Pastiche of Exoticized "Other" (Moroccan lamb burgers)

The hamburger, despite owing its name to the city of Hamburg, Germany, is considered a quintessentially American food. So as the mercury spikes and grills flare across the land, I wanted in on the action. A food with such cultural iconography (and such simple ingredients) naturally lends itself to extemporization and I opted to enhance my Americana with a trip to the spice market: Moroccan lamb burgers with gingered carrots, lemon-mint goat cheese, and microgreens. The carrot component is an easy make-ahead, but the rest is ready in minutes, leaving you more time to chill in the shade with a tall glass of iced peppermint tea.

Prepare to chill

Mixed Feelings (Lollipop Lamb Chops)

This post is also available as an article in the 11/28/2012 Williamsport Sun Gazette.

My sister Kelly and her husband, Jonathan, have excellent taste in cookbooks, so it was exciting to get a new one for my birthday: Barefoot Contessa Foolproof. Reading through it, I was intrigued by what I thought was an unusually high proportion of lamb dishes. I suppose it makes sense, though, as lamb is pretty foolproof.

Foolproof!