Burger Bum

I should not be allowed to make hamburgers. Everyone in my family says that. I spent the whole summer reading all I could about making the perfect burger. I made sure not to press down and squeeze out the juices. I gently mixed ground meats and warped it tenderly around ice cubes. I grilled, I broiled, I pan fried. I seasoned with fresh herbs, with just salt and pepper, mesquite, chopped onions, ginger matchsticks, breadcrumbs (fresh and dry) oh my goodness you name it I did it. Don’t get me wrong here, there were some tasty results ( except for this one burger that I mixed in lumps of pineapple and bread, I still gag a little when I think about it) but they all had issues. The main issue was they all fell apart. My dad would groan as another chunk fell in the grill’s flames. I threw up my hands to the hamburger gods and shouted ‘why!!’.

Sadly, tonight was no different. Another delicious burger that was moist and flavorful that I had to scrape the bits out of the pan and will them to meld with my mind. These burgers are great, I would add an egg to bind or you know, actually use ground lamb like the recipe says. Don’t hesitate to try these burgers though! The tangy yogurt sauce alone is a great reason to make this recipe. Adding an egg or more breadcrumb would help bind it. Just keep this in mind! Now go! Go forge ahead in the struggle for the perfect burger and if you achieve it, please e-mail me asap. Or send one in a box, I’m not picky.

Greek Burger with Salad Greens, Tomatoes and Feta

adapted from Epicurious

1 slice whole wheat bread

1/4 cup skim milk

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic

2 T fresh oregano

4 T fresh cilantro

1 T fresh lemon juice

1 lb ground pork

Olive Oil

1 EGG

Topping:

Mixed salad greens

Red Onion

Crumbled Feta

Dressing:

1 6 oz container of Greek Yogurt

1 T fresh chopped cilantro

1 T dried oregano

1 clove chopped garlic

2 t Dijon mustard

1 t honey

1/2 cup peeled, seeded and shredded cucumber

How To:

1. Sprinkle milk over whole wheat bread and let sit for five minutes. While Soaking, chop up onion and garlic. Cut up soaked bread, toss with onions and garlic and herbs/lemon juice. Put these ingredients in a food processor and run until is pureed, pour into bowl. Add in gently the ground meat, and add an egg. Do not over mix! Just use hands to combine.

2. Heat oil in pan and form meat into patties. Cook for 3 minutes per side.

Yogurt Sauce

1. Peel cucmber, if there a lot of seeds use a spoon to gently scoop them out. Shred cucumber on a grater.

2. Mix cucmber, mustard, honey, chopped garlic, herbs and yogurt. Let sit in fridge until cold and flavors have combined.

To assemble burger, top toasted bun or pita with red onion slices, tomatos, salad greens, crumbled feta and yummy yogurt sauce. No matter if your burger is kind of falling a part, it will be delcious.

Simple and Sweet

Sometimes simple is best. This coffee cake took me all of fifteen minutes to whip together and then 25 minutes to bake. It shouldn’t surprise me so much considering the source. This is one of my grandmother’s recipes. With ten kids and a farm to take care of she had no time for fussy, fancy cakes. Everything you need you most likely have on hand. It’s sweet and heavenly scented with cinnamon. I’m sure my Nanny did not let the kids indulge in this petite cake, it was more likely for when she shooed them all outside and she could have a second with a neighbor and a cup of tea.

like a sweet cloud...

When my mom was first married she made sure to write down all of her favorite recipes from her mom and this one made the list. So you know it’s good. Garnish it with a little powdered sugar and a dollop of sweet cream and it’s the perfect tea cake for three in the afternoon or with your coffee in the morning.

I had to have the first slice.

Tips: I made the recipe as stated but if you wanted to mix up the spice flavors go ahead add some cardamon or nutmeg. I used pecans but walnuts would do the trick or get really fancy with some hazelnuts. Make sure a cake tester comes out clean and let the cake cool completely before you serve it.

written on a typewriter

Spicy topping

Recipe:

1 1/2 Cups of regular flour

3 t of baking powder

1/4 t of salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg (beaten)

1/2 cup milk

1 t vanilla

1. Mix in one bowl the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, sieve these ingredients together.

2. Mix like pie crust with the egg, milk and vanilla

3. Pace 1/2 Dough in the pan, sprinkle mixture on, put the rest of dough on and the rest of the topping on.

For Topping:

1/2 cup of brown sugar

2 T flour

2 T cinnamon and combine with

2 T butter

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Bake cake at 375 for 25 minutes.

