I added some tweaks to this recipe found on epicurious.com

You’ll need to season the pesto with quite a bit of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. I like my pesto with a bit more punch.

Ingredients

8 ounces baby spinach leaves (about 10 cups packed)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 teaspoon (packed) finely grated lemon peel
Large pinch of dried crushed red pepper
4 cups (packed) fresh arugula leaves, divided (about 5 ounces)
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons (packed) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 3/4 pounds ground beef (20% fat)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

6 hamburger buns, split horizontally
6 1/3-inch-thick slices fresh mozzarella cheese
(about 10 ounces)
2 large beefsteak tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds

source: Bon Appétit, August 2006

NOTES: I use 2 pounds of ground Kobe beef. It has a higher fat content and the meat is more flavorful. Also went with Heirloom tomatoes instead of the beefsteak.

Prepartion

Rinse spinach; drain briefly, then place in large glass bowl. Microwave spinach, uncovered, on high just until wilted, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Drain, then squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Combine garlic, lemon peel, and crushed red pepper in processor; blend until garlic is finely chopped. Add spinach, 2 cups (packed) arugula, pine nuts, and lemon juice; process until coarse puree forms. With machine running, gradually add oil in thin stream and blend until almost smooth. Mix in cheese. Transfer pesto to small bowl; season with salt.

Do ahead: Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover; chill.

Combine ground beef, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 6 tablespoons spinach-arugula pesto in large bowl; mix lightly with fingertips or fork just until incorporated. Form meat mixture into six 3/4-inch-thick patties. Place patties on platter.

Do ahead: Beef patties can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Grill burgers to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Grill buns, cut side down, just until lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Build burgers with pesto, patties, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and arugula. Cover with bun tops.

NOTE: Take the beef patties out 30 - 45 mins. before grilling to get them to room temperature.

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I wanted to make something simple and lil light for dinner today and I was craving salmon. One of my favorite markets to get seafood at is, Papa Joe’s. They had troll caught Alaskan Salmon that looked great. I adjusted the warm tomato salad found here.

Ingredients

Salmon
3 (6-8 oz. salmon fillets. 1 to 1.5 inches thick with the skin on
3 TBs of the champagne vinaigrette for marinade
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Warm Tomato & Baby arugula salad
1 pint of cherry tomatoes
4 scallions
2 TBs of olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4.5 oz. of baby arugula
3 TBs of of red wine vinegar
1 TBs of balsamic vinegar
2 TBs of dijon mustard - I used a herbed dijon
1/2 cup of olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Preheat the grill to high. Brush the champagne vinaigrette over the salmon and season with salt and pepper. I like to get the marinade on the fish a couple hours ahead. Meanwhile, cut the cherry tomatoes in half and chop up the onions separating the white parts of the onion from the darker green; I actually add 1.5 inches of the dark green onion. Set the remaining darker green pieces of the scallion aside.

Place the salmon skin side down on the hot grill. 4-5 mins, flip and turn the heat down to medium. I like salmon at medium rare so the last 2-3 mins. I cook it uncovered. Set the salmon aside and let it rest. The warm tomato salad only takes a couple mins. to prepare.

Preheat a large(10″-12″) frying pan to medium/high. Cover the surface of the pan with the 2 TBs of olive oil, toss in the green onions and saute for 1 min. Add the white/green parts of the scallion, saute for 2 mins. and then toss in the remaining scallion. Remove from pan.

Toss the baby arugula in a large bowl, season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Drizzle in the balsamic vinaigrette.

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This past Friday, it was time for a quick and easy dinner. This dish is inspired by a Korean style salad that a couple of my sushi chefs make. Yes, I said Korean. There are many variations to this salad. This one being more Japanese but this is a great, quick salad with great flavors that is perfect for a weeknight dinner.

Ingredients

1.5 cups of Japanese seaweed salad - store bought,
2 cups of sushi rice
4 TBs of salmon roe - or more
2 TBs of toasted sesame seeds
Kizami Nori - cut, dried nori. Amount used based on preference.
Baby radish sprouts for garnish

Preparation

Scoop 1.5 cups of rice in a bowl. Sprinkle 1 TBs of sesame seed per bowl over the rice and add the nori. I generally use 2-3 good size pinches of it.

Place half of the seaweed salad in each bowl and spoon 2TBs of salmon roe into each bowl. Garnish with with baby radish sprouts.

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