First: my friend Spencer from U of Mich started a little side biz that has to do with food and cooking. Since those happen to be 2 of my 3 favorite things (wine), I thought I would share this info with you in case you wanted to check out some of his stuff:
www.chefsuspence.com
He is making some great things with local fresh ingredients. Not sure if he can ship anywhere at this point, but check back with him.
On to the important stuff: Palio. Palio is my favorite restaurant. Located in downtown Ann Arbor. I have traveled a lot, ate at some amazing restaurants, and Palio still ranks up there on my list (I didn't mean for that to sound like I am obnoxiously bragging. But I am :) Ha!) They have tons of fresh pasta dishes, Tuscan style entrees, Italian wines....it's great. (* Also note: if you took my advice and purchased the Main Street Ventures cookbook, you will find many great Palio recipes in it!)
They have this dish at Palio called the Fileto Di Manzo which is a filet of beef on top of goat cheese, on top of a slice of tomato, on top of a portobello mushroom! It's delicious. Then it has some fancy sides. But I wanted to recreate this dish, Abby style, to easily make at home. It is an awesome dish to do when having company over that you want to impress.
P.S.: there is no way to make this vegetarian so don't even as me. And it's not low-fat. So, you dieters can just wait until the next post for something magical. And for the lactose intolerant, I suppose you could take out the cheese. But I suppose you could eat garbage too.
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 3
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 5
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 7
Abby's Fileto Di Manzo
4 6oz. beef tenderloins (filet)
4 small portobello mushrooms, stems removed
4 goat cheese slices (or package of softened goat cheese, plain flavor)
1 large tomato, sliced thickly
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
bag of yellow pearl onions (or 16 total if can buy individually)
8-10 yellow dutch creamer potatoes (or baby yukon golds), cut in half length wise
16 stalks of asparagus
Fresh Thyme, chopped
12 whole cloves of garlic
Preheat oven to 400 deg. On a sheet on tinfoil, put the potato halves, pearl onions, and garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil, season heavily with salt and pepper, and sprinkled with chopped fresh thyme. Toss to coat. Fold tinfoil over ingredients to make a "packet" and seal. Put in oven for 50 min. While potatoes are cooking, preheat grill. Over cutting board, loosely snap a piece of asparagus. Where ever the asparagus breaks, cut all other asparagus stalks at that point. Then spread the top portion over a piece of tinfoil. Drizzle with olive oil, and heavy salt and pepper. Toss to coat, and set aside.
Rub the steaks with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Grill steaks to order (I use a meat thermometer or the finger test- will elaborate more later). While steaks are grilling, heat 2 Tbl olive oil and 2 Tbl Balsamic vinegar in large fry/saute pan over low heat. Season portobello mushrooms with salt/pepper and cook in pan until somewhat soft, but cooked through. If they finish soon, cover pan and remove from heat, but try to keep them warm.
When potatoes are soft (stick fork in them to make sure before taking out of oven completely), take out, keep sealed and set aside. Set oven to broil, and broil asparagus for 8 minutes (10 minutes if thick pieces). Take out immediately.
Arrangement on plate:
Middle of plate: place the portobella mushroom, top down, then spread thick layer of goat cheese on top of it. Place tomato slice on top of goat cheese, followed by filet on top of tomato.
Surrounding filet/mushroom: on the outside of the plate, place a potato half, pearl onion, and garlic clove, alternating them in the circle around the filet. Then place a piece of asparagus on each side of plate, making a square around everything. (So each plate should get 4 potato halves, 4 pearl onions, 3 garlic cloves, and 4 pieces of asparagus).
The key to this dish is timing everything out so that nothing is done super early and gets cold, and nothing is done super late so everything gets cold (especially if you don't have a separate oven and broiler). Plus, the presentation is awesome. But keep this in mind:
Potatoes: roughly an hour
Steaks: roughly 15-20 min
Mushrooms: roughly 10 minutes
Asparagus: less than 10 minutes
Assembly: 5 minutes
But other than the timing, it's an easy dish as far as the cooking goes. If you aren't a whiz in the kitchen yet, and you want to make this meal, I would write out a schedule with times next to the steps above so you can make sure to stay on track and don't get flustered.
