Teriyaki Burgers with Grilled Pineapple and Red Onions

Greetings from Cincinnati! Or, more aptly, Owensville, Ohio, where Mary and myself hail from. My husband and I are in town for the week after spending the past weekend in Cleveland for a wedding. The bride was my very first friend in college and the wedding was just gorgeous! I had such a great time that I sprained my foot while dancing and I've spent the past few days limping around, thanking my lucky stars that I'm not back home in Brooklyn where my busted foot would be the equivalent of a flat tire.

The weather in Cincinnati has been gorgeous and Steve and I (as well as Charlie) have had a great week relaxing, enjoying the sunshine and the fresh air. My parents live in the middle of a hundred-acre wood, so although their lack of Internet has made this post extremely difficult to accomplish (I'm using an iPad right now), the break from all the hullabaloo has been very welcomed. And while there are so many different things I want to share with you, dear readers, I think I'm just going to jump right in and share my culinary adventure from this week. 

We started our week here with a trip to the famed Jungle Jim's to pick up some international goodies to bring back home to Brooklyn because, although we live amongst a swarm of various cultures and their accompanying cultural markets, these still don't compare to Jungle Jim's. If you live in Cincinnati and you're yet to check it out, run, don't walk!, there right now. I'd recommend the Eastgate location because not only is it newer and thus better organized, they also have a few speciality markets at the entrance such as Flying Olive and Colonel De's Spice Market that are worth a browse. 

We decided we wanted to make dinner for my folks each night we were in town, and because the weather was so great we decided to kick off the week with a grilling adventure. We haven't yet had the time to pull out our own grill for the season, which made this opportunity all the more inviting. We settled on grilling some burgers but we wanted to add an adventurous twist in order to impress the fam with our culinary talents, so Steve came up with the idea of adding grilled pineapple and caramelized red onion seasoned with teriyaki sauce. I've never had pineapple on a burger before, and I must say grilled pineapple is now amongst my most favorite fruit.  It's so yummy! And the grilled sweetness really adds a unique flavor combination to the burger meat and teriyaki sauce. The only change I'd make to these burgers is I'd like to try them on the "Three Meal Muffin" instead of onion rolls because, as I stated in my turkey burger post, they're simply the best burger bun out there. 

1. Prepare the burger meat by seasoning it with salt, pepper, some minced garlic, and a dash or two of teriyaki sauce. Divide and form into patties. Set aside until the grill is hot and ready. 

2. Prepare additional ingredients. Remove the pineapple rind and slice into rings. I cut them thick, but you can cut them to your preferred thickness depending on if you want a little less or little more pineapple flavor. Also slice the red onion. My knife was dull so I didn't cut perfect rings, but they still worked out just fine. After slicing the onion, we created a foil pouch for them to cook in on the grill, and seasoned with a dash of teriyaki. 

After your ingredients are prepared and your grill is hot, toss everything on and grill to your standards of perfection! We also grilled a side of brussel sprouts and asparagus, both of which we just lightly seasoned with a little EVOO and a dash of salt and pepper. 

And did I mention that this dish is a great way to impress your family and friends this weekend at your Memorial Day barbecue?! Because it is! 

Finally, here is a picture of my husband and I from the wedding last weekend. :)

Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms Burger with melted Gouda & Garlic Dill Aoili

Well Spring is officially here is Chicago, however it is not what we had dreamed about all Winter. It hasn't stopped raining all week and we haven't seen much of that thing called the Sun! Thankfully though, I will be able to skip out on this weather for a long weekend in Vegas with my best girlfriends.

A few weeks back I made THE BEST burger, I have had in our kitchen. We go to a lot of specialty burger places such as Butcher and the Burge, Kuma's & Burger Bar, but I hadn't made a gourmet burger in my house until this baby!

We use a simple seasoning on our burgers, just salt and pepper. Grilled to a perfect medium, couple slices of melted Gouda, placed on a toasted sesame bun with caramelized onions and mushrooms, arugula, slice of tomato and my garlic dill aoili.

To caramelize the onions and mushrooms will take about 15 minutes, maybe more. While my husband was preparing the burgers, I started chopping the veggies we would need for the burger.

Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms
1/2 to 1 medium onion
1/2 package of mushrooms
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Slice the onions and mushrooms and place in a large skillet  with a good portion of oil. Heat should be at medium to high. Be sure to find the right temperature to allow the onions and mushrooms to cook slowly and gradually turn a deep golden brown color.  Cook for probably 5 minutes longer than the picture below:

Garlic Dill Aoili

2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp garlic powder (more or less depending on desired flavor)
1 tbls or more of chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Cayenne pepper to taste

Add ingredients in a small bowl and combine well. Add more of less of each ingredient based on your tastes. The texture should be rather liquidy due to the lemon juice. I prefer to use a lot of lemon juice as to make the sauce lighter and less thick. Add enough garlic and garlic powder so that you can definitely taste the garlic flavor.  I had dill in the house so I thought that would be a nice fresh addition as well.

