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10 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup fresh oregano, chopped
1 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
juice of 1/2 lime
tsp. red pepper flakes
salt and peppers
1 lb. flank or sirloin steak
1 avacado
French Bread
Combine garlic, oregano, parsley, olive oil, vinegar, lime, red pepper, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Mix with a spoon until all of the ingredients are combined forming a sauce.  Spoon 4 tablespoons into a sepearate dish or bag to save for later.  Place the steak in a bowl and pour the marinade over it.  Cover the dish and shake to coat the steak with the marinade.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, 24 hours is preferred.  Cook the steak on a grill or in a pan until the desired internal temperature is reached.
Slice bread and toast in the oven or on the grill.  Mash avacado in a bowl making a spread.  slice the steak against the grain.  Spread avacado on one side of the bread, put the steak on the avacado, drizzle the marinate that was saved earlier (not the one used on the raw steak) over the cooked steak.  Makes 4 servings.

Try Grilled Halibut with Chimichurri

Hamburgers are an American staple.  We eat them at fast food restaurants, barbeques, and for a quick meal at home.  Growing up, I ate one kind of burger; meat with salt and pepper, and ketchup.  I guess I didn’t know any better.  When I started cooking, I didn’t experiment much at first.  My taste buds had become accustom to the plain hamburger.   I added a few more topping; onion, mushrooms, lettuce, tomatoes, mustard, pickles, and ketchup. 

It wasn’t until recently that I started flavoring the meat with herbs and spices.  And I’m glad I did.  The depth that can be added to something as simple as a hamburger is amazing.  The following is my favorite hamburger recipe thus far.

1 lb. lean ground meat

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/3 cup fresh parsley

1 tbsp. dried oregano

1 egg

1/4 cup bread crumbs

salt and pepper

2 tbsp. olive oil

Combine the ground meat, garlic, onion, parsley, oregano, egg, bread crumbs, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Mix until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the meat.  Let sit for 5 mins.  Make 1/4 lb patties.  Put olive oil in a large skillet on med/hi.  Brown both sides of each patty.  Turn heat down to med/low and cover.  Cook to desired internal temperature.

I make hamburgers with lean ground beef, usually sirloin or the package marked 7% fat.  I always add onions, garlic, salt, pepper, bread crumbs and egg.  Then I use different combinations of spices.  My favorite two combinations are parsley, oregano burgers and parsley, thyme, and sweet basil burgers.   Sometimes I add a little cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to turn up the heat.