For the steak finger test, here is a little trick: touch your thumb to your pinky finger. Then with your other hand, press down on large, lower portion of your thumb. That's what well-done steaks would feel like if you pressed down on them while they are on the grill. Thumb to ring finger would be medium-well, thumb to middle finger would be medium. Thumb to fore finger is medium-rare to rare.
I wish I had a picture of this dish as it is super impressive....hey, Gallas, can you post a pic on here from your phone???
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Thanksgiving Casserole.....A Little Past Thanksgiving
I've been a bad blogger. BAD BLOGGER! I have no excuse other than work, a flooded house, holidays, etc.
The holidays were great, as usual. We went to my husband's dad's house this year and it was a full feast. When people tell me they had "so much food" at their Thanksgiving dinner, I want to laugh at them. They don't know what "so much food" means until they have had Thanksgiving with the Filipinos. We had all the traditional Thanksgiving foods, plus all the Filipinos foods (lumpia, BBQ, pancit, etc.) PLUS prime rib, crab legs, cheesy potatoes (courtesy of yours truly), and, of course, 9 millions lbs of rice. It was an impressive spread, let me tell you. The only problem is, I am the type of eater that has to try everything. So, naturally, after Thanksgiving I felt sick for a few days. Anorexia was not an option at that point, it was a necessity. (Kidding, kidding).
This recipe really does nothing for you right now, for the record, considering it is meant to make the day after Thanksgiving. I meant to put it up the day of Thanksgiving, but, of course, forgot. It's basically just taking all your Thanksgiving leftovers and throwing them into a trough. But not really.
I am not going to put a "recipe" up here for this because I don't know what your leftovers consist of. But you will need a casserole dish or dutch oven.
Preheat oven to 350 deg. In your dish, layer your leftovers (at least 2 layers of each is best), but making sure the top layer is mashed potatoes. Also, I HIGHLY recommend putting a very thin layer of gravy in between every layer, or at least every other layer.
So my casserole would go something like this:
Stuffing
Gravy
Turkey
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Stuffing
Gravy
Turkey
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Then you poke some holes in the top layer of potatoes with a fork, stick in the oven for 15-30 min (depending on how deep your casserole is and how many layers you have). And voila!
The holidays were great, as usual. We went to my husband's dad's house this year and it was a full feast. When people tell me they had "so much food" at their Thanksgiving dinner, I want to laugh at them. They don't know what "so much food" means until they have had Thanksgiving with the Filipinos. We had all the traditional Thanksgiving foods, plus all the Filipinos foods (lumpia, BBQ, pancit, etc.) PLUS prime rib, crab legs, cheesy potatoes (courtesy of yours truly), and, of course, 9 millions lbs of rice. It was an impressive spread, let me tell you. The only problem is, I am the type of eater that has to try everything. So, naturally, after Thanksgiving I felt sick for a few days. Anorexia was not an option at that point, it was a necessity. (Kidding, kidding).
This recipe really does nothing for you right now, for the record, considering it is meant to make the day after Thanksgiving. I meant to put it up the day of Thanksgiving, but, of course, forgot. It's basically just taking all your Thanksgiving leftovers and throwing them into a trough. But not really.
I am not going to put a "recipe" up here for this because I don't know what your leftovers consist of. But you will need a casserole dish or dutch oven.
Preheat oven to 350 deg. In your dish, layer your leftovers (at least 2 layers of each is best), but making sure the top layer is mashed potatoes. Also, I HIGHLY recommend putting a very thin layer of gravy in between every layer, or at least every other layer.