This Post is also for Recovered Recipes, Making History. Take a look at all the amazing recipe cards that have been collected!

Apple Cake Cockaigne

Sick of apples? I thought not. My mom has been making this dessert for as long as I can remember. Sometimes she would use peaches and the recipe says to use guavas but I went with the honest old apple. Then I threw in some homemade raspberry blackberry jam some dried cranberries with a lightly vanilla scented thin cake bottom. Are you drooling? You should be.

The cake layer is so thin but moist with crispy edges. The apples and the jam meld together in sticky tangy harmony and the pecans and brown sugar add a sweet crunch on top. Together they form one unstoppable dessert. This needs no ice cream companion or mascarpone fluff. The brown sugar melts on your tongue the nuts give your teeth something to crunch, there is the tart spark of lemon soaked apples with sweet summer berries swirling with spongy vanilla cake.

Even if you thought you were getting sick of apples, this will bring you back to the light. And if not, just send it my way.

Tips: Use a mandolin to slice the apples so they all bake evenly and they look so pretty when they are uniform. You can use any jelly or jam you like I bet an orange marmalade would be amazing. You also may want to slide a cookie sheet below whatever dish you use because it has a tendency to be really juicy and kind of overflow.

Apple Cake Cockaigne

Adapted from the Joy Of Cooking circa 1968 edition

I use a glass platter/plate but you can use any round flat pan or square 9x9x2 1/2 Inch Pan

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 t double acting baking powder

1/4 t salt

2 T sugar

3 T butter

1 egg

1 t vanilla

4 cups peeled sliced apples

2 T lemon juice

milk

Topping

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup currants

1/2 cup chopped nuts

3 Tbs melted butter

How to:

Preheat oven to 425

1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add 3 T butter and work it in with a pastry cutter or fork.

2. In a measuring cup beat the egg with the vanilla, to this add enough milk to make it 1/2 cup of liquid.  Add liquid to flour mixture and use a spoon to make a thick stiff dough.

3. Using a floured hand press the dough into your baking plate.

4. Peel core slice apples toss with lemon juice as you go.

5. Spread preserves over the dough base then from the outside in, overlap apple slices until you have filled up all the space.

6. Combine brown sugar, spices, cranberries and melted butter. Sprinkle this over the apple layer.

Bake for 25 minutes until it is all bubbly and the edges are lightly browned.

Pulled Pork Sandwich with Tangy Apple and Onions

Everyday I fall more in love with my crock pot. What? Is that weird? You can cook desserts, mulled ciders, decadent hot chocolate, stews, soups, casseroles, and whatever else you can dream up. AND you can totally turn it on in the morning and come home to a hot cooked meal. It’s like magic! What’s not to love? Slow cooked flavors meld together to create unforgettable dishes. Luckily I’m not the only one to think so. Over at the Constables Larder, I know there are many like minded folk. So now that we’re all on the same page here, let me introduce you to a recipe that uses apples in a way that will warm the cockles of your autumn loving stomach.

Pulled pork is pretty much delightful any time of year. Be it in a spicy red barbecue sauce or in a tangy vinegar/spice rub combo, it is so hard to go wrong.

Tips: This particular recipe I came up with because I wanted to play with some great fall flavors AND get apples into the mix. I used a bone in pork loin because it was on sale at the grocery, but you can use a pork shoulder or pork butt. You know, if you’re into that sort of thing. I also had some amazing Macon apples on hand and some honey crisps so you know what, you should just throw away those red delicious, there are so much better tasting apples out there! Come on folks, be with me on this one.

Pulled Pork

Equipment:

Crock pot

Ingredients:

1/2 t allspice

2 T mesquite seasoning

2 t cumin

6 garlic cloves

1 large onion or 2 medium

1 1/2 cups cider vinegar

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 T dark brown sugar

2 t dried mustard

4-5lb bone in pork loin

For sandwich:

1 block of white extra sharp cheddar cheese

Baby Spinach

4 Tuscan rolls or your favorite whole wheat buns

Your favorite barbecue sauce (if you want)

How to:

1. Take a sharp knife and slice some slits all over the meat and tuck the peeled garlic cloves into the slits.

2. Mix together allspice, mesquite seasoning and cumin, rub this mixture into the meat.

3. Slice onion(s) in thick sections and place them in a circle in the bottom of the crock pot.

4. Whisk together vinegars, dark brown sugar and mustard. Put meat on top of onions and then pour the liquid over everything and set your crock pot on high for 4 hours or on low for 6-8 or until the meat is falling off the bone and the onions are soaked and tender.

