Mrs. Bentley's Best

We all had very busy days today, in separate directions. David was toiling away at the bank, I was at the Delray Beach tennis tournament (but only after I finished up a big accounting project) and the kids ventured to South Beach. So we all ended up back at the house a little later than usual and with a little less energy than usual.

Greek Inspired Lamb Burgers with Dill and Goat Cheese

I had planned on making lamb burgers with a goat cheese and kalamata olive spread along with a salad of fennel, feta, lemon and dill. I started preparations very late, not until about 8 pm.  And since I was pooped out, I guess I was moving very slowly. The burgers came out better than I had hoped, they were beautiful! They were big, juicy and with just the right amount of char.   The cheese spread for the burgers was creamy and melty and complimented the burgers perfectly.  The smell that filled the kitchen was unbelievable!

Cool, Crisp, Fennel and Feta Salad with Lemon and Dill Dressing

The salad was magnificent; cool, crisp, lemony and salty from the feta  with that fabulous hint of licorice from the fennel.  The fennel fronds look so much like dill, your taste buds will be yelling at you if you don’t give ’em what they’re looking for, which is dill!  I think the dill just raises all the tastes to a higher level.  This is truly a wonderful salad.  I serve it often.

Even though I was way behind schedule, I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to photograph the results, so David and I went at it. Again, I guess I was moving slower than usual due to fatigue.  We finished up, and I had just plated everything when the kids came out and said they had to leave. They had a date with some friends for a movie and they had waited as long as they absolutely could. They didn’t want to interrupt my photo session because they know how passionate I am about this project. OOOHHH, I felt just terrible!

I said, “here, take them with you, eat them in the car”. Barbara didn’t want to, but I could see her hungry young man swooning, hoping she would say yes.  So I said, “all right, I’ll save them and re-heat them when you return, but they won’t be as good as they are right now.  So, each of you, take a big bite right now before you leave”.  Well Barbara had a dainty bite, but that hungry young man took a wolf bite and his eyes lit up and he was nodding his head up and down and he was actually grinning with his mouth full.  He managed to get two more good sized bites in before Barbara dragged him off.  Ahh, the shame of it.  What was I thinking.

I’ll tell you what I was thinking:  I was thinking that these were the most beautiful burgers I had ever seen and I wanted pictures of them while the steam was still rising and the juices were still pooling on the plate.  That’s what I was thinking.  Anyway, David and I ate all of our allotted feast and saved the rest for the kids.  They ate when they got home and said it was good, but both agreed they were not as good as those few bites when the food was at its peak.

Try this menu any time of the year.  It is glorious in the way it smells, looks and the taste is to swoon for.

Menu:

Greek Inspired Lamb Burgers with

Goat Cheese and Kalamata Olive Spread

Lemony Fennel and Feta Salad with Dill

Baklava Cups for dessert if you have any room left