It's an auspicious day each spring when it is both warm enough and light enough to grill out on my front porch after work. And so it was last Friday, April 17, that I got home at 5:30. Scheidt was ready with the charcoal, and it was the first porch dinner of the year: lamb burgers with garlic-mint yogurt sauce, greek salad, Great Lakes beer, good company, relaxation.

PETA members, close your eyes: I love lamb. Oh, baby animals, you taste so good. Grilled over an open flame, your juicy goodness eliminates my ability to form complete sentences.

These burgers were a particularly good find, from a Cat Cora cookbook I bought on a fire sale at Borders. I'm a sucker for a cheap, full-color cookbook by a quasi-celebrity chef. This is one of those "learn to cook without a cookbook" cookbooks, which is too ironic.

Despite the dubious cookbook premise, however, Cat Cora is after my own heart with these lamb burgers. Did I mention I love lamb? For these, you mince some onions and chop up some kalamata olives. Crumble in some feta cheese, toss around some breadcrumbs, and form into patties. Give to grill master - which isn't me because I'm afraid the grill will explode when I drop a match in - and cook for 5 minutes per side. That's just enough time to throw together an easy salad, mix up the sauce and open a few beers. You're sitting with your sweetheart with your feet up with 40 minutes of walking in the door.

Summer must be coming.

Lamb and Olive Burgers
adapted from Cat Cora's Cooking From the Hip

1 lb ground lamb
1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
3 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 scallion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons feta, finely crumbled
1 tablespoon Penzey's lamb seasoning*
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh mint, minced
4 hamburger buns (good ones, don't skimp)
Toppings: sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumber, sliced red onion, lettuce

Mix together lamb, chopped olives, bread crumbs, onions, scallions, feta and lamb seasoning until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Season generously with salt and pepper. Shape into four equally-sized patties about 1/2 inch thick.

Grill over medium-hot coals (or in a pan over medium-high heat) about 5 minutes per side, until just about cooked through.

While the burgers cook, stir together yogurt, garlic and mint. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Assemble burgers as desired. Top with yogurt sauce.

*I'm not one to normally buy spice blends (at least, not ones that aren't labeled "curry"), but this happened to be in my drawer, and was delicious in this recipe. It's a powdery mix of Turkish oregano, rosemary, cumin, celery, sweet paprika, black pepper, onion, garlic, spearmint and ginger.