Bacon is always awesome, Beefy McBeefy, Burger, Cheesy Cheese, Emily Favorite

Coffee-Rubbed Cheeseburgers with Texas BBQ Sauce

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Just by reading the name of this recipe, this burger from Bon Appetit has a lot going for it. (1) it has the word Texas in it (2) it has BBQ sauce (3) we know there is some sort of cheese.

I had a feeling this was going to be delicious when I made the very simple to make homemade BBQ sauce first. I seriously will use this recipe anytime something calls for BBQ sauce as this was such a spicy, well-balanced and beautiful homemade recipe I don’t see the point of buying bottled again.
The coffee rub, which is a blend of fresh ground coffee, sea salt, pepper, dried oregano, ground coriander and brown sugar, smelled heavenly when I was putting it together so you can imagine the magic that happened once you sprinkled on the burger patties and grilled.
I couldn’t find regular potato bread buns and when I checked with the bakery they only had large potato bread dinner rolls. “Screw it” I thought, “I will just make sliders, nothing is getting between me and this burger!”
Combine the amazing BBQ sauce, coffee-rubbed beef patty, thinly sliced smoked Gouda, applewood-smoked bacon with fresh tomato and red onion and you’ve got a burger that is INCREDIBLE. I really enjoyed this burger and it will certainly be on my permanent menu rotation. I’m loving all of these burger recipes, keep them coming!
Beefy McBeefy, Dose of Veggies, Fruit, Quick and Delicious, Uncategorized

Grilled Steak with Tomatoes and Scallions and a Great Mango Salad

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So it was the last night of the Everyday Food “1 bag, 5 meals” idea featured in the June issue. Last up was the Grilled Steak with Tomatoes and Scallions. Due to my lack of access to a real grill, I grilled the steak on a grill pan and broiled the cherry tomatoes and scallions in the oven until charred. This was a simple and flavorful dish and I really loved the tomatoes and scallions on top of the juicy steak.

As some of you know, I work in food public relations and one of the unfortunate (ha!) aspects of my job is that my team and I have to test recipes to ensure the dish ideas we provide to consumers are delicious and easy to assemble. It’s a hard job but somebody’s gotta do it. Of course I love all the recipes we try but one that has stood out continuously over time is the Mango, Chicken and Avocado Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing from the National Mango Board.
Because a steak just wouldn’t be enough, I also decided to make this healthy and delicious salad sans chicken to round out my meal. I love this salad so much, since the first day we tested it until now it has been one of my favorites. It provides a perfect balance of sweetness in the mango and dressing, plus the creamy avocado and the crunch of pistachios…great flavor and texture balance.
Coming up next, has a burger I just tested from Bon Appetit already beaten my recent favorite from Food & Wine magazine? Stay tuned!
Cheesy Cheese, Pasta

Pasta Salad with Goat Cheese and Arugula

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So I’m winding down my “5 meals, 1 bag” week and one of the last recipes on the Everyday Food recipe rotation was the Pasta Salad with Goat Cheese and Arugula. It was simple to put together and had pretty good flavor but it was kind of just OK to me. I’m not a big fan of all mushy textures and with cooked pasta, goat cheese and white beans all in one, the red onion and arugula just didn’t provide enough crunch for me. What I did like was the simple dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard and the goat cheese melted to coat the cooked pasta quite nicely. Maybe some fresh pine nuts or crispy pancetta (which I realize this is the week’s vegetarian dish but hey) might have helped?
Last up is Grilled Steaks with Tomatoes and Scallions, let’s see how it goes!
Dose of Veggies, Pork-a-licious, Quick and Delicious

Grilled Pork Chops with Cucumber-Dill Salad

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I took some great pictures of this dish last night and then found out my camera hates me and somehow deleted them! Oh well. I have a sweet spot for any kind of a Cucumber-Dill Salad and this one was a good one. The pork chops were simply seasoned with salt and pepper and were quite juicy and perfectly cooked if I do say so myself. 😉

This was a simple, easy and healthy weeknight meal and one of my favorites of the 1 bag, 5 meals idea from Everyday Food. Enjoy!
Sandwich, Soup

