Open-Faced Bruschetta Burgers

This was my first time making a batch of burgers using more than one type of meat for the patties, and I must say I was quite pleased with the results. Mixing Italian sausage in with ground turkey makes for a flavorful burger. Serve it with a slice of toasty Italian bread, fresh mozzarella and some homemade bruschetta and you’ve got quite a grilled delight on your plate!

Open-Faced Bruschetta Burgers 
Serves 8 
2 pounds Roma tomatoes, cored and diced
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons minced garlic, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for bread
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil, divided
1 pound ground turkey 1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage
½ teaspoon salt, plus extra for bruschetta
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into eight slices
1 loaf Italian bread, cut into one-inch slices (you’ll likely have extra)

Preheat grill to medium-high.

Make bruschetta by combining tomatoes, 2 teaspoons garlic and olive oil in a medium bowl. Season with salt and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, Italian sausage, salt and pepper, remaining garlic and Italian seasoning. Shape the mixture into 8 patties.

Put 8 bread slices on a plate and lightly brush with olive oil.

Place patties on grill, cooking for 5 minutes before turning them over. Top each patty with a slice of mozzarella. Cook an additional 5-7 minutes, until meat is completely cooked and the mozzarella is slightly melted. Remove burgers from the grill and let them sit for a minute.

Put bread slices, oiled side down, on grill for a minute to lightly toast them. Remove from grill.

Build your burger by starting with a toasted bread slice, adding a patty and topping with bruschetta.

Make-Fast Mondays: Bratwurst with Beans and Greens

I’ve been firing up the oven a lot lately, the direct result of a long string of gloomy, rainy days (but please keep it coming, El Niño). Chase the gray away by making this delicious, cozy, quick meal!

Bratwurst with Beans and Greens 
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
12 ounces bratwurst or smoked sausage, sliced (I used Saag’s Natural Chicken Bratwurst)
3 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups diced tomatoes (from two cans; you’ll have a little bit extra)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups chopped greens (I used a mix of kale and spinach)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet or other oven-proof pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Add sausage and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, smoked paprika, thyme and pepper flakes. Cook for another 3-3 minutes so everything’s nice and warm. Remove skillet from heat and stir in the greens. Season with salt and pepper, then put skillet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Rosemary Potato and Chicken Pizza

There’s a Sacramento restaurant, Paesanos, that used to serve a phenomenal Patata y Pollo pizza covered with roast chicken, potatoes, herbs and cheese. This pizza was so good my friend Lucy called the restaurant in hopes of getting the recipe, (unsuccessfully) spinning a tale that her (nonexistent) child had food allergies and that she needed to know all the ingredients so she could make sure it was safe for her fake kid to eat.

I haven’t visited this restaurant in years (and don’t think the Patata y Pollo has been on their menu for a while), but I still crave that pizza. Not sure if my attempt to recreate this pizza is a perfect match, but it is still sooooo good.

Rosemary Potato and Chicken Pizza 
8 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced thin (use a mandoline for super thin slices)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, divided
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
1 chicken bouillon cube, smashed
¼ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons water
Pizza dough (I use one 16-ounce ball of Trader Joe’s dough)
Flour and cornmeal (for prepping the pizza dough)
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 ounces goat cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Toss potatoes, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon rosemary in a bowl. Arrange potato slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast until golden and tender, about 18-20 minutes.

While potatoes are in the oven, warm the remaining olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for a minute, until fragrant. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink. Add bouillon, wine and water to the frying pan and cook for a couple minutes, until chicken is completely cooked and sauce has thickened.

Roll out your pizza dough on a floured surface and transfer to a cornmeal-dusted pizza pan. Brush dough with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining rosemary. Top dough with potatoes, chicken, goat cheese and mozzarella and bake for 15-20 minutes, until crust and mozzarella are golden.

Make-Fast Mondays: Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Cashews

Stir-fry dishes are such a great meal when you want something fresh, fast and flavorful. Just chop up some chicken and veggies, whisk together a sauce, toss everything in the pan and a few minutes later you’ve got dinner on the table.

Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Cashews 
For the sauce:
¼ cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon agave syrup (honey will also work)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili oil
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon white pepper

For the stir fry:
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 medium zucchini, diced
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 green bell pepper, cored and diced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus extra for garnish
½ cup cashews

Combine broth, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, cornstarch, agave syrup, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, chili oil, oyster sauce, ginger and white pepper in a bowl. Whisk together and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in large skillet (wok or pan will also work!) over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked. Transfer chicken to a dish and set aside.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon sesame oil, garlic, zucchini, mushrooms, bell pepper and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are slightly softened. Add the chicken and cashews to the skillet. Stir in the sauce and let everything simmer for 1-2 minutes, until sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Garnish with additional red pepper flakes and serve with rice or enjoy as-is!

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven’s Kung Pao Chicken recipe. 

Scalloped Potatoes with Mushrooms and Thyme

I looooove rich, super-cheesy dish scalloped potatoes. What I don’t love is imagining how many miles I’ll need to run to burn off just one helping. The next time you get a hankering for scalloped potatoes, give this recipe a try. My version omits the cheese but is rich in flavor thanks to a low-fat sauce featuring plenty of fresh thyme and garlic. Working mushrooms into the mix also lightens things up a bit by making this dish a little less starchy.

Scalloped Potatoes with Mushrooms and Thyme 
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 ½ cups nonfat milk
¼ cup flour
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
8 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms
1 pound white potatoes, sliced thin
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for a minute, until fragrant. Whisk in the milk, flour and thyme. Cook sauce, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

In an 8-by-8 square baking dish, arrange ⅓ of the potatoes in the dish, followed by ½ of the mushrooms, a little salt and pepper and a light drizzle of the sauce; repeat once more. Arrange remaining ⅓ potatoes on top and pour remaining sauce over potatoes. Bake covered for 30 minutes, then uncover for another 10-15 minutes for a total bake time of 40-45 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Shrimp Enchiladas with Spinach and Goat Cheese

There are days when I crave an enchilada oozing with melted cheddar and covered with red sauce. But then there are days (and enchiladas) like this, and they’re just as delicious.

Shrimp Enchiladas with Spinach and Goat Cheese 
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 7-ounce can diced green chiles
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed, chopped
6 ounces baby spinach, chopped
1 28-ounce can green chile enchilada sauce
3 ounces chevre (soft goat cheese)
12 corn tortillas
2 cups grated Monterey jack cheese
Fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, cumin and oregano and sauté until tender, about 3 or 4 minutes. Add shrimp and chiles and cook until shrimp are pink. Remove from heat and stir in spinach. Use a butter knife or spoon to crumble the chevre over the shrimp mixture.

Warm enchilada sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. Ladle enough enchilada sauce to lightly coat the bottom of a 9-by-13 glass baking dish. To assemble each enchilada, dip a tortilla in sauce until lightly coated, add a scoop of the shrimp mixture to the center of the tortilla, roll the tortilla and place, seam side down, in prepared baking dish. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and grated Monterey jack, cover with foil, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Remove from oven, garnish with cilantro, and serve.

Vegetarian? Swap out the shrimp for a pound of sliced cremini mushrooms!

Chicken artichoke cassoulet, oh la la!

This isn’t the most traditional take on a French cassoulet you’ll find, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a go the next time you’ve got a hankering for a delicious, hearty meal.

Chicken and Artichoke Cassoulet 
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small chunks
1 cup pearl onions (or diced onion)
12 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
2 tablespoons minced garlic
½ cup chicken broth
¼ cup dry white wine
3 cups prepared Great Northern beans (or other white beans)
½ cup diced Italian parsley, plus extra for garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ cup bread crumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To make the topping, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan and melted butter in a bowl, stirring briefly with a fork until blended. Set aside.

In a Dutch oven or other oven-safe dish (I used my Le Creuset braiser), heat olive oil over moderate heat. Add chicken, garlic and onions and cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked, stirring occasionally. Add broth, wine and beans to the pot. Stir in parsley and let everything simmer for a couple minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.

Cover cassoulet evenly with topping before transferring dish from stove (don’t forget to turn off your burner!) to oven. Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, until topping is toasty brown. Remove from oven, garnish with remaining parsley and serve.

Would you rather make your own pot of beans for this recipe instead of busting out the can opener? 

