2003 Remhoogte Bonne Nouvelle & Oklahoma Onion Burger

This red wine blend from South Africa is the result of a partnership between winemakers Michel Rolland and Murray Boustred. From the $39 sticker price, $20 goes to building clean water wells in Ethiopia through the Wine to Water charitable organization. They're also working with a line of budget California wines from Lodi that are available through the website, again, with a big part of the sticker price going to the charity, which operates clean water efforts in many developing countries around the world.

Memphis has some of the cleanest tap water in the country, and thus it can be rough to deal with that foggy soft water of Fayetteville, Arkansas or the sulfurous springs of Tuscon, Arizona. But it's nothing like dealing with rural well water, full of squiggly nematodes and vulnerable to fouling. Or backpacking in the deep mountains and straining the mosquito eggs out of pond water before dosing it with iodine. If you've ever had to collect rainwater or melt snow for the sake of survival, you have a profound and personal appreciation for the pristine, healthy water we take for granted, use to water our lawns, and spray all over our cars.

2003 Remhoogte Bonne Nouvelle
46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 19% Pinotage
Stellenbosch, South Africa
2,200 Cases Made
$39, 14.5% abv.

It starts off with a nose of rich plum and stewed fruit, and those bold fruit flavors continue on the palate. Dusky undertones of earth and old cedar closets appear later, with a touch of tobacco. Even at the age of ten, this wine remains bold with firm tannins, though decanting helps tremendously. Ultimately a wine that has a great deal of character and rewards slow, methodical appreciation over time.

I found myself hit with a powerful craving for these Oklahoma onion burgers written about by one of my colleagues at SeriousEats.com. I normally leave white onions off my burgers due to a little heartburn issue, but cooked ones cause no problems, and something about the steaming of the meat with onion juice and seasoning the buns as well caused my mouth to water.

The recipe isn't lying--you use nearly half an onion per burger. And while the result can get a little messy, it's well worth it in the flavor department. I'd suggest going heavy on the yellow mustard and sliced pickles. I served it simply with some good organic kettle chips, and washed it down with a cool glass of the South African wine.

Not a bad way to spend a hot summer day, and to pause for a moment and be thankful for having access to clean clear water from the artesian wells of Memphis.

Note: This wine was provided as a sample.

Lunch on the Mountain

In late April, I made my second visit to the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute on Petit Jean Mountain in central Arkansas. Julia's friend Molly runs the restaurant at the Institute, and we picked a weekend to run up there again and enjoy a peaceful and relaxing vacation away from the city. This time we were lucky to include my longtime friend, brother from another mother, mister please please please himself, Paul Jones. I hadn't seen Paul in forever, and he was kind enough to bring his better half Anna along with him.

While it's not a bad drive from Memphis (4-5 hours depending on traffic and I-40 construction), the last leg is well off the beaten path, so it's good to pack a few coolers with all the essentials. And I brought many essentials. Three different kinds of vinegar, sixteen different kinds of bitters, a mixed case of a dozen wine samples, plus a ton of food. Paul was 90 minutes behind us with a ribeye roast and the ingredients necessary to make a proper Manhattan. These things are important.

Friday evening we had our dinner with a lot of Julia and Molly's friends at the River Rock Grill at the Institute. Loads of great dishes and conversations that night, but I'm going to dive into our lunch Saturday, when I decided to bring the Munchkin burger to Petit Jean Mountain.

I formed 2 oz. hockey pucks of ground beef, liberally seasoned with soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and in this instance, Penzey's Mitchell Street seasoning. Butter grilled slider buns, a healthy dollop of my famous red onion marmalade, a scoop of Cambozola, and a few other fixins paired with kettle chips and a homemade aïoli tinged with Sriracha sauce. I also did cheddar toppings for those that preferred a milder burger, and of course I opened a jar of garlic-dill gherkins that we've come to know as baybay pickles.

When I say I came prepared, I came prepared.

Friend of both Paul and me, the inimitable Dave R. passed along the following bottle that brought back a lot of good memories. I was a huge fan of the Bogle Petite Sirah in my early wine days and continue to admire the winery for the great bottles they produce.

