Dorie's Hamburgers - Kind of

First off, please accept my apology for the lousy photo above.  I did not do justice to this incredible burger.  We were in a rush to eat and get to a game and I quickly snapped a photo and chowed down...  My bad.

All of my friends who particpate in French Fridays with Dorie did the Cafe Salle Pleyel Burgers.  They looked wonderful.  But, I've been wanting to do a hamburger with bacon in it.   Could I combine the two?  Ah, yes, I could.  So, thanks go to Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake, the New York Times and Dorie Greenspan for the inspiration and basic recipe.  Thanks also go to our local butcher shop - Kincaids - for the baon inspiration.  And, the kalamata olives?  Well, let's just say they're a staple around our house.


I was a bit concerned about the fact that we like our hamburgers medium at most.  That meant the bacon might not be well enough cooked.  So, I sauteed it a bit first to get it up to temp AND to get some of the fat out.  That all worked pretty well except for the fact that the burgers rather fell apart on us.  Next time, I'll grind the bacon in with the meat like Kincaids did.  So, if that's the only gripe I've got, that's pretty minor. 

What did we think?  These tasted amazing.  I particularly loved the onion relish.  It's something that I'll find lots of other uses for.  The herb and vegetable mixture can easily be changed up to suit different tastes.  I can see using pickled jalapenos with some oregano and cumin.  Or switching out the tarragon for oregano and adding in some feta cheese. 

Dorie's Burgers

Ingredients:
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 T unsalted butter
1 t ground coriander
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 c oil packed sun dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
1/4 c drained capers
6 cornichons
1/4 c tarragon leaves
1/2 c flat parsley leaves
6 kalamata olives
1 lb ground sirloin, chuck or mix
1/2 lb bacon (or 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef total)
sliced cheese of your choice
1 large tomato, sliced
4 whole grain ciabatta rolls

Directions:

Start the onion relish first.  To make that, put a cup of water in a small saucepan and add in the onion, coriander and tablespoon of butter. 

It'll take about half an hour for the liquid to all simmer away and for you to be left with a lovely relish.  We'd have loved more onion so I'll double this next time.

 

While the onion is simmering away, it's time to make the burgers.  First, you want to make the paste that you'll mix with the meat.  Into the food processor go the sun-dried tomatoes, capers, cornichons, herbs and olives. 

Process that until you've got a chunky paste. 

See my notes above on the bacon.  Next time, I'll grind it in with the meat.  As small as they were, the diced pieces caused the burgers to fall apart.  But, the flavor was worth it!  Mix the meat(s) with the herb paste. 

Make four burgers.  We grilled them because we prefer the grilled flavor.  After you've flipped the burgers, put the cheese of your choice on top (we used cheddar) and close the grill lid to steam the cheese.  Split and toast your ciabatta rolls.  Don't leave them on the grill too long like I did...  When your burgers have reached the internal temperature you prefer for your meat, remove them from the grill. 

Onto a ciabatta half goes a dollop of dijon mustard or Gulden's mustard, a tomato slice, a burger  then a bit of onion relish.  Top with the other half of the ciabatta roll.

adapted from The New York Times and Dorie Greenspan.  Thanks to Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake for posting the recipe and inspiring me!

Shitake Duck Risotto

Risotto is one of our favorite meals.  Absolutely comfort food.  And, it's so incredibly versatile.  We've made it with about as many meats and vegetables and cheeses as you an name.  And, they've almost all been great.  This one was no exception. 

My friends John and Jackie gave me a bag of shitakes that they'd grown. 

Aren't those gorgeous mushrooms?  And, that's only part of them.  Some were devoured after just being sauteed in a bit of butter.  The rest are being dried in the refrigerator.  We started brainstorming what to do with the mushrooms.  Chicken with a mushroom wine sauce?  Stroganoff?  Pork and mushroom mustard cream sauce?  We kept circling back to risotto.  And, I knew I had a duck confit leg in the freezer.  Duck and shitakes.  Perfect.

Risotto was a dish I'd never tackled until a few years ago.  It sounded complicated and easy to screw up.  Then, I tried making my own and fell in love with the process.  For me, it's a very calming dish to make.  Chopped onions are sauteed in butter and olive oil.  Raw arborio rice is added and allowed to turn just a little golden.  Then, in goes some white wine followed by warm chicken stock - 1/4 - 1/2 c at a time.  On the side, the additions are prepped.  Lots of stirring goes on.  Finally, the rice reaches that creamy but still with a teeny, tiny bit of bite stage and it's time to put in whatever you want:  vegetables, meat and always some cheese. 

