I'm blogging again! I'm not really sure what happened there for awhile. I had some new recipes but they all need tweaking and aren't blog-ready yet. :) But I made this last night...the BBQ Pork Burger. It's kind of a spin on a classic BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich. While BBQ pulled pork is delicious, it's also time consuming, so here's a quicker version for ya!
-1 lb ground pork (makes 4 large or 6 regular burgers)
-1 large shallot or 1/2 white onion, diced
-a small handful of flat leaf (Italian) parsley, chopped
-1 1/2 TBS BBQ spice rub (recipe follows or make up your own!)
-1/3 cup of BBQ sauce (recipe follows or use bottled BBQ sauce)
-2/3 cup of plain bread crumbs (may need a little more)
-1 egg
-a heavy pinch of salt and black pepper
-1/2 bag of broccoli slaw
-1/4 cup of poppyseed dressing
-buns of your choice (toasted, if desired)
BBQ Spice Rub
-1 TBS California Chili Powder (or whatever chili powder you have on hand)
-1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
-1 tsp onion powder
-1 tsp brown sugar
-1/2 tsp ground mustard
-a heavy pinch of cayenne or chipotle powder
-a heavy pinch of salt
BBQ Sauce
-1 cup of water
-1 cup of Ketchup
-1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
-3 TBS brown sugar
-3 TBS molasses
-1 TBS dry ground mustard
-1 TBS soy sauce
-2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
(If you are so inclined, you can add a splash of Jack Daniel's or Jameson for an added kick to the sauce. Add the ingredients in order into a sauce pan. Bring up to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened, whisking occasionally. It may seem like a hassle to make homemade BBQ sauce, but this one is easy and really good! I hope you try it.)
In a small mixing bowl, add the broccoli slaw, poppyseed dressing, salt and pepper to taste, stirring to combine. Set aside. (If you prefer the traditional coleslaw, go ahead and use that. Instead of the poppyseed dressing, you can use the more traditional dressing which is equal parts mayo and sour cream, the juice of a lemon, salt and pepper. Feel free to add in other flavors to it, like fresh dill or parsley.) In a medium saute pan, add about a half of a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and bring it up to temperature over medium heat. Add onions and saute until softened. Remove from heat and allow to cool. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground pork, cooled onions, parsley, spice rub, cooled BBQ sauce, breadcrumbs, egg, salt and pepper. Gently mix until all the ingredients are incorporated. Add a little more breadcrumb as needed for the mixture to come together. Form into patties no more than an inch thick. Using the same pan that you cooked the onions in, heat up another tablespoon of olive oil and bring up to temperature over medium heat. Cook burgers about 4-5 minutes on one side to create a good caramelization on the outside of the burger. Flip the burger over and place a lid on the pan. This ensures that the burger will be cooked through. Cook for another 4-5 minutes on the second side. To serve, place a couple of tablespoons of the slaw on the bottom bun, place the pork burger on top of the slaw. Add a generous amount of BBQ sauce on top on the burger and place the top bun on the burger. (You may want to either use slightly larger buns or make the burgers slightly smaller than the bun so that when you pour the BBQ sauce over the burger, the bun will catch any drips!)
This burger was really different. I loved taking one idea and morphing it into something else. I enjoyed that I could taste the tangy BBQ sauce in the burger, as well as on the burger. This is why I love making burgers so much...you can put almost anything in them! They are so versatile and fun to make. I'm eager to hear any of your special burger recipes. :)
I can't really remember how I came up with this recipe. I've been making it for years! I was just trying to think of another way to have a tuna fish sandwich. The whole tuna-egg-mayo-celery kind of sandwich got really old for me. And it wasn't so much the boring flavors of it, but the texture...most of the time, it turned into this paste-y sort of consistency. I don't know if it was from the mayo or what, but this sandwich needed a make-over! :) The best part is that most of the time I have all of the ingredients on hand, which works really well for me because let's face it...no matter what, there are always days where there seems to be NOTHING in the fridge to eat, right? ;) So, here's what I did...