2010 Bogle Essential Red
California
31% Zinfandel, 26% Petite Sirah, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Syrah
$11, 13.5%

Lots of great fruit in this wine, with aromas of plum and bright red cherry and pie crust. Firm tannins show up on the finish, but overall it is a great jammy sipper that paired quite well with the lunch, and given the great price, this one has a great QPR and is highly recommended.

Earlier in the meal I opened up a pair of Paso Robles wines from Tower 15 Winery.

2012 Tower 15 Sauvignon Blanc
Paso Robles
100% Sauvignon Blanc
$19, 13.2% abv.

Loads of bright acidity here, with flavors of lemon and apricot. Nice crisp finish. Should be served with shellfish and salad.

2012 Tower 15 Sunset Rosé
Paso Robles
93% Grenache, 7% Pinot Noir
$19, 13.7% abv.

Great raspberry elements in this dry but crisp and tangy rosé. Light, onion-skin color, with a great tart finish. These two wines were perfect for appetizers of cheese and pickles, and the convenient screwcaps were even better, because I could just hand a bottle to someone and have him serve it without fumbling for a corkscrew. Highly recommended for the upcoming summer.

Burgers with red onion marmalade, even made in the petite form, do still require a hearty red wine, and I had a pair of Argentine bottles from Alamos Wines. These were great with the griddled Munchkin burgers...

2012 Alamos Red Blend
Mendoza, Argentina
Proprietary blend of Malbec, Bonarda and Tempranillo
$13, 13.5% abv.

Brambly with those nutty elements of raspberry seeds, with good touches of earth and a slightly vegetal finish. This wine was well-received around the table.

2012 Alamos Malbec
Uco Valley, Argentina
100% Malbec
$13, 13.7% abv.

I preferred this one, which was a solid bargain Malbec. Notes of plum and spice with medium tannins and a long finish. I've had this wine so many times over the years and still consider it a solid performer in its weight class.

Coming up soon... Dinner on the Mountain!

Note: These wines were received as samples.

Wines of Marie de Beauregard

French wine is often seen as threatening or difficult to understand. That's unfortunate, because there's a lot of great casual and inexpensive wine from the country that just requires a little bit of knowledge and exposure. You don't even have to go there to enjoy the many wonderful valleys and lesser-known AOCs. For example...

The 9th generation Saget La Perrière winery in the Loire Valley makes some of my favorite styles of wine. Cabernet Franc from Chinon? Chenin Blanc from Vouvray? Sancerre??? I didn't get to try the Sancerre from this group, but I will be looking for it in the future.

2010 Marie de Beauregard Vouvray
Touraine, Loire Valley
100% Chenin Blanc
$16, 12.5% abv.

This wine had a big, fruity body dominated by white peach and floral elements. Just a touch of sweetness, balanced acidity, and a long, pleasant finish. Julia really enjoyed this wine, and Vouvray has been a longtime favorite of mine.

I served it with shrimp and grits, a simple salad, and a side dish of homemade cranberry sauce. How can a region so far from the coast produce wines that go so well with shellfish? I have no idea, but I won't argue with it. In theory, this meal was built as sort of a low country Thanksgiving. The grits were cooked with chicken stock and Duranguese cheese, while I quickly sautéed the shrimps with butter, vermouth, and Rogan Josh seasoning. All in all a delightful Saturday lunch, and I had plenty of leftovers, though the wine somehow managed to empty out...

2009 Marie Beauregard Chinon
Touraine, Loire Valley
100% Cabernet Franc
$19, 12.5% abv.

Oh, this was a wonderful Cabernet Franc, and while Julia was not a fan of it, I kept sniffing the glass over and over again. Strong green pepper and eucalyptus, with tobacco, licorice, leather, and black cherry. Loads of great Cab Franc character with fairly mellow tannins. Long finish. Highly recommended. One of the best things about a 100% grape wine like this is that you can understand how it contributes to other Bordeaux blends.

I grilled a burger and topped it with white onion marmalade, Muenster cheese, tomato, arugula, and served with a side of fries. The fries were a little disappointing, but the burger and wine were perfect matches for each other.