So my casserole would go something like this:
Stuffing
Gravy
Turkey
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Stuffing
Gravy
Turkey
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Then you poke some holes in the top layer of potatoes with a fork, stick in the oven for 15-30 min (depending on how deep your casserole is and how many layers you have). And voila!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Easy Tortilla Soup
I have been slacking on the recipe postings. Mostly because I have been making things already on it. I guess that means it's time to find some new recipes! I have been craving squash ravioli with butter sage sauce. But don't expect that on the blog any time soon as I have yet to attempt to make my own ravioli. Plus, when you are craving something, and you make it for the first time, it's never quite as good as the restaurant version you're craving. At least for me, anyway. Because I have psycho cravings that won't go away.
I have made this soup a couple of times, and it is extremely easy. It's a modified version of an Emeril recipe, and Emeril can do no wrong in my book.
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1, unless you add shredded cheese at the end as a garnish, which I, of course, do.
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 4
Tortilla Soup
3 Tbl olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 Poblano pepper, seeded and minced
1 Jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 Tbl tomato paste
6 cups chicken stock
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 small can whole kernel corn, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp fresh lime juice
Tortilla strips, chopped avocado, shredded cheese (optional)
In dutch oven, or large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, bell peppers, other peppers, salt, cumin, and coriander. Cook, stirring for for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add chicken stock, bring to simmer, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add chicken and corn, then simmer for 5 more minutes. Add cilantro and lime juice, stir well, then remove from heat and cover to keep warm. Garnish with tortilla chips, avocado, and cheese if desired.
*Veggie version: use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, and shrimp or tofu instead of cubed chicken breast.
This is really simple. And hard to screw up. Emeril, of course, wants you to make your own stock. I have never tried this, nor do I intend to, as long as the stores keep their shelves stocked with pre-made stock that I can purchase and not pull my hair out. I actually like to use those "Better Than Boullion" cubes, but you can buy any type of chicken stock and it will work. You could also add in some other veggies (zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, etc.), but I like it as is.
I have made this soup a couple of times, and it is extremely easy. It's a modified version of an Emeril recipe, and Emeril can do no wrong in my book.
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1, unless you add shredded cheese at the end as a garnish, which I, of course, do.
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 4
Tortilla Soup
3 Tbl olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 Poblano pepper, seeded and minced
1 Jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 Tbl tomato paste
6 cups chicken stock
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 small can whole kernel corn, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp fresh lime juice
Tortilla strips, chopped avocado, shredded cheese (optional)
In dutch oven, or large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, bell peppers, other peppers, salt, cumin, and coriander. Cook, stirring for for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add chicken stock, bring to simmer, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add chicken and corn, then simmer for 5 more minutes. Add cilantro and lime juice, stir well, then remove from heat and cover to keep warm. Garnish with tortilla chips, avocado, and cheese if desired.
*Veggie version: use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, and shrimp or tofu instead of cubed chicken breast.
This is really simple. And hard to screw up. Emeril, of course, wants you to make your own stock. I have never tried this, nor do I intend to, as long as the stores keep their shelves stocked with pre-made stock that I can purchase and not pull my hair out. I actually like to use those "Better Than Boullion" cubes, but you can buy any type of chicken stock and it will work. You could also add in some other veggies (zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, etc.), but I like it as is.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Salmon Packets
Unfortunately, I don't have any good stories to start out with today. Other than I was extremely disappointed in the number of Trick-or-Treaters we had come to the house last night. I guess the new thing is to take your kids to a shopping center?? So weird. Everyone keeps trying to explain it to me as "well, in this day and age"....c'mon?! I find it hard to believe that every neighborhood is so dangerous that parents can't walk around with their kids knocking on people's doors for candy. Seriously. I didn't wear a helmet for riding my bike or sledding growing up either so go figure.
On a less ridiculous note: here is a picture of Guinness in her Halloween costume. She was actually a great sport about it and only tried to eat it a couple of times.
I elected not to go out this weekend to any Halloween parties, but from what I hear, I didn't miss much. And I didn't hear of any stellar costumes either. I'm sure there were a hundred Snookie costumes though. And Tiger Woods I'm guessing. I did feel a little guilty, however, at two points: 1) my neighbor's kids were very excited to tell me about their costumes of "Spider-Man with a mask" and Buzz Lightyear, and when they asked me what I was going to be, I had no response except "Uhhhh...." and 2) my 9-month pregnant best friend, Jessica, managed to get herself showered and into a cat costume. If she could do it, I should have been able to. What can I say, I was overly lazy and unenthusiastic this year. Oops.
