Thai Tuna Burgers

When I was little, my mom would make tuna burgers sometimes for dinner.  She would mix up tuna, celery, and seasonings, bind it together with egg and breadcrumbs, and then fry the patties on the stove top (which is of course what made them so delicious).  At the time, it felt like kind of a special treat, as it was something my mom would give my brother and me if we weren't having a family dinner.  In hindsight, I realize it was the opposite: she was just throwing together things that were always on hand to make an easy meal for hungry children.

Whether or not it was a "special" dinner, it was definitely tasty.   A dinner of Mom's tuna burgers is still a warm and fuzzy memory from my childhood.  It was also something I thought was rather unique-- none of my friends had tuna burgers.  Burgers was probably a misleading name, as there was no bun or toppings involved. But still, when was the last time you saw a tuna burger alternative on a menu?

Well imagine my surprise when I came across just that.  A Thai Tuna Burger recipe that's a proper burger on a bun, but is made of a mixed patty like what my mom used to make.

Penne with Spring Asparagus and Chicken

Nothing says "end of winter" to me like asparagus.  After a snowy spring, all I want to do is bask in the warm weather and avoid turning on my oven to make dinner. Thus, we have this "light" dish of pasta and asparagus made on the stove top.

Even when I cook a relatively healthy meal like this one, I end up eating copious amounts of it. So I just ignore the health aspect altogether and add truffle butter.  Truffle butter makes everything better.

Piqued your interest, have I?

Before we get to the butter, though, let's talk about making pasta.  Pasta is one of those tricky things that seems ridiculously simple to make, and yet when you do it at home, it's never as good as when you get it at a restaurant. Box of pasta + boiling water = properly cooked pasta. Right? Wrong.  I've learned there are two tricks to making restaurant quality pasta at home.