5. When done, shred the pork with your hands or knife and fork. Put in a bowl and pour some of the cooking sauce over it. Retain onions.

Sauteed Apples and Onions

Ingredients:

Olive Oil to coat a pan

2-3 large tart apples

Onions that were cooked in the crock pot.

How To:

1. Peel apples and slice them really thin (I used a mandolin because I’m OCD like that, but feel free to just use a thin knife)

2. Heat some olive oil in skillet toss in apples and saute until they are tender, add in onions that cooked with the meat and heat all the way through.

To make sandwich:

Spread some barbecue sauce, on a roll, layer some spinach leaves, and pulled pork, top with grated extra sharp cheddar cheese, if it strikes you, pop it under a broiler to get cheese all melted. Eat up and refrain from licking your fingers…too much.

Autumn Love

When I work up this morning, I knew. One blast of cold air, the sweet scent of drying leaves, oh yes it is definitely fall. Is there a better season on Long Island? Finally gone are those muggy, steamy days where you can’t move two feet without needing a shower. There’s crisp air and the best flavors around. Apples, pumpkins, broccoli, cider, oh my goodness! It gets your blood pumping and your taste buds tingling. If you don’t like autumn then seriously one bite of my Apple Crisp will convert you.

Apple Season on the Island is great for a lot of reasons. First of all, who doesn’t like apples? They are a simple, tasty, juicy fruit that can be used in sweet and savory dishes that I will be exploring in the next couple weeks. An apple a day, as they say.

I spent last fall tracking down and trying all the apple crisp recipes I could. A crisp is such an easy dessert to make, it takes no time to toss together, it smells heavenly while it bakes and it can be dressed up with some homemade sorbet or ice cream or reheated for a special breakfast treat. I finally came up with a recipe that is bright, filled with fragrant spices and lots of whole grains. I don’t really need to sell this dish to you. If I could bottle the scent and put it on the internet, you’d all be out buying apples for tonight. Trust me you will love it and then make it again and again.

Some tips:

I like a thick crumble layer and tart juicy apples. If you don’t have all the ingredients on hand, don’t worry, use what you have and use apples you like. The best baking apples are tart and firm, save those red delicious for another day.

What you’ll need:

Glass baking pan, pastry cutter (two forks will do in a pinch), peeler, bowls and measuring equipment

Ingredients:

4-5 cups peeled and sliced tart baking apples

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 T lemon juice

2 T water

1/2 cup flour, either white or whole wheat

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4-1/2 cup flax meal

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 t vanilla

2 t cinnamon

1 t nutmeg

1/2 t ground cloves

1/2 t allspice

1 1/2 cup shredded coconut

3/4 cup chopped walnuts, hazelnuts or almonds

How to:

Preheat oven to 375f

1. Peel and slice apples, toss with lemon juice and water, put aside.

2. Use Pastry cutter to cut softened butter into flour. Leave it chunky. Work in brown sugar. Work in oats and finally use hands to mix in flax meal.

3. Drizzle vanilla into butter flour mixture.

4. In a separate dish mix together cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and allspice, then sprinkle into flour mixture making sure to mix to distribute evenly.

5. Toss in coconut

6. Chop walnuts or almonds and add to mixture

7. Poor apples into baking dish, sprinkle flour spice mixture over the top of apples. Tap down baking dish.

8. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until juice is bubbling and the apples are tender when stuck with fork or butter knife.

Serve this with ice cream or without. So easy, so good! Enjoy it while you can because when you blink it will be gone!

Lavender Roast Chicken

Some people tend to think of laundry soap when they think of lavender. Roast a chicken sprinkled with delightful dried lavender buds? um ew. Why don’t you stuff it with some dryer sheets while you’re at it?

This is all for the Bird

My friends, you don’t know what you’re missing.

garlic and lavender, an odd yet tasty couple

Culinary lavender is an amazing ingredient that does not need to be restricted to dainty tea cookies or laced into sugary pound cakes. It is great in rubs for pork, fish and of course chicken. Paired with some great fresh herbs, some bright citrus and sweet and mellow roasted garlic it turns an ordinary chicken into the perfect roast.

one tasty bird

I can see you’re starting to waver, don’t be afraid. So now where can you get this life changing ingredient? Well I suppose you could order it off the internet. But can you honestly wait that long? I bought mine at Back To Basics, a health food store in Rocky Point. It’s cheap, it keeps for a long time in a jar and once you start, you’ll find a million ways to use it. So let us ease into this new obsession with this awesome roast chicken recipe.