I thought that I had already put this recipe on here....but, like I said earlier, I didn't wear a helmet growing up and am, thus, losing my mind.
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): Sans Cheese :(
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): This is truly "for dummies"
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 3
Salmon Packets
4 6oz. Salmon fillets
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbl fresh rosemary- minced (or 1 tsp dried rosemary)
8 lemon slices (about 2 lemons)
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/2 cup white wine (or Marsala wine)
4 tsp capers
tinfoil
Preheat oven to 400 deg or grill to high heat. Brush both sides of salmon with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Place salmon on piece of tinfoil that is large enough to cover and seal. On top of salmon, place 2 slices of lemon, 1 Tbl lemon juice, 2 Tbl white wine, and 1 tsp of capers. Wrap up salmon tightly in tinfoil, creating a "packet". Place in oven and cook for 25 minutes or until cooked through (if cooking on grill, place packet on grill over high heat for about 10 minutes, or until cooked through).
I really like this recipe because you can serve the salmon in the packets too and it keeps all the juices and aromas trapped in there. This is a modified version of a Giada de Laurentiis recipe. She has another version where instead of lemon slices, white wine, rosemary and capers, she seasons with oregano and thyme, and tops with chopped tomatoes and shallots. Two recipes in one post, there you go! Who said you should wear a helmet anyway?!
On a less ridiculous note: here is a picture of Guinness in her Halloween costume. She was actually a great sport about it and only tried to eat it a couple of times.
I elected not to go out this weekend to any Halloween parties, but from what I hear, I didn't miss much. And I didn't hear of any stellar costumes either. I'm sure there were a hundred Snookie costumes though. And Tiger Woods I'm guessing. I did feel a little guilty, however, at two points: 1) my neighbor's kids were very excited to tell me about their costumes of "Spider-Man with a mask" and Buzz Lightyear, and when they asked me what I was going to be, I had no response except "Uhhhh...." and 2) my 9-month pregnant best friend, Jessica, managed to get herself showered and into a cat costume. If she could do it, I should have been able to. What can I say, I was overly lazy and unenthusiastic this year. Oops.
I thought that I had already put this recipe on here....but, like I said earlier, I didn't wear a helmet growing up and am, thus, losing my mind.
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): Sans Cheese :(
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): This is truly "for dummies"
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 3
Salmon Packets
4 6oz. Salmon fillets
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbl fresh rosemary- minced (or 1 tsp dried rosemary)
8 lemon slices (about 2 lemons)
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/2 cup white wine (or Marsala wine)
4 tsp capers
tinfoil
Preheat oven to 400 deg or grill to high heat. Brush both sides of salmon with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Place salmon on piece of tinfoil that is large enough to cover and seal. On top of salmon, place 2 slices of lemon, 1 Tbl lemon juice, 2 Tbl white wine, and 1 tsp of capers. Wrap up salmon tightly in tinfoil, creating a "packet". Place in oven and cook for 25 minutes or until cooked through (if cooking on grill, place packet on grill over high heat for about 10 minutes, or until cooked through).
I really like this recipe because you can serve the salmon in the packets too and it keeps all the juices and aromas trapped in there. This is a modified version of a Giada de Laurentiis recipe. She has another version where instead of lemon slices, white wine, rosemary and capers, she seasons with oregano and thyme, and tops with chopped tomatoes and shallots. Two recipes in one post, there you go! Who said you should wear a helmet anyway?!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Portabella Mushroom Side Dish
This little rant I am about to go on has absolutely nothing to do with food, by the way. But the beauty of a blog: I can talk about whatever the heck I want. I have decided to boycott voting this year because I am so utterly annoyed with the amount of election campaign commercials I have to see. And they are all just so ridiculous. No one talks about what good they can do, they all just point the finger at someone else's mistakes. And I am really supposed to believe that all this crap is true. Or that it was recent, more importantly?? UGH! So frustrating. To think about the amount of money they spend on commercials literally makes me angry. I think I would vote for the candidate that before the campaign season began, took all their campaign money, and donated it to the local city, county or state government (who in California are all in a world of hurt). They create a free page on facebook and told everyone about themselves. That's it. Done. I would happily vote for them. So stupid.
