Post-ex on the Blue Cheese Burgers

I am happy to report that the Blue Cheese Burgers were an unqualified success.  We used twice as much blue cheese than the recipe called for, but the flavor did not overpower the burgers.  Next time, we will add even more blue cheese.

Blue Cheese Burgers

It is an amazing March day here on the western plains of the Enchanted Mitten. It is 71F and sunny as I type this post.  It is a perfect day for grilling.  We decided to fire up our Weber grill this evening and make hamburgers.  


Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 green onion, minced
- 4-5 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
- 1 egg
- Salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
Crack the egg into a large dish and scramble the yolk and the egg whites.  Add the ground beef, mustard, garlic, onions and salt and pepper to taste and blend well.  Once  blended, add the blue cheese and blend again.  Do not over blend. Shape the mixture into patties and keep cold until ready to cook.


Prepare a fire in your grill.  When the fire is ready, grill the burgers for approximately 5 minutes per side.  Do not press down on the patties while cooking.  When the burgers are done, remove them from the grill and serve on hamburger buns.  


Cook's Notes:
We used All American Season from Mickey T's Rubs and Spices instead of salt and pepper.  I cannot recommend his spices and rubs more strongly.  


We will serve these burgers with cole slaw, seasoned french fries and grilled zucchini.  Full report to follow after we have this meal.  As ever, cocktails are at 6:30PM, sharp.


Full Report
Fan_freakin_tastic.   A couple of notes.  We would, next time, ADD more blue cheese, drizzling some on the top of the burger after the flip.  And a friend suggested adding bacon.  Next time!  

Chinese Pot Roast

This is a tried and true recipe that is in the oven as I type this text:

Chinese Pot Roast

Ingredients:

1 (4 pound) beef chuck roast (bone in or not)
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups water
3/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground ginger  (I used 1/3 of a cup.  We like ginger)
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Coat the chuck roast with garlic salt, pepper and mustard powder. Heat the oil in a large oven-proof skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the roast and brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.

In a medium bowl, stir together 3 cups of water, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, ginger and celery seed. Pour over the roast and then cover the roast tightly with a lid or aluminum foil.

Bake in the preheated oven until the roast is very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

When the roast is done, remove it from the pan to a serving plate. Set the pan of drippings over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Stir together cornstarch and 1/4 cup of cold water. Pour into the boiling liquid and stir until thickened, about 1 minute. Serve, pouring the gravy over the roast.

Cook's Notes:  I am using a rolled roast for tonight's meal.  It was handy and defrosted.  I am cooking the meal in a Dutch oven, which I will use later to make the gravy.  I will make rice to compliment this roast, and some sort of tossed greens.  As ever, cocktails at 6:30PM, sharp.  

Beef and Lamb Chipotle Chili

We made chili tonight at the Cafe.  I found a recipe for Chipotle Chili and made a few changes to it with the items I had on hand.  Try serving it with some sour cream and grated cheese.  This recipe is a keeper.


Beef and Lamb Chipotle Chili


Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 2 TB bacon fat (or olive oil)
- 1 small onion, minced
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 small can of chipotle pepper(with seeds) finely minced
- 1 TB adobo sauce from chipotle can
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 12oz package of frozen squash (defrosted)
- 1 16oz bag frozen corn
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1 bottle of beer
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 can (14.5oz) crushed tomatoes


Directions:
1. Brown meat with fat in pan.  Drain the meat and set aside.
2. While the meat is browning, finely chop the onions and garlic.  Cook chopped onions, garlic, chipotle pepper, chili powder and squash in the same pan the meat was browned in for 7-8 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer this mixture into a large pot.
3. Place the browned meat into the same large pot.  Add the frozen corn, tomato, beef stock and beer into the pot.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer. After 30 minutes, taste the chili and adjust seasoning to your  taste.  Cook the chili for 30 more minutes and then serve.
4.  Add sour cream and grated cheese to the chili, if desired.


Cook's Notes:  This is a variation on a recipe I saw on a cooking blog.  I substituted frozen squash for fresh squash, and I added the corn.  I also used a can of chipotle peppers and I minced the peppers before adding them to the  pot.  If you do not like lamb, you could just use ground beef.  I used lamb because the original recipe called for it and I have a pounds of frozen ground lamb left from a 1/2 a lamb we bought last year.  The chili was spicy, but not too hot

Chicken Piccata

We will be making a tried and true recipe in the Cafe tonight: Chicken Piccata.  Along with some sort of to be determined salad, we will serve this dish over angel hair pasta.  Thanks to our friends at Art of the Table, we will enjoy this meal with a bottle of "The Tillerman" from the Hook & Ladder Winery.  We have recently become a bit more adventurous with our white wine pairings, so we are looking forward to trying this wine.  As ever, cocktails are at 6:30PM, sharp.


Ingredients:

• 3-4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (1 1/2 - 2 lbs.)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• Additional all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1/4 cup capers, drained
• Angel hair pasta
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley (optional)

Recipe:

1. Using a kitchen hammer (sometimes called a meat tenderizer), pound the chicken breasts several times to flatten them.  Next, cut the chicken into bite size pieces.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to taste.  Place additional flour in a shallow baking dish.  Dip the chicken into flour to coat and shake off the excess flour. Set aside the chicken.
2.  Mix 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons flour into a measuring cup and gently warm the mixture in a microwave oven and set aside.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy skillet.  Add the chicken to the skillet and cook over medium high heat until golden brown.  Remove the chicken and place on a platter.  Tent the chicken with aluminum foil to keep warm.
4. In the same skillet, bring the wine, lemon juice and broth to a boil over medium high heat.  Whisk in the butter flour mixture and cook until the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes.  Stir in the capers, parsley and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.  Place the chicken into skillet and warm the chicken for 3-4 minutes, then serve over the previously prepared Angel Hair Pasta.
5. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Deirdre's World Famous Salad

This salad recipe is a variation of a recipe a friend of ours shared with us last year.  You must be warned that if you do not like blue cheese or walnuts, this salad is not for you.  Here is what you need:

- 1/2 head radicchio, torn into bite size pieces

- 1/2 head Boston Bibb lettuce, torn into bite size pieces

- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

- 1/4 cup roasted walnuts

- 1/2 Braeburn apple, peeled and sliced into bite size pieces.

- 2 ounces olive oil

- 3-4 tablespoons white wine vinegar

- 1 tablespoon honey

Whisk the oil, vinegar and honey until an emulsion is formed.  Place the radicchio, lettuce, blue cheese, walnuts and sliced apple into a bowl.  Pour the emulsion in the bowl and toss.  

Yield 4

P.S.  Deirdre's husband proudly posted this recipe.

Maple Mustard Ham Steak

We made this in the Cafe tonight.  It was easy to make and gave the ham steak a very nice taste.  Here is what you need:


- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/4 maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1 ham steak


Mix the mustard, syrup and cider vinegar.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade.  Prepare a fire in the grill.  Cook the ham steak for approximately 5 minutes.  Flip the steak and brush the marinade on the steak.  After 4-5 minutes, flip the steak again and brush more of the marinade on the steak.  Repeat flipping and marinating the steak until it it done.  Remove the steak from the grill, place it on a cutting board and cover it with foil.  Allow the steak to rest for 8-10 minutes.  Slice and serve the ham, and pour the reserved marinade over the ham.


Cook's Notes:  We microwaved the reserved marinade for approximately 30 seconds to warm it up.  We then spooned the warmed marinade over the ham and it was delicious.