Day Two: Tomato-Pepper Soup with Ham and Arugula Wraps

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As I mentioned, I’m taking on the 1 bag, 5 Meals idea proposed in the new Everyday Food magazine and here is day two. Let’s start with the not-so-good shall we? I’ve proclaimed my love for tomatoes before so I was pretty pumped about this soup. It was super simple to make, just cut up a bell pepper and throw it in with some cherry tomatoes under the broiler. Puree roasted ingredients with remaining tomatoes, tomato juice and some olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and there you have it…or not. This soup was too tomato-y even for my taste and felt like an acid or some kind of herb really would have helped round out the flavor a bit more.

Moving on to the wraps, I have to say this simple blend of arugula, ham and goat cheese that has been mixed with lemon zest and a little bit of olive oil was very satisfying and delicious. I couldn’t find lavash bread at the store like the recipe calls for so I used a warm pita pocket instead. Make two at the same time and save one for lunch the next day!

I couldn’t find the recipes online so here you go. Try the soup and let me know if I just wasn’t bringing my soup A-game last night? It’s highly likely.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tomato-Pepper Soup with Ham and Arugula Wraps
Everyday Food, June 2009
Serves 4
1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed)
3 pints of cherry tomatoes
1 cup of tomato juice
2 tablespoons of olive oil
coarse salt and ground pepper
3 ounces of fresh goat cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
4 lavash bread wraps
1 pound thinly sliced ham
1 bunch of arugula (7 ounces) thick ends trimmed
(1) Heat broiler, with rack 4 inches from heat. Place red pepper, skin side up, on one end of a large rimmed baking sheet; place half the tomatoes on the other. Broil until pepper is charred, 8-10 minutes. Let cool slightly, then peel pepper with a paring knife.
(2) In two batches, puree broiled pepper and tomatoes, remaining tomatoes, tomato juice, and 1 tablespoon oul in a blender until very smooth, about three minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
(3) In a small bowl, combine goat cheese, 1 tablespoon oil, and lemon zest; season with salt and pepper. Spread wraps with goat cheese mciture, then top with ham and arugula. Roll up wraps.
Asian, Chicken, Global Flavor, Quick and Delicious

1 Grocery Bag, 5 Weekday Meals

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Intrigued? I know I was when I saw this on the cover of the new Everyday Food. Having to be on a pretty strict food budget I jumped at the chance to give this a try. They even give you a handy, dandy shopping list right where this section starts in the magazine and I simply just took it with me and crossed items off as I went.
This is going to be different than my other posts since I usually only cover what I like, but since the focus is here is on a short weekly shopping list, I’m going to post my reviews of all the recipes (regardless of how they taste) to really see how this nets out.
The recipe recommendation is as follows – Monday, Grilled Steak with Tomatoes and Scallions; Tuesday, Pasta Salad with Goat Cheese and Arugula; Wednesday, Tomato-Pepper Soup with Ham and Arugula Wraps; Thursday, Grilled Pork Chops with Cucumber-Dill Salad; Friday; Asian Noodle Salad with Chicken and Cilantro (sorry, can’t find some of these on the Web site and I will post here later).
I tweaked this schedule to work within my week and started with the Asian Noodle Salad with Chicken and Cilantro. On the recipe page they mention the sauce is Vietnamese-style and features fresh ginger, garlic and jalapeno combined with brown sugar and rice vinegar in a saucepan. I have to say the sauce really made this dish, but it was also a great combination of the cool, crisp cucumber, savory chicken and cilantro and noodles. I really liked this dish and how quick it was to get on the table.
Up next, ham and arugula wraps with tomato-pepper soup. Hope it’s good!
Emily Favorite, Fruit, Quick and Delicious, Seafood

It’s SO Easy Being Green!

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I’ve been on a scallop kick lately and if these gentle magazines don’t stop coming up with delicious recipes for these tasty little suckers well then you are just going to have to get used to it!

