#80 Game Day "Mini Me" Curried Lamb Sliders

This Sunday we gathered around the family room TV  to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers tackle the Green Bay Packers for Superbowl XLV.  NFL predictions were made by my colleagues, friends and family but we all saw the Green Bay Packers winning at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington TX. I have hosted many a Superbowl party at home but this time was quiet.

We had a couple friends join us to cheer and enjoy the game. This meant that everybody was looking for fine tasting finger food to accompany the hospitality. To be honest all of us stayed glued to our seats… some of us to watch the commercials----Yay!!, the halftime show and others to watch the actual gameJ. Ladies, I hope you all enjoyed the Doritos commercial as much as I did--- the one where the guy is taunting the pug and the pug takes his revenge? LOL!!!  Anyway, I had a small spread for the event with “small bites” and food you can nibble on while watching the game. Mostly store bought snacks.

While I was planning my "small bites" menu, some interesting questions like "what kinds of “Burgers” are out there in the food world?" and "how big can a colossal burger be?" piqued my curiosity. So I had to dig around and here's what I found-

The Wall Street Burger Shoppe on Wall Street, NY serves a burger with a huge price on it $175. Why you ask? It is made of Kobe beef and covered with foie gras, truffles and to top it all- a gold leaf. The mayonnaise sauce  also has a touch of truffle and gold leaf which explains the price…

Next, an absolutely ridiculous burger--- no I am not kidding .The Mallie’s Sports Bar in Southgate, Michigan serves up a 75 pound burger ---actually called“the Absolutely Ridiculous Burger” with a price tag of $499----- I hate it when they have prices like that. I don’t understand why they don’t just round it up to $500.

Then again, that is the reason it is called “Ridiculous” isn’t it? The size of the burger is enormous and you must order it at least 70 hours ahead. When you come in, you can bring about 30 friends to help you eat this hilariously huge burger.  If anyone has ordered one of these please feel free to share the story with me:)

While we are talking about large giant-size burgers let me say that mine are tiny “bite size” versions that I love to eat.simply because they are much easier to handle without the struggle of the toppings falling out of the buns at every bite.  I also piled up some fairly medium sized burgers for those with bigger appetites.

Ingredients:

Vindaloo Curry Paste- 1 Tblspns(Any curry paste may be used)

Onions Chopped very fine-1 onion

Ground Lamb-1 lb

Ginger paste- 1 tspn

Garlic paste-1 tsp

Green chilli-1 chopped very fine

Almonds- a ½ cup chopped fine

Mint and Cilantro- 2 Tblspns each chopped fine

Egg-1

Lime juice- 1 Tblspn

Yogurt- ¼ cup

Mayyonnaise- ¼ cup

Medium and Mini Buns-8

Salt and pepper to taste

Baby Spinach leaves and small tomato slices.

Method

1. Mix together the ground lamb, almonds, chopped onions and green chillies, garlic, ginger, curry paste and salt to taste.
2. Add most of the chopped mint and cilantro and mix well along with the egg. Save about 2 pinches for the spread.
3. Form into some medium and mini patties. Heat Olive oil in a skillet on medium heat and sear the patties about 45 seconds to 1 min on each side.
4. Drain on a paper towel lined plate.
5. Make the spread by whipping together the saved mint, cilantro, yogurt, mayonnaise, lime juice salt and pepper.
6. Slice the buns and toast lightly. Put a dollop of spread on the bottom half of the bun and then spinach, tomato & the mini pattie on top of it.
7. Place a small dollop of spread and  top half over the patti and pop one into your mouth,
8. If desired you can serve the slider with a cool cucumber salad.