Tex Mex Burgers

On Saturday we had a fiesta for this young girl's birthday. I originally wanted the party to be Mediterranean themed, then Spanish themed but it ended up being a fiesta theme. So we had a nice mix of it all. Bec throws fiestas for her students all the time so I thought she needed one thrown for her.

Throughout the next few posts, I will write about what we ate, starting with the Tex Mex Burger. I got this recipe from a blog called Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

For the burgers (makes 4):

1 pound ground beef

1 egg

1/4 cup fine bread crumbs

1 tablespoon milk

1/4 cup grated onion

1 1/2 tablespoon dry taco seasoning

Mexican cheese blend, shredded

Mix all ingredients EXCEPT cheese with your hands. Form into 4 patties. Place on a hot grill and cook to your liking. Once nearly done, top with shredded cheese and heat until cheese melts.

For Pico de Gallo topping:

3 Roma tomatoes, diced

3/4 cup yellow & red bell pepper combined, diced

1/2 cup red onion, diced (I didn't use)

1/2 small jalapeno, seeded and diced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1 teaspoon sugar

juice of 1 lime

salt

pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a non metallic bowl. Cover and refrigerate for up to one day in advance.

For Spicy Mayo and all other ingredients:

1/2 cup mayo

hot sauce

Mix mayo with hot sauce to your taste.

1 avacado, sliced

4 Kaiser rolls

Place burger on roll, top with pico de gallo, slather spicy mayo on top part of bun and add sliced avacado.

Eventhough it was Bec's bday, she still took food pix for me! Thank you!

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Salt and Vinegar Grilled Potato Slices

Love these because they remind me of salt and vinegar chips! From Martha!

1 lb potatoes cut into 1/4 inch slices

2 cups white vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more for sprinkling

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Bring potatoes and vinegar to a boil in a medium saucepan (vinegar should cover potatoes or you can add some water if you don't have enough vinegar). Reduce heat to medium-low until just fork tender, about 5 minutes. Let potatoes cool in vinegar for 30 minutes (this was too long to wait so I skipped this step). Drain well and gently toss with oil, salt and pepper.

Preheat grill to medium- high heat. Grill potatoes in a single layer until evenly browned and cooked through - a grill pan is nice for this or else it is very easy to lose the potatoes in the grill slats. Sprinkle with salt before serving.

Grilled Potatoes and Veggies with Dill-Lemon Vinaigrette

Last week we got a new bbq grill! It's big and shiny and looks great in the backyard. So to celebrate we had a few guests over so I could test out the big boy.

This is the grill.

While I was in a small grocery store in Pine Grove, a small bag of fingerling potatoes caught my eye. I have always wanted to cook with fingerlings but have found that they are just too pricey at Giant or Wegmans. But at BG's, I got a 1.5 pound bag for $2.70! Can't beat that! So I snatched them up and used Adam's iPhone to find a grill recipe. I found this on Epicurious but it was originally from Bon Appetit Magazine, Aug 2006.

I adapted the recipe a little - it originally called for fresh marjoram but I used dried dill instead because it's what I had.

Photo from www.motherearthnews.com

I didn't have a grill pan for this recipe so I lost a few of the little potatoes through the grill plates. A grill pan is a must for this recipe!!

And unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the process or finished dish :(

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced shallot
dried dill (2 teaspoons used in total)
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound small fingerling potatoes, unpeeled, halved lengthwise
1 pound assorted summer squash, cut on diagonal into 1/3-inch-thick slices
1 large red or green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 package baby bella mushrooms, cleaned

Whisk lemon juice, shallot, 1 teaspoon dill, and lemon peel in small bowl. Gradually whisk in 1/4 cup oil. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper.

Prepare barbecue (medium heat).

Place potatoes in large saucepan; add enough cold salted water to cover. Boil just until almost tender, about 4 minutes. Drain. Transfer potatoes to medium bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon dill and 1 1/2 tablespoons oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat.

Combine squash and bell pepper in large bowl; add remaining 1/2 teaspoon dill and 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat.

Arrange potatoes in single layer in grill basket. Grill until tender, 5 minutes per side. Transfer to large bowl. Grill squash and bell pepper until tender, turning occasionally, 10 minutes. Transfer to bowl with potatoes.

Add vinaigrette; toss. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Labor Day Weekend Fête - Part 3

And the menu goes on...


We grilled up some sliced sausages, green peppers (from our garden!) and onions on skewers. We used some spicy kielbasa and chicken sausages. My mom spotted the recipe in a Paula Deen magazine. Once the kabobs came off the grill and were placed in the chafing dish, we poured a sauce over it:
Whisk together 3 tablespoons steak sauce, 3 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce and 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard.
As recommended by Paula, you can de-skewer the cooked sausage, onions and peppers, put them in a long roll and top with the sauce.

You can see the kielbasa on the left and the chicken on the right.

See the whole grain mustard in the kabob sauce.

I whipped up a big batch of sangria - a staple for summer parties at our house. A good friend Esther, who was a Spanish teaching assistant at Hollins, gave me this authentic recipe:

This is for a very large crowd. You can always divide it down to make less.

2 1.5 liter bottles red wine
64 oz. orange juice
98 oz. lemonade
2 cups white rum
3 cinnamon sticks
3 oranges cut into bite sized pieces
3 apples cut into bite sized pieces
½ cup sugar (more if desired)

Mix together and let sit for 2 hours. Do not let sit overnight because the taste changes drastically. Drink all in the same day (not difficult!).