Tips:

Don’t be stingy with the salt, make sure your lemons are fresh and not dried out, resist the urge to baste.

Citrus Lavender Roast Chicken

1 oven stuffer chicken

1-2 sprigs of fresh rosemary or dried if you must

1 head garlic

1/2 stick butter

2 fresh lemons

1 tablespoon garlic salt

4 tablespoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

4 tablespoons dried culinary lavender

Equipment:

Roasting pan, rack to put in the pan, meat thermometer, little spikes to pin back the wings and legs or string,

How to:

Preheat oven to the chicken package specifications.

Make sure to take the giblets out of the cavity of the bird. Wash the whole bird in under warm water making sure to rinse out the inside. It’s a little gross but I promise it’s going to be a tasty non-gross finale.

Place the bird breast side up on roasting rack.

Mix pepper, kosher salt, garlic salt, set aside.

Zest one of the lemons, take half the bulb of garlic and mince, half the stalk of rosemary finely chop. Mix all three ingredients together.

Massage (and yes I really do mean rub it all in) the salt mixture all over the chicken and in the cavity. Take a tiny sharp knife and lift up the layer of skin.

Take the half stick of butter and cut up into small slices, rub them underneath the skin, making sure to get in all the creases of the breast and wing joints. Take the rosemary garlic mixture and stuff that under the skin. Cut three or four thin slices of lemon and place them under the skin as well. Take your lavender buds and tuck them under the skin as well.

Take the rest of the lemons and chop them into small enough pieces that you can stuff them in the bird. Put the garlic and rest of the rosemary sprig inside too. Close up the bird and make sure to pin the wings down. Finally take the rest of the salt mixture and sprinkle it over the top of the bird with the rest of the lavender.

Place the bird in hot oven make sure to roast to the package specifications.

Eat, Enjoy!

Make stock with the leftovers so you can relive this moment again in visions of soup.

no pas, faux sushi

I love making desserts for other people. Who doesn’t? You get to spend lots of time making high calorie, sugar laden treats, taste them and then have them not haunt you from the fridge all night. Seriously, when I’m trying to get to sleep at night if there’s one slice of pumpkin pie left, it’s not making it till dawn.

Even if you have better restraint then I (and I’m assuming that the general population might) you’ll still love making these awesome sushi. I’m not really a fish lover, I do enjoy a nice avocado roll but I happen to know a lot of people that enjoy lumps of raw fish. Go figure. So when one of those odd people happened to have a birthday I thought I’d have a little fun.

When I cast my net to find a way to create some kind of sushi cookie or cake I hauled in some live ‘uns (please, you’re just lucky you weren’t in the kitchen actually making the sushi, there were plenty more like this). There was this one. which was amazing for inspiration, I was drooling over their beautiful faux roe, but frankly it was a bit pricey, and I was set on doing this myself. Snazzy Not Martha had given it a go, but I wasn’t so keen on using already made cake. This one, too fussy, this one awesome but again with the hostess cakes. I was turing into a modern faux sushi hunting goldilocks.

When I finally said ‘screw it’, I’m just gonna wing this. Cut to me grabbing every colorful candy I could find in the supermarket, chocolate, Swedish fish, fruit roll ups, fruit leather, my god it was a sugar coma waiting to happen. I decided to use rice crispy treats as my base because I liked the idea it being a play on rice. Ta da, adorable, awesome faux sushi.

My advice, don’t mind the burn, work fast and just go for it. And for the love of pete, make sure you give some of them away, I don’t want to be responsible for your sugar medical emergency.

Faux Sushi:

6 cups puffed rice cereal

2 cups mini marshmallows

Assorted candies- Swedish fish, ju ju bees, melted dark chocolate, decorating gel, crushed jimmies, black sanding sugar–whatever you can dream up.

How To:

Make up a batch of rice crispies treats, making sure to butter you hands and have some sort of mold ready to press the mixture in to. I used a small metal measuring cup and then pressed some in a pan to make the rectangle shapes.

Pop them in the fridge  before you start decorating, it makes them so much easier to work with. I coated the top of each rice treat with melted marshmallow and stuck the candy to that. I coated the outside of some with dark chocolate and the others with crushed jimmies. I used kitchen scissors to cut up the Swedish fish but hey if you think of it there are sites online that sell candy shrimp, and different shaped fish.

Make sure you store them in the fridge!