Chorizo Burgers

I had a taste for chorizo and eggs (no photos, sorry!), and then I didn't know what to do with the second half of the chorizo package. It turned into some FANTASTIC burgers!

Chorizo Burgers

1/2 pkg. (1/2 lb.) chorizo sausage
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 egg


Use one section of the chorizo:


Mix ground turkey with some garlic powder and one egg:


I decided to pre-cook the chorizo:


And then added it to the turkey mixture:


Mix well and shape into patties:

Cook until well done, and slightly browned on the surface, if you like it that way (it's good!!!)

The chorizo is spicy, so I served it with some (homemade) cole slaw to cool things down in my mouth in between burger bites. Also, I did not put ketchup directly on the burger, I used it on the side as a dip, in case it didn't go well. Ketchup was a good addition. I think the taco sauce I was considering would have been too much. A side of sour cream for dipping might have been another good idea, but I don't think we had any in the fridge.


burgers topped with:
thinly sliced onion, tomatoes, and Monterrey-Jack cheese:




NOTE: I think these could also be made on the grill, although the meat is a little gushy, so you might have to partially freeze the burgers before grilling, so they don't fall apart.

Cranberry Oat Bread

Cranberry Oat Bread

1 pkg. (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water
1/4 c. butter, softened (4 T.)
1/4 c. honey
1 c. boiling water
2 eggs
1 c. quick-cooking oats
1 t. salt
3 c. flour
1/2 c. wheat flour
2/3 c. dried cranberries
1/4 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

1. In large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water.
2. In another bowl, combine butter, honey, and boiling water. (put the water in a 4-cup measuring cup, then added honey to raise water level to 1 1/4 cup line; then added butter and microwaved it.) Stir well and allow to cool.
3. To yeast mixture, add eggs, oats, salt, butter mixture, and 2 cups of flour; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in additional flour, nuts, and cranberries to form a soft dough.
   
4. Cover and let rise until doubled in size; about 1 hour.
5. Punch down and transfer to greased casserole dish.
6. Cover and let rise again for 45 minutes.
7. Bake at 375˚ for 35 to 40 minutes, until lightly browned and sounds hollow when tapped on top. Cool at least 10 minutes before removing from casserole dish.

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New Digital Camera

Casey just bought me a new digital camera, even though my birthday isn't until next month. So far I have taken photos of my flowers, my cat, and the turker-chorizo burgers that I made the other day. I will write up these items in the next few days and post the pictures...

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(Disney image)

Porkchops

When I was a little kid, there was some book that my mom would read to me, and it was about animals in a forest or something along those lines. I have no idea what the title of the book was, or even the basic story. But, apparently, I enjoyed this book a lot, from what my mom tells me.

So I don't remember this episode, but it is one of my mom's favorite stories about me:
She's reading this book to me, and I point to a porcupine and exclaim, "look, mom, a porkchop!"

Porkchop = porcupine

Flash forward 20 years or so, and I'm dating Casey, who puts gel in his hair to make it kinda spikey on top. I'm sitting with him, playing with his hair, and I say, "your hair is all prickly like a porkchop."

This, of course, makes no sense to him until I tell him the story...

Whenever he goes a day without shaving, I affectionately call him "porkchop face."

And we're still married.

Casey has a great sense of humor, obviously.




here is another cartoon porkchop that I found online; not my original one, but probably a lot closer to it. Isn't he CUTE?!:

(Doug Jones)

Apple-Raisin Kugel

In the recent past, I had made a savory version of kugel; here is the representation of a sweet kugel.

Apple-Raisin Kugel

1 pkg. (8 oz.) egg noodles (about 4 cups cooked)
4 T. (1/2 stick) butter, softened or melted
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 T. flour
1/4 c. heavy cream
1 apple, chopped
1 c. raisins
1/2 c. sour cream
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla
Optional: 1/2 c. chopped walnuts

1. Cook the noodles according to the package directions, and drain. Toss with melted/softened butter; set aside.
2. Beat the cream cheese with sugar until well combined. Add eggs, flour and cream; mix well. Stir in sour cream, apple, raisins, vanilla and cinnamon.
3. Mix noodles into cream cheese mixture; stir well. Pour into greased 9 x 13 baking pan.
4. Bake at 375˚ for about one hour, or until center is set. Serve warm.

NOTE: Before baking, I topped it with some additional cinnamon-sugar:


It turned out delicious!!!

This is similar to a bread pudding concept, only you're using noodles rather than bread. In fact, with some maple syrup on top, this kugel would make a nice breakfast, I think!

Blackberry-Raspberry Tart

I made this tart with my friend Stuart in mind, because he loves berries, especially raspberries!

