27

Oct

How about a turkey burger, shall we?

The following is to be whispered in Texas…I’ve never been big on beef burgers. I appreciate the American cultural significance…drive-ins and roller skates and all that. I also love the varieties of meats (and non-meats) used, as well as the creativity in ingredients, pairings, the such (see HOPDODDY on the Restaurants page). The idea of burgers are kind of amazing. I like eating anything on a deliciously hot and fresh homemade bread/bun. However, my body’s not so big on the beef. (Okay, I’ll admit it, I can’t do beef anymore…ever.) But, before you go and feel sorry for me by eating a 2 lb. Cow-on-a-bun in my honor, please don’t. Save your limited artery-clogging space for chocolate macaroons (I’ll post them later) or a variety of pumpkin-infused sweets (which I’ll also reveal someday…promise), something sweet and delectable…not a mooing entree!

So let’s make a turkey burger. Simple, easy, tasty.

Quickie Turkey Burgs (Trivia: Burg is German for “castle”)
serves 4 grown-ups (1 burger will be bigger than the others…for the sweaty griller)

1.25 lb. lean ground turkey
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 TB dried oregano
1 TB dried basil
1 t. chili powder
Dash of salt
Dash of thyme
4-6 crackers, crushed
1 TB mayo (optional)
1/2 t. crushed red pepper (optional)

Carefully mix all ingredients together in a bowl, using a spoon or your hands. Form 4-5 patties and put on a plate. Let flavors come together by chilling raw burgs in fridge for 1 hr. Grill and eat.

Potent Notables: Turkey burgers tend to fall apart on the grill. That’s why I’ve added a few club crackers (crushed) and some mayo (egg whites keep the meat together, just like in baking). You can use breadcrumbs, most any absorbent bread/crackers crushed, or an actual egg white if you’d rather.

Happy eating! Laurel

~Laurel~

14 years ago Short URL 1 Comment

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02

Jul

Easy Couscous

Couscous-an ancient North African now international greain-is deceptively simple, despite its continuous presence on extravagant menus at the best restaurants.

How to cook it:
1. Boil 2 cups of water.
2. Once boiled, remove from heat and pour 1 1/2 cups of raw couscous in. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Uncover and fluff couscous with a fork. The End!

There are a ton of varieties of couscous, but the three most common in our American grocery stores are When you season couscous, which you must do because plain couscous tastes like blah nothing, a Little goes a L-O-N-G way!

Some typical spices/ingredients to add:
garlic, roasted red pepper, salt & pepper, basil, oregano, spinach, mint, pine nuts, sliced almonds, currants/raisins, lemon, broccoli,

Some atypical spices/ingredients to add (I’ve either used these or seen them on fabulous menus):
Mushrooms, grilled pineapple, squash & zucchini, mandarin oranges, chorizo, asparagus, bacon.

A couscous to start with, which we served with mahi mahi…



Quick Couscous
*4 servings*
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups couscous
Dash of sea salt and pepper
Dash of garlic powder
1/4 cup feta cheese crumbles
4 small chopped mushrooms (or 1 can sliced mushrooms, drained)
4 basil leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried)

step one: Cook couscous as shown above (quick boil method). 

step two: Once couscous is cooked, add all other ingredients. (Note: Add salt after it is cooked, and not before…the saltiness will be at its peak after cooked and will keep you from oversalting overall.) Stir. Garnish with extra basil leaves and feta.

Enjoy your weekend, 4th of July, and time with those who make you smile.

~Laurel~

15 years ago Short URL

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01

Jun

Grilled Pizza

Grilled pizza with Greek shrimp (which’ll come tomorrow)

Neither Matt nor I have ever put pizza on the grill, but we tried it last night. A success!

We found this recipe for a Chicken Margherita Pizza and modified it some. And we used this pizza crust. These definitely aren’t the prettiest pizzas in the world, but they were really tasty!

Here’s the technique:

When allowing the quick dough to rise in a covered bowl, make sure to spray the dough with cooking spray, as well as the bowl. I’d never done that before. Also, when you roll the dough out to form into your pizza shape, spread a little olive oil on the surface that you’re kneading it on. That way, it won’t stick to the grill and become a doughy mess.

Grilled Margherita Pizza
1 batch of easy pizza dough (see below)
1 cup pizza sauce
6 grape/cherry tomatoes
10 thin slices of mozzarella
1/2 cup (or more) chopped basil
2 garlic cloves, minced

In a saucepan, heat pizza sauce, tomatoes, and garlic.
After dough is rolled out into 3 or 4 pizzas, put it directly on the grill for 2 minutes or until dough get bubbly. Then, flip and add ingredients in this order: sauce, basil, cheese. Leave on grill until cheese is melted. Eat!

Easy Pizza Dough (this recipe is in the link above…I followed it very carefully)
1 packet yeast for pizza dough
1 cup warm water (around 100-120 degrees F)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup bread flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

Pour yeast packet and sugar into warm water and stir. Wait 5 minutes.
 In the meantime, mix all other ingredients in a large bowl. Add yeast water and stir until dough forms.
Once dough is forming, knead for 2 minutes on a floured surface. (If dough is too runny, add flour, 2 TB at a time to firm a bit.) Spray a second bowl with cooking spray, as well as spraying the top of the dough. Cover with saran wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes…(this is a good time to heat up the grill)…transfer dough to a baking sheet or counter with olive oil on the surface and on your hands. Separate into 3 or 4 balls (depending on how large you want your mini pizzas) and form into round crusts (about 8 inches in diameter). See above for rest of pizza recipe.

Happy Wednesday! Relax on this first day of June and bite into this melty, cheesy pizza!

~Laurel~

15 years ago Short URL

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