19

Jun

Garlic Turkey Sliders

Friends. Sliders. Dinner.

I’m on a slider kick as I try to incorporate–little by little–protein via meat back into my diet. My stomach is just weird about meat, so I’m taking it slowly. In small doses…like in sliders. And it’s working. But why keep the slider recipes to myself? It’s time to share.

Sliders are these little nuggets that are on so many menus at our neighborhood bars and grills lately. They are delicious, sometimes gourmet, burgers without the commitment of a honkin’ Texas-sized monstrosity. Isn’t that good? Isn’t that great? And these little burgers are great as appetizers, for kids, or for cookouts (on the grill or inside on the grill pan!). Note: I made these one night (using 1.5 pounds of turkey), and Matt and I reheated these for lunch or dinner for 4 more days! AKA They make great leftovers. YESSS. On to the food…

Garlic Turkey Sliders
Enough garlic to taste it, but not enough to lose friends over. These sliders are made with lean turkey (but you can sub ground beef, lamb, buffalo, chicken, soy crumbles even). Just be sure to adjust your binder–less or more eggs or breadcrumbs. Serve on the ‘bun’ of your choice (see below for ideas) and watch them disappear.

Makes 12 sliders = 4-6 servings

4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/3 cup chopped white onion
1 pound of ground turkey (90/10)
1 large egg
2 green onions, chopped (1/4 cup-ish)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs

Chop the garlic and onions. Heat a grill pan on medium-high heat. Once hot, spray with nonstick cooking spray and add the garlic and white onions. Let cook for 3 minutes, stirring halfway through.

After cooked, add to a medium bowl, along with the turkey, egg, green onions, rosemary, salt and pepper, red pepper (optional), and breadcrumbs. Use a spoon or get tough and use your hand to stir around with your hand until all ingredients are combined.

Form the patties in your hand (about the size of an egg, 1–2 ounces of meat) and pack into a patty shape. Place them on the hot grillpan and let cook 5 minutes on each side. (I cut into the first one that is “ready” to make sure it is cooked through…no pink!)

Serve hot on a ‘bun’ and top with your favorite condiments. Yum!

Sliders ‘Buns’
This can be a tricky question because slider patties are much too small for regular hamburger buns…here are some easy ideas:

  • Baguette sliced and toasted (see pic above)
  • Whole wheat bread sliced into quarters (2 slider buns/slice)
  • Store-bought slider buns (in the deli or bread aisle)
  • Hawaiian rolls
  • Small dinner rolls

And for a little fun…check out the hail we were surprised with in Dallas last week!
Ours was only grape-sized, but some got baseball-sized hail. Crazy summer weather…

We went to the Rangers-Astros game yesterday. It was SO STRANGE to hear people cheering when an Astros player struck out. We were totally outnumbered. I do love the ‘Stros…maybe next time on winning, too. It was fun either way.

Happy eating!
Laurel

~Laurel~

14 years ago Short URL

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12

Apr

Weekend Brunch

Yes, two Brunch Posts in a row. But yesterday’s was about a fancy schmancy brunch at a Thai restaurant. Today’s is fancy, easy brunch right at home!
Cornmeal chive waffles with super eggs and thick bacon. Butterscotch apple breakfast cake. We’ve got salty/corny/bacony/egg and sweet/buttery/apply/cake. We’ve got yummm. I made these at the same time, and it takes an hour. Just warning you, but it’s brunch and a treat, so turn on a record or your favorite morning show, and Let’s get started. 