Blackberry-Raspberry Tart

1 box Jiffy pie crust mix (or your favorite pie crust recipe; single crust)
1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen blackberries, thawed and drained
1 c. frozen raspberries, thawed and drained
1/2 c. corn starch
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar

1. Mix crust according to package instructions.
2. Roll out crust and fit into tart pan:

3. Line crust with foil and add pie weights to keep in place:

4. Put tart pan on a cookie sheet. Bake crust at 375˚ for 15 minutes or until lightly colored; remove foil and pie weights.

5. Mix berries with sugars and corn starch, gently pour into baked tart shell.
6. Bake at 375˚ for 45 minutes. Allow to cool before serving, or else it'll be sloppy.






NOTE: The little bity chicken cut-outs were made from scraps of pie crust dough, cut with a little cookie cutter that I've had since I was a kid. My grandma had bought me a children's baking set with a little rolling pin, oven mitt and the cookie cutter...still have the cookie cutter!

Useful Tools: Pie Weights

I recently baked a blackberry-raspberry tart, and needed to pre-bake the crust before adding the berry filling. How do you keep your tart crust from puffing up, you ask? Pie weights!

Useful Tools: Pie Weights

I think I just bought these at Bed, Bath & Beyond...or maybe it was at Kitchen Collection around the holidays...? Not sure now. Anyways, this was my first opportunity to make use of them.

I rolled out my pie crust, and fitted into a tart pan. Then I lined the pan with foil and put the pie weights in. Why the foil, you ask? To make it easier to remove the pie weights after baking, because they will be HOT. Get it?


Whether you use ceramic pie weights (which look like little, white, opaque, uneven marbles) or a stainless steel pie chain, it makes tart and pie shells easier to form. This keeps the dough from getting puffy, or bubbling up and making the bottom of the tart/pie uneven.

Catalogs carry this product, and while it may seem like something you don't really need, sometimes just using foil isn't enough to keep the crust in place in the pie pan. I speak from experience. No, really!

The reason I chose the pie weights is because I also have some mini tart shell pans, which I could divide the pie weights into, had I thought of it when I made these tart shells:




Yeah, I'll have to do that over again, using the pie weights, and taking photos of the finished product, which I also forgot to do in this case! LOL!

IN STORES:
Bed, Bath & Beyond

ONLINE:
Chef's Catalog
Bed, Bath & Beyond
Sur La Table
Williams-Sonoma
The Home Marketplace - pie chain

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This really is just for my own amusement...I got some cute little dishes at clearance prices from Crate & Barrel...

They'll be nice for dipping, or sides, or something...







Crate & Barrel
Sale > Sale Dining and Entertaining

Pork Roast with Barley Stuffing

I used barley for stuffing rather than bread or rice because I thought it would be a nice change. It worked out very well!

Pork Roast with Barley, Apple & Cranberry Stuffing

1 (3 lb.) pork loin
1 bag (1 lb.) baby carrots
1/2 large onion, chopped

Stuffing:
1 c. barley (medium pearl)
2 c. water
1 (16 oz.) can whole cranberry sauce
1 apple, diced (I used Braeburn)
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. lemon peel
1/4 t. chili powder
1 T. orange juice concentrate

Cook barley in water for 50 minutes in a rice steamer; or, follow the microwave/stovetop directions on the box.

Drain any excess water from barley...


...and stir in the rest of the stuffing ingredients...



Filet the pork loin to open into thirds, or have your butcher cut it for you when you buy it.

Don't forget to get your twine out and ready before you get your hands 'dirty'.

Place the stuffing along the center of the opened pork loin.
Fold the meat over to enclose the stuffing—it'll be a little gooey—and wrap with cooking twine, trussing it up to hold in the stuffing.

Place carrots and onions in a baking dish or casserole; put stuffed pork loin on top.

Put any leftover stuffing into another baking dish covered with foil, and bake at the same time as the roast.

Bake at 350˚ for about 25 minutes per pound; or about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.



I served it with some sautéed mushrooms:

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Food Network magazine...a quick review

This is like food porn for me! LOL! I really like the magazine, and they did a nice job of including a large variety of recipes.

There's a sort of photo index, to help give you a concise visual representation of the dishes:


Of course, they had to put bacon on the front cover...instantly, I was hooked.


All in all, I think the recipes are practical and a lot of things I will probably try. There's a little pull-out booklet of egg recipes that's cool, but I hope I don't misplace it...that'd be the only drawback on that particular feature.

Some of the recipes inside which caught my eye:
Buffalo-Chicken Mac-N-Cheese
Smoked Salmon Scramble
French Toast (ideas and flavored butter options)
BBQ Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp
Risotto w/ Asparagus
Marmalade Cake
Avocado BLTs


LINK:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/magazine




FYI: I do not work for, nor am I associated with Food Network in any way, shape, or form. I am not being paid for this review, and my magazine subscription was not free. This is an honest evaluation.