Note: These wines were received as samples.

2008 Aurielle Cabernet Sauvignon

In 2009, I got an opportunity to try a sample of the 2006 Aurielle Cabernet Sauvignon. I elected to surprise my brother (who works the night shift) with a gourmet steak dinner first thing in the morning. We had a blast with that meal, and it's in my top ten personal wine moments.

I had the chance to try a more recent release of the Aurielle, and while I considered various ways to enjoy it, I eventually looked at all the ingredients I had in the kitchen and decided to make a great steakhouse burger. Hand-ground sirloin, served with homemade mayonnaise, chipotle mustard, colby cheese, tomato, and romaine lettuce. Served with some pickled beets (for the Aussies), Claussen pickles, and a healthy dose of pommes frites.

This is a serious red wine, but I made a serious meal to go along with it, and after a long weekend of entertaining and other chores, it was an amazing way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

2008 Aurielle Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
100% Cabernet Sauvignon
$90, 14.9% abv.
Rich and full of deep black plum aromas. The alcohol is present on the nose but not noticeable on the palate. Soft dark fruit flavor with hints of leather and coffee and firm tannins. Long, lingering finish, and definitely a wine that you want to sit back and enjoy over the course of a few hours. Outstanding balance and highly recommended.

It was a phenomenal match with the meal, as humble as it may appear on the outside. But putting everything together in just the right way resulted in a perfect and memorable meal, and one that I won't be forgetting soon.


Note: This wine was received as a sample.

Aussie Burger

When I'm dealing with Australian winemakers and publicists, I skip past the usual Crocodile Dundee references and prefer to talk about cricket or the weather issues of the Indian Ocean or anything that doesn't sound like a silly commercial for Matilda Bay Wine Coolers*.

While the hamburger has covered the globe at this point, there are still many regional variations amongst and within different countries. Here, I chose to prepare a standard Australian burger, with chili mayo, pickled beets, and a sunny-side-up egg. Now, when everything is put together this is delicious but it's a little tricky to get everything ready at the same time. The egg is the most problematic part, as you need the yolk to be runny but not raw... but you also need to serve the meat at a proper medium rare, and have the buns toasted and all that. And if you're serving fries, even more timing challenges. But not insurmountable.

I've had burgers topped with fried eggs before, and while I like them, I think they're generally too heavy. Just a bit too much protein going on. It is a delicious combination, but not something you want to do all the time. But the beets? Completely awesome. Place them under the burger and they sort of melt into the meat, and add an earthy and slightly sweet character to the meat. I'm all in favor of pickled beets as a standard accompaniment to burgers across the Northern Hemisphere. Even those who say they hate beets will be pleasantly surprised by this flavor mix.


*There was a funny moment when I was sixteen, and the day after a cookout, there was a leftover Matilda Bay wine cooler in the fridge. Mom and I split it and couldn't stop laughing about how silly the whole thing was.

The Animal Farm Burger

After the success of the Achewood Flavor Burger, the old grey matter churned for a while and I thought about a gourmet version using some different ingredients, but the same general proportions and techniques. I wanted to draw upon the European tradition of combining different meats for sausage and patés and other things. While they may not have thrown on a bunch of ketchup and called it the McGoat Royale, there's a lot of creative mixes that long predate the Americanized hamburger.

In honor of Napoleon and the sheep, I christened this...

The Animal Farm Burger
250g/8 oz. Ground Lamb
250g/8 oz. Ground Pork
85g/3 oz. Crumbled or Diced Feta Cheese
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
A few healthy shakes of Cavender's Greek Seasoning*

Combine all ingredients in a bowl until just incorporated. Split into 8 balls and reserve until the griddle or pan is hot. A nonstick pan will work well here, but there's another method (see below). Smash the meatballs on the hot pan and cook for about three minutes on each side.

I chose to use dinner rolls that were toasted with butter, mesclun greens, remoulade, and my beloved red onion marmalade. The combination was an instant hit, and afterwards resulted in a thousand yard stare of sheer contentment.

Paul, hungry for seconds, decided to fry a couple in lard in a cast iron skillet. Thicker, juicer, and certainly easier to get out of the pan.