White Beans
1 pound dry Great Northern beans, picked through and rinsed
3 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt

Soak beans in water (covered with 1-2 inches of water) in a medium pot for 8-10 hours. Drain beans in a colander. Return beans to pot and cover with 1 inch water. Add garlic, bay leaves and salt and bring pot to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1-2 hours, until beans are tender.

Suffering from kale fatigue? Change it up with chard

I can only eat so much kale. Yes, I know it's good for you for all kinds of reasons, but sometimes it just feels like tedious work. The next time you’re eyeing leafy greens at the farmers market or grocery store, grab a bunch of chard and give this hearty soup a try.

Sausage, Bean and Chard Soup 
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 medium yellow onion, diced
12 ounces smoked chicken sausage, sliced
2 cans Great Northern beans (or white beans of your preference)
3 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 bunch green chard, ribs removed, sliced into thin ribbons
Salt and pepper, to taste

Warm olive oil over medium heat in Dutch oven or other large pot. Add garlic and onion and cook for a minute or two, stirring occasionally. Add sausage to the pot and continue cooking for a couple more minutes. Increase heat and add broth, beans and bay leaf to pot. Bring contents to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Remove bay leaf, stir in chard, cover and simmer until chard is soft, about five minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Make-Fast Mondays: Creamy Cilantro and White Bean Soup

Want a thick, creamy soup without adding any dairy? My favorite trick in the past has been to purée some, if not all of my ingredients, with our trusty Vitamix after everything’s had a chance to simmer. However, scooping steamy soup into a pitcher can be a bit hot and messy, so with this recipe I opted to purée before cooking. Less mess, and tossing the whole onion into the blender meant less time chopping. Piece of cake.

Creamy Cilantro and White Bean Soup 
4 15-ounce cans white beans, drained
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 large white onion
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic 
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Equipment: Blender 

Put two cans of beans, broth, onion and cilantro in blender pitcher, add lid, and blend ingredients until smooth. Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium flame. Add garlic and cook for a minute or two, until aromatic. Pour contents of pitcher and remaining beans into pot. Stir in cumin. Increase heat and bring soup to boil. Reduce heat, cover pot with lid and let soup simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, as needed. Remove soup from heat and stir in the lime juice. Divide soup among four bowls and serve.

White chili recipe a trusty fave

I’ve been rocking this chili recipe for years but have yet to share it on this blog … until now! If you like a spicier chili, swap out the cheddar for more pepper jack.

Turkey White Bean Chili 
1 large white onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey
8 ounces diced green chiles
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar
Salt and pepper, to taste

 In a large pot over medium heat, combine onion, garlic and ground turkey, stirring occasionally and sautéeing for roughly 10 minutes, or until the turkey is brown. Add the chiles, cumin, oregano and cinnamon and sauté for five more minutes.

Puree two cans of the beans with three cups of the chicken broth in a food processor. Pour the puree in the pot along with the remaining beans and broth. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the cheese and simmer for another five minutes before serving. Possible garnishes include green onions, chopped cilantro, sliced avocado, sour cream and tortilla chips.

Baked fish with plenty of fresh flavors

I need to cook fish on a more regular basis. Boneless chicken breasts, jumbo prawns and ground turkey are my constants when it comes to cooking animal proteins. However, there are plenty of other fish in the sea (ha) when it comes to menu planning, which is I created a recipe around cod, quite a mellow fellow as far as fishy flavor is concerned. I think the acidity of the tomatoes and the salt of the olives really complement the fish in this dish, which also gets some wonderful fresh flavors thanks to parsley and a little fresh lemon juice squeezed over the plate at the last second. This recipe yields four main-course servings.

Baked Cod with Tomatoes and Olives 
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon minced garlic
28-ounce can plum tomatoes in liquid, coarsely chopped or crushed by hand
¾ cup Spanish manzanilla olives
¼ cup dry white wine
1 pound cod fillets, rinsed and patted dry
½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
8 ounces pasta, cooked al dente (I used Trader Joe’s Lemon Pepper Pappardelle)

One lemon, cut into wedges Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat bottom of 9-inch-by-13-inch glass dish with one teaspoon of olive oil and set aside. Heat remaining teaspoon olive oil in large frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for just a minute or two, until aromatic, before adding tomatoes, wine and green olives. Let simmer over medium heat until sauce thickens a bit, stirring occasionally, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in parsley and remove from heat. Place cod fillets in glass baking dish and pour tomato sauce over fillets. Cover dish with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes, until fish registers 140 degrees with a meat thermometer and flakes easily with a fork. Divide pasta among plates, topping each plate with cod fillet and a spoonful or two of sauce. Garnish each plate with a lemon wedge and serve.

