Days 256 & 257: "Pub Grub"--Rarebit Burgers & Potato Wedges

After writing my post on comfort food, I started to realize that pretty much all of my recipes for autumn and winter can fall under that category.  I just love this time of year and how much time I get to enjoy in the kitchen!  With that, I bring you a Rachael Ray recipe for rarebit burgers that reminds me, literally, of some of the "grub" I used to get while dining out pub-style in England.  Burgers and "fries"--can't get much more comforting than that in this house!  And my daughter, who claims to love mac & cheese but won't touch it baked, sunk her teeth right into this burger and finished her whole plate.  She is my daughter after all!

The "pub grub" was Friday's meal, so I should back-track and let you know what we had for dinner on Thursday, Day 256.  I cooked up another family favorite: parmesan-crusted chicken, balsamic broccoli, and rice.  For dessert, we of course had apple pie!

Check out my recipe for a perfect apple pie that holds its shape in the pie plate!

Now, onto Friday's (Day 257) meal...

Rarebit Burger & Potato Wedges
"Rarebit" refers to a Welsh sauce usually consisting of cheddar cheese, beer, Worcestershire sauce, and other seasoning.  With these burgers, the seasonings and Worcestershire are in the burger, the cheddar cheese is melted on top, and they literally cook in the beer!  The potato wedges & sauce that go along side them are to die for!

For the burgers:
1 1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
Worcestershire sauce (about 3 TB)
2 TB chopped fresh parsley
salt, pepper
2 tsp mustard
1 tsp cayenne pepper or 2 tsp hot sauce
extra-sharp sliced cheddar cheese
bread & butter pickle slices for topping
hearty burger buns
6-8 oz dark beer

Mix the beef, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, salt, pepper, mustard, and cayenne together in a bowl.  Divide the meat into 4 equal portions.  Cook in a hot skillet drizzled with extra virgin olive oil on one side.  Before flipping, press the onion pieces into each burger, then flip them.  Pour the beer into the skillet and let the burgers finish cooking in the beer.  When close to being done, place a slice of cheddar cheese over each burger and let it melt onto the meat.  Place on a bun and top with pickle slices.

For the potato wedges:
2 russet potatoes or 4-5 white potatoes
extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper
seasoned salt
1 cup sour cream
2 TB chopped chives
2 TB chopped dill
2 TB chopped parsley
2 TB horseradish
1 garlic clove, finely grated
splash of milk

Peel the potatoes and cut them into wedges.  Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  Add the potatoes and season with salt, pepper, and seasoned salt.  Cook for a few minutes.  Then turn the heat down just a tad and cover the potatoes with foil to cook inside another 5-7 minutes.  Meanwhile, make the sauce by combining the sour cream, herbs, horseradish, garlic, and milk.  Mix well.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.  Remove the foil from the potatoes and cook for a few more minutes to crisp up the edges.  Serve alongside the burger and pour the horseradish sauce over the wedges.

Days 125 & 129: Cook-Out Favorites & Beer-Marinated Chicken w/ Summer Vegetables

We finally had a nice sit-down dinner as a family at home tonight!  It feels like it's been forever!  I no longer sell Tastefully Simple products, but before I "de-activated" I "stocked up" on some seasonings.  Yes, they are relatively easy to make on your own if you use the right combination of spices and herbs, but when they're all perfectly pre-mixed for you right in your pantry, who can resist?  And these seasonings have added plenty of "kick" to my meals recently.  Tonight, I enlisted the help of their new summer beer-marinade, and their Seasoned Salt for my potatoes and vegetables.  Dinner was so easy!  Last night I pulled out my chicken to defrost and this morning Randy got it marinating for me.  Simply mix 1 packet of the powder "marinade" with a 1/2 cup of beer and marinate the chicken for however long you have.  Tonight I grilled it and finished it in the oven.  It was super flavorful!  Here's how I like to do summer vegetables:

Seasoned Summer Vegetables
1 zucchini, thickly "chunked"
1 summer squash, thickly "chunked"
1 red pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 of a red onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
olive oil
"Seasoned Salt" (Tastefully Simple)
onion flakes (or Tastefully Simple's "Onion Onion")
paprika
cumin

Layer the vegetables on a baking sheet and coat with olive oil.  Sprinkle the seasonings on liberally and cook in a 400* oven for 10-15 minutes or until cooked through and fragrant.

Let's bounce back to Day 125 (Saturday), when we had Noah's birthday cook-out.  When I invite people over for a birthday party, I'm more inclined to do most of the cooking because people coming are already bringing gifts.  If someone asks to bring something, I let them, but I usually assume I'll do most of the cooking.  When I'm having a regular barbecue or get-together for no reason, I don't have a problem saying "I'm providing the meat, you bring a dish to share" or something like that.  For Noah's party, I did have some voluntary help, but I provided the majority of the meal.

Normally we like our burgers medium-rare.  I was not in charge of the grill...

Here's my basic burger recipe:

1 lb hamburg
1/4-1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 garlic clove, minced
1 TB onion flakes
oregano, parsley
salt, pepper

Mix well and form into 4 patties.  Cook on the grill or under the broiler.

