Grilled Eggplant Caponata Salad

About a month ago, it was just way too hot not to grill. I mean 80's in March in Buffalo?! I knew that I needed to take advantage of it while I could, because it was unseasonably warm and I knew it wouldn't last. I searched for some meatless grilled recipes, since we had been eating more meat than we usually like to, and came across this one on Delish. It definitely made a lot, but it was great! I could see this being a staple in the summertime, especially when tomatoes are fresh and plentiful from the garden! We at this as a main dish, but it would be delicious as a side salad along with a piece of grilled chicken or fish.

2 small Red Onions, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
2 small Eggplants (about 1 1/4 pounds each), cut into 3/4 inch thick slices
Nonstick cooking spray
4 medium Celery Stalks
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar 
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Ground Pepper
6 medium Plum Tomatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 cup Kalamata Olives, pitted and chopped
3 tablespoons Capers, drained
1/2 cup Italian Parsley Leaves, loosely packed

Spray both sides of the eggplant slices with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle onions, eggplants, and celery with salt and place them on a hot grill rack. Cover the grill and cook the vegetables for 8-10 minutes or until tender and lightly browned, turning once during cooking time. Remove the vegetables from the grill and set aside to cool slightly. Cut the eggplants and celery into 3/4 inch chunks and coarsely chop the onions. In a large bowl, mix together the vinegar, oil, sugar, and pepper until blended. Stir in the tomatoes, olives, raisins, capers, and parsley. Add the eggplant, onions, and celery, and gently toss to coat. Serve this salad at room temperature or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

BBQ Sliders with Spicy BBQ Mayo

A few weeks ago, we went out for dinner with some friends to a tavern by our old apartment. We usually order a fish fry there, but everybody always raves about their burgers. We both decided to order the burgers, which was odd because I've never been one to order burgers out at restaurants (or even really eat them at all). Well, after eating it, I completely understood all the hype surrounding them. When deciding what to make last week, Joel suggested hamburgers, which was probably because after eating them at the tavern, we were reminded how much we enjoyed them every once in a while! After searching for a recipe, I adapted this one from allrecipes.com and made these cute little bbq sliders.  I topped them with this spicy bbq mayo sauce from Food Network. This would be a great recipe to feed a crowd, as I'm sure it could be easily adapted for any amount of ground beef.

For the Burgers:
1/2 cup Dry Breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons Garlic Salt
2 teaspoons Brown Sugar
1 Egg, beaten
1 pound Ground Beef
1 1/4 cups BBQ Sauce

In a bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, garlic salt, and brown sugar. Add the egg and 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce. Mix the meat into the breadcrumb mixture until well combined. Shape the meat into burgers (I made 9 slider-sized burgers, but would have made 4 or 5 regular-sized ones). Place the burgers onto a plate and pour the remaining BBQ sauce over the tops. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. When ready to cook, grill the burgers, flipping once, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. At the last minute, place cheese on top of each burger so that it melts (optional).

For the Sauce:
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 cup BBQ Sauce
1 tablespoon Spicy Brown Mustard
1 tablespoon Hot Sauce

In a bowl, whisk all ingredients together until well combined. Spread the sauce onto a grilled hamburger bun. Top the burgers with tomatoes and red onions, and serve.