?

I'm usually a burger traditionalist — give me some bacon, cheddar, and barbecue, and I'm a happy girl. Then there was last summer's favorite, stuffed with stilton and topped with onion jam. But this Greek Burger, laden with feta and spices and slathered with cool, tangy tzatziki sauce? I'm pretty sure this will be making frequent appearances on our table from now on. Especially since it pairs so naturally with a greek salad instead of unhealthy pastas salads or fries. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect meal to get my summer started.

The idea for this burger had been in the back of my mind for a few days, but when I found this beautiful fresh, local garlic at the farmer's market (along with a crate of cucumbers that were marked down to a dollar because they were "ugly") I knew it was time to act. We debated turkey vs. lamb vs. beef for a while before settling on lean beef — it was far leaner than the lamb, and I always get nervous cooking ground turkey (which had very similar nutritional stats to the beef anyway). By the time you finish mixing the meat together with the feta cheese and gyro seasonings, I don't think the choice of protein really makes a ton of difference flavor-wise.

Burger Shaping Tip: Tired of your burgers shrinking in diameter as they cook? As you form your burger, press your thumb into the center to create a shallow crater about 1/3 the diameter of the patty. As your burger heats and the center puffs up, it will rise to fill in the crater instead of pulling the edges in. As a result, the burger will have a smooth top and a diameter that is almost identical to the raw patty that you formed.

Don't let the lackluster appearance of mujaddara fool you — this Lebanese dish is loaded with delicious, aromatic spices that will send you on a mental vacation. One bite will remind you how amazing some of the simplest street-foods can be.

Mujaddara was on my list of things that I wanted to make even before the USA Lentil & Dry Pea people contacted me about creating some recipes. In fact, it's been on my list ever since the first time I tasted it a few weeks ago. You see, the past few months at work have been a little crazy and I've had to put in some long days — working through dinner on several occasions. Luckily, Shawn is awesome and will often save me of having to order pizza or chinese (not that I don't love those things, but I get sick of them) by bringing me some dinner from the co-ops small, rotating selection of prepared foods. The selection consists mostly of sandwiches, most of which are out of the question since they have mayo on them (ew). So he'll grab whatever the best looking thing that I'd actually eat is. As you've probably guessed by now, one night I was presented with a pita filled with lentils and rice, and a small container of lemon-garlic sauce. I looked at it and wanted to cry. How could this starchy bunch of brown carbs possible taste good? But I was hungry, so I hesitantly took a nibble. And I was blown away. Despite being so starchy, the sandwich was surprisingly light. It was seasoned with cinnamon and coriander — spices that I don't often experience in savory foods. And the lemon-garlic sauce? It was like a magic potion that brightened the flavor of the whole dish, adding a touch of tartness and a pungent wallop from the garlic.

I devoured that sandwich and knew that I wanted to share the experience with Shawn. So it went on my list. And there it sat for a few weeks, until the Lentil Association gave me the perfect excuse to make it. I'm not sure why I waited so long. And I'm glad I made extra - I'm already looking forward to the leftovers.

Do you ever see something or hear of something and immediately know that you'll love it? That's how I felt about the delicious looking Chinese steamed buns, or bao, that keep turning up everywhere I look lately. Everywhere, that is, except on menus here in Albany. It seemed as though if I wanted to taste these for myself, I would ether have to travel to NYC or make them myself. Making them seemed like it would be complicated, so I tucked the idea away in my every-expanding file of recipes to try on the weekend. But then I read this post from Carolyn Jung, who had a little truck up her sleeve to make steamed buns on a weeknight a very real possibility.

The trick? Don't bother making your own dough. Instead, turn to a tube of refrigerated biscuits. Easy Peasy. When classic Pillsbury biscuits are steamed instead of baked, the texture undergoes a complete transformation. Instead of turning out buttery and flakey, they become pillowy-soft and slightly chewy. I don't know how authentic the flavor or texture is, but it's exactly how I imagined it would be. And every bit as delicious.

I was having trouble deciding what I wanted to fill my bins with, so I ended up doing two version: one fatty, porky version based on Momofuku's popular buns, and another light version stuffed with tofu that I baked with my favorite generic "Asian" marinade. Bother versions were amazing, but I actually liked the tofu version the most! It was light and fresh in flavor and the combination of textures — the doughy bun, crispy-creamy tofu and crunchy vegetables — was so much more interesting than that of the chewy pork belly.

I've posted tofu very similar to this one before, but I've recently started to fry the whole block very quickly before baking it. This gives the outside of the tofu a crispy coating that tastes really good and also makes the texture of the tofu a lot more appealing.