What did we think?  Amazing.  Connie suggested that we implement a separate risotto rating system since most of it is a 4 or a 5 on our rating scale.  Now, that's coming from the man who has always declared anything other than a 1-5 scale to be superfluous!

Shitake and Duck Risotto

Ingredients:
2-3 cups chicken broth (homemade stock is best)
1 c duck stock (substitute chicken stock if desired)
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
1 c Arborio rice
3/4 c dry white wine
1 duck confit leg and thigh, reserve the skin and fat
8 oz shitake mushrooms
1 T olive oil
2 T duck fat
1/2 c finely grated romano cheese

Directions:

Prepare basic risotto.  Melt a tablespoon of butter in a large saucepan.  Pour in a tablespoon of olive oil.  Saute the onion in the butter/olive oil mixture.  When it's softened, add the garlic.  Cook for about a minute then add the arborio rice.  Stir to make sure it's thoroughly coated by the butter.  Allow the rice to brown just slightly, then pour in the white wine.  It'll be absorbed quickly.  Add the warm chicken broth very slowly, stirring after every 1/4 - 1/2 cup.  It's the stirring that causes the risotto to be nice and creamy so grab a glass of wine and stand by the stove and stir, stir, stir. 

While the risotto is cooking get the rest of your ingredients together.  Shred duck confit.  Crisp the duck skin in a small skillet. 

Set it aside.

Pour the olive oil into a large skillet.  Remove the stems and coarsely chop the mushrooms.  Saute them in the olive oil.  Once they've started to brown, add a tablespoon of the duck fat.  Continue to saute them until they're dark brown and have started to crisp just a bit. 

Remove the mushrooms from the heat. 

Now, it's time to put your risotto together.  Finish the risotto with a tablespoon of duck fat instead of butter.  Add in the shredded duck confit,

mushrooms

and romano. 

Serve topped with a bit more shredded romano and the crispy duck skin. 

Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches with Olive-Walnut Relish

We regularly eat vegetarian meals.  But, my friends, you don't hear about them too often because we tend to repeat those we love.  Risotto, eggplant involtini, pasta with garlic or vegetables, grilled cheese...  I had three little eggplants from our CSA (community supported agriculture) basket.  My first inclination was to make eggplant involtini.  I mean how in the world can you go wrong with eggplant, anchovies, cheese and marinara sauce?  You can't in my book.  But, then I found this recipe in Fine Cooking.  I had to try it.  The trick was finding an evening I'd be home!  That finally happened and this sandwich was paired with a pear/blue cheese salad. 


The salad was seckel pears poached in Seyval Blanc then thinly sliced over a bed of spinach.  The pears were topped with a crumble of Maytag Blue Cheese and some chopped macadamia nuts.  The salad was dressed with pear vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, dijon mustard, sugar and tarragon.  Connie said it was one of the best salads I'd ever made.


What did we think?  I'm not sure words can adequately describe how much we loved this sandwich.  It's every bit as good as eggplant involtini.  The flavors and textures are perfect together.  I made a couple of small changes to the recipe as written in the magazine.  First, instead of baby greens, I used arugula.  Second,  I melted the mozzarella on the eggplant.  I'd do exactly the same thing again.  The arugula added a peppery note that baby greens wouldn't have.  And, the melted mozzarella was better in both flavor and texture than a blob of fresh would have been.  Granted, the original recipe called for burrata and I used a ball of fresh but I'm assuming that most of us can't find burrata.  The sandwich tastes like summer.  And, during the grey, cold days of January, I'll pull the recipe out and make it again and taste just a bit of summer!


Eggplant Sandwiches with Olive-Walnut Relish
serves 4


Ingredients:


3 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T minced fresh mint plus small leaves for garnishing
2 T minced shallot
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/3 c pitted Kalamata olives, finely chopped
2 T toasted walnuts, finely chopped
2 small egglants, cut lengthwise into 1/2" wide pieces
4 - 1/2" thick slices sourdough bread
salt and pepper
1 oz baby arugula
1 8 oz package fresh mozzarella


Directions:

Slice the eggplant lengthwise and lay it in a colander.  Salt it well and leave it to drain.  While the eggplant is draining, make the vinaigrette and olive walnut relish.  To make the vinaigrette, chop the mint leaves very finely. 

