Welcome to the 2013 regular season, Steeler fans!! I've been saving up and preparing these recipes since June, so I'm pumped that the home opener is finally here! The Pepper Jack Lamb Burger (in honor of Jack Lambert) was the first recipe concept for this blog and I think it was worth the wait.
My brother Josh made the trip from New Jersey out to Heinz Field this weekend and sent me his tailgating pictures. Good work, Josh.
Game Bites
Week 1 - Tennessee @ Pittsburgh
Well, this was another heart breaker. As Myron would say, it was "feh." Here are some of the highlights and lowlights from my vantage point (at home, in Philadelphia, both watching the CBS broadcast and listening to the WDVE radio coverage).
First Quarter: Yeah, so, the game started with a SAFETY in the first three seconds. 2-0, Steelers. It's points on the board, I'll take it!
The Steelers made progress down the field and ate up a lot of the clock on the next drive. Unfortunately, it was punctuated by a injury to center, Maurkice Pouncey (which seemed to devastate the offensive line for the remainder of the game) and a fumbled handoff from Roethlisberger to Redman, resulting in a Titans turnover.
Return from commercial break and one of the CBS commentators claims that the 'Burgh is a "tough town to navigate." Maybe if you're a jagoff.
Lamarr Woodley makes his 53rd career sack, stuffing TEN QB Jake Locker back eight yards, and the first quarter ends with the score 2-0, PIT. (Weird.)
Second Quarter: Roethlisberger makes consecutive pass completions to Antonio Brown and then one to David Johnson. There's nearly another Redman fumble, but the Steelers are able to land on the loose ball. Emmanuel Sanders gets slammed by Jason McCourty and Zoltan Mesko comes back out to punt it away.
Rookie linebacker Jarvis Jones makes an awesome hit on a Tennessee running back that I could not identify because Jarvis flattened him so fast.
Aaand, Big Ben throws a pick six on the first play of the next drive. "Feh."
Polamalu called offsides. Double "feh."
The Titans are able to push through on 4th and 1 and Jackie Battle rams a TD in with 44 seconds left on the clock. Then some really weird stuff happens with the play clock and officiating to end the first half.
Score at the half, 7-2, TEN
Third Quarter: The Titans make a field goal, increasing their lead to 10-2, and more guys get hurt (LaRod Stephens-Howling and possibly Ryan Clark).
Fourth Quarter: Tennessee successfully makes two more field goal attempts and continues to eat up the clock. Roethlisberger becomes one of 35 QBs to throw for 30 THOUSAND yards in his career and the Steelers finally make it back into the red zone with about 2:30 left in the game. Cotchery comes up with the Steelers' first and only TD in the final minute and a half of the game, but unfortunately, it's too little, too late. The onside kick attempt is unsuccessful and the Titans take a knee to end the game.
Final Score: 16-9, TEN
Oh boy. That was a bummer. Let's watch a little something about Jack Lambert in hopes of lifting our collective Stiller spirits:
You might wanna put your teeth in for this recipe.
Ground lamb may be a little harder to come by than your average ground chuck, but I was able to find a 2 pound bag at my local butcher shop, Espositos Meats. The Creative Director talked me into picking up some bacon to top these guys off with - and, of course, we're using pepper Jack cheese.
Be sure to serve with Heinz (Field) Ketchup!
Pepper Jack LAMBert Burgers
Recipe adapted from Nick Kindelsperger via Serious Eats
2 lbs ground lamb
1 1/2 tsp capers
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
8 strips of thick cut bacon
1/4 lb pepper jack cheese, sliced
2 cups arugula
8 seeded buns
ketchup
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place bacon strips on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, turning at the 15 minute mark.
Mix the ground lamb, capers, lemon zest, dijon, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Form patties about the size of your palm (or as big as the bun).
Heat a charcoal or gas grill and cook lamb patties to your desired doneness (we grilled ours for about 20 minutes). Break cooked bacon slices into thirds and carefully top lamb patties with bacon, then sliced cheese. Close grill cover for a minute or two until cheese is melted. Serve on buns with arugula and ketchup!