Giving chicken soup a little kick

Homemade chicken soup is such a simply wonderful meal. It’s a great comfort when you’re under the weather, but a warm bowl full of chicken, broth and other goodies is delicious no matter how you feel. The next time you want a little twist on a traditional favorite, give this recipe a try.

Kickin’ Chicken and Rice Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, ends removed, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
1 cup dry white rice, rinsed
1 cup diced cooked chicken
1 cup (7-8 ounces) diced smoked sausage (I used one of these guys)
8 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
8 ounces large shrimp, butterflied and separated

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large, heavy pot. Add garlic, onion, carrots, celery and bell pepper and sautée for a couple minutes. Stir in Creole seasoning, rice, sausage and chicken and sautée for a couple more minutes. Add broth and tomato paste. Bring pot to boil and then reduce heat, allowing soup to simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, or until rice is cooked. Stir in shrimp, cover, and simmer for another five minutes, until shrimp is fully cooked.

Keeping cans of cannellini beans close

I try not to play favorites, but when it comes to beans, I absolutely love cooking with cannellinis. These white kidney beans are just so versatile. Give any or all of these three quick, no-cook cannellini recipes a try and you’ll see what I mean.

Cannellini Bean Salad 
2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups roasted red bell peppers
2 cloves garlic juice of half a lemon
Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Put peppers, garlic and lemon juice in a blender and process until smooth. Stir dressing in with beans in a bowl and top with parsley.

Pesto White Bean Dip
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
¼ cup pesto
Juice of half a lemon
Possible dippers: Pita chips

Everything goes into the blender for a quick spin, until smooth.

Red Pepper White Bean Dip 
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans
1 cup roasted red bell pepper
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Possible dippers: Carrot and celery sticks

All ingredients go into the blender. Purée, adding a little more balsamic if you’d like to thin the dip a bit.

Adding the recipes of others to my repertoire

A caterer once told me that it only takes a minor tweak to someone’s existing recipe to make it your own. Can’t say I agree, which is why I’m going to share a couple photos and then refer you to some delicious recipes others have created but that I’ve tried and love.

Corn Farrotto from Bon Appetit (doctored up with some garlic shrimp)

One of my favorite food bloggers posted this Toasted Sesame Quinoa with Chicken recipe a couple months ago and I’ve already made it half a dozen times.

A soup with plenty of spuds and spice

We’re not big potato eaters but every once in awhile I’ll spot a ginormous bag of spuds at the grocery store, see that it costs mere pennies, and before you know it I’ve hoisted a bag into my cart.

This is what happened during my most recent trip to the supermarket, when I spent a whopping $2 on 10 pounds of white potatoes (this soup was the result of my last cheap-as-dirt potato deal). I also picked up some end-of-season corn for 25 cents per ear.

It’s finally cooling down and feeling like fall, and these super-cheap ingredients were the basis of one of the first of many soups and stews I plan to make in the coming months. I like the sweet flavors of the corn and the cooked red onion mixed with a little bit of kick from the jalapeno, diced green chiles and cumin.

Spiced Potato and Corn Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large jalapeno, seeds removed, diced
1 medium red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
2 pounds white potatoes, cleaned and cut into small cubes
2 ears of corn, husked, kernels cut from cobs
7 cups chicken broth
4 oz. can diced green chiles
Salt and pepper, to taste
Green onion, for garnish

Warm oil in a large heavy pot. Add jalapenos, red onion, garlic and cumin and cook mixture, stirring occasionally, for just a couple minutes. Add potatoes, corn and broth to pot, cover pot and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Use two-cup glass measuring cup to scoop six cups of soup into blender. Puree soup mixture and pour back into the pot. Stir in the green chiles and simmer for just a couple more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Finding redemption after shopping on autopilot

Do you ever find yourself bumbling through a supermarket on autopilot, not really considering what goes into the shopping cart until you’re unloading it at the cash register?