Reserve a few whole leaves for garnish.  Chop the shallot very finely. 

Mix the balsamic, olive oil, shallot and mint. 

Then, to make the olive walnut relish, start by toasting the walnuts. 

When they are toasted and cooled a bit, chop them finely.  Finely chop the kalamata olives. 

Mix the olives, walnuts and a couple of teaspoons of the vinaigrette.  You don't want the relish to be runny, just moist.

Start your grill.  You'll want it at medium heat.  Slice the bread.  Wash the greens if necessary.  Slice the mozzarella about 1/4" thick.  Rinse and dry the eggplant.  Put the eggplant and the bread on a cookie sheet.  Rub both sides of the eggplant with olive oil.  Sprinkle it with salt and pepper.  Drizzle one side of the bread with olive oil.  Put the mozzarella on the cookie sheet.  Now, you're ready to head to the grill.  Lay the eggplant slices on direct heat.  Close the lid to the grill and allow the eggplant to cook for about 2-3 minutes.  Lift the lid and turn the eggplant.  Put the bread slices on the grill on indirect heat, oil side down.  Close the lid.  Allow the bread to grill for about a minute, then turn it.  When you turn the bread, lay a slice of mozzarella on each eggplant slice. 

Close the lid again.  After another minute, lift the lid and take everything off the grill.  Now, it's time to assemble the sandwiches.  Put a piece of bread on each plate, oiled side up. 

Top it with a handful of arugula. 

Drizzle that with a couple of teaspoons of vinaigrette.  Top the greens with a slice of eggplant. 

Then, top that with a tablespoon of olive walnut relish. 

Serve hot.  Adapted from Fine Cooking

Blueberry Watermelon Salad

This was the side dish that got kicked to the curb by the crab boil potato salad. No longer is it at the curb. Late in the week, I had another long day in a week of long days. Late afternoon, two of my intrepid employees and I headed for my home. One had brought her truck and the other was "furniture shopping." She was thrilled with my old family room furniture so we loaded what we could in the truck and they took off for her house. Once that was dropped off, the truck went to a friend's house to pick up a couple of bookcases. My truck driving employee wanted one and we'll use the other in the basement. Then, once our bookcase was unloaded, the truck was reloaded with a couple of kid's desks and some stools that we'd had in our storage unit. At that point I suggested we all eat dinner. I'd made the thai ribs from my friend MomChef and knew I could put those on the grill. And, I had the LaBrea Tar Pit chicken wings. Oh, and I had a wonderful dip that I blogged about for the Secret Recipe Club on Monday. Appetizers we had. Plenty of meat. No sides. Now, did I mention that we're in the midst of having a new kitchen floor installed? That means all of my pantry goodies are in boxes. Boxes and boxes and boxes. I needed something that I had all the ingredients for AND that I could find said ingredients. All the ingredients were handy for this and it sounded wonderful. Score.  Here's my living room/pantry right now.  UGH!

What did we think? This is my new favorite way to eat watermelon. Don't get me wrong, I still love watermelon and feta salad. Lots. I just love this a little more. The lemon really kicks the flavor up. The watermelon and blueberries play very nicely together. A super double bonus is that this is really easy to put together.


Blueberry and Watermelon Salad


Ingredients:

1/4 c sugar

1/4 c water

3 mint sprigs

zest and juice of one lemon

pinch of salt

2 c blueberries

3 c cubed watermelon (I own a melon baller so used that instead)



Directions:

Mix the sugar and water in a saucepan. 

Add the mint springs. 

Gently heat they syrup until the sugar has dissolved. 

Remove it from the heat and allow it to steep for ten minutes.  Add the juice and zest of one lemon.  Put the blueberries and watermelon in a large bowl. 

Pour the syrup over and gently toss the salad.  Allow it to sit for ten minutes so the flavors will meld.

Adapted from Everyday by Rachael Ray










































adapted from Food Network Magazine

Kara's Crostini

Life is a series of adventures, isn't it?  And, I love the way the pieces and parts of life weave together. 

Way back in 4th grade, I was put into the beta test group of advanced kids.  I was lucky enough to spend the balance of my grade school, junior high school and high school years with a lot of those folks.  Along the way, other grade schools fed into the junior high then other junior highs fed into the high school.  So, along the way I met new friends.  One of those is a fellow named Steve.  Steve and I kept in touch for many years and I got to know his wife, Pam.  Then, life interfered and we lost touch.

