Sunday, April 3, 2011

Nicole's Burger Night

My dad helped me buy and put together a bbq for the patio of my condo, and after being bbq-less for 5 years I could finally grill meat (and veggies) again! I could also put my "Burgers" cookbook to use that had been sitting idle on my bookshelf. Of course I then chose one of the only burger recipes in the book that requires stovetop cooking instead of the grill - oh well, another dinner night.

Miso-basted salmon burger w/ "Oven cheese fries"
Burger was a yummy, healthy, and flavorful alternative to beef. Fries were okay, and probably would have been better if I had not forgotten to buy one of the main ingredients - parmesan cheese. Doh! Because of that we left out the bread crumbs and made regular fries coated with olive oil, salt, and pepper to save time, as we were running a bit late on the meal.

Burger:
1 lb 5oz fresh skinless, boneless salmon fillet
4 crusty rolls
1 t white miso paste
2 T vegetable oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1-inch-piece ginger root, pelled, finely chopped
salt
1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs
2 scallions finely chopped
1 large egg white
1 T light soy sauce
1 t sesame oil
1/2 t mustard seeds

Burger Glaze:
1/2 T white miso paste
2 T maple syrup
1 t soy sauce

Hot mango-cucumber salsa (combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss well together):
1 small mango, stone removed, cut in thin slices
1/4 cucumber, cut into ribbons lengthwise, using a vegetable peeler
1 t sugar
2 T lime juice
salt

1. In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the glaze and set aside.
2. Plae 12 oz of the salmon in a food processor with 1 t of the miso and mix to a fine paste. Finely chop the remaining salmon. Chill separately in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
3. Heat 1 T of the vegetable oil in a small pan, add the shallot and giner, and cook until softened but with no color; remove and allow to cool.
4. Remove the processed and chopped salmon from the refrigerator, place in a bowl, add the cooked shallot and ginger, a little salt, and mix well.
5. Add the remaining ingredients and bring the mix together, shape into 4 evenly sized burgers, and return to the refrigerator until needed.
6. Heat the remaining oil in a large nonstick frying pan until hot, cook the salmon burgers until golden, about 3-4 minutes on each side, brushing them regularly with the glaze as they cook.
7. Arrange the lettuce leaves on the four crusty rolls, top each with a burger, and then with some mango-cucumber salsa. Top with the remaining bread.


Blue-cheese coleslaw
I loved this alternative and tangy take on cole slaw, and have made the recipe multiple times since our dinner night. It was very easy to make, and could be modified depending on your tastes or what you have on hand. The recipe calls for a whole onion which we found to be way too much; half an onion would be much better.

1/2 red cabbage
2 carrots, peeled
1 onion, peeled (way too much!!)
2 green peppers, halved, deseeded
2 T sour cream
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper
pinch of celery salt (optional)

1. Remove the outer leaves from the cabbage, cut into 2-inch wedges, remove and discard center core.
2. Using a sharp knife, finely shred it into strips or use the shredding attachment of a food processor.
3. Place the shredded cabbage in ice water for 30 minutes (we skipped this part).
4. Meanwhile, cut the carrots into shreds, using a knife or small kitchen mandolin. Thinly shred the onion and green bell peppers.
5. Remove the cabbage from the water and drain it well. Dry it with a clean cloth. (or skip this if you skipped step #3).
6. Place all ingredients together in a bowl, bind with the sour cream, season to taste and chill until required.

Black bean koftas
This is one of those dishes that could be summed up as "interesting". The picture in the cookbook showed beautiful little perfectly round balls of black bean koftas, but ours fell apart in the pan and looked like a pile of dark bread crumbs. I think the downfall was using dry bread crumbs plus a little water instead of the fresh bread crumbs. Taste was average, and I would not even make again to see what it would taste like with fresh bread crumbs.
1/4 c. vegetable oil
3 scallions, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 small green chili, deseeded, finely chopped
1 1/2 c. cooked black beans
2 t Dijon mustard
2 t chickpea flour (gram flour)
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 t ground cumin
1 1/2 c. fresh white bread crumbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 c. feta cheese or other sharp cheese, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1. Heat 2 T of the oil in a pan, add the scallions, garlic, and chili. Cook for 2 minutes.
2. Mash the cooked beans with the mustard, chickpea flour, cilantro, and cumin, and mix well. Add the bread crumbs and cooked onion mix. Season to taste.
3. Shape the mix into 1 1/4-inch balls. With your finger make a small indentation in the center of each ball, then fill each with some cheese. Cover over to secure the cheese filling.
4. Heat the remaining oil and fry the koftas for 3-4 minutes, keeping them moving.
5. Remove and serve.

Kentucky Sunrise
http://www.jimbeam.com/mixology/drink/1402

A bottle of Jim Beam had been languishing in my cupboard for awhile, and I wanted a summery drink that would compliment the burgers. The Jim Beam website came through, and their version of a Sunrise drink was potent but delicious.

Pigwich cookies
http://tastingtable.com/ecs/3620.htm?sid=605361
I had been wanting to try this recipe since seeing it on Tasting Table, and I had the perfect pig cookie cutter to make them. We got through the parts of making the dough and getting the bacon fat, but with everything else to do that night we didn't get around to making the icing. The piggies came out very cute though, and were yummy too!