Stuffed Burgers

For Mr. J’s bday we had a multi-day celebration. Since his birthday was a weekday AND a Bruin’s playoff game, I knew it should be fun, quick, and something to psych him up for the game (as if he needed help getting excited)!
stuffed_burger_donej_290_200
I made stuffed burgers after having such success with the burgers on the grill pan inside. I see them on menus but of course they never seem to offer them as turkey or chicken so I can’t usually partake.

I made Mr. J a beef burger stuffed with blue cheese and bacon. I made myself a turkey burger stuffed with Monterey Jack and bacon.  SO good! They were also very easy.

Ingredients:

1/3 pound ground beef/turkey for each burger
2 slices of bacon, cooked & crumbled
2 tbs chopped, shredded, or crumbled cheese
2 rolls

Directions:

Form the patty with most of the meat for the burger. Reserve the last bit for the top.
stuffed_burger_myinside_290_200stuffed_burger_jinside_290_200
Add cheese and bacon.
Apply the reserve to the top of the filling while forming the sides to meet the top.
Grill on each side, covering if needed to cook through
stuffed_burger_cooks_290_200

He was happy to have ground beef at home for a change since I do everything in turkey or chicken. We both thought these were fun and want to try again too! I was thinking going Greek with feta and spinach would be great as well.

stuffed_burger_doneme_290_200stuffed_burger_donej_290_200

Memory Meal

In honor of a very special man Mr. J’s family lost I wanted to remember him at home since the  memorial service wasn’t for a while. I asked Mr. J’s Gram what Gramp would pick if he could have anything to eat. She said: pork chops, apple sauce, and sweet potatoes.

I took a spin off these and went with it. I made Sweet Potato Anna and Rye-Stuffed Pork Chops with Apple Thyme Pan sauce. It was good. Definitely not a light summery meal but it was a cool and rainy day which went perfectly!
stufpork_290_200
Rye Stuffed Pork Chops with Apple Thyme Pan Sauce
I found this recipe on a blog called A Sweet Chef check it out. This recipe looked amazing on there! I have nothing against apple sauce but thought adding apple into the pork would be more my style.

Ingredients:

For the stuffing
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, separated
1 cup rye bread, diced small (about 2 slices)
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup dried apples, diced
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves (I went with dried)
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the chops
2 boneless center-cut pork chops (about 5 oz each)
1 tbsp. olive oil
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the sauce
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. shallots, minced (I used onion instead)
1 tsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
chopped fresh thyme leaves (again, I used dried)
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
(I added in a smidge of maple syrup for sweetness)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Toast bread in 1 tbsp. butter in an oven-proof skillet over medium high heat until crisp and then transfer to a bowl.  Return pan to heat.
stuf_pork_stuffing290_200
Saute onion, celery and apples in 1 tbsp. butter over medium heat until soft.  Stir in thyme.  Add vegetables to bread cubes.  Toss mixture with broth, vinegar and seasonings until liquid is absorbed.  Wipe out the skillet.
stuf_pork_apple_290_200
Prepare chops.  Fill pockets with bread mixture.  They will be full, but you’ll probably have some left-over stuffing.  Saute chops in oil over medium-high heat until brown on one side, about 3 minutes.  Carefully turn the chops over and add any extra stuffing to the pan at this point.  Transfer pan to the oven.  Roast about 8 minutes, then remove the chops and stuffing from the pan and set aside.  Tent with foil to keep warm.
stufpork_pan_290_200
Saute shallots (onions) for the sauce in 1 tbsp. of butter in same skillet over medium heat.  Add flour and cook for 1 minute.  Deglaze the pan with cider, wine and vinegar.  Simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes.  Finish sauce with thyme, salt and pepper.
stufpork_sauce_290_200
Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Anna

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato peeled & sliced thin
3 tbs melted butter
1 tbs dijon mustard

Directions

Slice the peeled sweet potato into thin slices (I used a mandolin)
Melt butter and mix mustard in
layer potato slices and drizzle butter on each layer adding salt & pepper too
sweetpot_anna_layered_200_290
Bake 425 for 30 minutes until the edges are brown& crispy!
sweetpot_anna_plate

Father’s Day

I have such a wonderful father and I hope he is having a terrific day even though his daughters are off on vacation right now. Sis and I are off to the bahamas but I wanted to take a minute to celebrate my Dad. He’s so caring, strong, and such a great support to me. I’m very lucky to have him.

dads_day_290_200

photo photo courtesy of Sideral via Creative Commons


He’s not where I learned any cooking tips from though…dill and parmesan cheese are his favorite additions to everything! He makes great Mac & Cheese from a box and AMAZING omelettes. If you’re ever lucky enough to have my dad offer you an omelette, you take it.