Fast forward to 2004 when I met Connie.  I winked at him on match.com.  He responded.  We corresponded then met for dinner at the restaurant of my choice:  Sangiovese.  We got married a couple of years later.

Connie plays bridge.  He was talking to one of his fellow bridge players about this blog.  She said one of her best friends had a blog.  That Skinny Chick can Bake by Lizzy Do.  She introduced us.  Liz was totally delightful.  We started chatting and she told me where she lived.  I commented that some friends I'd lost track of used to live right about there.  Well, what do you know,  Pam and Steve live across the street from Liz and Bill and they're the best of friends.  Small world, isn't it?

We all got together for dinner and had a lovely time.  This past weekend it was time for another adventure.  We were going to go to Bonge's Tavern.  Now, Bonge's is one of those destination restaurants.  It was originally the local bar in a community named Perkinsville.  Many years ago, it was converted to a restaurant.  You get there early and tailgate in the parking lot.  After a long while (like a couple of hours) your party's name is called and you're seated for a fantastic dinner.  We gathered at Liz and Bill's house at 4:30.  Liz was finishing up taking some photos of her blue cheese gougeres.

And, Lambeau was helping. 

Head on over to Liz's blog and you'll be able to make those yummy gougeres yourself. 

Here's the crew:

We piled into Liz and Bill's car and headed north.  Bill and Connie in the front seat.  Steve, Pam and me in the back seat.  And, Liz in steerage - the jumpseat in the WAY back.  She was there with the cooler with my shrimp crostini and Pam's cooler with the wine and the container with the gougeres.  Since they were packed warm and she didn't want them to steam, she took the top off the container.  The aroma of blue cheese wafted through the car.  We probably all looked like a bunch of pups with our noses in the air sniffing.  YUM!  A couple of gougeres were tested on the way north.  They were every bit as good as they smelled.  Finally, we were at Perkinsville.  See the fellow in the left in the photo? 

Well, he came up to the car and said they were full up for the evening.  Bummer.  I asked what time folks had to get there to get in for that evening.  Are you ready for this?  3:00.  That's right, these folks were going to be tailgating for about four to five hours to get in.  Here's what the tailgating looks like:

Brainstorming time.  Where can we go?  Every restaurant we could think of on the way north was booked...  How about Sangiovese?  Perfect!  They could accomodate six on the deck overlooking the river.  Back south we headed.  But, wait!  What about the appetizers.  Well, being the intrepid adventurers we are, we ate them in the car.  That was a bit tricky because I'd packed anticipating a tailgate where I could put them together.  But, thanks to Liz unpacking the cooler for me and Pam holding the dish, we were in business. 

Now, one final thanks - to my lovely daughter-in-law Kara.  This is her recipe.  It's become my go-to for elegant finger food.   The sauce is delicious and an absolutely perfect foil for the toasted bread and the shrimp.  I first posted this recipe back in May of 2010.  But, it's so good I think it bears repeating!

Kara's Crostini

Ingredients:

1/4 c mayonnaise
2 t wing sauce
8 arugula sprigs
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
baguette
shrimp


Directions:

Pulse the mayo, wing sauce, arugula and garlic in a food processor until it's relatively smooth.  Cut the baguette into 3/8" slices.  Lay the slices on a baking sheet and broil for 3 minutes on the first side and two on the second.  To serve, schmear some sauce on a slice of baguette and top it with a shrimp. 

Barbecued Chicken Dip

Good Morning!  Today's the Secret Recipe Club.  It's a really fun group of bloggers.  And, it's grown so much that they've divided us into three groups.  Three Mondays of the month, a group reveals a recipe from the blog we've been assigned.  The blogger doesn't know who's going to post one of their recipes so it's fun to go through the list and find which of your recipes has been posted.  You'll find hops to the other blogs at the end of this post.  And, if you'd like to participate, here's a link:  Secret Recipe Club.