Ok, I'm done venting. :) Now back to important things, like food. And cheese.
It's no secret I love mushrooms. Not as much as cheese, don't be silly. But I do love them. I don't cook with Portabella mushrooms nearly as often as I would like, as they are a little expensive, and to be honest, a lot of the time, I don't know what to do with them.
There is an amazing Italian restaurant in Ann Arbor called Palio. It's probably my favorite restaurant of all time. And they have this dish where they take a portabella mushroom, top it with goat cheese, a slice of tomato, and then a grilled fillet, all surrounded by pearl onions and potatoes! It's amazing! So last night we had some steaks and inspired by this dish, I made a little side dish using portabellas.
I happen to LOVE goat cheese. It's one of my favorites, even though I don't eat it all that often. It has such a distinct flavor and I always love cooking recipes that call for goat cheese and I obviously get overly excited when I see them! Don't judge. I know I have a problem. I embrace my cheese obsession.
Cheese Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 7
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 3
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2
Layered Portabella Mushrooms
4 portabella mushrooms
8 slices of tomato
Goat cheese
Dried Basil
Butter
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt/Pepper
Add 1-2 Tbl butter to large frying pan over medium heat. Remove stems from mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and saute mushrooms, whole, in pan. When soft, turn off heat on stove, and flip all mushrooms bottom side up in pan. Add spoonful of goat cheese to each mushroom. Once softened from heat of mushroom, spread cheese to make even layer over mushroom. Add 2 slices, side by side, of tomato on top of cheese. Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar to top of tomato and then sprinkle with a little dried basil. Serve immediately.
These are suuuuuper simple. And very rich, delicious, flavor. For vegetarians, it's the closest thing to a steak you can get. In my opinion. And don't be stingy with the goat cheese: it's what gives this dish the overall rich, creamy flavor.
YUM!
Random: Palio restaurant is owned by a group called Main Street Ventures, who has multiple amazing restaurants (Palio, Real Seafood, Chophouse, Gratzi, etc.). They have a cookbook that has recipes from all their restaurants that is pretty impressive and I highly recommend it: http://www.msventures.com/cookbook.html
Ok, I'm done venting. :) Now back to important things, like food. And cheese.
It's no secret I love mushrooms. Not as much as cheese, don't be silly. But I do love them. I don't cook with Portabella mushrooms nearly as often as I would like, as they are a little expensive, and to be honest, a lot of the time, I don't know what to do with them.
There is an amazing Italian restaurant in Ann Arbor called Palio. It's probably my favorite restaurant of all time. And they have this dish where they take a portabella mushroom, top it with goat cheese, a slice of tomato, and then a grilled fillet, all surrounded by pearl onions and potatoes! It's amazing! So last night we had some steaks and inspired by this dish, I made a little side dish using portabellas.
I happen to LOVE goat cheese. It's one of my favorites, even though I don't eat it all that often. It has such a distinct flavor and I always love cooking recipes that call for goat cheese and I obviously get overly excited when I see them! Don't judge. I know I have a problem. I embrace my cheese obsession.
Cheese Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 7
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 3
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2
Layered Portabella Mushrooms
4 portabella mushrooms
8 slices of tomato
Goat cheese
Dried Basil
Butter
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt/Pepper
Add 1-2 Tbl butter to large frying pan over medium heat. Remove stems from mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and saute mushrooms, whole, in pan. When soft, turn off heat on stove, and flip all mushrooms bottom side up in pan. Add spoonful of goat cheese to each mushroom. Once softened from heat of mushroom, spread cheese to make even layer over mushroom. Add 2 slices, side by side, of tomato on top of cheese. Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar to top of tomato and then sprinkle with a little dried basil. Serve immediately.