This is what happens when I shop in zombie mode:

Yup, that’s a ridiculously small portion of dry multi-bean mix. I spotted these beans in the bulk bins a while back and thought it would be a good idea to bring some home for a future soup recipe. The problem is that I wasn’t thinking of how many beans should probably go into this soup, and I only bought about a cup of mixed beans. Ridiculous! Luckily I had plenty of dried pintos and lentils to mix in with the aforementioned sad scoop of beans. Throw the hodge podge into a pot with some veggies and spicy sausage and boom, you’ve got a delicious, filling soup for the masses.

You can prepare dry beans for a recipe like this a couple different ways. One option is to soak the beans in water overnight. What I did, because I forgot to soak my beans, is go with a “quick soak” method by putting the bean mix in a large pot, adding enough water to cover the beans with a couple inches of water, and bringing the pot to a boil. After a couple minutes of rolling boil, you can remove the pot from heat and let the beans sit, uncovered, for an hour before draining. Either method will get you beans that are ready to be cooked. And no matter which method you employ, be sure to rinse the beans prior to soaking and pick out any stones or bad beans.

Bean Bonanza Soup 
2 cups mixed dry beans, soaked, drained and rinsed
32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
28 oz can stewed tomatoes with liquid
2 cups andouille sausage links
1 white onion, diced
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, carrots, celery,oregano and bay leaves. Sauté for a couple minutes before adding sausage to pot and sautéeing for a couple more minutes. Add tomatoes to the pot, using hands to crush tomatoes. Stir in beans and broth and bring to a boil before reducing heat. Allow pot to simmer, covered, for 30-60 minutes, until beans are tender. Remove bay leaves before serving soup.

What makes Friday fun when you’re 31

Oh, how Friday nights have changed.

While I fondly recall the Fridays of my younger days, rushing home to get ready for a big night out, I must say that I’m equally fond of the much more relaxed approach we now take when kicking off the weekend.

Happy hour? Sometimes.

Meeting up with friends for dinner/drinks/trouble? It still happens.

I find that more and more that the energy I used to dedicate to prepping for a blowout night I’m now redirecting into firing up the stereo when I get home, cracking open some beers or a bottle of wine, cooking a great Friday night dinner and relaxing with my sweets. Yes, this might seem a little sleepy compared to what some you have got going on, and yes, I’m only 31, not 101, but sometimes it feels really good to get home and just chill. And, all this relaxing on Friday night means we’ve got plenty of energy for weekend shenanigans Saturday and Sunday.

Last Friday was nice and warm, a prelude to the much warmer (OK, blazing hot) summer days we have ahead of us in Sacramento. It was the perfect night to fire up the barbecue for some delicious lamb burgers. I’ve only made lamb burgers a couple times and knew I wanted to top them with a little bit of red onion, possibly some cucumber too. My good friend Kimmy made the great suggestion to make a “quick pickle” of the veggies, and the result really made the flavor of the meat sing without overpowering it.

Last Friday’s pre-summer vibe also inspired me to mix up some frosty cocktails. I’ve recently developed a love for the sweet, clean flavor of elderflower liqueur thanks to friends Melissa and Mike, who recently hosted cocktail hour during a neighborhood progressive dinner. They served white linens, a drink they originally discovered at the Shady Lady Saloon and that features elderflower liqueur.

I found a couple recipes online and made a couple tweaks, using Hendrick’s Gin (tastes great with cucumber) and opting for agave nectar instead of simple syrup. This just might be my new summer cocktail.

Lamb burgers with Quick Pickle 
1 cup thinly sliced English cucumber
⅓ cup thinly sliced red onion
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of salt
1 lb. ground lamb
⅓ cup chopped fresh mint
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoon paprika
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup crumbled feta
Four sandwich thins or buns of your preference

For the quick pickle: Combine cucumber, onion, rice wine vinegar, salt and sugar in a bowl. Let sit for one hour and drain excess liquid.

 For the burger: Mix ground lamb, mint, cinnamon, paprika, garlic and feta in a bowl to combine. Form four patties. Cooking on the grill for 4-5 minutes each side resulted in some mostly done (not pink) patties. Place patty on bottom half of bun, add a scoop of pickled veggies and top with the other half of the bun. We rounded out the meal with a side salad of green-leaf lettuce, red bell pepper and the best (store-bought) dressing ever.