Here’s to you Dad!

Calzone Queen

I was racking my brain for what to make for my Boston visitors. There were 6 of us and I wanted something everyone would like and that wouldn’t be too tricky to pull off while still getting to see everyone. I decided on calzones and now, it’s official: they are my signature dish.

I figured for 6 people I could made them ahead of time and warm when folks arrived. It turned out I was too distracted by wedding invitation stuffing to make everything in advance, but I busted out a few  tasty new ones alongside a previous favorite.

I made turkey meatball, spinach, and mozzarella as I’ve made before. I called it the “North End’er” for my guests visiting Boston.

We also had a sausage, red & yellow pepper calzone called “Fenway Favorite” which was a big hit.
calzone_fenway_290_200
A new one was broccolini & cheddar I called “Cambridge Common”
calzone_cambridge_290_200
and a BBQ chicken and caramelized onion “Houston Misses You” calzone. Does BBQ chicken relate to any area of Boston? I was stumped on connecting that one.
calzone_houston_290_200

BBQ Chicken & Onion Calzone

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts
1 cup bbq sauce of your choosing
1 onion
2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese
1 dough ball

Directions

Marinate the chicken in BBQ sauce before grilling it. I made some BBQ sauce before hand but any kind you like would be fine
Fork apart the grilled chicken and slather with BBQ sauce
Chop the onion and caramelize in a skillet
Sprinkle chicken and sauce, the onions, and cheese onto half of the dough ball
Repeat until it seems like WAY too much (trust me on this)
Close the calzone and make some air slits on the top.
Brush with eggwash and bake at 425 for 20 minutes

I liked it a lot. Probably because I knew I had made the sauce. It was so easy! I also added in a few bottled sauces with too little left to use productively. Liquid Smoke was new to me but adding some in made a nice touch. I wasn’t as meticulous as usual about getting filling all the way to the edges because I was chatting. I’m shocked that I got all 4 into the oven at the same time (2 on one pan)!

Guess what I’ve been eating for lunch this week!

I’ve Got An Ap For That…

While I sadly do not yet have an iPhone I may have just made the best restaurant APpetizer at home!

In honor of my Mac & Cheese-loving-Mrs. Z, I made some fried mac & cheese bites when she was visiting Boston with her husband (who planned a guest blog post for me!). Mrs. A & Mr. D joined us for a mini staff (and husbands) dinner party.
fried_mac_plate
They were amazing. Albeit not perfect, they were still delectable and I’m onto a good thing. I think the technique was really important. I stole a tip from a blog, Dinner With Julie. She recommended making the mac & cheese then refrigerating it so it can easily be cut. Definitely a good tip. Check it out on her blog!

 

You may have seen me make mac & cheese before here or proclaim my love for it here. I wasn’t sure how this would go so I just whipped up some basic mac & cheese with small shells and cheddar.

Ingredients

mac & cheese (boxed or prepared as you like it)
2 cups vegetable oil for frying
2 eggs whipped
1 cup panko

Directions

Prepare mac & cheese
Refrigerate several hours in square dish 1” thick
Remove from dish in 1 piece and cut into cubes while oil is heating on medium heat in large skillet.
fried_Mac_cubes_290_200
Dredge the mac & cheese cubes in egg and panko before dropping into oil. Turn halfway until evenly golden brown.
fried_mac_frying_290_200

My oil wasn’t quite hot enough at first so the first round wasn’t as crisp but they were still good. Next time, as I’m sure there will be a next time, I would mix in some shredded cheese after preparing the mac & cheese so the bites would be more cheesy. I rarely fry anything because I think it’s such a bother and I don’t like the sputtering oil. Mr. J and I had JUST started a wedding registry and joked when we saw the a deep fryer…as if anyone needs that at home. Dangerous!

They were fun and more unusual than I go for aps. I was really happy with them but plan to only break them out on special occasions. I’m glad I attempted them. I now wonder if they could be made ahead of time and broiled briefly before serving to stay warm? We’ll see…