These are suuuuuper simple. And very rich, delicious, flavor. For vegetarians, it's the closest thing to a steak you can get. In my opinion. And don't be stingy with the goat cheese: it's what gives this dish the overall rich, creamy flavor.
YUM!
Random: Palio restaurant is owned by a group called Main Street Ventures, who has multiple amazing restaurants (Palio, Real Seafood, Chophouse, Gratzi, etc.). They have a cookbook that has recipes from all their restaurants that is pretty impressive and I highly recommend it: http://www.msventures.com/cookbook.html
Monday, October 18, 2010
Best. Burgers. Ever.
The Filipin-laws (my new extended family of in-laws), came over yesterday for "lunch". Lunch, meaning 5-6 hours of hanging out. It was suuuuper fun. The little kids don't go to the beach very often so we had a big lunch, and then some people played poker, and the rest of us walked down the street with the kids to the beach.
The weather was not all that great yesterday, so the kids didn't have their swimsuits. The water was fairly warm and the kids were excited so they would run up to the water line until a wave started to come in, and then scream hysterically and let the wave hit their feet and giggle and carry on. Super cute. Until the big waves sneak in there. And then next thing you know, all the kids are drenched from head to toe, in their clothes, having the best time ever. It was so funny. They didn't care at all.
Anyway, what do you make for 25 family members coming over for lunch? Burgers and brats of course. And cheesy potatoes. Of which I am eating the leftovers as we speak. Three types of burgers, three types of sausages with bell peppers and onions, cheesy potatoes, rice, fruit salad, and chips. Success.
I have been looking for a good burger recipe for a while. I feel like I always have fantastic burgers when they are someone else's. Like there is this amazing secret burger recipe that everyone knows except me. So, I went out on a limb with three different recipes. Yes, 3, because I had to buy 6 lbs of ground beef.
Juicy Burgers
2 lbs. ground beef
1 package of powdered ranch dressing mix
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup crushed saltine crackers
1 onion, finely chopped (optional)
Preheat grill or pan to high heat. Mix all ingredients in bowl. Form into patties. Cook on grill about 5 minutes per side. Add cheese (optional).
Juicy Burgers II
2 lbs. ground beef
1 package of french onion soup mix
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
Preheat grill or pan to high heat. Mix all ingredients in bowl. Form into patties. Cook on grill about 5 minutes per side. Add cheese (optional).
Teriyaki Burgers
2 lbs. ground beef
1/4 cup Teriyaki sauce
1 small can (3 oz) French-fried onions
Preheat grill or pan to high heat. Mix all ingredients in bowl. Form into patties. Cook on grill about 5 minutes per side. Add cheese (optional).
There you have it. Three dang-good burger recipes. All easy as pie. Easier than pie, actually.
The weather was not all that great yesterday, so the kids didn't have their swimsuits. The water was fairly warm and the kids were excited so they would run up to the water line until a wave started to come in, and then scream hysterically and let the wave hit their feet and giggle and carry on. Super cute. Until the big waves sneak in there. And then next thing you know, all the kids are drenched from head to toe, in their clothes, having the best time ever. It was so funny. They didn't care at all.
Anyway, what do you make for 25 family members coming over for lunch? Burgers and brats of course. And cheesy potatoes. Of which I am eating the leftovers as we speak. Three types of burgers, three types of sausages with bell peppers and onions, cheesy potatoes, rice, fruit salad, and chips. Success.
I have been looking for a good burger recipe for a while. I feel like I always have fantastic burgers when they are someone else's. Like there is this amazing secret burger recipe that everyone knows except me. So, I went out on a limb with three different recipes. Yes, 3, because I had to buy 6 lbs of ground beef.
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1 unless you are me, then 5
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 1
Juicy Burgers
2 lbs. ground beef
1 package of powdered ranch dressing mix
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup crushed saltine crackers
1 onion, finely chopped (optional)
Preheat grill or pan to high heat. Mix all ingredients in bowl. Form into patties. Cook on grill about 5 minutes per side. Add cheese (optional).