-1 packet of tuna in water (you can use canned tuna of course, but I find that the tuna in packets are more moist)
-1 can of artichoke hearts in water, drained and roughly chopped
-1 big handful of fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
-a small handful of parsley, chopped
-a rounded tablespoon of capers
-a heavy sprinkle of celery seed
-1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
-1/4 cup of lemon juice
-zest of the lemon
-salt and pepper to taste
In a small bowl, add the olive oil, lemon juice, zest, celery seed and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until combined about 2-3 minutes. In a large bowl, combine tuna, spinach, artichokes, capers, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the dressing over the tuna mixture and stir to combine. Place on bread of your choice. Or for tuna melts, (which is what I did) toast the bread, spoon tuna mixture on one piece of bread, place swiss or provolone cheese on top and place under the broiler until cheese melts. Top with the other piece of bread. Don't have bread? Boil up some pasta, drain and toss pasta with the tuna mixture, sprinkle with some parmesan cheese. Viola! Three different dishes with one recipe! :)
I hope you enjoy this quick and easy recipe! It's definitely one I make a lot! Let me know what you think of it. :)
Ok, you're probably thinking that I just posted a risotto recipe not even 10 days ago, but I couldn't not share this one with you. The flavor of this mushroom risotto blew me away. I'm kind of upset with myself that I didn't try making this sooner, but I thought a mushroom is a mushroom, right? Oh no, they're not. I love mushrooms, but I never knew that they could impart such a powerful flavor. This risotto was just bursting with a rich, earthy flavor that I couldn't get enough of. I used 3 different mushrooms in this risotto and one of them I'd say is one that you must use if you make this. That mushroom would be the porcini mushroom. They can be a little expensive, but if you get them dried, it's a better value. Plus, once you reconstitute them you're left with a deep, fragrant broth to use in the risotto. If you like mushrooms at all, you must try this, I promise that you won't be disappointed. Here's what I did...
-1/2 oz of dried porcini mushrooms (1/2 oz of dried porcini's equals about 2 oz of reconstituted porcini's.)
-6 medium to large crimini mushrooms, coarsely chopped (may also be called Baby Bella's because they are baby portobello mushrooms, so if you can't find the crimini's then you can use portobello's instead, you shouldn't need more than 1 large or 2 medium portobello's.)
-a package of oyster mushrooms, coarsely chopped (these look so cool, they come in one large clump. You'll need to trim off most of the stem because they can be tough.)
-8 oz or 1 cup of arborio rice
-32 oz container of chicken stock (I prefer low sodium, but that's up to you)
-1 large shallot, diced
-2 oz of pancetta (this is similar to bacon, but it's not smoked. Pancetta can be a little expensive, so feel free to use bacon, about 3 pieces or you can leave it out entirely.)
-1/3 cup of dry white wine
-2 generous handfuls of shredded parmesan cheese
-a handful of parsley, chopped
-a heavy splash of half-n-half or heavy cream
To reconstitute the porcini mushrooms, bring 1 and 1/2 cups of water to a boil, place the mushrooms in a bowl and pour the hot water over them. Let them sit for 5-10 minutes. Fish out the mushrooms and chop, but KEEP the water they were sitting in. In a medium stock pot, add about 1 TBS of extra virgin olive oil and bring up to medium heat. Saute the shallots and pancetta (or bacon) for about 5 minutes, then add in all of the mushrooms and cook until softened about 8-10 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook for 2-3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Once the wine has cooked out, add the mushroom stock (except for the last tablespoon which contains a little grit) and stir frequently. When the stock reduces, start adding 1/2 cup at a time of chicken stock. Repeat this step for 20 to 25 minutes or until the rice is tender. Taste the risotto often to ensure that the rice is cooked through. Once the rice is cooked, stir in the parmesan cheese and parsley. Right before serving, stir in the half-n-half or heavy cream. Salt and pepper to taste.
This is a very meaty tasting dish, so this would pair up well with beef or could even be the main entree with a crisp salad on the side. I was so pleasantly surprised by the outcome of this dish and I think this is my new favorite risotto. I hope you enjoy it too!
I should start off by stating that this recipe wasn't entirely my own idea. I went to this restaurant called Costa Vida in Mesa and I had their sweet pork. It was delicious! I immediately started trying to figure out what was in it. I had the basic outline of it figured out, but I really couldn't figure out what was giving it that sweet, molasses flavor. So, the next day, I'm talking to my friend, Luigi, about it and he was able to find the recipe for me on the Internet!! Lo and behold, our good friend, Dr. Pepper was the secret behind the sweetness. As I began looking over the recipe, I found that I had been mostly right about what was in it, but then I started making notes...I couldn't leave well enough alone! Ha, ha! But you know what? That's okay. I think it's fun and interesting to put your own spin on recipes...that's what makes them your own! Some of these changes, however did come out of necessity because there was NO way that I was turning on my oven in the heat of the Arizona summer for 5 hours! So, instead I used my crock pot! :) Anyway, enough of the chitchat, on to the recipe...
