Hamburgers, Plum Zinfandel Jam, Candied Pecans, Pickled Watermelon Rind, and Garden Herb Vinaigrette

Happy 4th of July!  I took advantage of the long weekend to knock out a few recipes.  I didn't necessarily serve all of these together but thought I would post a quick synopsis and keep chipping away at the list.  Forgive the hodge podge collection in this post!

I started the weekend by working on a few of the "lifesavers."  I had picked up plums to make the plum zinfandel jam, tackled the pickled watermelon rind, and made the candied pecans.

The plum zinfandel jam was super easy.  I started with a bunch of plums and a bottle of red zinfandel.  Did I really need to go further?

I cut the plums into pieces and simmered over the stove with the zinfandel and sugar until I had the mixture hot enough to make jam. 

The candied pecans were toasted in the oven for about an hour and half after tossing with a little honey.  They caramelized and darkened in color and were ready to serve.

I served the plum zinfandel jam with a wheel of brie and crackers and the candied pecans.  Both items were the perfect item for a cheese tray appetizer. 

The pickled watermelon rind actually was the pickled inner lighter green part of the watermelon.  After soaking in salt water it was ready for pickling in a mixture of sugar, spices, and apple cider vinegar.  The mixture was a sweet vinegary bite that was a delicious accompanient  to the brisket Matt smoked on his smoker. 

 The garden herb vinaigrette dressed up a salad that was served along with a homemade lasagna (not from the book) while my parents and brother visited us.  The dressing was exactly as named... garben herbs and oil and vinegar.  The result was a bright crisp vinaigrette that was light and flavorful.

Last but not least were the hamburgers. I know what you are thinking.  Why is a hamburger in this book along with dishes like duck, rack of lamb, and veal?  Well, this one was definitely "fancy" because I had to grind my own meat for the hamburger.  Mom and Dad gave me the meat grinder attachment for my mixer for Christmas and I haven't had the opportunity to use it.  I broke it in with the hamburger recipe.  I started with a whole sirloin piece, chuck piece, and brisket piece.  I cut into smaller pieces and tossed with seasonings. It took me a few tries of all of the meat getting crammed in the attachment and Matt casually suggesting that maybe I should read the directions (isn't that backwards?) before I finally had the thing working and meat was coming out and I had a working slaughterhouse in my home kitchen.  It took me an hour to grind all that meat but I finally made it and had fresh ground hamburgers.  I grilled the burgers and served with slices of American cheese.  The pictures of the burger project didn't really turn out...after all that work, I was ready to eat!

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