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Showing posts with label burger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label burger. Show all posts

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Italian Sliders

First off...  Congratulations to Elisabeth!  You won my Fall picnic blanket giveaway!  It's in the mail and you'll see it in a few days.  Happy picnicking!

I realized that over the past few weeks I've only offered you sweets and baked goods!  I thought that today I should make you some dinner.  And not just any dinner.  Something fun!

I was at Wegmans the other day and spotted their slider buns.  I was inspired to make some mini burgers!


Italian mini burgers.  So much fun and such a perfect dinner!  They are made with all turkey, but aren't dry at all.  They are super moist and just the right size for the slider bun.  You could easily down three of these without a second glance.

I want to make more sliders!

One Year Ago: Green Curry Fritters
Two Years Ago: Croissants
Three Years Ago: Sugar Cookies

Italian Sliders
Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine

Olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1/3 cup fat free ricotta
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 panko breadcrumbs
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 ounces ground turkey
2 (4-ounce) turkey sausage links, casings removed
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
12 slider buns

Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add olive oil.  Add garlic and shallot and saute for 4 minutes, or until shallots are softened and garlic is fragrant.

Combine ingredients (ricotta through egg) in a large bowl.  Add shallots and garlic and stir with a large wooden spoon.  Shape into 12 meatballs, flatten each slightly.

Heat skillet to medium-high and add meatballs.  Cook for 3 minutes and flip over.  Cook for another 3 minutes.  Add marinara sauce and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cover with lid.  Cook for 8 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

Place about 1 tablespoon sauce on the bottom of each roll.  Add meatball and place the lid on.  Have two, you deserve it.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Southwest Chicken Burger

When I was a first year graduate student, living alone for the very first time, the Better Homes & Garden cookbook fed me all year long.  How I managed with just one cookbook and a minimal knowledge of online recipe websites, I'll never know. 


I grew up, making very few dinners myself. My mom worked evenings for most of my childhood so we were often left with two options for dinner. 1. A casserole that was prepared by mom and waiting in the fridge for us to heat up in the oven. 2. Dad was cooking.


Now, my dad is great. He's a smart guy, a chemical engineer in fact, but cooking just isn't his forte. Even to this day, he likes meals that require no more than four ingredients. His specialty is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And many a times I've seen him eat Perry's ice cream for dinner. If dad was 'cooking,' that usually meant we were having a frozen dinner or some soup. He heats and eats, no prep required.

The only thing I ever did in the kitchen was bake and the recipe was generally from the back of the chocolate chip bag.


The last Christmas before I moved to Madison was used to prepare me for my eventual move out of the house. I got pots and pans, towels, a laundry basket and the BHG cookbook. All a single girl needs!


These days I have cookbooks for anything I'm looking to prepare, but I still enjoy looking back at my first cookbook, leafing through its wrinkled, sauce-coated pages, my own handwritten notes adorning the margins. I think of the time I spent in my closet-like kitchen, cooking on my 1950's stove and turning out my first meals on my own.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Why Bother? 2012 - Ketchup & Mustard

With Memorial day weekend just a few days away, it's time to get to making our toppings for hot dogs and hamburgers!  Don't put away your car keys just yet, you may still need to make a trip to the grocery store! 

I was on the fence about making my own ketchup and mustard.  I mean, they cost about a dollar.  Two dollars if you want to buy organic ketchup.  Would it really be worth the time and effort to make my own condiments?  Yes and no.


First, in order to make your own condiments, you need a well-stocked spice cabinet.  Celery seeds, cumin seeds, whole yellow mustard, whole cloves, cayenne pepper, the list could go on.  If you decide to make either of these recipes, be sure to check your cabinet thoroughly and make a list. 

You'll need to head to a grocery store or spice market that has a large spice selection.  Penzey's spices is a great store with just about everything you'll need.  You can also order online and you'll have your spices in a few days.  Whole Foods had a smattering of spices that I needed and I filled in the remainder at Fairway (a popular tri-state area grocery chain).  When I thought that I had them all, I realized I was missing celery salt and had to make a last minute trip to Pathmark.


I decided to make honey-mustard, since I already had plain yellow mustard and Dijon mustard in the fridge.  It was simple enough to make.  Just combine all of the ingredients and let it sit overnight.  In the morning, pour it all into your favorite food processor and pulse the heck out of it.  It smells amazing.  How does it taste?  Mine came out super spicy!  The reason?  The freshly purchased mustard seeds.  Those little guys really pack a flavor punch.  While it doesn't have a distinctly honey flavor, it will be amazing on hamburgers and hot dogs.

I put off making ketchup until just last night because I couldn't find the time to make it.  The process is simple enough, you just have to have enough time to allow the tomatoes to reduce and reduce and reduce.  It took a long time.  Complaints came left and right about how weird/bad it smelled.  The boiling vinegar made my eyes tear up.  Sure, I got some tasty ketchup out of the process, but it took a long time.  Maybe make this on a lazy Sunday.  Personally, I'm going to just buy organic ketchup when I run out of my own!


There we have it.  We can make our own condiments!  It's up to you as to whether it is worth the price of all of the specialty spices to have homemade ketchup and mustard.  I think I'll try a few different mustard flavors before hanging up my condiment hat.

Stay tuned for next weeks final installment of BBQ food - pickles!  Then we'll see how all of these homemade foods do near the grill.  How will homemade ketchup and mustard pair with my own refrigerator pickles?  Will I be overwhelmed with flavor?  Will I eat all of the pickles before they make it to the burger?  Will I even put them on a burger?  We'll find out!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Buffalo Chicken Burgers with Carrot-Celery Slaw

If you grew up in my house, then you grew up grilling, all year round. The weather turning cold is no reason for my parents to pack away the grill. Pouring down rain isn’t even a reason to use the stove. We would grill out on the deck in the chilly fall winds, during the darkest days of winter and through the wet days of spring. Remember one more thing, I grew up in Buffalo, NY. That’s right, snow country. It is not uncommon to visit my parents house in December, to discover a little shoveled path, leading to the grill.


Personally, I think my parents are a little kooky. I think it harkens back to one moment in my childhood. Being asked to start the grill, by myself. I believe I let the gas run for a little long, and there was a grand BAM! when I struck the lighter. No fireball, no singed eyebrows, no trip to the emergency room. Just one traumatized eleven-year old. I will still, to this day, not light the grill, but I love coming home in December and grilling hot dogs at home.


I know, it’s a little crazy on my part. I’m a chemist. I use Bunsen burners all the time. I work with chemicals that will spontaneously light on fire. Yet I am still afraid of the gas grill. This is why I own a grill pan (I also don’t have any outdoor space and I think my apartment building wouldn’t be too happy with me running a grill in my bedroom). However, if you are brave enough to light your grill, then you should go get out some burgers.


The best part of these burgers is the slaw. Crunchy, cool and tangy, it complements the spicy burgers perfectly. If you happen to have a food processor with slicing and shredding discs, then your prep for this slaw is minimal. The burgers can be store-bought, because they get their flavor from the hot sauce. And really, how can I pass up a recipe that puts wing sauce on a burger?
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