-4 lbs (give or take) of pork shoulder/butt
-1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
-4 roma tomatoes, chopped
-1 jalapeno, finely diced (seeded and ribs removed if desired. You can also use Chipotle in adobo, which is smoked jalapenos in a red chili sauce with spices and vinegar, but don't use the whole can. Just use 1 or 2 jalapenos and about 1 TBS of the sauce.)
-19 oz of red enchilada sauce
-1 can of Dr. Pepper
-1 cup brown sugar
-1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
-1 TBS of chili powder
-1 TBS coriander
-1/2 TBS of adobo seasoning (or equal parts onion powder and garlic powder with a heavy pinch of salt)
Now, you need to plan this by when you want to eat. I'll write the recipe as I did it and we were eating by 6:30, so that will give you a timetable to work with. Place the onions, tomatoes, jalapeno and the pork (seasoned with the spices) into the crock pot at 9am. Pour about 1/3 cup of water into the bottom to keep the pork moist while the crock pot warms up. Place the crock pot on high for 1 hour, then turn it to low for the remainder of the cooking time. At 4:30pm, I took the pork out to cool for 30 minutes. Scoop out the veggies with a slotted spoon and pour the liquid off. Leaving the crock pot on low, add in the enchilada sauce, Dr. Pepper, brown sugar and cilantro and place the lid back on the crock pot. When the pork has cooled for 30 minutes, shred it using two forks in a criss-cross action. Place the shredded pork and the veggies into the crock pot and stir to combine it with the sauce. Let the sauce and pork simmer on low for at least 30 minutes or up to an hour. Serve with your favorite taco toppings. Leftovers make great enchiladas too! :)
I really liked the Costa Vida version of this sweet pork, but I wanted to try something a little different. I wanted a sweet-heat flavor to it. When you bite into it, you're hit with the sweet flavor first, then a slow burn from the jalapeno at the end. I like when the spicy-ness doesn't overwhelm the food, but it lets you know that its there. That's what I got with this recipe...a perfect balance of sweet and heat. :) Enjoy!
*Based on the comments below, it may be wise to taste the chipotle in adobo before adding it into the crock pot. My brother kindly pointed out that different brands make more spicy chipotles than other brands. So, if you're sensitive to spicy food, just give it a taste before hand to make sure that you know what you can handle.
This recipe was simple, quick and delicious! I was so glad that I thought to cook extra salmon so that I could make these salmon cakes. These would make a great lunch or simple supper. We had ours on a bed of greens and veggies. Here's what I did...
-leftover salmon, flaked into medium sized chunks (I ended up having about 8 or 9 ounces leftover)
-leftover BBQ spice rub (or if you made extra, just use 1 TBS)
-1 shallot, diced and sauteed in olive oil (you can also use white onion OR you can use scallions and just toss them in without sauteing)
-a handful of chopped parsley
-Salt and pepper to taste
-about 1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs (they're Japanese style bread crumbs with a more coarse texture than regular breadcrumbs. Found in the Oriental section of the grocery store. If you can't find these, use regular unseasoned breadcrumbs.)
-1 tsp of celery seed (you can use fresh chopped celery if you have it on hand)
-1 egg, beaten
Gently combine all of the ingredients with your hands, being careful not to mash the salmon up too much. You may find that if you used the regular breadcrumbs you might need to add more until the mixture comes together. You want it to hold together, but not be dense. Form into patties. I was able to make 6 slider sized patties, but you can also make larger patties and serve it as a sandwich. Once the patties are formed, let them sit 5-10 minutes to let the breadcrumbs absorb the moisture to ensure that the patties hold together. In a saute pan or skillet, add 1 TBS of extra virgin olive oil and bring up to medium heat. Cook the salmon cakes about 3 minutes per side. You want to form a nice, golden brown crust on each side. Place on to a bed of greens and veggies for an easy salad or on top of a bun for a salmon burger. Top with your favorite dressing or you can combine 1 cup of sour cream, the zest and juice of a lemon and some fresh or dried dill to make a simple dressing. Enjoy!