White Linen 
1 ½ ounces Hendrick’s Gin
½ ounce elderflower liqueur
½ ounce fresh lemon juice
½ ounce agave nectar
Two slices English cucumber, slightly muddled
Soda water
Ice

Combine first five ingredients in a glass (I used a mixer because I made two drinks at a time). Add some ice and some soda water and enjoy!

Quick, easy and veg-friendly weeknight winners

Some of the tastiest meals I came up with during our (now long-forgotten) vegetarian month were quite quick and simple.

For example, I made a speedy tomato sauce that worked well with back-to-back weeknight dinners. All it took was one 28-ounce can of plum tomatoes, one red bell pepper, diced, and a handful of garlic cloves, minced. I crushed the tomatoes by hand and simmered them (and the juice in which they were canned) with the pepper and garlic for a few minutes before puréeing everything.

This sauce tasted great simmered with some sliced Tofurkey Italian Sausage and a can of cannellini beans (rinsed and drained), served atop a huge plateful of spinach which I wilted with a couple dashes of soy sauce and some red pepper flakes.

The sauce tasted equally delicious the next night with Trader Joe’s Meatless Meatballs and whole wheat spaghetti.

Some other successful veg-friendly meals that I’d make again even if I wasn’t trying to avoid meat:

• Trader Joe’s Masala Simmer Sauce heated up with a can of chickpeas and a few handfuls of fresh spinach and poured over brown rice. A piece of masala tandoori naan (also from TJ’s) on the side was great for soaking up the sauce.
• Sandwiches with Trader Joe’s Masala Veggie Patties (toasted in a frying pan), tandoori naan, micro greens and spicy hummus
• Quinoa with Black Beans and Cilantro, wrapped in wheat tortillas 
• And assembling this trusty lasagna took just a couple minutes without cooking up any Italian sausage.

May 20 Salad: An Omnivore's Delight

 Chris made his world-famous tri tip tonight and I went all omnivore on him, making a salad with the tri tip, mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, fresh white corn (raw, cut right off of the cob) and a roasted red pepper vinaigrette.

Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette
Two roasted red bell peppers
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 clove garlic

To roast bell peppers, either toss ‘em on the grill or throw them in the broiler, turning occasionally, until skin is charred and blistered. Remove from heat and place them in a paper bag for a couple minutes (wait until they’re cool enough to handle) before removing skin, stems and seeds.
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Library card a wonderful kitchen tool

One of the many wonderful reasons to have a library card is being able to test-drive cookbooks.

It doesn’t make sense to go out and buy every glossy, delicious tome that makes my mouth water. So when a book strikes my fancy, or if I’m interested in learning more about working with a particular ingredient or in a certain style, I log into my Sacramento Public Library account, peruse the catalog and make my reservation. I can keep a book for a minimum of three weeks (being able to renew online is another perk), which gives me plenty of time to read up on techniques, hunt for new recipes and the like. I use sticky notes or paper scraps to note recipes I like, make photocopies that I’ll file in my binder, and return the book by the time it’s due.

I’m currently snacking on “5 Ingredient Fix” by Claire Robinson and Betty Rosbottom’s “Sunday Soup,” a book I first found on my friend Lucy’s shelf years ago but never got around to buying for myself. I might still have to purchase “Sunday Soup,” as I’m tempted by at least half the recipes. The following dish is inspired by a chicken chili recipe included in the book. If you want to add more heat to the chili, use more chipotles and the adobo sauce in which they’re packaged. I beefed up this meal by making mini-bread bowls out of some Kaiser rolls I had in the fridge.

Chipotle Corn Turkey Chili
1 ¼ pounds ground turkey
2 cups chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, seeded and coarsely chopped
4 cups chicken broth
28 ounces canned diced tomatoes
4 cups corn kernels (if using frozen, thaw before adding to pot)
2 15-ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-ounce can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
Salt and pepper, to taste
Possible garnishes: chopped cilantro, sour cream, shredded cheddar, tortilla chips

Cook turkey, onions and garlic in large pot over medium heat until meat is browned. Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano, and chipotle peppers. Cook for another minute before adding broth, tomatoes, corn and beans. Bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes. To serve, ladle chili into bowls and add garnishes.