To go along with the burgers, I made orzo salad, classic potato salad, broccoli salad, fruit skewers, and some Tastefully Simple dips with chips.  I also had a garden salad brought by my mother and my sister-in-law made deviled eggs.

Broccoli Salad
I've seen this made different ways before--all of them so delicious!  At Whole Foods, they call it "Broccoli Crunch" and sell it from the deli.  This salad is incredible... try it!

1-2 bunches broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup of mayonnaise
scant (just under) 1/2 cup of sugar
2 TB red wine vinegar
1/4-1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup walnuts
10 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped

Mix the broccoli, bacon, raisins, walnuts, and red onions together.  Whisk the mayo, sugar, and red wine vinegar.  Pour the dressing over the salad and serve immediately.  (If you want to make it up ahead of time, keep the dressing separate and pour it on right before serving.)

 For dessert, we had Noah's chocolate chip "snowball" cookies, cake pops, and a flag cake.  The idea for the flag cake came from and Ina Garten cookbook, but I didn't use her recipe at all.  I wrote my own cake recipe, and made a raspberry filling to go inside.  The frosting was a whipped cream frosting and I used blueberries and raspberries to decorate the "flag."  I'm not ready to share my recipe yet because 1) I'm not 100% satisfied with it and 2) I think every cook needs a secret recipe, so I'm not sure I'll ever be ready to divulge the recipe. ;)

Happy birthday, my sweet man... hope you enjoyed the party you'll never remember!  (Your Momma sure did!)

Day 104: Avocado Caprese Burgers, Classic Potato Salad

This week I added the "recipe finder" search to my blog's homepage which meant I had to go back and "label" all of my posts.  I was disappointed to find so few burger recipes.  I thought I had a larger repertoire of burgers and I thought we ate them more often.  But I guess when doing a blog like this, you're conscience of "repeater" meals which is probably why we haven't had cheeseburgers as often as usual.  I also realized that my "classic" burger recipe didn't really appear as such since it was hidden in a post about other recipes.  (Day 55)  So I'll have to create a new post about my go-to burger recipe at some point.  Tonight was a new one, even for us.  We LOVE caprese salad, tomato, basil, and mozzarella paninis, and anything with those flavors.  So why not make it into a burger???  I got the idea to put on the avocado from a magazine that I glanced at one time.  I went searching for the recipe but couldn't find it so I came up with my own recipe tonight.  When Randy said he thought it was "the best burger he's had" I reminded him that he says that every time he has a burger!  Abby's words were, "This is so good.  I love burger."  (She's yet to add the "s" to that word.)  Yeah--we love burgerS in this family!!!

Avocado Caprese Burgers

1 lb ground beef
3-4 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
1 TB dried basil leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley leaves (or fresh if you have them)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp onion flakes
2 TB mayonnaise, sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt
2 tsp balsamic vinegar, divided

4 buns
2 avocados, sliced
4 slices of tomato
4 slices of mozzarella cheese

Mix the seasonings, mayonnaise, and 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar in with the beef by hand.  Form into 4 patties and grill or place under the broiler.  Meanwhile, prepare the buns by spreading butter on the and drizzling the rest of the balsamic vinegar on top.  Place under the broiler to toast the buns.  When the burgers are almost done, place the slices of mozzarella cheese on top so it can melt onto the meat.  Place the burger patties on the prepared buns and top with a slice of tomato and some avocado.

Classic Potato Salad
This is a pretty traditional potato salad recipe.  It's very easy and delicious.  I make mine a little "heavy" on the dressing--that's how Randy prefers it.  And he sops up every last drop!

3 lbs potatoes (I used red)
1 cup mayonnaise (or 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt + 1/2 cup mayonnaise)
1/4 cup milk or white wine (I've used both but I can't remember which I prefer.  This was our first potato salad of the season and I used milk.)
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 TB chopped fresh dill
1-2 tsp black pepper

Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 10-15 minutes.  (They won't be fully cooked yet!)  Drain the potatoes then place the colander back over the pan and cover the potatoes with a clean towel and let them steam for about 15-20 minutes.  Meanwhile make the dressing: combine the mayonnaise and milk and mix well.  Chop the celery, onion, and dill.  When the potatoes are done steaming, cut them into chunks and add to the mayonnaise and milk and stir until they are fully coated.  Add the celery, onion, dill, and black pepper.  Mix well and refrigerate for at least a few hours so the flavors can combine.

Day 71: Salmon Burgers, Green Beans & Brussel Sprouts

I made salmon burgers once while I was pregnant with Noah.  They were pretty good, but I think this recipe is better (originally from Rachael Ray, but I didn't follow it exactly, just got a basic idea of where to go).  The spread for the buns reminds me of a vegetable dip.  The burgers are so flavorful, yet no extra salt or pepper is needed!