I have mixed feelings about this recipe. While I enjoyed the flavor of the salmon, I felt that there was something missing. I baked the salmon which may be what's bothering me. Like I said, the flavor was good and I wouldn't change my spice rub, but I think I would change how I cooked the salmon. Next time, I think I would try grilling it or just putting it under the broiler to get the caramelization that I was looking for. With that said, I will give you the recipe as I did it, but maybe when you make it you can try either grilling it or putting it under the broiler. Then you can let me know how it turns out! :)
BBQ Spice Rub
-1 TBS California Chili Powder (or whatever chili powder you have on hand)
-1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
-1 tsp onion powder
-1 tsp brown sugar
-1/2 tsp ground mustard
-a heavy pinch of cayenne or chipotle powder
-a heavy pinch of salt
This amount should cover about 4 pieces of salmon, so you can double the recipe if needed. I liked the flavor of this because it had a sweet-heat taste to it, along with a smokiness from the paprika. So, if you're going to bake the fish in the oven, preheat it to 350. Then I just took 3 (obviously, use however many pieces you need) skinless pieces of salmon, drizzled them with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled the spice rub on each side, rubbing it in. Place on a sheet tray with a cooling rack over the tray and let the salmon sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to let it absorb the flavors of the spice rub. Cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes. You can check the doneness by taking a fork and flaking the thickest part of the salmon. If it comes away easily, it's done.
Something to think about...I cooked extra salmon so that I could make salmon cakes for lunch the next day. I was able to make 6 slider sized salmon cakes with about 8 or 9 ounces of fish. They're great to pack for lunch and reheat well. So, if that's something you'd want to do, you will only need one or two extra pieces of fish (depending on how many salmon cakes you want). I'm going to post that recipe as a separate blog though. Anyway, I hope you try this and if you try one of the other cooking methods that I suggested, I'd love to hear how it turned out!
So, if you've never made or eaten risotto it is by far the best thing in the culinary world. It's rich and creamy and cheesy. I mean, really...what more could you ask for? I really like experimenting with different flavors in risotto. Since, it's a rice dish, you can put almost anything in it. There are 4 key ingredients that you need: arborio rice, white wine, chicken stock and parmesan cheese. If you only had these 4 ingredients, it would still taste pretty darn good, but throw in a little onion and peas and you have yourself a basic risotto. I have to warn you though, risotto can be a little fussy. It's not like regular rice where you put it in a pot and forget about it for 20 minutes. You have to babysit risotto. Constant stirring and attention must be focused on it, but in the end, it is SO worth it.
This recipe is Matt's favorite in my risotto repertoire. This is how I did it....
-8 oz of arborio rice (it MUST be arborio rice. Arborio rice is specific to risotto dishes.)
-1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
-1 large shallot, finely diced (found near the onions. It's small and purple with an oval shape to it. You can also use a sweet white onion.)
-1/4 to 1/3 cup of dry white wine (just eyeball it. Normally, I would say that wine is optional, but in risotto it's really not. It gives the risotto a depth of flavor and one of the specific tastes that makes it risotto.)
-2 15 oz cans of chicken stock (I use reduced sodium so that I can control the salt content.)
-a generous handful of shredded or grated Parmesan cheese (by now, you know which one I mean! :) )
-a handful of flat leaf (or Italian) parsley, chopped
-a splash of half-n-half or heavy cream
-1 TBS of butter
-Extra virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 375. Meanwhile, cut the butternut squash in half between the long section and the round section. Cut off each of the ends as well. Remove the seeds from the round section. Peel the squash using a sharp knife, following the contours of the squash. Once peeled, cut the squash into bite sized cubes. (At this point, you can decide how much squash you would like in your risotto. I like to get a big squash and use it 2 different times in 2 different recipes, but if you're just making this, you can get a smaller squash.) Place the squash on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes are until softened and lightly browned. While the squash is roasting, melt the butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes and season with salt and pepper. Add the arborio rice and stir for 2-3 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and let the wine cook out. Begin adding about 1/2 cup of chicken stock at a time and stir. Add more when it looks like the rice has absorbed the stock. Keep repeating this step until all of the stock is used or until the rice is cooked. If you run of stock, but feel that the rice isn't cooked all of the way yet, you can use warm water. (This is the part where you have to get a feel for the rice. I keep tasting mine to make sure that the rice is cooked all of the way. You may think that it is done and go to serve it, only to find out that there are crunchy bits of rice throughout the dish. So, just keep stirring and tasting until you are confident that all of the rice is cooked.) Turn the heat to low and stir in the parmesan cheese, then add the butternut squash and parsley. Right before serving, stir in the half-n-half or heavy cream. Salt and pepper to taste.
This makes about 4 servings. (Or 2 if you're Matt and I!! ha, ha!) It goes great with chicken, fish or pork and reheats really well the next day. Risotto can be kind of difficult. The first couple of times I made it, it didn't come out right, but don't give up! Keep trying and once you master it, you will make great risotto every time! :)