When I got the original assignment, I dutifully read through a couple of months of posts on my assigned blog:  From Apples 2 Zucchini.  There were a lot of choices but I really wanted to make a jambalaya.  Well, time went on and I didn't get it made.  Last week I realized I needed to check and make sure I had all the ingredients.  Then, I counted days.  Hmmm, it was Wednesday and I already had chicken thighs, ribs and wings to cook.  Enough goodies to feed the crew when they come to move the furniture we're giving away.  The blog is to be posted on a Monday so that means it needs to be written by Sunday.  And, Sunday was my next time to cook.  That wouldn't work.  Well, wouldn't you know when I went to From Apples 2 Zucchini, there on the first page was the perfect recipe!  Thank you Pam :-)  This barbecued chicken dip would be perfect for the chicken thighs.  And, my hungry movers would love it.  I love it when a plan comes together.   Click on the link above to see Pam's original post.


What did we think?  Pam's husband was exactly right when he asked if there was any more of that crack dip left.  This is one you want to put your serving on your plate and back away or you'll just plain eat too much.  It's addictive and wonderful.  Now, today she's got a rosemary foccacia roll posted that'd be perfect to turn this into a sandwich. 


Barbecued Chicken Dip


Ingredients:


1 boneless, skinless chicken breast or 3 boneless skinless chicken thighs
3/4 c of your favorite barbecue sauce
1 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
1 green pepper, diced
1 sweet onion, diced
2 t olive oil
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1/3 c shredded cheese


Directions:


Simmer the chicken in the barbecue sauce until it's fully cooked.  Allow it to cool, then shred it.  Saute the pepper and onion in the olive oil. 

Soften the cream cheese and mix in the chicken, pepper, onion, garlic powder and onion powder. 

Put the mixture in a casserole dish

and drizzle it with a bit more bbq sauce

then top it with the shredded cheese. 

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Dig IN

Have you ever felt like you never will need to eat again?  I know, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  But, in the summer there aren't any holidays like that.  Unless, of course, you were lucky enough to snag some tickets to Dig-IN.  Connie and I were among the lucky ones.  I found half off tickets from an email called Green Clipping.  That's an offshoot of Green Piece Indy which is a wonderful green living email I receive.  So, today a bit after noon we headed downtown to White River State Park.  We knew the crowd was going to be huge when all of the parking close by was full and we saw people streaming in on all of the sidewalks close by. 

The program says, "At Dig-IN, farmers, producers and chefs from all over Indiana join forces to celebrate Hoosier food."  And, boy did they ever!!  Several of our favorites were there:  Terry Knudson from Viking Lamb, JJ Boston from Chef JJ's Back Yard, Chris Eley from Goose the Market, Regina Mehallick from R Bistro.  I got to meet the delightful gal from Maple Leaf Farms - producers of the best duck in the USA - and she was kind enough to give me a copy of their cookbook.  (Which I will read cover-to-cover as soon as I'm hungry again in about a week - lol.)  There were 26 restaurants, 9 wineries and 11 breweries.  An amazing collection of food and drink.  And, an amazing number of folks enjoying said food and drink. I failed miserably at taking photos because I was so busy noshing on incredible food.  Let me share with you the description of my favorite dish of the day from J. Ford's Black Angus in Terre Haute:  "Slow smoked pulled pork slider, hickory horseradish coffee BBQ glaze and basil goat cheese garden slaw."  Now, doesn't that make you want to hop in your car and drive straight to J. Ford's?  Me too!

Bottom line - we'll go back next year.  We made it to 12 of the 26 restaurants and about 9 of the breweries.  We tried one winery but unfortunately, most of the wine there today appeared to be the sweet stuff that we really don't care for. 

I've saved the best for last, though.  The score of the day.  Beef n'Noodles.  From Coes Noodles.  OMG.  The best beef and noodles I've ever had.  Bar none.  We went back for seconds.  I bought a bag just to get the recipe.  Well, that and the fact that these are wonderful noodles.  Here's the link:  Coes Noodles

Beef n'Noodles

Ingredients:

2-3 lb chuck roast or any cut of beef
1 can Campbells Beefy Mushroom soup
1 package dry onion soup mix
1 T salt
10 c water
1 lb package Coe's Noodles

Directions:

Everything but the noodles goes in the crockpot.  Let it cook on low overnight and through the next day.  A couple of hours before you plan on serving dinner, shred the beef then add the noodles.  Stir everything very gently.  Make sure the noodles are covered with the liquid.  Then, put the lid on and walk away.  Keep your hands off the lid.  That means you.  No touchie, no lookie for two hours.  Serve and savor :-)

A big thank you to Judy Coe for a wonderful recipe and some fantastic noodles.  They've got them for sale on their web site so you too can enjoy them!