This Grilled Scallops with Honeydew-Avocado Salsa from Food & Wine magazine is my favorite scallop dish I’ve tested so far. Not only is the ingredient list short and there are only two steps, but the flavors were out of this world. The salsa is fun twist on a traditional salsa verde with honeydew melon and fresh avocado, plus a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. I did add a smidge of honey at the end and folded into the salsa just for good measure. Then you simply grill (or grill on a grill pan inside your house…sigh) the scallops and that’s it. This was on the table in no time and I LOVED it!

Bacon is always awesome, Beefy McBeefy, Burger, Cheesy Cheese, Dose of Veggies, Emily Favorite

The Burger That Made Me Say “Yay!”

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Oh yum people, oh yum. This Cheddar BLT Burger with Tarragon Russian Dressing is on the cover of the June issue Food & Wine magazine. Doesn’t it look like the Heidi Klum of cheeseburgers? Not only was this so good, but it was pretty simple to make. It has a simple Russian-style dressing with fresh tarragon, bacon, onion, tomato, cheddar cheese and the patties are equal parts ground beef chuck and sirloin. One thing you do differently is brush the patties with unsalted butter while they cook. WHY have I not thought of this before? As you know I don’t have a grill but cooked them instead on a grill pan on the stove until the patty was slightly pink inside. This was by far one of the easiest to to make and best-in-flavor burgers I have made in a long time, if not ever!

On the side I enjoyed this simple Heirloom Tomato Salad with Garlic Oil from Martha Stewart Living. Heirloom tomatoes and their unique shapes and colors just make me so happy when I get to enjoy them. When you have something this good and flavorful you need to make sure the rest of the ingredients are simple and do not overpower. This recipe with it’s garlic-infused olive oil, fresh chives and basil were delicious with the heirloom tomatoes I was able to find at the market. As a side note, I enjoyed reading this article from Food & Wine about a husband and wife team who grow heirloom tomato varieties. Do you like a Green Zebra or Arkansas Traveler better?
Dose of Veggies, Lamb Lambs!, Quick and Delicious, Side Dish

Spiced Lamb and Vegetable Kebabs with Cilantro Mint Sauce

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I love a good sauce of any kind and the cilantro mint sauce in this Cooking Light dish is divine. The magazine claimed this would take 40 minutes total to get this on the table and lo and behold it did. This was very simple to put together and the only difference was that since I don’t have a grill (sigh), I broiled the skewers in the oven until done. I also like the idea of a protein other than the standard beef or chicken for a weeknight meal and the lamb dipped in the sauce, “oh my goodness!” is all I can say.

I thankfully had a lot of sauce so I sliced up some fresh cucumbers and drizzled it on top and then served the skewers on top of the Currant-and-Almond Pilaf from Everyday Food which gave a satisfying crunch to the dish and rounded out the meal.
This dish rocked and I would highly recommend it for simple and different kind of weeknight meal.

Dose of Veggies, Emily Favorite, Global Flavor, Pork-a-licious, Quick and Delicious, Salad

Thai Salad with Pork (or the salad that made me literally lick my plate)

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So I just got the new Family Circle and am dying to try some of the recipes in the June issue. First up this Thai Salad with Pork recipe, that yes, I may have licked my plate when I was done. What really made this dish amazing was the dressing. A little backstory for you. I grew up in East Texas and have been visiting Shogun’s (a hibachi grill) my entire life. They make this ginger dressing that is out of this world and this is the first homemade dressing I’ve made that reminded almost exactly of their’s. So maybe it was a little bit of delicious dressing mixed with fond childhood memories? I don’t know.

The other thing I liked about this was how quick and simple it was to make and on a good-for-you scale this one registers way up there, with cucumbers, red bell peppers and lean-pork. I didn’t have bean sprouts (which I love) so I decided to do something very un-cooking inside the lines and added fresh mango to add a sweet note (and more vitamins and fiber) to the dish and it was great.

On a random side note, I was watching Andrew Zimmern’s latest installment of Bizarre Foods last night and saw an ad that next week is his tour of Texas. Being a very proud Texan, especially of our food culture, I can’t wait to see where he ends up. It airs next Tuesday, May 26 at 9:00 p.m. CT.