Once I was finished with the garlic dill aoli, I still felt that it was a little heavy for my tastes, so I added a bit of cayenne pepper to cut the savoriness of the sauce.





Hope you guys are having a great day!!

Mary

Turkey Burgers

I'm knocking on wood as I say this... but, the past few days in Brooklyn have been sunny and in the 50s, which has me dreaming of flowers, spring dresses, and my GRILL! 

While it's not quite yet warm enough for backyard cookouts, this past Sunday I still opted for a yummy reminder of warmer months--burgers!--and just substituted the stove for the barbecue. Although I am a huge fan of red meat, I decided to use turkey for these burgers because not only is turkey much leaner than beef, it's also more of a brain food--and after the all-nighter I pulled this weekend, my brain needed all the help it could get before Monday morning!

Directions:
1 lb ground turkey
2 carrots, peeled and diced
3-4 spring onions, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
Chipotle and lime aioli

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, carrots, onion, and garlic. If spring onions aren't available at your local market, substitute a medium-sized red onion, diced. Because I am a huge fan of spice, I also added a dash of fire sauce that my friend gifted me after her trip to the Bahamas. Divide the meat mixture into fourths and shape into patties.

Next, heat about a teaspoon of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the burgers on both sides, and then transfer to the oven. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through, about 165°F. 

Of course if you are luckier than me and do have access to your grill, you could always just toss these babies onto the grill for about 7 minutes on each side or until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.

While the burgers finish cooking, prepare the buns for assembling. I like to use "The 3 Meal Muffin"  from Central Bakery. However, if these aren't available in your local market, you could substitute English muffins or just regular old hamburger buns. I also topped my burgers with some spring mix, a slice of muenster cheese, and the fresh chipotle lime aioli that Mary posted last week. If I had an avocado in the house, I would have added a slice or two as well. 

Finally, keeping with the spirit of spring, I'd pair this dish with those delicious coriander pickles Mary posted yesterday. Check them out! And, ENJOY!!

Sweet Potato Burger with Chipotle Lime Aoili

I came up with this recipe one night when my husband was out of town and I was limited on groceries. A sweet potato was the only substantial thing I had in the house. So I started brainstorming about what I could do with a sweet potato besides bake it and eat it with brown sugar, and this is what I came up with!

I cooked the burgers in a large nonstick skillet, however you can also cook them in the oven at 350` for 15-20 minutes. Additionally  the burgers are not as structured as a regular meat burger, so I would suggest serving the burger on a bed of greens as opposed to a bun. 

The sauce I use on this burger is a staple in my kitchen. Using plain Greek yogurt as a substitute for mayo is a huge calorie saver while still getting the same taste. The chipotle masks most of the flavor of the mayo, therefore you can't taste that the sauce is made from yogurt. And the lime juice helps to thin out the sauce and add a bit of freshness. 

TIP: Chipotle in Adobo comes in a can and typically a recipe will only call for 1-2 chipotles. Instead of throwing away the leftover chipotle, puree the the contents of the can and the pureed chipotles will be good in an air tight container for up to three months in the refrigerator. Time and cost saver! Then you can add a bit of chipotle to any dish throughout the week- stir-fry, spicy guacamole, tacos, ect!

Sweet Potato Burger

1 Sweet potato

1/2 cup cooked Quinoa

1/2 cup your choice of Beans

1/4 cup shaved Carrots

1/4 cup chopped Red Pepper

1/4 cup chopped Red Onion

Cilantro

Juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 tsp garlic powder, cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, chili powder 

Salt and pepper to taste

Chipotle Lime Aoili

1 tbs plain Greek yogurt

1 tbs mayonnaise

1 tbs chipotle in adobo (more or less based on your desired heat level)

Juice of 1/2 lime

Directions

Bake sweet potato or cook in microwave. Discard skin and add to a large bowl. Add cooked quinoa and beans. Using a pastry cutter mash the mixture until the ingredients are combined. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine well. 

Form mixture into burger patties and preheat a large nonstick skillet with a few tablespoons of oil. Cook covered over medium to high heat for 5 minutes on each side. Be careful when flipping the burgers. They are not very structured and can break apart if you are not gentle.

While burgers are on the stove, prepare the Chipotle Lime Aoili and prepare your desired toppings- I went with sliced tomato and avocado on a bed of spinach. To prepare aoili, simply combine all the ingredients.

Once burgers are done, assemble and enjoy!

Thanks!

Mary