We added shrimp to the menu at the last minute. Since we had a large supply of skewers and lemons, we sliced up the lemons and added a wedge with the shrimp on each kabob. Due to short notice, we simply added Lawry's Herb and Garlic marinade, olive oil and dried cilantro to the kabobs and let them marinade for a few hours before they were grilled for 2-3 minutes on each side. Easy and wonderful!

Tomorrow I will finish up with a potato dish and the desserts!

Photos by Bec.

Herb's Herbed Shrimp

This is the second time in two weeks that I've made this shrimp on the grill! I got the marinade recipe from the Mystic Seaport Seafood Secrets Cookbook: Volume 2. My mom and I picked this book up when we were visiting Mystic, Connecticut back in 2003 during my college search.

2 pounds jumbo shrimp, deveined - with or without shells (I peeled mine but you can also keep them on until done on the grill)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons minced parsley (I used fresh)

2 teaspoons tarragon leaves (I used dried)

6 cloves garlic, minced

Generous amounts of freshly ground salt and pepper

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Mix all ingredients in a non-metallic bowl. Let marinade for 2 to 3 hours in the refrigerator. Cook in grilling baskets on a medium-high heat grill until done, 3-4 minutes per side.

Here, the little guys were just thrown on the grill.

Perfectly done!

Photos by Bec.

Grilled Corn With Cilantro Salt

I'm always hesitant to grill corn. I prefer the method of boiling because it's what I'm used to but the July edition of Martha Stewart Living presented me with some inspiration to try corn on the grill. The recipe says to remove the silks of the corn and tie back the husks, placing the corn kernels directly on the grill. We however, misunderstood the directions (must have been that sangria kickin' in) and put the the husks back over the corn. It still worked out very well. The cilantro salt was quite delicious.


For 4 ears of corn:

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons coarse salt
4 ears corn (in their husks)
Unsalted butter, for serving

Preheat grill to medium. Mix together cilantro and salt in a small bowl.
Pull back each corn husk, leaving it attached to the cob and remove the silk. For each ear, cut off a piece of husk, and tie it around the remaining husk to form a bundle.
Grill corn, turning often, until slightly charred and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Serve cobs with butter and sprinkle with cilantro salt.

Most often, my dinner guests are put to work. Here, Jesse and I are husking and he apparently said something funny which is very typical of him!

The cilantro salt.

After you generously roll your ear (of corn, that is) in lots of butter, sprinkly with salt, but use sparingly. I think Bec can attest to the fact that it's very easy to oversalt with this stuff!

The corn fresh from the grill!

Photos by Bec

East Meets West Burger

The weekend I made a unique burger recipe I found from the June issue of Country Living (I'm a new subscriber - it's my first issue!). This recipe is from Ming Tsai, chef-owner of Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Massachusetts. It's called the East Meets West Burger, an apt name for this burger with plenty of spicy Asian flair.

A hoisin-lime sauce is used a a barbeque sauce and generously brushed onto the burger when half way done cooking. This is enough sauce for glazing 6 burgers. You can make more and reserve it if you want to have some extra to top on the burger once on the bun.

2 Tablespoons minced garlic (I used 2 cloves)

1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger

canola oil

1 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup canola oil

Salt and pepper

In a small saucepan, saute garlic and giner in canola oil until soft. Stir in hoisin sauce and cook for one minute. Transfer to a blender, add lime juice and oil; blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

After the burgers are done, top with a slice of sharp cheddar and allow to melt on grill.

Grill the buns (sesame if you can find them) if desired.

To top the burger, we used sliced avacado, tomato and iceburg lettuce, as well as a hot mustard - a mixture of Dijon and red chili sauce (or paste).

This was a very unique burger - lots of flavors going on. Everyone enjoyed it!

Don't be shy with the mustard - it gives it a real kick! I'm not even a fan of mustard and I loved this!

Fontina Meatball Kabobs

I found this recipe in the May 2009 Better Homes and Gardens Magazine and thought my mom would enjoy them for Mothers Day Dinner. And my brother and sister were excellent helpers in the kitchen! I made these kabobs, berry fruit cups, pineapple cheddar cornbread and tiramisu. I should have made something else, like a potato dish. Oh well!

I don't recall ever cooking with fontina cheese, but I really do like it's sharp flavor and soft texture.

I think this meatball recipe would make good burgers too!

1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup grated Parmesan (I used Asiago because it's what we had)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried Italian Seasoning
1 1/2 lb ground beef
2 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
16 1/2-inch cubes fontina cheese
8 canned artichoke hearts, drained & halved
1 6- to 8-oz. package mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 recipe Balsamic Glaze (below)
Basil leaves (optional - didn't use)


Soak wooden skewers in water, if using.
Combine egg, Parmesan, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper in large bowl. Add beef and proscuitto; mix well. Shape a small portion around a cheese cube. (Recipe says to make 16 meatballs - I got more)

My brother was such a great meatball former!

On skewers, thread meatballs, artichokes, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Leave room in between each item on skewer so they can cook more evenly (which I forgot to do but the recipe recommends it).
Prepare Balsamic Glaze: In small saucepan combine 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons olive oil, 1 minced garlic clove, salt, pepper and 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 4 minutes or until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Divide in half.

Heat and Pam the grill.

Drizzle half of the Balsamic Glaze over kabobs. Place on grill (medium heat). Grill 10-12 minutes until meat is done. To serve, drizzle with remaining glaze. Sprinkle with fresh basil.

Final Product!