Happy Valentine's Day

Mike and I had dinner at Bix in San Francisco Friday night at their bar. http://www.bixrestaurant.com/

We split 3 of their appetizers-a little gem salad with pickled vegetables and Ranch dressing, Dungeness crab rolls with Meyer lemon aioli on brioche and mini lamb burgers with dill, Harissa and cucumber slices. All of these were beyond delicious and doable at home. I decided to try and make the lamb burgers for Valentine's Day for Mike and I with slaw and my mom's pecan pie for dessert. The pie is Mike's favorite. I winged it with the burgers and they turned out well.

Lamb Burgers with dill, Harissa and cucumbers my way

~3/4 pound ground lamb
1 tablespoon Harissa
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

thinly sliced cucumber slices
whole wheat hamburger buns

Mix together the lamb, Harissa, dill, salt and pepper. Form into patties. Heat oil in a skillet until hot. Cook patties about 3 minutes per side for rare. Spread more Harissa on each side of the patty for extra flavor.

Warm the buns slightly. Spread the cucumber slices on 1 half of the bun and place the patty on top of them. Let the patties rest for a couple of minutes before eating.

You could also grill or broil the lamb patties. These burgers were very flavorful and kind of rich so the tartness of the slaw paired well with them.

Simple slaw

1 teaspoon honey
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 small red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2 small carrots, cut into thin strips
small handful fresh dill, torn into small pieces

Mix together the honey, vinegar and salt and  pepper. Stir in the cabbage, onion and carrots and let marinate for at least an hour.

My mom's pecan pie recipe is on my blog under November 2011 "Dinner Party with Friends". This was a fun and delicious experiment. Mike liked the burgers but was not crazy about it. I think he liked the mini ones at Bix better. I really loved the flavor combination of lamb, dill, Harissa and cucumbers. Back to the drawing board and maybe try them as sliders next time. I think I'll have a piece of pie now.  Happy Valentine's Day-enjoy!

Mom's Pecan Pie with Chocolate and Bourbon