Bowling Banquet,

The bowling went well and the bowling banquet was fun. The food quality was a lot better than usual which helped, we had an good salad buffet as a starter followed, as usual, by rolled ribs, cabbage rolls and chicken, then a dessert buffet. I ate too much. One thing put me off slightly, it was chucking it down, it started around noon and didn't stop until after we went to bed. Not much fun when you are dressing up and have to dash through the rain. It was nice to see people we hadn't seen for a year, this is a kind of ghost bowling group formed of people who used to bowl at an alley which has now been closed 3 years (we were all staggered to hear that). One or two of us still form the Travel League which meets every month during the bowling season (as we did yesterday), but a lot of the others don't bowl anywhere any more for various reasons. The banquet was at the Grand Valley Golf and Country Club on Roseville Road, Cambridge and is just a very short distance from Barrie's Asparagus Farm. In previous years we have been able to kill two birds with one stone, however, this time it was too early. I also forgot to take my camera, I usually do. GMA's money editor Mellody Hobson was on line today giving tips on making a few bucks. Not bad ideas, but as usual, they were for the US and nowhere else as far as I could tell. If you are interested in checking today's tips (they are going to do this all month) you can find a video here showing you what she said. We can all use a little extra cash in the current economy. GMA were also advertising a National Geographic Movie which is coming up this weekend showing some amazing animal pictures - something we will have to try and see as it is on ABC and not on National Geographic which we don't get. There was one shot of a small boy falling over into a chimp pit and a mother chimp nursing the unconscious child until keepers came to get him. I didn't see it all, but Matt said the Painting Elephant was included, you can see lots of these on YouTube these days. Before we went out yesterday, Matt was watching Giada di Laurentiis and she made a lamb burger which interested him so I got the recipe off the internet. We have a pound of ground lamb in the freezer as yet another friend said they didn't like lamb LOL so he is planning to make these over the weekend. Prosciutto Lamb Burgers 1/2 cup plain dried bread crumbs 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley 1 large egg, lightly beaten 2 Tbs whole milk 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes 3/4 tsp salt 3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 lb ground lamb 6 large slices prosciutto, sliced medium-thin (for wrapping the burgers) 1/4 cup olive oil Fresh basil leaves, for topping each burger Fresh tomato slices, for topping each burger Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling Balsamic vinegar, for drizzling 1 In a large bowl combine the bread crumbs, parsley, egg, milk, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, salt, and pepper, Stir to combine. Add the lamb and stir until incorporated. Divide the mixture into 6 (1-inch) thick burgers. Place the slices of prosciutto on a cutting board or piece of parchment paper. Place 1 lamb burger in the center of each slice of prosciutto and wrap the prosciutto around the burger. 2 Place a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat for 2 minutes. Place the lamb burgers, prosciutto-covered side down in the pan and cook over medium heat until the prosciutto is golden, about 6 to 8 minutes. Turn the burgers and finish cooking, about 6 to 8 minutes more. 3 Remove the burgers from the pan and place on a serving platter or individual plates. Top each burger with 2 to 3 basil leaves, 1 to 2 slices of tomato, and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Serve immediately. Servings: 4 Have a great day.