To Dine For” Winner: Mini-Lamb Burgers With Fennel Sauce by Gibson’s Grill
Gibson’s Grill head chef Scott Watts teamed up with the restaurant’s p.m. sous chef Ian Kinker on Sunday at Broad Appétit to cook mini-lamb burgers, winner of the $2,000 “To Dine For” Award. Feeling confident, the duo started encouraging attendees to “come get [their] award-winning lamb burgers” halfway through the day. However, Kinker says they were completely caught off-guard when they actually did end up winning first place. To produce these burgers yourself, follow the recipe below.
Ingredients for mini-lamb burgers (yields four burgers)
1/2 yellow onion, minced
1 pound of ground lamb
1 tablespoon of herbes de Provence
1 teaspoon of granulated garlic
2 teaspoons of minced mint
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
2 teaspoons of fresh ground pepper (or to taste)
Mini slider buns, toasted
Roma tomatoes soaked in balsamic vinegar to top (soak no longer than two hours)
Ingredients for fennel sauce
1/2 bulb of fennel, chopped and sautéed
3 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup of lemon juice
2 cups of Greek yogurt
1 cup of sour cream
salt and white pepper to taste
Directions
To make the fennel sauce, purée the fennel, three cloves of garlic, lemon juice, Greek yogurt, sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste in a food processor. If you’re making the sauce ahead of time, go ahead and refrigerate it, but be sure to bring it to room temperature before serving.
To make the burgers, purée the mint and onion in a food processor, then fold the results into your lamb in a mixing bowl. Next add the herbes de Provence, pepper, salt and granulated garlic. Grill on medium-high heat for two minutes a side, or to your liking. ¨To assemble your burger, put a balsamic-saoked Roma tomato on a bun, then add the burger, then top it with some fennel sauce before finishing up with the top bun.
“To Dine For” Runner-Up: Chilled Vidalia Onion Soup by the Jefferson Hotel
Knowing how hot Richmond summers are, chef Walter Bundy of the Jefferson Hotel had a good feeling his Chilled Vidalia Onion Soup would be a hit. Bundy likes the soup because it’s designed to highlight regional products that can be purchased at local markets. Bundy shares his recipe below.
Ingredients
5 Vidalia onions (large dice)
1/2 stick of unsalted butter
1/4 cup of water
1/2 cup of heavy cream

Salt and white pepper
Sugar (if desired, to taste)
Whole milk (as needed)
Directions
In a medium nonreactive pot, sweat the onions in the butter over low heat for 10 minutes. Add water to avoid browning. Cover the pot with a lid and simmer slowly for about 30 minutes. Add the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Purée the soup in a blender and season with salt and white pepper. (Depending on the natural sweetness of the onions, you may want to add sugar.) Chill and whisk in whole milk to achieve desired consistency. Yields four portions; serve on a hot summer day.
People’s Choice Winner: Jumbo Grilled Red-Curry Shrimp with Lemon-Sesame Cucumbers and Fresh Shoestring Beets by the University of Richmond’s Center for Culinary Arts
“When you’re feeding as many people [as we were that day], you need something that will be quick but great-tasting,” says Martin Gravely, chef and teacher at University of Richmond’s Center for Culinary Arts. (Editor’s note: Gravely also reviews restaurants for Richmond magazine. No one from the magazine voted.) At Broad Appétit this past weekend, Gravely and his co-chef and fellow instructor Tom Parfitt made Jumbo Grilled Red-Curry Shrimp with Lemon-Sesame Cucumbers and Fresh Shoestring Beets. Gravely knew it would be a good choice for the day because it’s refreshing, and shrimp is “always popular, the perfect seasonal dish.” To cook their dish at home, follow the recipe that follows.Lemon-Sesame Cucumbers
Ingredients
3 to 4 medium cucumbers
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of rice-wine vinegar
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons of sesame oil
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds
Red chili flakes to taste
Peel cucumbers and slice in half lengthwise. Using a small spoon, scoop out the seeds and discard. Cut the cucumbers diagonally in 1/8-inch slices. Next, mix cucumbers and salt and place in a strainer over a mixing bowl. The cucumbers will give off lots of water, and you don’t want the cucumbers sitting in the liquid. Make sure that the strainer doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Now cover with plastic wrap and then press with a weight. (A plastic bag full of water works well.) Let sit for 30 minutes to an hour at room temperature. Mix all other ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside. When cucumbers are done draining, discard water and toss in dressing. Let sit for 30 minutes to overnight in the fridge before serving.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons of canola oil
2 tablespoons of red curry paste
1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon of tamarind concentrate
1 tablespoon of palm sugar
1 teaspoon of fish sauce
1 teaspoon of finely minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon of finely minced fresh ginger
A few good pinches of salt and pepper
1 pound of large peeled, de-veined, tail-on shrimp, 13 to 15 or 16 to 20 count
Whisk all ingredients except shrimp together and adjust to taste as desired. Toss in the shrimp and marinate about an hour.
 When ready, pre-heat your grill over medium-high heat thoroughly. Grill the shrimp two to three minutes per side
Ingredient
1 medium beet, peeled
Using a spiral vegetable-slicing tool, make long, thin shoestrings with the beet. Submerge in iced water until ready to serve. Alternatively, use a vegetable peeler to make ribbons.