*Note on Cavender's: I had this for the first time sometime in the 80s, and it was just a general all-purpose seasoning in the house for a while. There's a mix of salt, herbs and spices, MSG, and some other magic that's all ground into a fine powder. It's not like putting a delicate chiffonade of basil on top of something, but there are times when you just want to toss a little flavor on something that's hitting a hot skillet. Visit Tie Dye Travels for a tour of the factory in Arkansas.

ADDENDUM:

Finding myself with assorted leftovers, I decided to recombine them in a different manner. Here I made a free-form meatloaf (i.e., sitting on a sheet pan in a mound rather than in a pan) of half lamb and half pork, bound with an egg, some breadcrumbs, and Weber's hamburger spice, along with a few other odds and ends. Roast at 175°C/350°F until done, and allow to rest before slicing. I made a quick sauce out of tomato sauce, Dijon mustard, and brown sugar--a proto BBQ sauce. On the side, slices of broiled feta cheese topped with a little oregano and then drizzled with olive oil. Same ingredients, but different mouthfeel and dining experience. There are some amazing gourmet meatloaf recipes out there, incorporating things like dried mushrooms and chunks of salt pork. Don't let it get as complicated as a terrine, but have fun. I think you'll enjoy it.

Achewood Flavor Burgers

This recipe comes from Chris Onstad's The Achewood Cookbook, a companion piece to his webcomic Achewood which is about a series of cats and stuffed animals having weird adventures in the suburbs. It's not meant for children, as the comic strip involves Adult Language, Adult Situations, Violence, Brief Nudity, and other things warned about during the openings to R-rated movies on cable. This particular recipe is attributed to the stuffed bear Téodor, who... Well, I don't feel like explaining the whole thing. Normally I'd link to somewhere to buy the cookbook or see a preview, but it's out of print, the artist has stopped doing the strip, and his online store is now offline and not expected to return.

Onstad enjoys cooking and loves to experiment in the kitchen with gourmet food and in the bar with inventions like the Neapolitan Cocktail. These culinary notes were slipped into the strip in various ways, though he'd sometimes poke fun at his hobby like when the character Ray suggested pairing a Fennel Ale with a Cilantro-Ape Ceviche.

I've adjusted this recipe (the burgers, not ape ceviche) to work with a half kilo or pound of ground beef, which will produce eight small burgers. The original is just for making a single 3 oz. burger, which is hardly enough to hold heart and soul together.

Flavor Burgers
500g/16 oz. Ground Beef
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 tablespoons Yellow Mustard
85g/3 oz. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Dash of Salt

Combine ingredients completely but without overworking the meat. Divide into eight small patties and set up a hot pan (I used a griddle). Drop the patties on the cooking surface and smash down with a spatula. Cook for three minutes, turn, and cook for another two. They will be thin, well-caramelized, and a little loose. But unlike some of the smashed burgers you get in diners, these are incredibly juicy from the cheese and bursting with savory flavor from the mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Serve on toasted buns. Onstad recommends a full set of toppings, but I added just dill pickles and some Dijon mustard. Let the burger deliver most of the flavor here and let those juices seep into the bun.

(Full details of the standard Midwestern smash technique via The Paupered Chef if you're a burger aficionado. My own experience is that this method works best with small burgers, and they need to be served right away. I've had versions that were awful because of overcooking and lack of seasoning.)

Negra Modelo ($8/6-pack, 5.4% abv.) is probably my favorite Mexican beer, and it's a traditional south-of-the-border style called... Munich Dunkel Lager. In the 19th century, a lot of Czechs and Germans moved into Texas and Mexico (and Mexican-owned Tejas and the Republic of Texas and Confederate Texas) and brought their beer recipes with them. Major brands from such immigrants of the period include the popular Dos Equis and Bohemia, not to mention my beloved Shiner.

I tend to pick Negra Modelo out of a general favoritism for darker beers, but also because I think it stands up well to the hearty flavors of mole sauces and roasted goat and other good stuff. Your mileage with a Taco Bell chicken taco may vary. It's lightly sweet from all the dark malts involved, and has a deep, rich, and almost chocolate flavor (again, there's that mole connection). And importantly, it goes pretty damn well with a slider like this.

