Memorial Day Burgers with Mushroom and Fried Egg

One of my favorite food memories is tasting my first burger with a avocado and a fried egg.  It was absolutely amazing and something I have been replicating ever since. Plus who doesn’t love that extra bit of protein!

For Memorial Day, I’m cooking up burgers with Gorgonzola mushrooms, arugula, and of course a fried egg.  Don’t let the Gorgonzola egg combo scare you. I promise it’s divine.

First off the mushrooms.  I’m obsessed with just sauteing mushrooms making some kind of sauce and just eating it plain.  A bottle of red wine and mushrooms left on the stove for an hour turns into something quite magical.

Gorgonzola Mushrooms:

1/2 mushrooms sliced

3 oz gorgonzola crumbled

2tbs balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbs olive oil

Method: Heat olive oil in a medium sized skillet.  Once hot, add mushrooms and cook until they are soft and have released their juices.  Add balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and gorgonzola.  Stir to combine until the mushrooms resemble a saucy texture.

Burgers:

1lb 80% ground beef – Using lean ground beef in burgers is a sin.

salt and pepper

1.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Method: I don’t like to add much to my burgers.  Just a little salt and pepper will go a long way.  Fire up your grill until it reaches medium heat.  Form your burgers to be about 3/4 inch thick.  Don’t over “mush” them, just gently press together.  Place the burgers on the grill and close the lid.  Once juices form on the top of your burgers it’s time to flip about 5 minutes.  Cook another 4 minutes for a nice medium rare burger.  You can leave it on for an additional two minutes if you like yours well done.

Egg:

1 Egg

1tsb olive oil

Method: I like to fry my eggs in olive oil.  Heat up olive oil in a small non-stick skillet.  Wait about a minute or so to really warm up the pan.  Crack and egg in the middle and lower the heat to medium.  Wait until the whites are fully set and thick, about 4 minutes. Carefully flip the egg and cook for an additional 30 second to a minute.  This creates a nice runny egg.

Assembly: I like to top my burgers with extra crumbled gorgonzola, the mushrooms, arugula, and of course, the fried egg.

Enjoy!

Homemade Artisan Bread

I think making homemade bread is some sort of secret in the bakers world. I’m a self proclaimed non-baker. I cook, but any time flour gets mixed in I get lost. I have proven this theory by making a dynamite flourless chocolate cake.  However, I have recently discovered that making break is not that hard. In fact, it’s rather easy.  So easy that I would say that bread machines are a bigger scam than that Nigerian princess who has been emailing you.

The ability to crank out delicious crusty loaves will seriously change your life. Normally, I am all about making dough in my mixer, but this recipe is actually no knead! That’s right, your hands will rest easy. The hardest part is waiting for it to rise!

Ingredients:

3 Cups All Purpose Flour

2 Teaspoons Salt

1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water

Method: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and yeast. Slowly stir in water using a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a shaggy-like dough. Make sure to not overwork the dough.  This is a no knead recipe. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 8 – 24 hours in room temperature.

When dough is ready, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Place a dutch oven into the preheated oven for 30 minutes to “warm” up.  While preheating, place dough onto a well floured surface and begin to shape dough into a ball.  I scored the dough with a knife to create a criss cross shape. Cover the dough with a damp towel and let rest.  Once the oven is preheated and the dutch oven has warmed, place the bread dough into the dutch oven. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes more.

*This recipe was adapted from The Comfort of Cooking

Enjoy 🙂

Thai Red Curry Soup with Chicken

I fell in love with Thai flavors recently.  I’ve always been a curry kind of girl but it all happened last week when I went to a Thai restaurant and had Tom Yum soup. I LOVE spicy in my soups.  Tom Yum soup is now one of those things I can add to my craving list.  In case you didn’t know, my craving lists is specific foods that cause an intense craving that needs to be satisfied. Currently the list consists of Pho, fried pickles, cheesecake factory salad (yah I know…) and green salsa.  I wanted to replicate Tom Yum soup but the nearest asian grocery store was way to far for me to venture out to.  Instead, I made a Thai Red Curry Soup and the result was quite pleasing.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons red curry paste

12 ounces rice noodles

2 14 ounce cans of coconut milk

2 tablespoons grated ginger

salt and pepper

a dash of Sriracha

Green Pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 cups precooked shredded chicken

Brocoli

Corn

Carrots

Cauliflower

(any vegetables can work in this…choose as you wish!)

1 cup fresh cilantro

Method:

Cook rice noodles according to package. Meanwhile in a large sauce pan, cook all vegetables in one tablespoon of olive oil 4-5 minutes.  Add red curry paste and “toast” in the hot pan for about 30 seconds.  Stir together vegetables and the paste with a wooden spoon. Add coconut milk and chicken broth and bring soup to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender.  Divide the soup into bowl and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Enjoy!

Chicken Croquettes with Spicy Sriracha Aioli

Sometimes you just need to fry baby!  I love these croquettes and they are easy to fry.  Usually I end up with a crumbled mess but the mashed potato mixture really stays together in the oil.  The warm croquettes pair beautifully with the spicy aioli.  This recipe is perfect for parties or eating in front of your couch while watching reality tv. Did I really say that?? Nooo…

Ingredients:

2 large potatoes or 4 cups mashed potatoes (I cheated and used box mashed potato flakes)
1 cup roasted chicken meat, finely chopped (I cheated again and used a rotisserie chicken)
1/2 cup button mushrooms, chopped
1/2 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter, softened
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup flour
1 to 1-1/2 cups italian bread crumbs
oil for frying

Sriracha Aioli

2/3 cup mayonaisse
3 “squirts” Sriracha (hot chile sauce)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 cloves garlic

Method:

Add garlic and onions to a small pan and sauté until onions are translucent and golden. Remove from the heat and set aside. If using a box mix, follow the instructions on the box to make mashed potatoes.  If not, fully wash and scrub potatoes to remove any dirt. In a large pan add potatoes and water until potatoes are fully covered with water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat and cook for 20 – 30 minutes until you can pierce potatoes with a fork. Peel the skin and place in a large bowl. If you allow the potatoes to cool, the skin usually peels right off.  Using a potato masher or fork, mash the potatoes until the mixture is smooth and lump free. Add the milk, butter, onions and garlic mixture, chicken, mushrooms and combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Form the potato mixture into about 1 inch balls.  Completely dredge in the flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs.  In a large pan heat about 2 inches of oil.  Slowly lower the potato balls into the hot oil and fry turning once or twice until croquettes are dark and crispy.  Remove from the pain and place on a paper towel. Serve warm and enjoy

For the Sriracha Aioli combine mayo, garlic, Sriracha, lemon juice, and salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Mix well.  This is a flexible recipe so feel to adjust the seasonings to your taste.