cornmeal chive waffles with super eggs and thick bacon
4-6 servings, but easily doubles
This dish is hearty, delicious, and beautiful brunch on a plate. Serve with orange juice or strong coffee. If you have room, add a sweet pastry on the side, or maybe just some fruit.
adapted from Joy the Baker
12 slices of bacon (2 for each person)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal (fine cornmeal is good, but I love a coarse grind for this recipe)
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
4-6 large eggs (one for each person) + salt/pepper/dried rosemary
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons chopped chives
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup salsa
4 additional eggs
Step one: Preheat your oven to 350. Preheat your waffle iron. Once the oven is preheated, lay bacon on a cooking rack, which is rested on a jellyroll pan. (This cooking rack–most can be put in the oven–allows the bacon grease to drip down into the walled pan, instead of just letting the bacon soak up grease while it cooks on the pan.) Set the timer for 25 minutes for the bacon.
Step two: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, baking soda,  and salt.In a second bowl, whisk together 4 eggs, butter, and buttermilk.  Add the wet ingredients, all at once to the dry ingredients.  Add the chives.  Stir until just incorporated; there may be a few lumps, which is a-ok.
Step three: Cook waffles according to your waffle iron instructions. While the waffles cook, fry up some sunny side up eggs in a nonstick frying pan, one egg for each person eating. Season eggs with a bit of salt, pepper, and dried rosemary.
Serve waffles warm with hot fried eggs and then topped with fresh cilantro and salsa on top.  Top with extra chives and shredded cheese (optional).  Serve crispy bacon on the side. Waffles are best served immediately.

Now on to the sweet treat…

butterscotch apple breakfast cake
serves 6–8
This breakfast cake is a mix of scone and bread, with apple bits baked right in and creamy/crunchy butterscotch in each bite. It is buttery, hearty, and real comfort food. Not for the faint of heart.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup butterscotch chips (next to chocolate chips in the store)
3/4 cup chopped apple bits (I used pink lady)
1 stick of butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 slices of apple (to garnish on top)

Step one: Preheat the oven to 350 (or add a rack on top of where you’re cooking bacon for the waffle dish).


Step two: Two bowls, one large and one medium. In the large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flours, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and butterscotch chips). In the medium bowl, combine the apple bits, butter, milk, egg, milk and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and combine until just moistened. It will be lumpy.

Step three: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper (or foil, if you must). Roll the dough onto the pan and spread into a disc shape, with about 1/3 inch thickness. Bake for 30–35 minutes, adding the apple slices on top halfway through the baking. Remove after cake is firm in the middle and baked throughout. Eat warm and love it.

I do hope you like the cake. It is pretty and imperfect and sweet. Hmm, that’s actually a good describer of a person, too. Anyhow, I hope you do enjoy these two recipes. My waffle iron is at my parents’ house, so we enjoyed this brunch together at their casa. I hope your weekend (tomorrow) is full of food and happiness.

Happy eating!
Laurel

~Laurel~

14 years ago Short URL

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01

Nov

Mashed potato-stuffed peppers

This was a grand idea on Matt’s part, stuffing raw red peppers with homemade mashed potatoes. The sweet and crunchy pepper makes a healthy bowl to hold the creamy, buttery mashed potatoes. Pretty healthy side, too.

Mashed Potato-Stuffed Peppers

Makes 4 servings

2 red peppers, sliced in half lengthwise (remove stem and seeds)
4 red potatoes (I call them new potatoes)
Salt and pepper
Garlic and onion powder
1-2 TB margarine/butter
1/3 cup milk (dairy or non-dairy)
1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
1/4 cup mushrooms, chopped

In a pot of salted water, boil the potatoes until tender. In a pan, saute mushrooms in 1 TB of butter/margarine for a few minutes, until tender.

Drain water from the pot. Using a potato masher or a wooden spoon (or mixer), mash potatoes.

Add salt and pepper, seasonings, margarine/butter, and milk. Stir. Fold in mushrooms and chives. Stuff peppers and serve soon after.

This can easily be made ahead of time for a dinner party (big or small) by preparing the potatoes and putting them in a large, covered bowl to keep warm. This was tasty, delicious, and I can’t wait to see what other varieties of mashed potatoes we can come up with. Great job, Matt. Perfect with salmon and crab cakes!

Hope your Tuesday is looking sunny. Happy eating!
Laurel

~Laurel~

14 years ago Short URL 2 Comments

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