Juicy Burgers II
2 lbs. ground beef
1 package of french onion soup mix
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
Preheat grill or pan to high heat. Mix all ingredients in bowl. Form into patties. Cook on grill about 5 minutes per side. Add cheese (optional).
Teriyaki Burgers
2 lbs. ground beef
1/4 cup Teriyaki sauce
1 small can (3 oz) French-fried onions
Preheat grill or pan to high heat. Mix all ingredients in bowl. Form into patties. Cook on grill about 5 minutes per side. Add cheese (optional).
There you have it. Three dang-good burger recipes. All easy as pie. Easier than pie, actually.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
20 Minute Breakfast
We went to see Jack Johnson last night at Verizon in Irvine. Pretty sweet concert, I must say. Obviously, I had about 45 glasses of wine, forgetting I had to wake up early early today, so I definitely needed a pick-me-up breakfast this morning and a hefty shot of coffee with 45 packets of sugar. No, not really.
I forgot how much I love breakfast. I am one of those freaks who eats a giant breakfast a couple of times a week, and, annoyingly, is always telling people "breakfast is the most important meal of the day". But it is! I really believe this. Especially as a person on the road all day long, sometimes I am too busy to eat lunch. Then breakfast is REALLY the most important meal of the day, because it just became the only meal of the day. No, not really. Calm down, it's just until dinner. I'm not starving myself, I promise....So the bigger the breakfast, the better.
I also find when I eat a huge breakfast, accompanied by at least 2 diet cokes I might add, I eat less crap during the day then I would otherwise. No unnecessary snacks or fast food or whatever. And I have lots of energy. Unless I miss lunch, and then I crash about 4pm. Whoops.
Anyway, I have come to master the 20 minute breakfast of champions: breakfast potatoes and eggs. Sounds simple when you think about it. But then again, you probably don't think about making breakfast until the weekend. and this is intended for during the week. Now you think it's too time consuming. But it's not! Ok, so maybe the 1st or 2nd time you make this, it might take 25 minutes. But I have it down to a science now, and it takes me like 15 minutes to make, 5 minutes to eat.
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1 or 5
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2
20 Minute Breakfast
1 red skin potato, cubed or diced
2 eggs (1 egg, 1 egg white)
Shredded cheese (optional)
Olive oil/butter/spices
In a small 7-8" saute pan, heat 1/2 TBL olive oil over low heat. Add potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring constantly. While potatoes are cooking, whisk 1 egg and 1 egg white together (if want scrambled eggs or omelette) in bowl. After potatoes have cooked for about 10 minutes, heat additional small pan on low-medium heat. Scramble eggs in pan, adding some shredded cheese if desired.
Zip. Bang. Boom. Breakfast.
So, this is the super easy version. I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve I add to mine:
- Add some minced jalapenos from the jar in the fridge to eggs
- Eat the eggs with salsa and sour cream
- Season potatoes with Dean Jacob's Parmesan Blend Bread Dipping Seasoning
* Yes, I realize this seasoning is random. I saw this little can in the store one day and it's a seasoning you add to olive oil to dip bread in. I figured, what the heck?! I like to dip bread in olive oil. I like seasonings. Why not try it out?! I very much enjoyed it, but it's lasted me about 3 years. Randomly, one day, I decided to try seasoning potatoes with it, and I've never looked back. So yummy. You can use it for it's intended purpose also, of course! But I pretty much use it for potatoes now.
You can cook the eggs however you like. But scrambled seems to be the easiest for most people. I think. What the heck do I know. I make an omelette every morning. But my good friend Rob Linn makes the best scrambled cheese eggs EVER, and he taught me one thing I will always remember: scrambled eggs should look wet, not be wet.
(Random thought: did you know that 1 egg yolk is pretty much your recommended cholesterol content for the whole day?? I just figured this out after eating like 2 egg yolks almost every day for about 5 years. Oops. Needless to say, we have moved on to egg whites or a combo of eggs and egg whites.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)