sauerkraut bison sourdough sliders & roasted fennel

mmmm… can you smell that fantastic aroma from the bbq? that means summer must be just around the corner. :) the perfect time for bbq burgers on the grill — or those awesome mini-burgers aka sliders.

i picked up some free-range ground bison at the local farmers’ market and decided to get my burger fix on with a little culinary experiment slider-style! sauerkraut bison sliders on open-faced sourdough with roasted fennel on the side. so good. check it out…

roasted fennel:
- the fennel will take approx 30-35min for prep/cooking time, so best to start the fennel before the slider prep. check out the previous yumyumyummers recipe for roasted fennel. easypeasy recipe and a fantastic side dish for these sliders.

slider prep:
combine the following ingredients in large prep bowl:
- 1.5 lbs free-range ground bison
- 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp old-style mustard
- 1 tsp blue poppyseeds
- 1 tsp montreal steak spice
- dash of sea salt
- season w/ ground black peppercorns
- drizzle 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil (evoo)

(tip: fold & combine ingredients until well-incorporated. best to use your hands to combine ingredients in prep bowl. remember that you’re handling uncooked meat here, so be sure to wash your hands before handling the fennel again.)

dijon blue poppyseed turkey meatballs w/ mixed greens

homemade meatballs = the ultimate weeknight culinary experiment. i don’t know what compelled me to make homemade meatballs from scratch that evening, especially with not much time to prep dinner. but i suppose once you start, there’s no turning back! :)

what surprised me about this culinary experiment was that you don’t necessarily need an egg to make meatballs stick together. (read: i didn’t have any eggs in the fridge at the time and need to go grocery shopping.) the mustard blend & a dash of olive oil seemed to do the trick! holla!

meatball seasoning:
combine the following ingredients in large prep bowl & set aside.
- 1 tomato (diced)
- 2.5 tsp dijon mustard
- 2.5 tsp old-style mustard
- dash of salt
- 1/2 tsp quatre épices (four-spice blend of ground pepper, cloves, nutmeg & ginger or cinnamon)
- 1 tsp blue poppyseed
- 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil (evoo)

dijon pepper & havarti grilled cheese

i was totally one of those kids who loved to snack on a slice of cheese (or two!) with a tall glass of milk. some things never change. ;) grilled cheese ranks right up there with breakfast for dinner as one of my fave easy weeknight meals. although bread is no longer a staple ingredient in my kitchen, i do like to treat myself once in a while to some rustic wholegrain loaf from my fave bakery. this time around, it was another healthy bread option — flax loaf.

cutting the mustard:
combine the following ingredients in small prep bowl:
- 1.5 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1.5 tbsp old-style mustard
- drizzle w/ honey (optional to make homemade honey mustard)
- set aside.

sauteed peppers:
- heat up 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil (evoo) in saucepan on medium heat
- add 1 orange bell pepper (pitted, seeded, sliced)
- season w/ ground black peppercorns & dash of salt
- sauté peppers for 2-3min until cooked