Continue reading Easy Steamed Buns, Two Ways -->

While I love a good beefy burger as much as the next person, every once in a while I find myself in the mood for something a little different. A little healthier. I love veggie burgers, but the frozen ones remind me too much of fast-food burgers: overly processed, eerily uniform in size, oddly lacking in color, and much, much too small. I like a burger that I can sink my teeth into. I've been toying with the idea of homemade veggie burgers for a while now, but never got around to playing around with recipes. A recent photo featured on The Kitchn has me headed straight for my kitchen though — shredded beets gave the veggie burger a brilliant red, meaty hue that I couldn't resist.

Don't be scared off by the beets though. While they provide a ton of color to the burger, I didn't find that they tasted overly of beets. There's enough other good stuff — brown rice, black beans, spices — to balance out the flavor. While you wouldn't mistake these burgers for ones made from beef, they didn't taste like vegetables either. They just tasted good. Really good. The flavor was amazing, the texture was better than any veggie burger than I've ever had, and they looked beautiful. Given the choice, I think 9 times out of 10 I would actually pick this burger over a more traditional meat one. And that's not even considering the fact that they clock in at 150 calories and boast 7 grams of fiber. Not too shabby!!

A few notes about making these burgers: First off, the mixture will be fairly wet and it takes a little effort to get it to form patties. Don't be afraid to really smoosh it — you don't run the risk of overworking it like you do with beef. Once the patties have been formed, they will be very delicate and won't hold their own on a grill (they'll just fall through the grates). I grilled mine in the mesh wok that I usually use for vegetables. Alternately, you could cook them on the stove in a very hot cast iron pan.

The burgers also don't reheat very well. They dry out. I crumbled a leftover, reheated burger over a salad and it was great, but I don't think it would have been very god as a burger. So if you don't plan to eat these all in one night, I'd recommend refrigerating the extra, uncooked patties and cooking them up to order.

When it came to toppings, I felt like these burgers were calling for a nice, spicy mustard. I also added some banana peppers, which I thought were the perfect touch - I liked the little bit of tang that they gave to it. Shawn had his with barbecue sauce and said it was ok, but I think my combination was way better. I'm not normally a mustard-on-burgers kind of girl, but I couldn't imagine anything being better ion these. So don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone when it comes to dressing these!

Click to continue reading Ultimate Veggie Burger -->

I'm baaaaack!! I apologize for the severe lack of posts over the past few weeks. I was on an extended business trip and even though I had photos and recipes ready to go, I was just too tired to actually write up posts while I was away. But I'm home and rested now and life is slowly getting back to normal - which means I'm ready to resume my regular posting schedule! And what better way to jump right back in than with a Daring Cooks challenge?

The 2010 February Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford, and Naomi Dugid. Mezze is a bunch of small dishes that are all served at once - sort of like a Middle Eastern tapas. The required parts of the challenge were to make pita bread and hummus. I also chose to make kafta (spiced meatballs) and taboule salad.

I've made pitas before, but I really loved this recipe and will definitely be making it again. Homemade pitas are so much better than what you can buy in the store - they're soft, fluffy pillows of goodness. I found this recipe to be really easy to follow and the result was pure perfection. They tasted just like the pitas that I get at my favorite Middle Eastern restaurants! They were really cheap to make too, and I loved how they puffed up in the oven. Since I was planning to use them as a wrap, I flattened them while they were still warm. But if you want a pocket that you can fill, Leave them in the balloon shape to cool. The inside will be hollow, so you can cut them in half and fill just like a store bought pita pocket. As written, the recipe will yield 16 breads. I halved it and had no problems. [....]

Judging from the lack of reactions yesterday, it seems like everyone is tired of Brussels Sprouts? OK, no more of those for a while. Today I'm back with something that has a little more mass appeal - calzones! I don't know anyone that doesn't love a calzone. These are jam-packed with eggplant, caramelized onion, red bell pepper, and just a touch of sausage. Served with a side of sauce for dunking, they make a fun and easy dinner that's bursting with fresh flavor. The neat little package shape also makes them extremely portable, and the leftovers make a great lunch at work the next day.

What I like most about calzones it that you can really stuff them with fillings. With pizza, I usually like to keep toppings relatively simple and limit myself to 2 or 3 things. But with calzones, I feel like i can go all out since it's really all about the flavor. You can throw in whatever leftover vegetables you have on hand, or plan your fillings out more methodologically like I did here. I really wanted to use caramelized onions, and eggplant sounded like a nice change. I added some red bell pepper for color and a sausage link for zip. Topped it all off with a healthy serving of fresh basil and couldn't have been happier with the results! [....]

Today's post was brought to you by Nature's Pride, cheese, the letter "P", and the number "7". Ok, maybe not the letter "P" or the number "7." Foodbuzz recently sent me two loaves of Nature's Pride bread to try out. I used the 12 Grain to make these delicious open-faced sandwiches full of prosciutto, asparagus, and melty cheese.