Meat, Wine, Man Time

For many years, my friend Paul and I have gathered on a Friday or Saturday night for the Three Bs: beef, booze, and bad B-movies. The definition has shifted a bit over time, with the quality of all three components increasing. Early on it might be hot dogs, Zima, and a film with the production budget equivalent to the cost of a used car. Now it's likely to involve decent wine, ribeyes, and something that at least got nominated for an Oscar, though a recent viewing of the Rutger Hauer grindhouse masterpiece Hobo With A Shotgun shows that we're always willing to enjoy the classics.

On a recent visit, the massive gourmet burgers you find on steakhouse lunch menus were on the menu. From top to bottom, my burger was as follows: bun, lettuce, tomato, Stilton, flame-grilled burger, pickles, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, bun. Towards the end a fork and knife were necessary as the medium-rare preparation started to fall apart.

2008 Steak House Wine
100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Columbia Valley, Washington
$15, 13% abv.
The wine has dominant aromas of blackberry and black cherry, medium tannins with a full fruit flavor, some smoke and coffee scents as it warms up, and a long, lingering finish. It comes from The Magnificent Wine Company, makers of this as well as Fish House (Sauvignon Blanc), House Wine (white) and House Wine (red--see below). While I'm not a fan of the label design, you can't deny that it's unique and easy to recognize. And true to its name, it is a delicious pairing with good beef.

On the next such occasion, Paul provided a pair of red wines and grabbed BBQ from the Germantown Commissary, a local joint that provides delicious 'Q in a small space. The restaurant was within walking distance of my high school and for a long time I lived and worked close enough to grab a sandwich there when I was in the mood. The movie for this night? The 1988 classic Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

2007 House Wine Red
Columbia Valley, Washington
32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Syrah, 30% Merlot, 3% Malbec, 2% Zinfandel, 1% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petite Verdot
$12, 13.5% abv.
Nose of blueberry and blackberry. Mild fruit profile with a light body and brief but present tannins. Fun flavor for such a broad range of grapes. Nice finish, and it held up well with the pulled pork.

One thing I've always loved to do is eat the sandwich over the beans. Over a few bites enough stray pork will fall in to make the slow-cooked beans even better. Hot sauce is also a must, but tragically interferes with enjoyment of a soft red wine like this. If you like your BBQ spicy, a sparkling wine is often a great choice.

After dinner with cleared palates, there was also the option to try a wine that Paul had opened up the previous night, a higher end Napa selection.

2008 Black Stallion Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
$65, 14.5% abv.
Leather, licorice, coffee, black cherry, a touch of cigar and beautiful balance. The tannins have mellowed out well, though I imagine the wine would continue to improve for the next few years. Highly recommended if you get a chance.

Sliders

Occasionally I'll post a photo from dinner on Facebook and I get a lot of requests for recipes. When and if the food appears here on the blog, I try to list some of the ingredients (usually for pairing purposes), but I almost never have specifics. It's mainly because I don't cook directly from recipes and I rarely measure anything. But through some trial and error, I've figured out a really tasty mini-burger. Let's call it the Benito Slider.

Start with a series of small ground beef patties. Round? Square? Octagonal? Your choice. Mini-burgers tend to range from 55-85g/2-3 oz. These were on the heavy side, massing around 80g per patty. (For a full size burger, I've always liked something around 160g/5.6 oz. It's also easy because you just take a kilo or two pounds of meat and divide it into six piles.) It's simple to do this the night before you plan to do the cooking--just roll out all the meat into a sheet pan and slice into squares. Separate the stacks with wax paper or parchment. When you're ready to do the cooking, I think the flat griddle is the best tool to use.

1. Start with a whole red onion, sliced thinly. With some butter and salt, slowly cook down the onions on the griddle. Feel free to season with wine or vinegar towards the end.

2. Set the onions aside but don't wipe down the griddle. Cook the patties, and here I've dashed them with Montreal Steak Seasoning.