Salmon Burgers (makes 4 burgers)
1 1/2 lb salmon filet
2 TB onion flakes
1 TB any grill or steak seasoning (I used Tastefully Simple Ultimate Steak Seasoning)
2-3 TB chopped fresh dill
1 TB poppy seeds (optional)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup softened cream cheese
3 chopped scallions
juice of 1 lemon
kaiser or bulkie rolls
lettuce
tomato

Cut the salmon filet into chunks and place in food processor.

Pulse until completely ground.

Mix the ground salmon with the onion flakes, steak seasoning, dill, and poppy seeds.  Form into patties.  You can either grill them on a grill top, skillet, or under the broiler.  I did it under the broiler.  While they are cooking, mix the sour cream, cream cheese, scallion, and lemon juice.  Toast the buns and spread the mix on the buns.  Layer the lettuce, tomatoes, and cooked salmon patties on the buns.

 I served the burgers with green beans and brussel sprouts.  I fried the brussel sprouts with butter and seasoned both vegetables with salt and pepper.  We also had tortilla chips and salsa.

Day 40: Bleu Burgers, Sweet Potato Fries, Steamed Broccoli

I wrote briefly about this recipe on my facebook page before I started this blog and had a good response.  So I guess it's time to turn it into a blog recipe!  I've said before that we LOVE burgers.  And it's so true.  On my second burger recipe by day 40, and there would definitely be more if I wasn't trying so hard to have recipe variation.  The first burger I featured was the breakfast burger.  That post also includes a list of things I think are "must-haves" for a really good burger.  Tonight, we're doing bleu burgers.  There's a different recipe for bleu burgers in almost every one of my recipe books.  The one I am most partial to comes from Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman.  (You'll be seeing another recipe of hers tomorrow night, too!)

To make these burgers, I start with 1 lb of meat and add about 1 TB of sour cream, 1-2 TB of dried parsley, 1-2 TB hot sauce (depending on your taste), 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper.  (The sour cream serves 2 purposes: to keep the meat juicy, and add a little "coolness" so the burger won't be so spicy with the hot sauce, but will still maintain the hot sauce flavoring.)

I then mix a couple tablespoons of mayonnaise with some hot sauce, for a burger dressing.

Slice up some red onions and caramelize them with 1 TB of brown sugar.  (You can easily caramelize onions without brown sugar, but the added sweetness helps offset the heat of the burger and the tartness of the bleu cheese.  Plus, why would you WANT to do it without the sugar?!)  :)

For someone without access to a grill in winter, I use the broiler for burgers.  Stick the patties under the broiler for a couple of minutes.  Then pull them out and top them with bleu cheese and the caramelized onions.  Stick them back under the broiler for 2 more minutes.

Meanwhile, butter and grill the burger buns on the stovetop.  (I use Kaiser rolls--better than those 99 cent wimpy burger buns.)  When the burgers are done, spread the spicy mayo on the buns, add the burger patty, and top with lettuce.

Fast food chains have trained us to think that burgers need to be served with fries and coke.  It makes the idea of having burgers often seem like such an unhealthy habit.  But it doesn't have to be!  I like to mix up my sides for burgers.  Serving a burger with sweet potato fries and broccoli is delicious and healthy!  It makes me WANT to make Abby finish her fries.

For the sweet potato fries, I'm still experimenting to find my perfect recipe.  I usually bread the sweet potatoes in vegetable oil, then in a mixture of flour, cornmeal, and garlic powder.  (Seasoned with salt and pepper.)  They usually come out great and crispy.  Tonight, I thought I'd try something different.  I dipped them in an eggwash and then just in flour, salt, and pepper.  They certainly weren't as crispy, but they were still good.  Randy likes a more crispy sweet potato fry, so I think I'll stick to my original recipe.  Sometimes I quickly fry them in vegetable oil, or I drizzle oil over them and bake them in the oven.  When they're cooked, we like to dip them in barbeque sauce! 

Day 12: "Breakfast" Burgers

It's Friday!  That means we get to pretend we're eating out. (See post from Day 5.) Tonight, Red Robin.  We love a good burger.  I love making burgers because you can really do it different every time, and as long as you have the basics to a good burger down, it'll always taste great!  I had never had a fried egg on a burger until we ate at Red Robin.  We've been there quite a few times, and I always wish I could order at least 5 burgers or sandwiches--I can't nail down a favorite!  But I did love the burger with the fried egg on top.  That's what I "re-created" tonight, with bacon, too!  Our burgers consisted of the patty, egg, bacon, cheese, lettuce, and barbeque sauce.  Yum!  Served with fries and a salad.

 Here are some basics I think make an excellent burger patty:

- good meat (80/20--gotta have a little fat!)
- mayonnaise or sour cream (keeps it juicy even if you overcook a tad, and can cool the senses if you like your meat spicy like we do)
- seasoning!  Change it up--I play around with onion flakes, garlic powder, dried oregano, hot sauce, chipotle chili powder, and paprika.  I don't always use them all, and I love to mix and match--whatever I feel like.  However, salt, pepper, and parsley flakes are a MUST--they are in all my burgers.
- good cheese
- hearty bun (grilled with butter always adds a little extra!)

Go ahead, make it a "fast-food" night in!