Yummy Lamb Burgers

I got a hankering for a burger.  OK who am I kidding, I'd eat a burger any day of the week and twice on Sunday!  I love them.   I usually make turkey burgers, but while at the grocery store, the ground lamb caught my eye.  I went for it!  It's definitely more pricey than ground turkey but the occasional splurge doesn't hurt too bad.  As I was driving home, I started to plot out my burger.  I definitely had to use some of the fresh herbs from my garden.  I decided to go with thyme.  It's kind of an obvious choice, but not as obvious as mint.

To that I added salt and pepper, of course.   And then, a generous amount of crumbled feta cheese.  Oh yes... I went there.

And then, just to make sure the burgers held together, I added an egg white.  I then formed them into pretty big patties. 

And headed for the grill!  They cooked for about 8-10 minutes on each side. 

Now.... the dilemma of what to serve on them.  For me, the usual ketchup, mustard and pickles wasn't going to cut it.  Neither was the same old bun.   I didn't have any plain yogurt in the house to make a yogurt sauce either, so I opted to make a sauce from Dijon mustard and mayonnaise.  And as luck would have it, I just happen to have sandwich size Ciabatta rolls in my freezer.  And that was a tasty burger!

I'll be having more tasty burgers this weekend at the National Hamburger Festival!!  I hope I find some gems like I did last year!  I still dream of that Muffaletta burger.

A Night Out at Aladdin's

For several weeks now Nick and I have been wanting to go to Aladdin's for dinner. It's not a place we frequent, but a place we really love. Something always comes up and we have ended up not going. But yesterday Nick was determined that come hell or high water, we were going to Aladdin's! And we did.

Aladdin's came into existence in 1994 and has grown by leaps and bounds! Now in seven states and with 28 locations, it still has that local feel to it that we love. As the day went on and anticipation was building, I couldn't wait to get some of their succulent grilled meats and dip it into that insanely good garlic sauce. Oh my... calm down woman.

We went to the Hudson, First and Main location, even though the Highland Square one is closer. This way we can scope out the other restaurants that are there that we may want to try sometime. We were seated right away although there was a pretty good crowd.

To start, Nick had the China Mist Traditional Black Tea and I had the China Mist Green Tea. Both were very good.




We couldn't decide what we wanted for an appetizer. They all sound so good! But we had gotten hummus last time, so we crossed that off. I was leaning towards the, Dawali but once Nick saw the Falaffel, that was that. My husband is a notorious lover of all things chick pea. I forgot to take a pic, but as luck would have it, Aladdin's website had a picture of it and it did look exactly like this.



The falaffel were so incredibly delicious. They are a little fried piece of heaven. Ground chick peas and fava beans, mildly spiced with parsley and lots of garlic. They come with pitas and a yogurt tahini dipping sauce.

I had lamb on my mind so for an entree I chose the Mediterranean Lamb Plate. The marination and the grilling of the meat is to die for. It's juicy and tender, cooked to absolute perfection and it comes with that crazy garlic dipping sauce I mentioned earlier. I absolutely love garlic, but the first time I had that sauce I almost went into orbit! But then I took a second bite, and third and I was hooked! Now it's a must whenever we go to Aladdin's. It also comes with rice. But it's not any old white rice scooped onto your plate with an ice cream scoop! This rice is soft and fluffy, every grain separate. It has crunchy vermicelli in it and is topped with sauteed pine nuts, almonds, and cinnamon. It's so good on its own but I like to add some of my tahini yogurt sauce to it too.




Nick had the Mediterranean Shish Kabob Plate, which is exactly like my lamb plate only his plate has beef instead. Everything else is identical.

The portions are just right. Not too much, not too little and when dinner is over I'm feeling just right. Nick on the other hand, he's a dessert guy. We chose together from the huge dessert menu, thinking that I would have a few bites, but when that mouth watering Brownie Cheesecake arrived, I was just too full to partake. Nick assures me it was heavenly!




So another wonderful meal at the fabulous Mediterranean restaurant Aladdin's. If you have on in your area, give it a shot! You won't be disappointed.