3. I use Sara Lee Classic Dinner Rolls, which are a good size and are also pretty light and airy. You don't want something thick and dense here. Steam or toast the buns as desired. (It's easy enough to sop up some grease and toast them on the griddle while it's hot.) On the bottom bun, place a little Dijon mustard and Jamaican Pickapeppa sauce. (Tastes kind of like A-1 Sauce, but has a lot of tart, tangy, and spicy elements to it.) Add a couple of dill pickles.

4. Use a lid to cover the burgers until the cheese is melted, and then assemble! The fun part of these is the freedom to go crazy with toppings, since you can just say, "Well, let's try one with 1000 Island dressing and lettuce, then one with crumbled Roquefort and pickled beets."

Certainly you could pair a wine here--I'm sure a fruity Zinfandel would stand up pretty well. But I haven't had a Red Stripe in some time, and this seemed like a good occasion for beer. It's a pretty basic lager, known by the "stubbie" brown bottle, a design style leftover from the days when old medicine bottles were refilled with beer. It's cold, bubbly, and crisp, and although I was out of limes, I've almost always had it with an eighth of a lime squeezed in the glass. 4.7% alcohol in a 11.2 oz. bottle. Why the smaller size? It's a third of a litre, a pretty standard portion size around the world. For years individual states had laws against that size, so producers either had to run a separate bottling or avoid those markets entirely.

Benito vs. The Pimento Cheese Burger

Sometime during elementary school, you start to notice people with weird food preferences. I say "weird" because they obviously conflict with the rules set down at your home. "Can I have OJ on my cereal instead of milk?" "No! Are you crazy?" Mom and Dad make the decisions about dinner, and there are certain Things You Just Don't Do. Then one day during lunch a kid breaks out a peanut butter and pickle sandwich and you look on in horror while he chomps away. Of course, he's just following the rules of his household, and your bologna and mustard sandwich looks equally weird.

I bring this up because, after a lifetime of living in the south and a lot of experience with pimento cheese, I only recently found out that some folks put it on hamburgers. Even better: there was a place nearby that sold these things. Childhood revulsion at breaking the food rules eventually gave way to, "Why not, I'll give it a try before I criticize it."

Now, I might have to explain this for the Yankees and other Ausländern. Pimento Cheese is a mix of shredded cheese, mayonnaise, sweet peppers (like inside olives), and various seasonings. Traditionally it's served with crackers, celery, or in the most common form, sandwiches. Just a layer of the spread between two slices of white bread, often with the crusts removed and then cut into triangles. Anyone that's ever had to make a hundred of these for a church gathering knows the joy of snacking on the crusts while you try to make perfect finger sandwiches.

Jim & Nick's is a Birmingham, Alabama based chain of BBQ restaurants, and it takes some guts for a resident of the Yellowhammer State to come to Memphis and try to sell 'Q. But even I must admit that they do a great job, and I'm quite fond of their beef brisket. Don't believe me? Check out the review by my friends the Knipples, who note the restaurant's support of the Southern Foodways Alliance.

What about the burger? I felt strange ordering it, felt strange looking at it when I got home, and bit into it with some trepidation. Lesson #1: pimento cheese went everywhere and Wolfie got some of the bits that hit the floor. It's messy if you're not paying attention. That being said, it was really good. Good as in, two hours later, I wanted another one. Unlike most supermarket pimento cheese, this had some real bite to it, with sharp cheddar and some hotter than normal peppers. The cheese doesn't really melt over the burger; if it did so it would most likely separate in an unpleasant fashion.

I really don't know why this isn't more popular, aside from the mess factor. It's a stupidly obvious food combination and a perfect way to use up leftover pimento cheese after you've finished making three hundred triangle sandwiches for Wednesday night Bible Study. My fellow Southerners: you don't have to try this at Jim & Nick's, but I urge you to try it sometime this spring or summer. I believe you'll be pleasantly surprised.

NV Kestrel Lady In Red

I'm in the mood for red blends lately, so I tried out the NV Kestrel Lady In Red from the Yakima and Columbia Valleys of Washington State. $14, 13.8% abv. 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39.5% Merlot, 10% Syrah, 2.5% Sangiovese. No idea if this was inspired by Chris de Burgh's classic song, but if you want to dance, give it half a chance. Sort of a Zinfandel nose with lots of spice and stewed fruit and, after breathing, some pleasant vegetal qualities. Raspberry and cocoa flavors with medium tannins. Overall some excellent structure and balance for an inexpensive, non-vintage blend.

Served with mini burgers made from a 50/50 mix of ground buffalo and ground beef, topped with grilled red onions and sherry vinegar and colby cheese. Sliders are pretty trendy now, but they're convenient for casually feeding a group of friends. They cook quickly, and eating one, two, or three is an easier fit for how hungry you are versus one or two full-sized burgers.

Burgers & Beer

I recently made some incredible burgers: ground round seasoned with crushed allspice and fennel seed, topped with pepper jack, red onion marmalade, mesclun greens, and sliced Cherokee purple tomatoes, and served with mustard-based potato salad from the deli. The spice mix came from the buffalo steak recipe I found, and I'm tempted to continue hand grinding that blend in the mortar for all sorts of dishes. But man does not live by bread alone, so to wash it all down, I poured a glass of the New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale.

I'm really excited that we're now able to get New Belgium beers here in Memphis. They're brewed in scenic Fort Collins, Colorado, just north of Denver. The brewery is excited as well--click on the photo and you can see that the label has a red box with the text "Now Voluntarily available in Tennessee". The Amber Ale is clean and crisp with a nice hoppy flavor, and the 22 oz. bottles make two convenient servings at dinner. I've tried most of their beers while on trips to Colorado, and my favorite by far is the 1554 Enlightened Black Ale, which has a deep coffee/chocolate/malt profile. Despite the fact that it's black as night, it's a smooth and easy drinking beer. Don't be afraid of beer that you can't see through!

Benito vs. the Buffalo

Buffalo is a term of some culinary confusion. It can refer to:

- A style of chicken wing preparation pioneered in Buffalo, NY (and used to describe similar ingredient combinations in salads, sandwiches, etc.)
- A large and bony freshwater fish found in the Mississippi River and served in certain restaurants here in Memphis
- The water buffalo, source of the original and still best milk for proper mozzarella cheese
- And the American Bison, which is commonly referred to as buffalo here in the U.S.

For the purposes of this article, I am talking about the last definition. For the benefit of any overseas or big city readers unfamiliar with the animal, I stopped by after work and took photos of my friendly neighborhood buffalo herd. I was able to get within petting distance, but I wasn't keen on getting gored and just took pictures. These are not the buffalo that contributed to my dinner--more on the herd later.

Now, this isn't the first time I've eaten buffalo by far, and it's also not the first time I've cooked with it. The first would probably have been when I was 15 and made tacos. In a similar spirit, I had this pound of ground buffalo and The Girlfriend was coming over for dinner. I'd made chili earlier in the week, so I decided on mini burgers a la Alton Brown's recipe. When I first saw that episode, I thought that the idea of making Krystals/White Castles at home was ridiculous. But I decided to give it a try and throw a gourmet spin on it.

The burgers were topped with baby lettuces and Carr Valley Mammoth Cheddar, which I'm afraid, is not made from the milk of genetically engineered mammoth clones but rather from normal Midwestern cows and produced in gigantic wheels. Add some home fries made from the now-ubiquitous fingerling potatoes, and we've got a decent meal.

For the wine, we had the 2004 Bodegas Nekeas Vega Sindoa Cabernet Sauvignon-Tempranillo. Navarra, Spain. 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Tempranillo. Around $8. Cherry and spice flavors up front, with strong tannins that held up well with the meal. The aftertaste is oddly cola-like, which isn't a bad thing when matched with burgers. Nice casual wine, as many bargain Spanish wines are.

Shelby Farms is one of the largest urban parks in the U.S. It's a huge area, and among many other things the park includes a small buffalo herd. Sometimes the nearby herd of longhorn cattle are allowed in and the two herds graze together. The park does have an Adopt a Buffalo program. Despite the posted speed limit, the buffalo were mostly moving at 0, with a few rolling on their backs in the mud to cool off.